I did something I always dreamed about doing this year: I wrote a novel. I finished my first draft of Fascination in August of 2021 (you can read more about my book here) and started editing by mid-October.
It’s the thrill of creation that keeps me going, whether I’m writing poetry, flash, a short story, or a project as large as a novel. When that cycle of creation is done, I struggle with the tinkering and fine-tuning that is revision.
In November, I started to share chapters of my manuscript. As much as it has been a rollercoaster, I still have faith that Fascination will be completed in the new year and that it will be a book that brings about long-overdue conversations on topics related to mental health.
With the help of friends near and far, I’m making the big moves necessary to take my book from what I’ve learned is a “0 draft” to the version you will see available in print. I’m determined to see the project through to its end. And so, my main resolution for 2022 is to complete my edits and publish my debut novel.
Below is a poem about a place in my book, Gapstow Bridge. I’ve taken lines from different chapters in the book to construct this poem, so in essence, it’s a found poem from the unpublished manuscript, and I hope you enjoy it.
Happy New Year! Blessing to all of you in 2022.
Gapstow Bridge
Brittle vines,
clingy this time of year,
disappear when she
traces her hands on the tops
of Gapstow;
it’s been so long
since there’d been touch, and
now her memory scrapes,
tickling her like falling snow
lost in the crevices.
White skies,
loaves of unleavened dough,
partially frozen surfaces
make for blurry reflection.
Yes, the lord might be smilin’
on the sheep,
but they still wind up as chops.
Not thinking of jumping, were you?
her blob asks.
She’d hoped to find her prince, but
the pond’s too frozen for frogs.
She never touches Gapstow now,
fearing the stones are
contaminated with feelings.
© khartless 2021, All Rights Reserved
Artwork: “Bridge in Central Park” by Tom Shropshire
Yard Sale of Thoughts 
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