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***This is #151 in a
never-ending series called BACKSTORY OF THE POEM where the Chris Rice
Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific poem and how the poet wrote that
specific poem. All BACKSTORY OF THE POEM links are at the end of
this piece.
#151 Backstory of the Poem
“Comfort”
by Michael A Griffith
Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? The tiniest of moments are often amazingly profound. In the case of “Comfort” it was the sight of my wife’s legs poking out from our jumbled-up comforter very early one morning. Sitting there in bed at dawn struck me as a lovely thing. The gentle light giving her skin a glow, her way of sleeping, the silence of our house...It all came together in a magical moment. And then our ever-hungry cats interrupted.
Once I’d fed them, I
started to write, and the poem flowed out in a satisfying way. I can’t
accurately say what you see as the final product now is a one-draft wonder, but
it feels like that. The lines flowed and there has been no real wrestling over
them. (Left: Michael and his wife Sharon)
All told, writing
“Comfort” took about an hour. Each change after the first draft took a few
minutes each. Once I was confident my ideas were settled, I sent an early draft
to a fellow poet for a read-through, and she loved it. But two sets of eyes are
seldom enough to make one of my poems really work as best it can. I asked other
poet friends to read it over, and they offered small but important ideas.
I then sent “Comfort” out
into the world with good success. I’m happy many readers enjoy the romance in
the poem and find it decidedly not sappy. It now rests nicely in the middle of
my upcoming chapbook New Paths to Eden (Kelsay Books). (Kelsay Web Logo Below)
Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And please describe
the place in great detail. If you’d like to buy
our house, it’s for sale. Four-bedroom two-and-half
bathroom suburban splendor.
The image that stoked my
muse was our bedroom at dawn. Light was very muted, warm. The writing took
place in my office downstairs, just off the kitchen. I jotted a very quick note
before feeding our cats, then began writing on my computer.
What month and year did you start writing this poem? Oh, jeez...Let me check my files. January 10, 2019. Makes sense with the house being cold and me tasking down Christmas cards.
How many drafts of this poem did you
write before going to the final? (And can you share a photograph of your rough
drafts with pen markings on it?) Sorry, no. The
single note I jotted (probably something like “Sharon’s legs”) has long since
been recycled. Drafts were done on the computer. I see eight such files (Music,
Music 2, Comfort, Comfort 2, etc.) The first title – and probably my chief
weakness is giving my poems satisfying titles – was “Music,” but I recall that
was just a working title. In re-reading the drafts, I see minor changes like choices
of punctuation, change of a word, etc. But, as you know, even one minor change
can make a huge difference to the end product. Those moments I open this
interview with are like these so-called minor changes.
Were there any lines in any of your
rough drafts of this poem that were not in the final version? And can you share
them with us? Here are changes I feel worth
noting: In the first draft’s opening stanza I leave out the cats “in circles,”
merely saying they are curled (the added hard “C” sound in “circles” gives more
alliteration), I have a short line “Coffee’s not much help” in stanza 1, too,
which didn’t stay in the drafts long. THAT additional hard “C: would make a
reader feel like she was having caffeine jitters! Stanzas
two and three are the same in all drafts.
The only alteration to stanza
four is line one: I had “our own” instead of “a” before “quiet sonata.” I
recall one beta-reader feeling the “our own” seemed to beat them proverbial
dead horse.
Stanza five and six were
the ones with the most changes throughout drafts. I loved the insistent flow
stanza five had in early drafts: warm in embrace, warm in symphony, and
embrace,/a harmony too soon interrupted/by duties and tasks. But, as several
beta-readers said, such insistence ruined the gentle voice of “Comfort.” I have
to agree that this darling of mine had to be killed and the final version of
stanza 5 is, indeed, more gentle. Insistence is never comforting.
