<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width: 1307px;"><tbody class=""><tr class=""><td style="padding: 0in;" class=""><div style="text-align: left; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><font size="4" class=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(241, 241, 241);" class=""> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="">Applying for a poetic license</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></span></font></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">The line was surprisingly long<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">The wait - nerve wracking<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">List credentials:<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Classes, check<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Workshops, check<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">MFA, check<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Conferences, check<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Long dark night of the soul, check<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Fill in: Quote the masters<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Fill in: quote the hacks<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">And don’t do that. Ever. <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Multiple choice:<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">How many coffee spoons would you need<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">To measure your life?<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">How big was your yawp<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">For how many hours did you race naked screaming<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Down the foggy hills of San Francisco?<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Extra credit:<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Bad childhood?<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Lonely marriage?<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Did you get it all, the man behind me asked.<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">All, I replied <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">but at the front of the line<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">The sign clicked over <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">Like an old clock, new numbers<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">The fee changed again <o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">& Today, too high<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">For what remains<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class=""><font size="4" class="">In my account.<o:p class=""></o:p></font></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""> </div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;" class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>- Catherine Bramkamp</div></body></html>