Honey, I’m sorry for all the late nights,
Attempting in vain to refocus my sights.
And clacking away by the laptop’s dull glow,
Checking out to recapture my mental tableau…
It’s just that in book land, few things compare,
With new projects whose prose doesn’t pepper my hair.
It’s small victories I use to measure good days,
Like when word counts on rewrites have lowered, not raised.
If I miss a deadline and cause Copyedit to frown,
It’s up from the grindstone, my nose I must brown.
All the emails, the phone calls, the proposals from Don,
Some days I forget just what planet I’m on.
But I come home, you greet me and kiss me each day,
And I know in that moment there’s no advance I could pay,
No royalty offers could hold so much wonder,
As you and your gift of not stealing my thunder,
While I regale you with details of projects unending,
And your glazed look betrays the despair you’re not sending.
It’s then that I realize, the books don’t much matter.
It’s you and your trim size that fills up my platter.
Your effortless care of my heart’s P&L,
Brings more joy than any 50% gross profit line can tell,
You balance my numbers with such swift delight,
For the treasure you bring, I would forfeit sub-rights.
And if this, my analysis, my projection, is sound,
Baby, your love is the greatest hardback I’ve found.
In your pages I know that our cycle of spans,
Will grow deeper wherever each rogue contract lands,
From endorsements to end pages, what I most endeavor,
Is just one more chapter in our book of forever.
Happy Hearts Day, Funny Valentine.
Aw, what a sweet charmer you are! I can’t remember anyone ever comparing ME to a 50% gross profit line.
I hope you and Sheri enjoyed a page-turner Valentine’s Day!
I have enjoyed browsing your blog. It’s comforting to know that even while editors hold the future of our writing careers in their hands, they are still real live people!!
What a shocker!
I am sure that your wife forgave you! :)
why do all married couples look alike?
Why do all look-a-likes get married?
Alright. Yeah. That’s definitely another mystery for the ages. Why does sniffing glue make you happy? Why do bees get the cool, ultraviolet vision? Why do men have nipples? Leave it to Sioux to come up with such a perfectly wicked generalization.
Okay, one relevant curiosity to share: with love at first sight, when you meet in junior high, there’s a certain part of that budding narcissistic reflection that latches onto the familiar and opposes everything that seems different. Finding Sheri so instantly familiar was incredibly attractive. And while it could reduce to mere appearance, I’ve longed to find evidence for that mysterious link between physical features and personality. At any rate, we love ourselves, but we learn to appreciate our love’s deeper difference with age.
Aw, mush! : )
kinda like seinfeld, eh?
it is very sweet. old couples are supposed to look like salt and pepper shakers, so there you have it. mystery solved.
suz.
Beautifully said. Something I am sure your wife will cherish for a long time. And like the one commenter said, so nice to see a more personal side of book editors!