I’m NOT Bored (or No Electronic Lobotomies Here)

Really.  I'm not bored.  In fact, I am rarely bored.  I never say it.  I hardly every think it.  I’ve probably never really thought about the state of being bored since I was a child.  At that point, my options were limited to playing in my room, what my parents would allow me to do for after school activities, playing in my yard, stuff like that.

These days, though, as an adult with countless responsibilities, I am not bored.  During this time of the pandemic (COVID-19), it seems, though, that many people of all ages are bored at home ... at least they are posting on social media that they are.  Why are they bored?  One of my sister in law’s tells her kids if they say they are bored, then they need more chores to do!

Even if I have an abundance of free time, rare again for me, I am not the type to sit and watch endless TV or binge watch anything.  It’s just not that interesting to me to watch show after show after show, or movie after movie. I do enjoy reading, but I’m not going to spend all day doing that either unless I’m on vacation and even then maybe for a few hours here and there.

I’m not bored probably because I have always believed in making the most of each drop of free time you get.  For me, I would and do use that time to read, write, meditate, take a walk, work out in the yard, go swimming, go bike riding, get groceries for people who can’t get them themselves, talk to a friend, write some more, write a letter, send a friend an email, think, cook, play my guitar or ukulele, play a game, sing, something other than sitting around (or standing) and saying I’m bored.  We have more options than ever to occupy our time.  In order to not be bored, though, you have to have goals, a future goal, or end goal in mind set for something - i.e. you need to be thinking about something or planning something or actually doing something.  And if you just can’t think of anything to do, there’s always volunteering.  I’ve done some of that, too.

I’m fortunate to have visited or to have lived in many places, so I have a lot of interests including social media scrolling (it’s a time sink, and I usually find I’m kicking myself at how much time I’ve wasted upon doing it).  Maybe that’s where the “I’m Bored” anthem of a socially raised and bred generation gets it from ... life doesn’t really happen in short snippets or 60 seconds (or less) bursts of time on a video or in a meme or in a post.  It’s as if we’ve let artificial intelligence invade the front lobes of our brains to give us an electronic lobotomy.   Why?  It’s simply counterproductive.  How meaningful is your online life vs your real life?

Each day I make a list of things I need to do for myself, my job, my writing, my relatives, my family, etc. to see what is the most pressing.  Never does that list include how to spend my downtown because if I have any, I will do any of the things I’ve mentioned above.  I think if you fill up your life with good things for yourself, your family, your friends, your passions, you are not going to be bored.

The trick is you have to find what means the most to you and take time for that.  Don’t ever take time, though, to be bored, pandemic or not, each moment, each second, is precious and you won’t ever get those back, but you knew that already.

The Line and Length of a Poem or Let the Length or Not Be With You

Sometimes, I write short poems.  Sometime, I write long poems.  Sometimes, I write poems that aren’t long or short.  It depends on the poem, in my opinion, as to how long it is.

At first, when I wrote poems, they were probably around 4-5 verses or about half a page.  Later on, I wrote longer 2 page poems.  I even wrote a poem novel.  A poem novel is a novel like story told in mostly prose poems, or free verse maybe even rhymes.

I read poetry all the time and noticed some of my favorite poets were writing or wrote short poems.  Also some of those short word count short stories came to mind as well.  I thought I would try my hand at writing short poems.  Oh I’ve written some haiku and light verse poems.  These short poems would be short free verse poems.

To me, the poem will let you know the line length.  You will feel it as you write or edit it later.

I spent some time writing shorter poems.  Sometimes, I even wrote poems that filled a page but the lines were only one word each, maybe two.

I tend to write in the style of using a matching word count on each line.  By that, I mean that I’m using exactly 4 words on each line or maybe 3 words on one line, 4 words on the next and so on.

I write how I feel it best fits the poem.  I have written a few longer poems.  One of my favorites is a 3 page poem in my poetry book “The Architect of French Fries” published by Presa Press in 2019.  It’s a poem about what might happen in the event of a nuclear war.  The poem is based on a very real conversation I had sitting in a Chinese restaurant in Washington DC in Spring.  The restaurant was playing Christmas music the whole time, even in Spring, giving the conversation, and my poem, a very surreal eerie feel.

I‘ve written a couple of other longer poems, both for 2 new poetry manuscripts I’m finishing up.  The first one is 8 pages long about computers.  The other one in the other manuscript is 17 pages long - yes, 17 pages!  It’s about writing.

I want to shout from the virtual rooftops, or screens, that hey yes you people who hear me read poems at readings (locally) and then comment your poems are sure short, you sure get to the punchline really quick, that hey yes, I do write longer poems and oh yes I’ve just finished one that is 17 pages long!  Now, it’s not a dense poem, like other poets might write.  If I want to write a novel, novella, story, then I will not put it in a poem.

I think the line length will come to you as you write.  I think you do need to consider the message of your poem when you write, and don’t make it so long or so dense that readers lose interest or can’t understand it.

The words, verses, use of space and lines and what your poem is saying is so much of what the poem is about versus how long or short it is.  No matter what, your line length is yours and yours alone!

COVID-19 poem

My COVID-19 poem:

COVID-19
By LB Sedlacek

It’s like when we were kids
the Polio scare
we had to stay in our yards
my Uncle tells me
I call every so many days to
check on him, he lives far away
there are jokes about how clean
everyone’s homes are now, how
great their yards look, or flowers or
plants, but you have to admit the
air is clear, the flowers glitter with
their perfume smells, and we will
all enjoy fresh produce from our
gardens, still
we wear masks to go out in public,
at least we should, and go out only
for essentials, but what is
essential to you may not seem so
essential to me, vacuuming your car,
probably not, washing your car,
probably not, flying a bi-plane
around in circles, probably not
and what about food and other items
why are they so hard to get, what
are you doing with all that
toilet paper you aren’t sharing anyway,
what about bread, flour, milk, eggs
do you need that much, and then there’s
the virtual life, some working from home,
if you aren’t essential, are you meeting in
your PJ’s, listening to sermons in your PJ’s
and then you can’t panic, you can’t worry
if there will be enough masks, if there
are enough gloves, if there are enough
gowns, if personal protective equipment
is enough, if it will ever be enough
so stop reading articles about it, and
stop watching TV about it, don’t listen
to the news, go out for exercise, you can
it’s essential, and make things, yes
make your own food, your own hand
sanitizer because you can’t find it either,
and don’t be bored, you should never
be bored, if you are you need something
good and real to occupy your time, make
art, create art, be art, and write or read
don’t dwell on the untold the unreal
because this is really happening, no
Zombies or Aliens from another planet,
you need to train yourself to
learn the proper way to dispose of gloves
so you aren’t spreading germs around
whatever you do, count each second as
one that you never had before and look
forward, because one day this will be just
another poem about how things used to be
my Uncle told me about how chocolate
candy was rationed and you could
only buy one bar at a time, back in wartime
but one of the store owners liked him, it was
the only store in town, and he’d save a bar
for him, put back one for him to have
and we are fighting a war again but
not against each other
because this is a biological virus war
we are fighting and one day we will win!

Copyright LB Sedlacek 2020
www.lbsedlacek.com

Writing from a Distance

It’s true writers are used to writing from a distance.  Generally, writing is a solitary sport.  With the news at hand, the virus keeping most all of us at home, it seems writers (and other artists) are more connected than ever with each other and their audiences.

To stay connected, writers and artists are offering live videos or videos of them reading poems or playing music.  There are live talks about life in general which lets you see the writer or artist in their own home in person.  One artist even gave out her cell number to text her fans directly.  Plus,  online readings have become a thing.

I know it’s going to give me an opportunity to attend more poetry readings than ever anywhere in the country because I can now do it via a virtual meeting aka no driving, no flying, no long train rides.  Because people are not traveling except when essential, they are inevitably sending more messages, emails and texts.

It’s a way to be together and stay in touch, albeit online.  As an independent author, I’ve been doing a few things to reach out to my readers as well.

I’ve offered a few of my e-books for free.  Some, I’ve offered at a discount.  For real books, I’m offering a free beanie hat with a book bundle.  Or, a free book mark with a signed copy of my book, if someone orders from me direct.

It seems I’ve found a way to get closer to my readers even from afar.  Usually, I connect with them at live readings but now I’m finding different ways to share my works.

Of course, I’m reading a lot more myself, too.  I’m consuming literature via digital articles and e-books, books and magazines and the occasional newspaper,  Plus, I watch YT to listen to some of my favorite authors and poets read their works.

It’s an interesting way to consume the written word from elsewhere, and I feel more in touch with people today than I did weeks ago before the pandemic hit the world.  Writing is something that truly can reach folks most likely anywhere and everywhere.

I’m reviewing more books, too.  Sometimes, I only rate them on book apps I like.  Sometimes, I actually write a review.  I do write reviews of poetry books or chapbooks for my free monthly newsletter, “The Poetry Market Ezine.”  It’s an all digital publication and has been since I started it many years ago.

A local conference for writers and poets, is going all virtual.  Normally, I would’ve had to drive a couple of hours and spend all day there.  It’s exhilarating to spend all day writing or talking about writing at a conference, but the driving can make you tired before you get there not to mention you’re in a hotel or conference center all day without the comforts of home or comfortable clothing.

These days at home, I prefer to sit in my reading nook surrounded by a couple of small bookcases with my favorite books and a few mementoes on the shelves.  I have a comfortable chair and pillows, orange and purple decorative lights, and my dog sleeping beside me.  It’s the perfect place to write or make a post from far away.

Even though you’re far away, stay safe, stay healthy and keep reading!