tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58421344650009428732024-02-20T15:51:24.534-08:00Scrap MettleYou can't write poetry on the computer. ~Quentin TarantinoJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647728918224517203noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842134465000942873.post-84052151422188855762013-08-15T14:16:00.004-07:002013-08-15T14:16:59.611-07:00Stashing some poems on the internetz!
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<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><b> Awful
Arthur’s Oyster House</b></span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">A mermaid
burnished with a shellac from Akron,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">juts out
of cheap pine paneling—the restaurant’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">trophy
for people unlocked from the Midwest, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">their
hands soaked in lemon pulp and fat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Few
notice her hanging on the wooden wall—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">a man
cutting steak slips the knife delicately<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">into his
thumb and his potato turns into a pink purse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">The bone
exposed is translucent, otherworldly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Sunburned
children ooh and ask to see his hand, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">his <i>wound</i></span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He leaves hurriedly, napkin-wrapped fingers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">head
above clouds of kid chatter, stilted romantic desserts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Servers
offer frothy drinks towered with cherries, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">and lean
in the kitchen—secret cups of whiskey <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">and
filthy mouths undercut couples trying <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">to bring
it somewhere new, where everything<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">is sifted
and slanted to align with the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">When
everyone leaves, the horizon—stagnant <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">sky
map—slowly bends orange, red, beryl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Local
kids blend sweat and gears, they race cars <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">at
midnight, leave oil slicks glittering with sand and glass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">The sea
leaves its trail, but its waves never return.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">It
migrates miles in tires on grooved asphalt, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">an impotent messenger: nearby the ocean is dying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="ALL" style="page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ode
to Lemons<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Little
elliptical suns, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">stacked
across <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">the
grocer’s shelves, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">at noon
or dawn, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">the
lemons <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">shine <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">immaculate—
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">eyes
forever winking <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">shut. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">2.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Medicinal
welterweight,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">bright yellow
peels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">steeped and
infused;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">given to those
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">who fight for:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">blood, beauty,
love,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">brimming from
within<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">tinted
tincture vials.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">3. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Children <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">swallow
lemon seeds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">and think
a whole tree—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">white
petals waiting<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">to push <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">pulp and
seed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">into a
tight ball—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">will
grow<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>inside them;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">small
bellies expanding<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; tab-stops: .5in; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">with
wingless<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">canaries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="ALL" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .35in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After
Joan Miro’s Painting<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><i>The Lark’s Wing, Encircled with Golden
Blue, Rejoins the Heart of <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>the
Poppy Sleeping on a Diamond-Studded Meadow<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Thick tangle
of green moss<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">debased with
the face of a poppy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">do you lament
your segregation?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Bisected away
from the sun,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">cinctured by a
slash of black—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">can you hear
those Mediterranean voices,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">that near-silence
of Catalan, whose x’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">move like wind
over l’mari,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">on so many
red-tinged lips?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">Beneath you,
the earth’s star, or worse—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">an advancing
alien sea—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">blinds a
cerulean swell harboring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">the eye pit.
