Dear dears,

Welcome to the end of July. I lament the end of summer while still having about four weeks left. It went by too fast and I am determined to enjoy what remains.

Usually by now my garden would be blooming but we have a water ban in place. Maynard has its own water source, so when that gets low, all outside water use is banned. This makes me so grateful for the days of rain we have had this week. I have lots of daisies, goldenrod, milkweed, and marigolds to keep me going. One zinnia. One cosmos. And the tiny yet tall sunflowers are beginning to come in. I am determined to keep my raspberry and blueberry bushes alive.

My July was packed. First we went to the beach and enjoyed time with my mom and the sun and waves. We spent the 4th there which meant local fireworks and one ecstatic 9-year-old who was hawking USA! tattoos and glow sticks and jewelry. Turns out it was his birthday and he was FREAKING thrilled. Whenever the fireworks paused for that moment to let you anticipate what comes next, he would yell, “IT’S NOT OVER!!” I don’t think I have been around such honest joy in a long time. Brandon made our day.

Aside from pool time, we did steampunk mini golf, a night at Fun Land, lots of Kohrs. We watched Independence Day (of course) and Enola Holmes 3 (for Tewkesbury and Henry Cavill).

The day after we got back, I prepared myself for the Solstice MFA 20th Anniversary and Alumni Retreat. Lisa and I had the honor of selecting the Spotlight Poet, Mary Simmons, and spent Monday night interviewing her on stage before her reading. She was fantastic and sold all her books. She etched her own stamps to use when signing her book. I got a stamp of her cat Suki and a mushroom. How cool!

The retreat was all that was wonderful — seeing writing friends and going to classes and being immersed in that world. Gabe got us to do a porch reading, which meant I heard so many wonderful words, along with all the readings we went to each night.

I also didn’t sleep well at all, so had to crash out and miss a few things, which was disappointing. It could have been because we were staying in the haunted room in Gardner House. There was a crawl space at the foot of my bed and a creepy closet at the head…so I was definitely in the crosshairs of something. In trying to research the ghost, the only information I found was that during the end of World War I, the house was used as an infirmary for patients sick with influenza.

I wanted to see a ghost, but ghosts are like cats, and will only come to you if you hate them or are afraid of them.

Then I came back to and in between these things I was writing grants with a fury and have submitted three in the past 3 weeks. It’s been a lot.

Every once in a while I will pop my head up and say a sentence like, “Mitch McConnell staged a proof of life photo while diarrhea lettuce is trending and FEMA is rejecting aid to blue-states while Oregon is in flames.”

So this is why community is so important right now. Because you can also say that same sentence and I will believe you. Yes, this world is so bizarre right now and we are both witness to it. They cannot gaslight us if we are affirming each other. That is to say, proceed into the news cautiously and retreat as necessary. One of us will have written it down: “Colorado GOP Gov candidate Victor Marx says God has given him a "gift" to uncover people's demons and rid them of evil spirits through a specialized prayer.”

Sigh.

Here are some good things

Here’s a short piece that’s been haunting me by Luke O’Neil:

And a great poem by Nicky Beer, a little excerpt below. She will be joining The Notebooks Collective in September, which is free and online. Please come!

Self-Portrait as Duckie Dale
Pretty In Pink (1986)

It was always me in that shaggy suit jacket,
the battered dance shoes, the fuck-you-rich-boy
pompadour. When you cannot wail
your rain-shot, neon-blasted love
to the red-headed girls of the world,
Otis Redding is your only recourse,
your body rigid with borrowed soul.

The Maynard library has its 5th Annual Tiny Art Show and I managed to get a piece submitted in time. The art is on display starting Aug 1.

Come to the library for the Poetry Appreciation Society on August 19. We’re reading Mary Oliver. Do you have any favorites of hers? Let me know.

Oh and Lisa and I are doing a podcast. Did I mention that? You can download the latest episode—ok only episode—here. Please listen and let us know what you think! We have some new interviews scheduled. Getting to chat about poetry with talented folks is such a dream.

If you have gotten all the way here, thank you! My brain pudding means that I’ve surely spaced on something I meant to write, so it’s likely I’ll have more news soon.

Until then, stay safe.

With July Buck Moon love,
Becca