I feel better physically. I have made a decision about my teen novel. I am going to fashion each chapter into a short story. This will give the material more coherence and impact, I think. It is like reordering a paradigm, something writers or artists must be willing to do, taking a second, fundamental look at an entire project.

I feel stronger. I went for physicial therapy today for my knee. The pain is lessened and that may be helping a lot. Chronic pain can really bring you down, even if you do not realize it at a conscious level.

I suppose the same is true of emotional pain. You can become used to it, but still it can take its toll without you realizing it. Noise pollution can have a significant effect on a person, as well. I recall the kids living near Atlanta International Airport who I worked with as a counselor. They displayed more dynfunction, and I attribute this (partially) to the nearly constant sound of airliners passing over. I think that the poor were more likely to be placed under flight paths, too. Of course, poverty exerts a multivarious effect on the growth and development of kids. But the kids seemed to be barely aware of the noise.

***

I am excited about doing an open mic tomorrow and will work up several songs for the event.

I am going through my poetry manuscript, doing a lot of revision on the latter half. It needs it. Some of my work, I think, is too "obvious," that is, lacking in the element of mystery that is essential to good work. Cliches are a no-no. Conventional takes on reality are not what good poetry is all about. If the element of surprise is lacking, then some revision is called for.

On the other hand, I become very impatient with poetry that is so obscure and tangestial that no one can possibly understand where the poet is coming from. If you don't communicate, then what's the point? Clarity plus depth, and that feeling of mystery, that's what I strive for.