in the land of far, far away

It's been almost a month since I last updated The Tongue is an Eye. Above is the reason. My mini-me is already 2.5 months old. Unbelievable. Where in God's name did that time go? Feels like just yesterday I was coaching M through labor, was building his crib, was up all night worried sick I'd be a horrible father. In truth, I haven't been the best father, but damn it if I don't try my hardest everyday. I never thought I'd do anything this challenging and this rewarding in my life. His smiles bring me light; his cries bring me darkness; his existence bring me purpose.

M and I have our moments, but we're adapting to parenthood well. It's the hardest thing, to have your lives completely changed and then expect to go on loving each other exactly the same way you did before. It's not like that though. I love M differently now. And when she loves me (which probably isn't as frequently as she used to), she loves me differently. I don't know if we've changed individually or it's just our relationship that's changed, but something is certainly changed forever. It's a good change; it's a bad change. We are learning each other all over again. With a screaming, colicky baby, it's damn hard to relearn your partner. I have to learn better patience, better understanding. I will be a better husband, father, and poet for it.

Speaking of poetry, there's not much news on that front. Sent out the manuscript (with yet another new title) to 12-15 places since September. Who knows what'll happen. All I know is that I'm done with it for now. I won't rewrite it, I won't fuss with it until next summer no matter what. I want to move on and let shit happen as it will. If I have no bites by next summer, I'll consider retooling the book again, but until then I'm concentrating on other projects, other poems, other things. God's speed, manuscript-of-many-names.

Will update more frequently now that the semester is coming to a close. I have several projects to finish and as always this blog is a consistent place for my procrastinating habits (though I have gotten a lot done today!).