At moon high tide
I run off the end of the silvered dock
Phosphorous confounds inverted eyes
wanting to grasp something more
than air can offer
to sustain this body sinking
into black mollusk mud
and transparent jelly fish.
Jessan Dunn Otis (c) 1985
From the unpublished manuscript MIGRATIONS OF THE HEART
The day the universe brought us into our life, together,
was some kind of miracle, saving us
unexpected, but not (perhaps) unbidden
When we meet someone for the first time
we’re strangers to each other
Strangers no more, forever.
Jessan Dunn Otis (c) 2023
One bird sings its morning call,
waiting for a reply
The sun sneaks up, silent in the East, again
There were no shadows
I sit here #writing this to you.
@JessanDunnOtis (c) 2023 #Writer #poem #poetry #poet #RhodeIsland
I just wrote and posted this poem on Twitter.
Since May 21, 1996, I’ve marketed myself as an independent, freelance writer/editor, collaborating with some amazing clients. To them, as always and again, many thanks for trusting me.
It’s true, from time to time, I did my own work. Not enough, however.
After twenty-seven (27) years it’s time to reconfigure.
Going forward I’ll be focusing more on my work that has laid dormant or ignored too long.
This is my path. Not to walk it is unconscionable.
#DanceOn…
This place called home has shifted over the decades. Growing up the first several years, home was a Cape Cod-type bungalow, built just after WWII, in a suburb of New York City – commuting distance. The large tract of land behind our home was an old orchard farm. The barn still stood, slowly falling into disrepair. But, the apple trees! Oh, those acres of Granny Smith apple trees were magnificent!
Those trees had, obviously, been tended, pruned, and nurtured. The branches were smooth, easy to climb. The apples were tart/sweet, brilliant, sap green, and always in abundance. I used to climb those trees as the Granny Smiths ripened, perfuming the air with their plump greenness. The pruning created upward, smaller branches where some of the best fruit was.
Sitting among the apples, dangling my legs over smooth branches, crunching baby teeth into sun-warmed flesh that puckered my lips – was there anything better than that those days?
Social Media Fanfare Winner Shares Her Telework Tips
Social media has changed the way we interact with friends, family, and yes, even coworkers. As part of Telework Week 2012, Telework Exchange launched a Social Media Fanfare contest, to find the ultimate telework fan.
We sorted through hundreds of tweets, likes, posts, and tips on Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare to pick the top fan who actively posted on Telework Week’s social media platforms. Read more below about her telework experiences as well as some of her favorite things about teleworking. Congratulations to our Telework Week 2012 Ultimate Fan.
Jessan Dunn Otis
Teleworking isn’t anything new to our Telework Week Ultimate Fan, Jessan Dunn Otis. A teleworker since May 1996, Jessan finds she can accomplish more when working from home. Not only is she more productive, but telework allows her to spend more time with her family and friends while still being able to manage her work schedule.
An independent freelance writer, editor, consultant, and mentor who works in the Providence, Rhode Island area, Jessan says telework helps her be more accessible to her local, national and international clients since she can spend more time working, and less time commuting. “[I have] a very short commute (approximately 12-14 steps),” she says. Technology tools such as her laptop computer, phone, and voice-over-Internet Protocol services help her stay connected.
Jessan knows work/life balance is key when teleworking. She takes breaks from her work schedule to go for a walk, sit in the sun, run errands, and enjoy lunch every day with her husband. “Celebrating 2nd day of #TeleworkWeek by going 4 a well-earned walk. Enough ‘time on task’ 4 now. Join me? #PVD #RI pic.twitter.com/w6rgzYtf,” she tweeted during Telework Week.
But for this full-time teleworker, Telework Week is not a once-in-a-while thing. “Alas (for some), #TeleworkWeek comes to an end today. For those of us who’ve been teleworking a long time … #DanceOn…! Cheers!” she tweeted.
Jessan can be contacted at:
website|blog http://JessanDunnOtis-Writer.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jesssandunnotis
Twitter: @JessanDunnOtis
P.S. Ten years later Jessan’s still teleworking, now referred to as remote working. This piece was slightly edited in October, 2022.
As when you touch yourself for the first
time inside and out
Or when you have left without saying goodbye
for the last time and you do not know it yet
Like walking into a dark room where everything
is known and you are excited that
something alive and beautiful will brush
your face
Or I am the long tree whose branches
move gently wild from the wind
and leave marks on your face
that you will remember when you dream
and you will go back to stare for days
until your eyes ache
Like arms that nobody who has ever loved you
has had before or has held you more strong
than you will ever be held again
And you will weep because you know that
that is true.
(c) Jessan Dunn (DeCredico) Otis – 1985/1987 – CQ, California State Poetry Quarterly, Spring-Summer 1987, Volume 14, Number 1, p.11.
Sit down and begin to pull together a business plan, mission statement, professional introductory email, business-related text messages, informative YouTube clip, making the choice for your business’ name; and you’re faced with three truths:
* writing isn’t as easy as it appears
* everything matters
* it’s not only what you think you want to say; but, to whom, what, where, when, why and how
While any of the aforementioned endeavors can employ many mediums – i.e. video, film, radio, TV and so on – it’s likely that, at some stage, writing is crucial to the process of creating your message. Brainstorming. Whiteboards. Drafting. Formulating. Editing. Proofreading. Final content.
With that in mind, recall the first time you were under deadline and staring at a blank piece of paper or that flashing indicator on an empty screen. Dwelling too long on that memory might cause cold sweats and elevated heart rate. However, recalling that visceral experience can, also, be today’s lesson.
What your body was telling you is that you’re invested in doing the work and hitting that target with your best shot.
To convey your message always takes planning and planning equals time – whether the amount of time is an hour, day, a week or, even, years.
Because you’re invested in doing the work and hitting that deadline with your best work, everything matters. Do not edit your ideas and impulses. Be fearless. Be ridiculous. Be silly. Be serious. Be thorough. Eventually, you’ll reduce your information to become the most accurate, clear, concise, creative and effective, according to your goals, intentions and audience.
Finally, the content of and medium for your message must take into consideration the 5 Ws + HOW.
* WHO – To whom are you conveying your message? Who’s your audience?
* WHAT – What do you want them to know or learn or feel or do?
* WHERE – In what context/where are they receiving your message?
* WHEN – When are they receiving your message?
* WHY – Why are they receiving your message?
* HOW – How do you want them to respond or what do you want them to do after receiving your message?
When you’ve answered the above questions, begin to refine and repeat until you hit your target. Remember, this process requires regular reviews, readjustments, refreshing, and repeating.
Good luck!
, or we don’t talk to the ones
who
know and survive
It is past time
to call you back again
The old ones are dead
Like water bright
in the eye
The brush of memory is too wide
And the surface is shimmered and wrong
Long afternoons listening
to the old woman about
her old women
The algae of remembering obscures
Again and again.
Jessan Dunn (DeCredico) Otis © 1985
Jessan Dunn Otis|Writer 