#NationalPoetryMonth 1/30

There is no storyteller like a storyteller with a broken nose.

Martín Espada. “A Million Ants Swarming Through His Body.” Vivas to Those Who Have Failed: Poems

Today I took care of different parts of myself. I have always believed that being fit in the gym meant that I had my head on straight and that I was walking into a workout ready to give a hundred percent. The only way to do that is if there is some kind of order and care to much more than my ability to squat or do burpees.

In addition to maintaining my commitment to working out every day, I am going to participate in National Poetry Month by reading a poetry book every day in April. I am not going to be doing any kind of detailed critique or review. My minimum spec it to share a line of poetry that really connected me to the work.
We have also been doing much more home cooking than we have before. This has also been sustaining my fitness more so as a creative outlet than in any kind of strict diet way.

There you have it. Some poetry, some workout, some eating. That’s what is helping me get through the days.

Cover photo by Frank Espada

1) I read Martín Espada’s Vivas to Those Who Have Failed. The last section of the book, a series of elegies written to Espada’s father had the deepest impact.
Favorite line in the book, “There is no storyteller like a storyteller with a broken nose.” #nationalpoetrymonth

2) I did 50 minutes of Guardian Gym boxing via Zoom. This kicked my ass something good. This is the first boxing class of any kind I have taken since 2016 so I am curious which muscle groups are going to be sore tomorrow. #FitInTheTimeOfCorona

Yes, we used TJ’s taco seasoning.

3) Mise en place everything. This is the start of my beef chili recipe. You will find some classic ingredients and you will also find some non-traditional ones here. Some behind the scenes commentary, there are a bunch of items here that I picked up two weeks ago when supermarket shelves were looking really thin around these parts. I was so happy to find some of these items that I said: Ok, guess we eatin chili for the next 20 days then. #SurvivingInPandemic

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