Stanza six also went
through several transformations. Back when the title was “Music,” I feel I
tried too hard to ie in musical ideas like symphony, sonata, harmony, etc., and
disregarded the real appeal I was going for: comfort. So, change the title,
change the attitude. This necessitated a change to the end stanza. Earlier
drafts read “Our home will be filled with our music;/our home will soon be warm
again./Tasjks done, we can feel light music overtake us. I don’t like that
stanza very much now in comparison to the final draft’s, which I feel is much
more satisfying.
What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem? What they’ve stated they are taking from it on social media: the feeling of gentle and romantic love.
Which part of the poem was the most
emotional of you to write and why? Well, I admit I felt quite alone as I looked over to those
Christmas cards I mention in the start of stanza 2. My wife had left for work,
and I was not teaching at that time, as my college was closed for winter break.
I had time on my hands, which is not always a happy feeling. I did know, as I
know as I write this, that I’ll feel happy as a well-loved puppy when I see my
wife again tonight after her work.
Has this poem been published before? And if so where? Yes, most recently in the fine Ariel Chart. Editor/Publisher Mark Anthony Rossi (Above Right) does a perfect job matching poems and fiction with images. http://arielchart.blogspot.com/
Anything you would like to add? I’m very pleased others can see their own lives in my poems, especially romantic ones like “Comfort.”
Comfort
Our house is cold and you are gone.
Cats curled into circles and even with the heat
up,
the cold won’t recede.
Taking down the Christmas cards,
sweeping the floor, other lonely tasks
take me back to this morning’s first sight:
Your legs exposed from beneath the thick
comforter.
In the morning light, the gold of your skin,
the slow movement of flesh, the curve of your
calves,
all form a quiet sonata.
The performance becomes real only when
we are both awake and joined under the covers,
warm in embrace, warm in symphony —
this harmony, too soon interrupted
by tasks and duties.
Our house will soon be warm again,
filled with music all our own.
Tasks done, we become each other’s comforter.
Michael A Griffith lives in Hillsborough, NJ and teaches at Raritan Valley
Community College. His poems, flash fiction, essays, and articles have appeared
in many print and online publications and anthologies. His chapbooks Bloodline (The Blue Nib Imprint) and Exposed (Soma Publishing and Hidden
Constellation Press) were released in November 2018. He was nominated for
the Pushcart Prize for poetry in October 2018 and is a member of the U.S. 1
Poet’s Cooperative in Princeton, NJ. Mike is the USA & Canada Poetry Editor
for The Blue Nib. His next chapbook, New Paths to Eden is forthcoming
from Kelsay Books. (Above Left: Michael in March of 2019)
https://michaelgriffithwordpress.wordpress.com
BACKSTORY OF THE POEM
LINKS
001 December 29, 2017
Margo
Berdeshevksy’s “12-24”
002 January 08, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “82 Miles From the Beach, We Order The Lobster At Clear Lake
Café”
003 January 12, 2018
Barbara
Crooker’s “Orange”
004 January 22, 2018
Sonia
Saikaley’s “Modern Matsushima”
005 January 29, 2018
Ellen
Foos’s “Side Yard”
006 February 03, 2018
Susan
Sundwall’s “The Ringmaster”
007 February 09, 2018
Leslea
Newman’s “That Night”
008 February 17, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher “June Fairchild Isn’t Dead”
009 February 24, 2018
Charles
Clifford Brooks III “The Gift of the Year With Granny”
010 March 03, 2018
Scott
Thomas Outlar’s “The Natural Reflection of Your Palms”
011 March 10, 2018
Anya
Francesca Jenkins’s “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph “History Abandoned”
012 March 17, 2018
Angela
Narciso Torres’s “What I Learned This Week”
013 March 24, 2018
Jan
Steckel’s “Holiday On ICE”
014 March 31, 2018
Ibrahim
Honjo’s “Colors”
015 April 14, 2018
Marilyn
Kallett’s “Ode to Disappointment”
016 April 27, 2018
Beth
Copeland’s “Reliquary”
017 May 12, 2018
Marlon
L Fick’s “The Swallows of Barcelona”
018 May 25, 2018
Juliet
Cook’s “ARTERIAL DISCOMBOBULATION”
019 June 09, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “Stiletto Killer. . . A Surmise”
020 June 16, 2018
Charles
Rammelkamp’s “At Last I Can Start Suffering”
021 July 05, 2018
Marla
Shaw O’Neill’s “Wind Chimes”
022 July 13, 2018
Julia Gordon-Bramer’s
“Studying Ariel”
023 July 20, 2018
Bill Yarrow’s “Jesus
Zombie”
024 July 27, 2018
Telaina Eriksen’s “Brag
2016”
025 August 01, 2018
Seth Berg’s “It is only
Yourself that Bends – so Wake up!”
