A few weeks ago I had a sudden urge to make paper cranes. I’m not exactly sure where or why it happened – maybe it had something to do with needing a creative outlet that isn’t poetry. But anyway, a week or so after I decided to start making cranes, I went to my friend Kim’s poetry reading, and she handed out paper cranes at the end of the reading. Each crane had the name of a poet on it, and she suggested that we get to know the poet through their work. (I, of course, got Stephen Dunn.)

It was a lovely idea, and I’m glad she did it. But it didn’t soothe my urge to make paper cranes. So I’m starting my own paper crane journey. I hope to make 1000 of them. I hope to find some sort of peace. I hope to be more zen. We’ll see how far I get. Be prepared to follow the progress.

Crane #1: He’s a lonely sort of fellow.