In the perhaps vain hope of liberating some potentially interesting jots from the well of my notebook, I’m launching Friday Notebook. (Applause. Fireworks whistling in the background.) The impulse for this comes from thinking about fragments, for which I have that thank Ian Hamilton Finlay (as quoted on Jerome Rothenberg’s Poetry and Poetics blog) and John Latta’s musings on Roland Barthes at Isola di Rifiuti. I feel that fragments are only fragments by reference to an imaginal wholeness; without the imaginal wholeness they are nothing but debris. So I’ll try to spare you the many jottings that arrive in my notebook without even a hint of imaginality! On those Fridays when I have no jottings to offer, I’ll simply drink a shot of fairly good tequila (reposado or añejo) in honor of my fickle muse. It will probably look something like this:
night clouds low and sullen,
undersides soaked with sickly city light
from beyond the blacked-out hills
*
that line of trees along the ridge,
their silhouettes at dusk bent,
twisting like those chained figures
dancing behind Death in The Seventh Seal
*
What does it mean, if anything, that Emily Dickinson’s initials
also stand for Erectile Dysfunction?
*
Letting the Faucet Run All Night in a Cold Snap
Wasting a little
water now
so as not to waste
a lot more later—
my gone father still
here in me
*
a world of dew,
a mind of sentences
*
snow-broken branch
in haunting winter light—
Dad on his deathbed
*
newly-discovered planets
2000 light years off—
an ancient emperor’s photo
ought to reach us any day now
Joseph Hutchison, Colorado Poet Laureate 2014-2019, has published 20 collections of poems and edited or co-edited three poetry anthologies. He currently directs two master’s-level programs for University College at the University of Denver: Professional Creative Writing and Arts & Culture Management. Joe lives with his wife, Melody Madonna, in the mountains southwest of Denver, Colorado, the city where he was born. 
Thanks for the kindly support, amigos. I hope to avoid insulting your intelligence as time goes on…
Joe:<br /><br />Love <i>Letting the Faucet Run All Night in a Cold Snap</i> and your idea for a regular Friday feature.<br /><br />thanks,<br />Don
GOOD 'stuff" Joe<br /><br />as "fragments" what is we got? that really matters?<br /><br />&<br /><br />don't spare "us" a single …. thing…<br />I mean these "fragments" are always surrounded by the (a) circumference<br /><br />just imagine<br />what if suddenly<br />you discovered that<br />the circumference has no center<br /><br
Great, Joe. "TGIF!"
What a great idea, Joe. And it is off to a fine start.<br /><br />And I have to tell you, the "snow-broken branch" three-liner took my breath away. Pow.
Joseph,<br /><br />I look forward to your 'fragment' Fridays, in addition to Don Wentworth's Wednesday haiku.<br /><br />But I'll probably be sipping a green tea.