For antelopenvelope, which we're still holding together with our teeth, debating what kind of additional organization we might want to eventually impose. Right now it's mostly discrete letters with no continuing story. I think Mary's the only one who refers back to herself. Do we need self-reference and long-term organization? We'll figure it out.

Dear Phil,

Thanks again for the invite to your office Christmas party. Enjoyed meeting your assortment of solitudes, the whiskey, the slant trajectory between sorrow and a point unknown. Found it awkward to be the only actual guest, chewed noisily on ice cubes and made small talk with the venetian blinds whenever you wandered off to paw at a question. You may have seen me leave early. You may have seen me lingering across the street, hunting your women, haunting the empty bottles in front of the bars, granting wishes. Who wishes for riches? Who wishes for fame? Who wishes for a breathing apparatus when they dive deep into the past, a straw, a reed, a metal tube that spits fire? Will tell all the guys back home about your excellence as a host and aptitude for trouble. I look forward already to next year.

Salaciously,

Humphrey

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I'm looking for writing exercises that will help me get back into the knack of long, complex poems. I scatter too easily, lately, I'm losing track of technique and finesse and all the intention it was so easy to pay attention to when there were weekly workshops to fall back on. My long-form muscles are going to seed. One stray puff of air and I go all dandelion seeds and fragments. I enjoy the fragments, but I want something that arcs and has shape and takes me places.