The pupil long dead,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">no longer
widens with the image <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">it recalls—Roman
marches in Barcino;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">strong chants
trailing the sea:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;"><i>ad manes
fratrum, </i></span><span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">to our
brother’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: TimesNewRomanPSMT;">spirits, let
us live, let us die. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>Boston,
November 2006<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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We find a broken pumpkin, still immaculate</div>
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pulp and pith shine delicious—</div>
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days until decay snakes a downy path.</div>
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Seeds and strings web through our fingers,</div>
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fevered to crush and smash such bright flesh</div>
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before air and mites and street shit cause its collapse.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Maybe the fight, or a moonless night sky tide<o:p></o:p></div>
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compels this flush, this departure from censure—<o:p></o:p></div>
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our hands and arms lush with slick, glinting guts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tips
for Bear Proofing Your Home<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Old Westerns and hotel sheets make
the best defense.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Hang em High</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> projected onto garage doors or siding—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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guests wrapped like little goblins
in high thread counts,<o:p></o:p></div>
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sipping gimlets; bears recoil from
such phantasmal excesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Bears eat clouds and clover
patches, but will settle for pasta.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Store food in anything non-cumulous
and wait. <o:p></o:p></div>
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If your kitchen is untouched today,
you must protect it again;<o:p></o:p></div>
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wear a sheet shroud and let <i>True
Grit </i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ring through the nightwatch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Loud crashes encourage bears,
brothers to Bacchus that they are,<o:p></o:p></div>
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but whispers attract them even
more. Their hearing is poor <o:p></o:p></div>
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and they worry about being made fun
of. Their growl and roar<o:p></o:p></div>
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grew as delicate evolutions to
protect a winter’s worth of feeling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Naturally curious, bears masquerade
as lewd, furry garbage men;<o:p></o:p></div>
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but they wander, poets in the
night, looking for material <o:p></o:p></div>
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and star-sanctioned connections. <i>Paint
Your Wagon </i><span style="font-style: normal;">plays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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tonight so they will slip past your
house, unnoticed and alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>Locality<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1.</div>
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Arranged arrows</div>
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slung too static </div>
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in their quiver—</div>
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the nock never knows</div>
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what comes next</div>
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perpetual pause</div>
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plucks it to place.</div>
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Arrowhead points blast</div>
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first, splintering pine</div>
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or spurring skulls—</div>
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the fletching feather’s</div>
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waver should wisp back,</div>
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but even if it does, </div>
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the nock must wait. </div>
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2.</div>
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Like the slinky’s last coil </div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
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suspended</div>
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mid-air—</div>
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a slight second of stillness—</div>
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love doesn’t hear that love is bled</div>
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until</div>
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the splatter of spill </div>
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and then, the lightheaded </div>
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lift of death.</div>
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3. </div>
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The pink slip</div>
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or a slip left in your bed</div>
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happen just after </div>
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they were never expected.</div>
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It will take 8 minutes</div>
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and 20 seconds</div>
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to see the sun has gone</div>
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to some, 8 minutes </div>
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and 20 seconds never </div>
