Cocooned in the pain of old age, I realized there was only one way out—one way to escape the cocoon and reach the other side.
For 75 years, I have spun my soft, white, silky, protective covering.
But now my cocoon deteriorates, accompanied by fits of pain: back pain, leg pain, hip pain, finger pain.
Which pain should I focus on?
Which pain should I curse?
All the while, I wrestle with Hashem for another day in paradise, begging and praying for one more day—a day without a health crisis, a new pill, a new therapy, or a new pen.
Cocooned in this dilemma of aging, my skin has toughened from the painful blows landing all over my body.
It leaves me asking, “What worn-out body part will fail me next?”
Cocooned in a good night’s sleep filled with loving dreams, I slowly open my eyes, study the white, popcorn-textured ceiling, and gaze at the green leaves hanging from the trees outside my window. I pause to give thanks to Hashem for another day of life.
A member of the SOT team asked, “Mort, I’d like to see that Poets House letter accepting SOT into their Showcase.”
Of course, I obliged his request.
Here it is:
Dear Howard,
I hope your week is going well.
Thank you so much for your donation of Sea of Tranquility for the Poets House 2024 Showcase. I’m writing to confirm our receipt of this title—it is currently being added to our catalog. Congratulations on the new work.
Our 30th Showcase of books published in 2024 is currently scheduled for December this year. Sea of Tranquility will be included in the Showcase Catalog, a print and online document that lists every item in the exhibition, making it the most authoritative resource on poetry works published in 2024. Following the Showcase, this item will be incorporated into our permanent collection, available to readers for free. For more general information about the Showcase, visit the exhibition FAQs.
If you have any questions, feel free to be in touch. Many thanks again for your support of our library.
Best,
Leo Kreider (he/him)
Access Services Assistant
Congrats to all the SOT poets, writers, and editors on this high honor.
Well, here are some important assignments to add to your To-Do list:
It is time to calendar in this December NYC Showcase event, buy some extra copies of SOT as Valentine’s Day gifts, review our book on Amazon, and make arrangements for your trip to Cape Canaveral in November.
Start spreading the news, “Sea of Tranquility” is now number one, king of the hill, top of the heap in New York, New York. And as all of you are well aware, (Sing along) “If SOT can make it there, it can make it anywhere.” It’s up to you, New York, New York. (Thanks Frank)
Howard Camner, SFWA poet extraordinaire and co-editor of SOT, started spreading the good news when he wrote, “I just heard from Poets House in New York. If you’re not familiar with Poets House, it’s the hub of poetry in NYC if not the country. Their poetry collection is phenomenal. Every year they have an exhibition called, “The Poetry Showcase” where the best publications of the previous year are featured. People come from all over to see it. “Sea of Tranquility” will be featured in the next showcase exhibition in December. It will also be in their Showcase Catalog which is “the most authoritative resource on poetry works published in 2024.” Following the Showcase SOT will be placed in the permanent collection. So after you leave Kennedy Space Center, head for Manhattan.”
Since you may want to know more about Poets House, here’s what Wiki says:
Poets House is a national literary center and poetry library based in New York City. It contains more than 80,000 volumes of poetry, and is free and open to the public.
Poets House was founded in 1985. With holdings of more than 80,000 volumes, Poets House contains virtually all poetry books published in the U.S. since 1990, plus many that are long out of print dating to the early 20th Century. It also contains literary journals and chapbooks (small books of poetry), and many audiotapes, videotapes, CDs, and DVDs of poetry readings from the mid-twentieth century through today. Visitors to Poets House can hear the voices of Walt Whitman, E. E. Cummings, William Carlos Williams, Sylvia Plath and hundreds of other poets.
In 1996, the literary newspaper Poetry Flash called Poets House “The House That Holds A Country,” a reference to its dedication to being a caretaker of the nation’s poetic heritage.
Now that SOT is number one, king of the hill, top of the heap, and part of the nation’s poetic heritage it’s time to conquer the Moon in November.
