“Charcuterie” was originally posted on July 10, 2023, which seems twenty years ago to my poetry mind, which feels like yesterday to my poetry mind.

I don’t write this way anymore. But I love this way I wrote.

There is so much momentum and speed here, a rush through the life of the board, a collection of the board’s life, of my life, of this finality of hanging the board on a wall.

The board isn’t on that wall anymore.

It also has no charcuterie function.

It’s too big. The board warped. The handle is useless.

Because of the weight of the board. Because of the shape.

Once we had cheese and meats and cute olives and some compotes, sweet cherry, raspberry.

Now it stands against a cherry cabinet that holds our china and a bottle of champagne my father gave Wendy and I when we got married. It was from the 1980’s then. Champagne doesn’t age the way wine does, I don’t think.

The way poems do, for good, for bad.

As this one has done.

As I have done.

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My poems now Return and Arrive. I am revisiting poems that have already appeared here on my blog. I am sharing quietly through email newer poems. To my email subscribers.

Several have returned. None have yet arrived.

I can’t figure out the emailing without posting process, not yet. I hope to soon.

This will involve hosting my site differently in the invisible part of the internet where sites live.

I haven’t taken the time to do this yet, but will, soon.

I’ve been spending the time writing — four new poems in just over a week.

Thanks for taking the time to read and support my work.

There isn’t much return for writing a poem. No money to be made. No fame to note.

But even one thoughtful reader counts to me. One connection. One reflection.

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Here is the original image that accompanied this poem, for what it’s worth: