Creation is a process of trial and error. Since my major interest lies in the different ways of presenting and experiencing text, for part 2 of poetry issues #26 I created a small book from scratch: My own handmade paper, colored and illustrated with a mixed media technique, integrating collage elements, handwritten text and lots of color, that I always love. The book itself is a unique, collectible item. However, below you can find a digital version of it. All I can say about the poem, which is also available here in simple text form, is that it appears as a common love piece, but maybe a second reading will reveal the underlying theme of gender identity. In any case, I prefer to leave the interpretation open to the reader. 

For "Our Lost Babies" I included an audio reading of the piece. Here I went a step further. This time I have a song for you:

Distance

The howling of the wind

triumphant in the space between us.

I just want to sleep

imagine the death of the wind

silence under the yellow sun

children's laughter roaring

a happy dog's bark.

That's how you tolerate loneliness

how sadness becomes sweet.

In a dream you held my hand

and led me through a dancing crowd.

In that dream you were my man.

An impression of the physical book:

Also, here's a link to the digital flipbook or, if you prefer, to the .pdf.

You can read more about the poetry issues project here.