026 August 07, 2018
David Herrle’s “Devil In
the Details”
027 August 13, 2018
Gloria Mindock’s “Carmen
Polo, Lady Necklaces, 2017”
028 August 21, 2018
Connie Post’s “Two
Deaths”
029 August 30, 2018
Mary Harwell Sayler’s
“Faces in a Crowd”
030 September 16, 2018
Larry Jaffe’s “The
Risking Point”
031 September 24,
2018
Mark Lee Webb’s “After
We Drove”
032 October 04, 2018
Melissa Studdard’s
“Astral”
033 October 13, 2018
Robert Craven’s “I Have
A Bass Guitar Called Vanessa”
034 October 17, 2018
David Sullivan’s “Paper Mache
Peaches of Heaven”
035 October 23, 2018
Timothy Gager’s
“Sobriety”
036 October 30, 2018
Gary Glauber’s “The Second
Breakfast”
037 November 04, 2018
Heather Forbes-McKeon’s “Melania’s
Deaf Tone Jacket”
038 November 11, 2018
Andrena Zawinski’s
“Women of the Fields”
039 November 00, 2018
Gordon Hilger’s “Poe”
040 November 16, 2018
Rita Quillen’s “My
Children Question Me About Poetry” and “Deathbed Dreams”
041 November 20, 2018
Jonathan Kevin Rice’s
“Dog Sitting”
042 November 22, 2018
Haroldo Barbosa Filho’s
“Mountain”
043 November 27, 2018
Megan Merchant’s “Grief
Flowers”
044 November 30, 2018
Jonathan P Taylor’s “This
poem is too neat”
045 December 03, 2018
Ian Haight’s “Sungmyo
for our Dead Father-in-Law”
046 December 06, 2018
Nancy Dafoe’s “Poem in
the Throat”
047 December 11, 2018
Jeffrey Pearson’s
“Memorial Day”
048 December 14, 2018
Frank Paino’s “Laika”
049 December 15, 2018
Jennifer Martelli’s
“Anniversary”
O50 December 19, 2018
Joseph Ross’s “For Gilberto Ramos, 15, Who Died in
the Texas Desert, June 2014”
051 December 23, 2018
“The Persistence of
Music”
by Anatoly Molotkov
052 December 27, 2018
“Under Surveillance”
by Michael Farry
053 December 28, 2018
“Grand Finale”
by Renuka Raghavan
054 December 29, 2018
“Aftermath”
by Gene Barry
055 January 2, 2019
“&”
by Larissa Shmailo
056 January 7, 2019
“The Seamstress:
by Len Kuntz
057 January 10, 2019
"Natural History"
by Camille T Dungy
058 January 11, 2019
“BLOCKADE”
by Brian Burmeister
059 January 12, 2019
“Lost”
by Clint Margrave
060 January 14, 2019
“Menopause”
by Pat Durmon
061 January 19, 2019
“Neptune’s Choir”
by Linda Imbler
062 January 22, 2019
“Views From the
Driveway”
by Amy Barone
063 January 25, 2019
“The heron leaves her
haunts in the marsh”
by Gail Wronsky