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sounded so good.</div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647728918224517203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842134465000942873.post-83628213239327357142009-01-27T15:38:00.000-08:002009-01-27T17:46:18.141-08:00Football Uniforms Should Be Called Costumes and Come with Mini Gem-Encrusted Capes<div><br /></div><div>If that we could only incorporate the bejeweled allure of figure skating with the testosterone-fueled grunt-run-and-score <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">primitivism</span> of American (that is United States-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ian</span>) Football, this Sunday, I, for one, would be an even happier viewer! Alack. A lack indeed of sparkle, but not entirely the ethereal grace that is most associated with skating and gymnastics. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is grit, grime, force, bravado, and almost embarrassing shows of machismo; however, unlike some of my friends (male and female alike) I find it thrilling to see a hail-Mary pass completed successfully or a complicated defensive screen, much of this is thanks to the near-holy reverence football is held in within my family--I remember nary a fall or winter Sunday where it could not be heard/seen somewhere in the apartments I grew up in. I did not inherit a fanaticism nor a total disdain, and that is a balance I appreciate in myself.</div><div><br /></div><div>With this said, Andy knows all too well that this can only hold my attention for so long--I become fidgety and then my eyes start sweeping the room for what can keep me quietly absorbed until the next must-see playback. Since I do not believe the NFL has the time to take my advice on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">costumage</span> yet, and I will not be able to be mesmerized with aerodynamic capes glimmering with silver or diamond-studded appliques I so desire, I hereby give my advice on keeping oneself happy and stimulated whilst the Superbowl reigns. </div><div><br /></div><div>1. Snacks! Making them, eating them, this has become a favorite aspect of football for me. I love appetizers of any kind, but especially on Superbowl Sunday, you can indulge and indulge on all the fried, processed and guilt-inducing wings, chips, pizza rolls, dips, etc that any other day may provoke scoffing/the passing of negative judgements by your (graduate school) friends. (Well, I eat these things more often than <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">SBS</span>, so, I do not have guilt, but others may! For you, be free to eat greasy, oh football friend in fried foods!) Getting creative with snacks is great too! Upper echelon it up with some Gruyere in that baked mac n cheese, or make your salsa by hand with fresh vegetables. And on and on...</div><div><br /></div><div>2. This should go without saying, but BEER! Plus cocktails. I can spend more time with football if I am taking my time savoring a delicious beer. Andy favors the Superbowl's sponsor on the actual day, COORS, but I find this makes me quicker to zone out. So, I will be sipping on one or all of the following: Magic Hat #9, Sam Adam's Winter Ale, Blue Moon's Rising Moon, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Tremont</span> Ale, Anchor Steam and La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Chouffe</span> (if I can find that sneaky little gnome). Cocktails are also great for this category! I prefer Gin and Tonic, but a good Margarita feels like the proper level of festivity.</div><div><br /></div><div>3. COLORING BOOKS! This may seem insulting/childish to some, but this is a delightful activity wherein I can make my garment preferences come to life. Ariel no longer has a bra and fin, no! She is in a Cardinal's Silk Jersey, with a sequined cape (shoulder pads optional), and designer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">leggins</span> that feature lavish <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">faux</span> fur tassels which would look sharp should she break through the mass of players and score a touchdown, the wind billowing naturally through the fringe. My friend Elise and I also had a coloring contest to make the sluttiest princess pictures last year. Hers won with Paris Hilton Extensions. It's the details that escape me sometimes.</div><div><br /></div><div>4. PUPPY BOWL on Animal Planet! I have a hard time growing tired of watching this. It is so dramatic, adorable, furry, and funny! Plus, there is a Kitty Half-time Show and Mia (and I) loves this immensely. </div><div><br /></div><div>5. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">TEXTING</span>! I, definitely after a beer or two, can find it very engrossing to text <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">snarky</span> comments to friends/loved ones about the game or to swoon over an especially handsome puppy from the puppy bowl (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">ie</span>, anything that is a big-bear-shaped dog)... There is the creative aspect (thinking of funny things to say) and then the joy of anticipated response (will they, too, love the same puppy? Did you just accidentally rag on the team their deceased great uncle loved?! Yikes! That was the beer talking!So many possible responses).</div><div><br /></div><div>So, this <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">usually</span> gets me through, I mean I do check in with the game occasionally and snacking/beer is not to be underestimated. </div><div><br /></div><div>This year, however, I find myself at a bit of an impasse/stand off. This is the first year of my graduate career, my second semester to be precise, and while last semester, I was able to get by not reading every single day, this term's courses are a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">doozy</span>. I am enrolled in a course on the Poetic Sequence and there are FOUR (please don't count aloud) of us and it is a four-hour discussion course. With writings by the likes of Whitman, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Dickenson</span>, Eliot, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Bhatt</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Gluck</span>, and on and on. Many of them I have a familiarity with, but I am in the course to correct my familiarity with them (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">ie</span>, unlearn what high school taught me), and was expecting at least 9 people to join me in the occasional comment (as the enrollment stands online!!). </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, it feels as though 1/4 of the class's meeting will be on my shoulders and this is a commitment I was not prepared for. I am excited to overwrite my understanding of some of these more traditional poets with the subject matter being one that asks us to think of their writings as a new poetic emergence--one that is both narrative, lyrical and disruptive to the standards of each. So I hope my excitement can get me carefully through the fifty-two sections of "Song of Myself" in addition to many many fascicles of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Dickenson</span> and the chapter in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Modern Poetic Sequence</span> that is due the very day following <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">SBS</span>. