producing make-believe
eyes blurring, it is time to stop
editing between a somewhat final
version by the publisher
the sensitivity reader’s suggestions
and my earlier proofing
but it is dawning on me
that we may be on the last lap
producing Exhalation
plagued again and again by illness
editor after editor experiencing
delays due to sickness in this real world
far more important than the production
date of my world of make-believe