I decided recently to update this terribly neglected and underused website with more of my creative endeavors, with the vague thought that perhaps collecting my disparate projects together might display some kind of direction and progress and inspire future efforts.

While I was refreshing the site’s design, WordPress asked me if I would like to add a logo. In a fit of whimsy, I grabbed one of my favorite drawings, spent a bit of time removing the background to convert it into a PNG, and- TA DA- made my personal logo, my “brand,” a snail.

In the interests of retroactively justifying this impulsive decision, I present you with the following poem.

Considering the Snail

The snail pushes through a green

night, for the grass is heavy

with water and meets over

the bright path he makes, where rain

has darkened the earth’s dark. He

moves in a wood of desire,

pale antlers barely stirring

as he hunts. I cannot tell

what power is at work, drenched there

with purpose, knowing nothing.

What is a snail’s fury? All

I think is that if later

I parted the blades above

the tunnel and saw the thin

trail of broken white across

litter, I would never have

imagined the slow passion

to that deliberate progress.

Thom Gunn, “Considering the Snail” from Selected Poems.