The Chinese wasn’t very good
but it was cheap
and it was plentiful
and it kept us going when we needed it
boxes and bowls of it
circling the room as we roamed,
sat, and swigged colas,
struggling to squeeze it all in.

This wasn’t the first time
and it wouldn’t be the last
we were running up against a deadline
to put this mother out
and lots of us were pitching in on layout
which was something of a creative disaster every time.

The pages didn’t have to be clear
or communicative
so much as they had to be distinct.
That was the mandate
and that we could all produce
even the less visually inclined of us
even as the evening stretched on.

The food disappeared
and the pages got finished,
four after four after four,
until finally, at four we were done,
and Lara could take the master away
for replication.
Mission accomplished.

These were my first days
my earlier adventures in publishing
my learning how to make a zine.