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is maybe very true that if there was just a bit more glamour and glitz with the spectacle that is the Superbowl, I would not be very worried about doing my work. I would sit without thought of reading, my irises dancing, as the light and sun glinted off the many-hued rhinestones at work, shimmying and floating their way down the field upon the broad backs of some of the biggest men in this country. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sadly, I suppose I will just have to sneak away occasionally to the solemn sanctity of the backroom while Andy and Jeremy and Rachel (our friends/guests for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">SBS</span>) hoot, holler, dance, and drink without (probably much) care. </div><div><br /></div><div>Or, at least I will read in the morning. After all, this is once a year and if I start taking myself so seriously that I can't even procrastinate properly, well, that will be a damn shame for the future of my personal beliefs and aesthetics.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With (ALL) that, I say, Happy Superbowl Week and in the name of it's-what-I-do-daily, here is a great poem to feast your eyes upon. You know what they say, a poem a day...something something... I may try to post a poem or poet I enjoy each time...You may hate them (both a fact and a permission)...Without further ado:</div><div><br /></div><div>"Practice"</div><div><br /></div><div>You know how a word comes</div><div>To you like a face that's familiar</div><div>But without a name to which you can</div><div>Attach--not a complete stranger,</div><div>But not a friend either?</div><div><br /></div><div>You stare into the features of this word,</div><div>Hoping the letters will find you--</div><div>You know they will find you;</div><div>You repeat the word to yourself</div><div>As if tasting it will help.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mother looks at the word</div><div>On the index card--</div><div>Not at me, but the word--</div><div>Nodding her head as if my repeating it</div><div>Were an answer; she hangs on to my voice,</div><div><br /></div><div>Trying to reassure me, but her eyes</div><div>Are not convinced. This makes me nervous.</div><div>I begin writing the word in the sweat</div><div>Of my left palm with my right index finger.</div><div>I repeat the word, again, louder,</div><div><br /></div><div>As if I have a receipt for it in my pocket:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">IRIDESCENT, </span> I-RI-DE-SCENT.</div><div>And the question of origin comes to mind.</div><div>So I ask: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">What's the origin?</span></div><div>She reads: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">formed from Latin, </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">iridis</span>, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>rainbow, 1796</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">What's the definition? </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">You don't know this one? </span>She asks.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The judges aren't going to ask that;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">They're going to give me the definition, Ma.</span></div><div>Sigh. She reads from the dictionary:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">iridescent: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">adj. 1</span>. Producing a display of lustrous rainbow like colors. 2. brilliant, lustrous, or colorful in effect or appearance,</div><div><br /></div><div>I feel sorry for those of you</div><div>Who don't know moments like this:</div><div>My palms dry. We watch ten letters</div><div>Lift off the page and spill</div><div>From my mouth like a magician pulls</div><div><br /></div><div>A prism of scarves from his ear:</div><div>i-r-i-d-e-s-c-e-n-t. I watch the light catch</div><div>The brown of her eyes. I ask if I'm right.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Is that right?</span> I say,<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> I wasn't sure</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">If it had two </span>R<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">s or just one.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div>She pauses for a second, still</div><div>Looking down at the word.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Yeah, baby, each word just like that.</span></div><div>I nod my head. She's still looking down</div><div>As if afraid for herself.</div><div><br /></div><div>I realize nothing I spell sounds true.</div><div>Every round will be like the first time.</div><div>The light has run from her eyes.</div><div>She's quiet again.</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Next word</span>, I say.</div><div><br /></div><div>--From A. Van Jordan's <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Macnolia</span>: </span>a beautiful poetic sequence-length book that re-imagines the experiences of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">MacNolia</span> Cox, the first black young woman to reach the final round of the national spelling bee competition in 1936. She would have won but for the fact that the judges changed her final word to a word not on the official list, likely because of her color and the overwhelming racist sentiment of the time. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">MacNolia</span> left the world of academia, married, and became a housekeeper. Van Jordan does wonders with his collection--at once memorializing a trail blazing young woman and intricately exploring the impact of this competition on her life, before and after the Bee. </div><div><br /></div>Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13647728918224517203noreply@blogger.com1