Going Over Old Notes And Poems

In addition to the poems I have on my computer, I also keep word docs that contain mainly notes: scribblings, thoughts, one liners. These note files are typically a mishmash of things for me to remember for some future point when I actually go about the task of writing the damn poem.

I’ve got a few where the filename is the poem title, and it’s just a blank document. A Post-It note of sorts.

But a few days ago, I came across a little gem that I just need to share with you. In addition to my own notes, I tend to jot down particular quotations that I find compelling. One of these days, I need to write the poem that opens with this quotation:

[Humans are] a dark cellar in which a maiden aunt and a sex-crazed monkey are locked in
mortal combat, the affair being refereed by a rather nervous bank clerk.

D. Bannister
New Horizons in Psychology, 1978