Feature: Marc Mannheimer Day 3

tandem

two
cottonwood seeds,
floating,
in tandem, arm in arm,
attracted by
my resolution to try something
daring
for a change;

and I watch them land
in my palm,
and me,
I had been dreaming all day
of finding her.

© Marc Mannheimer

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Q&A

Q: Tell us something about yourself that not many people know about you. :-)

A: Well, I used to pick up garbage as a hobby. It started in college. I might spend an hour wandering and putting stuff into trash bags.

Q: When did you first have an interest in poetry?

A: After I had a psychological crash in 2003. I decided then to get out of my shell and create and socialize and work. I wanted to write more music and do open mics, but was too nervous to do that. So I turned some of those songs into poems and began slowly getting into writing and then doing readings.

Q: Where do you write? Is Ambiance Important?

A: Ambiance is very important for me, although I have to say I’ve been writing a great deal in a certain corporate coffee shop. It’s quiet and homey there. But I write in a small group of settings – I’ve written about 30 poems on the rapid transit landing or on the rapid itself, but most in coffee shops, which can be a hub of ideas. I also like to write at my kitchen table, especially when I am working (I am a hotline operator – there can be up to 15 minutes or so between calls). If I go to the park, I always write there.

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Photo © Marc Mannheimer