I had to keep myself busy.
I made breakfast, walked the dog,
sat in meditation, read about 30
pages of fiction, and then I took
my boy out to lunch and last
minute Christmas shopping
and we even managed to get the van
through the local carwash.
I’ve really had to resist the phone,
using it only to text my wife or call,
bypassing the temptation of those little red
notification numbers over the Facebook
icon, moving quickly away from news
application pop-ups. I must say I’ve
done well, except for that it’s only
5 p.m. and I’ll probably be up
at least five or six more hours.
I tell myself to keep calm, not
to worry, maybe build a fire and
sit in front of it with some good
music in the background. Good
food and drink, the company of my
family; that ought to do it, I think:
that ought
to do the trick.
But what’s happening out there,
I wonder.
michael jarmer 
an admirer and friend of Carlen Arnett – glad to see your post about her and to read your poem. nice that’s it’s so fresh and spontaneous. just as she was.
–Anne Guzzardi, an old Wally
Thank you, Anne. Such a loss. Have we met? Ever been to an Alumni Conference? Carlen would want you to go.