64 thoughts on “My Poem “The Resonance of No” is Up at the December Issue of Gravel Literary Magazine”

      • Persistence and good luck only benefits powerful material. Sting needed 0.0001 % persistence and no luck at all in the 70s and 80s. Ornette Coleman’s genius was hard to fathom by the general populace so he needed lots of persistence and luck, Van Gogh had NO luck, and persisted as long as he could, but the core originality or genius is there.

        So I think this is not luck at all. Your work is too good to require luck. Now that you actually have the time to persist at writing, the rewards are natural… you are THAT good.

        You also say, “It feels like I am never getting enough done”. Anshin Shite Kudasai, Okaji-Sensei! 🙂

        The artist writes when he/she is inspired, and/or takes the craftsman’s approach and commits hours to crafting. But the German Protestant “I’m not getting enough done” has nothing to do with great art such as yours. Trust me I KNOW the feeling… we both have the Teutonic “Arbeit ist Leben…ja, das ist die richtige Art und Weise zu denken!!!” gene.

        But you also have the wonderful Japanese “mushotoku” gene, i.e. ‘doing’ is the art and “be ye not attached to the results”: the act of forming is the REAL “form”.

        A woman who is only 4 months pregnant is still getting enough done… art is pregnancy without trimesters!

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  16. I read it out loud and loved the rhythm. So true, how mundane activities give us time to think and reflect and play. Often my thoughts get themselves organized while doing things that require no thought.

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  19. Let it resonate, like every one of your poems, demanding recommence.
    …Besides, the dishwasher’s rumble and whine numbs the soul.
    On another [relevant, I hope] note, the name of this poem reminds me to take this opportunity to go out on a limb and ask you if you happen to have also written a piece called “Autobiography of Yes”? I’m hoping you’ll say yes, because I’ve been searching the internet for it for months. I’m yearning to read it over, and over again.

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  20. Thank you for the blog ‘like’, Robert! I appreciate the poem and find the time spent reflecting over washing dishes to be truly useful. This line is great: “…none of the words I’ve conjured and shaped over decades and miles will extend their comfort.” Very true.

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  24. Robert, thank you for drifting by nothingcluelesslost.com
    Through your visit, my world opened towards a treasure trove of poetry I could not imagine. I am in awe at the abundant creativity and the surprises the universe dishes up on a daily basis since writing my blog.

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