064 January 30, 2019
“Shiprock”
by Terry Lucas
065 February 02, 2019
“Summer 1970, The
University of Virginia Opens to Women in the Fall”
by Alarie Tennille
066 February 05, 2019
“At School They Learn
Nouns”
by Patrick Bizzaro
067 February 06, 2019
“I Must Not Breathe”
by Angela Jackson-Brown
068 February 11, 2019
“Lunch on City Island,
Early June”
by Christine Potter
069 February 12, 2019
“Singing”
by Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum
070 February 14, 2019
“Daily Commute”
by Christopher P. Locke
071 February 18, 2019
“How Silent The Trees”
by Wyn Cooper
072 February 20, 2019
“A New Psalm
of Montreal”
by Sheenagh Pugh
073 February 23, 2019
“Make Me A
Butterfly”
by Amy Barbera
074 February 26, 2019
“Anthem”
by Sandy Coomer
075 March 4, 2019
“Shape of a Violin”
by Kelly Powell
076 March 5, 2019
“Inward Oracle”
by J.P. Dancing Bear
077 March 7, 2019
“I Broke
My Bust Of Jesus”
by Susan Sundwall
078 March 9, 2019
“My Mother
at 19”
by John Guzlowski
079 March 10, 2019
“Paddling”
by Chera Hammons Miller
080 March 12, 2019
“Of Water
and Echo”
by Gillian Cummings
081 082
083 March 14, 2019
“Little
Political Sense” “Crossing Kansas with
Jim
Morrison” “The Land of Sky and Blue Waters”
by Dr. Lindsey
Martin-Bowen
084 March 15, 2019
“A Tune To
Remember”
by Anna Evans
085 March 19, 2019
“At the
End of Time (Wish You Were Here)
by Jeannine Hall Gailey
086 March 20, 2019
“Garden of
Gethsemane”
by Marletta Hemphill
087 March 21, 2019
“Letters
From a War”
by Chelsea Dingman
088 March 26, 2019
“HAT”
by Bob Heman
089 March 27, 2019
“Clay for
the Potter”
by Belinda Bourgeois
#090 March 30, 2019
“The Pose”
by John Hicks
#091 April 2, 2019
“Last
Night at the Wursthaus”
by Doug Holder
#092 April 4, 2019
“Original
Sin”
by Diane Lockward
#093 April 5, 2019
“A Father
Calls to his child on liveleak”
by Stephen Byrne
#094 April 8, 2019
“XX”
by Marc Zegans
#095 April 12, 2019
“Landscape
and Still Life”
by Marjorie Maddox
#096 April 16, 2019
“Strawberries
Have Been Growing Here for Hundreds of
Years”
by Mary Ellen Lough
#097 April 17, 2019
“The New
Science of Slippery Surfaces”
by Donna Spruijt-Metz
#098 April 19, 2019
“Tennessee
Epithalamium”
by Alyse Knorr
#099 April 20, 2019
“Mermaid,
1969”
by Tameca L. Coleman
#100 April 21, 2019
“How Do
You Know?”
