NaPoWriMo: “Email Attachments”
Lately, I’ve noticed a trend in my life.
I’m subscribed to some a few beloved newsletters —
The Marginalian (Maria Popova),
Pádraig Ó Tuama (Poetry Unbound),
Daily Dharma (Tricycle Magazine) —
but I rarely read them.
And — I won’t delete them.
With infinite patience, these messages
wait for me. They lie down, resting
in their bold “unread” font.
They don’t judge. They
just wait for my eyes
to come visit.
Why do I treat them this way?
Their presence in the unread category feels like a promise, an unopened gift, a future vacation.
They are substantial, thought-provoking pieces. I always think tomorrow I’ll have more time to devote to them.
Because they’re dressed in bold type, their importance weighs more than the ebills, the entreaties from cosmetics companies (take your eyelashes to the next level!), the shrill political bullying.
They are my literary family, comforting me
with all that awaits my reading mind.
And because I’m attached to them,
and have saved them all,
Today I finally opened one.
I made myself read it all the way through,
complete with all the links that led to more
reading pleasure.
This made me glad. It made me happy.
It lit up my raucous joy in words.
It made me bark with the laughter
that jumps out from behind,
laughter at the power of language
and its prank-y mysteries.
And…
it introduced me to a new book.
So. Gladness for knowing about a new book.
Gladness for the profound explorations in
Maria Popova’s Marginalian newsletter.
And gladness for my finally having
opened the email and read it,
all the way to the end.
Joy is always much closer at hand
than we think.