by Stephanie
#101 April 23, 2019
“Rare Book
and Reader”
by Ned Balbo
#102 April 26, 2019
“THUNDER”
by Jefferson Carter
#103 May 01, 2019
“The sight
of a million angels”
by Jenneth Graser
#104 May 09, 2019
“How to
tell my dog I’m dying”
by Richard Fox
#105 May 17, 2019
“Promises
Had Been Made”
by Sarah Sarai
#106 June 01, 2019
“i sold
your car today”
by Pamela Twining
#107 June 02, 2019
“Abandoned
Stable”
by Nancy Susanna Breen
#108 June 05, 2019
“Cupcake”
by Julene Tripp Weaver
#109 June 6, 2019
“Bobby’s
Story”
by Jimmy Pappas
#110 June 10, 2019
“When You
Ask Me to Tell You About My Father”
by Pauletta Hansel
#111 Backstory of the
Poem’s
“Cemetery
Mailbox”
by Jennifer Horne
#112 Backstory of the Poem’s
“Relics”
by Kate Peper
#113 Backstory of the
Poem’s
“Q”
by Jennifer Johnson
#114 Backstory of the
Poem’s
“Brushing My Hair”
by Tammika Dorsey Jones
#115 Backstory of the
Poem
“Because the Birds Will
Survive, Too”
by Katherine Riegel
#116 Backstory of the Poem
“DIVORCE”
“DIVORCE”
by Joan Barasovska
#117 Backstory of the
Poem
“NEW
YEAR”S EVE 2016”
by Michael Meyerhofer
#118 Backstory of the
Poem
“Dear the
estranged,”
by Gina Tron
#119 Backstory of the Poem
“In
Remembrance of Them”
by Janet Renee Cryer
#120 Backstory of the
Poem
“Horse Fly
Grade Card, Doesn’t Play Well With Others”
by David L. Harrison
#121 Backstory of the
Poem
“My
Mother’s Cookbook”
by Rachael Ikins
#122 Backstory of the
Poem
“Cousins I
Never Met”
by Maureen Kadish
Sherbondy
#123 Backstory of the
Poem
“To Those
Who Were Our First Gods”
by Nickole Brown
#124 Backstory of the
Poem
“Looking For Sunsets (In the Early Morning)”
“Looking For Sunsets (In the Early Morning)”
by Paul Levinson
#125 Backstory of the
Poem
“Tracy”
by Tiff Holland
#126 Backstory of the
Poem
“Legs”
by Cindy Hochman
“Legs”
by Cindy Hochman
#127 Backstory of the
Poem
“Anathema”
“Anathema”
by Natasha Saje
#128 Backstory of the
Poem
“How to
Explain Fertility When an Acquaintance Asks Casually”
by Allison Blevins
#129 Backstory of the
Poem
“The Art of Meditation
In Tennessee”
by Linda Parsons
#130 Backstory of the
Poem
“Schooling
High, In Beslan”
by Satabdi Saha
#131 Backstory of the
Poem
““Baby Jacob survives the Oso Landslide, 2014”
by Amie Zimmerman
#132 Backstory of the
Poem
“Our Age
of Anxiety”
by Henry Israeli
#133 Backstory of the
Poem
“Earth
Cries; Heaven Smiles”
by Ken Allan Dronsfield
#134 Backstory of the Poem
“Eons”
by Janine Canan
#135 Backstory of the
Poem
“Sworn”
by Catherine Zickgraf
#136 Backstory of the
Poem
“Bushwick
Blue”
by Susana H. Case
#137 Backstory of the
Poem
“Then She
Was Forever”
by Paula Persoleo
#138 Backstory of the
Poem
“Enough”
by Kris Bigalk
#139 Backstory of the
Poem
“From Ghosts of the
Upper Floor”
by Tony Trigilio
#140 Backstory of the
Poem
“Cloud
Audience”
by Wanita Zumbrunnen
#141 Backstory of the
Poem
“Condition
Center”
by Matthew Freeman
#142 Backstory of the
Poem
“Adventuresome
Woman”
by Cheryl Suchors
#143 Backstory of the
Poem
“The Way Back”
“The Way Back”
by Robert Walicki
#144 Backstory of the
Poem
“If I Had Three Lives”
by Sarah Russell
#145 Backstory of the
Poem
“Reservoir”
by Andrea Rexilius
#146 Backstory of the
Poem
“The Night
Before Our Dog Died”
by Melissa Fite Johnson
#147 Backstory of the
Poem
“Pileated”
by David Anthony Sam
#148 Backstory of the
Poem
“A Kitchen
Argument”
by Matthew Gwathmey
#149 Backstory of the
Poem
“Insulation”
by Bruce Kauffman
#150 Backstory of the
Poem
“I Will
Tell You Where I’ve Been”
by Justin Hamm
#151 Backstory of the
Poem
“Comfort”
by Michael A Griffith
