tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13842745028243317362024-03-04T23:56:14.551-08:00Writing by JeffThis blog is focused on helping writers in all forms improve their writing. It will include tips, advice, and discussions of all things related to writing improvement.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-62597759123586999802015-06-04T19:20:00.002-07:002015-06-04T19:20:28.828-07:00The Devil's in the Details: Finding the Descriptive Sweet Spot in Prose
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After an April <a href="http://writingbyjeff.blogspot.com/2015/03/new-project-for-national-poetry-month.html" target="_blank">dedicated to poetry</a>, I’ve moved to
business writing and working on a novel as my two primary areas of linguistic focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The latter has me thinking more about how to
make descriptions work without stopping the movement of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the greatest challenges for many fiction
writers is determining what level of detail to include.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some writers over-describe, burden every
sentence with unnecessary modifiers and every paragraph with distracting
descriptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others take the opposite
extreme, pushing through a sparse plot without letting the reader visualize
anything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Unfortunately, no magic formula exists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may see easily when another writer has
missed the detail sweet spot, but flail desperately when looking for it in our
own writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the target moves: some
stories or books require more details than others, and more insidiously, some
moments in a story or book require more detail than others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With this in mind, this post will focus on an approach
to resolving this dilemma.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than
embark on a quixotic quest to create a how-to that fits every situation, I will
explore the function of descriptive details and how to apply that to writing in
a given scene or scenario.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Whose
Scene Is It?<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some characters require more details than others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A person the protagonist passes on the street
may get less visual description than the protagonist or primary
antagonist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, if the point of
view in the story is limited, it might actually disrupt that point of view to linger
on a description more than an encounter justifies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Think of story problems in math classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teachers and test makers love to toss in extraneous
facts to see whether the student can decide which details matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prose writers face the same issue, but with
the power to write out what doesn’t matter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Focused
Prose<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Writing in a focused way does not mean focusing on
everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, it means focusing on
what matters to the broader story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
includes both the movement of the plot and development of characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is the protagonist vain?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then a description of what s/he sees in the
mirror makes sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this a
first-person narrative from the point of view of someone who hates his or her
job?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the oppressive atmosphere or dull
drudgery of the workplace matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
every description, think about what it contributes, either to a character or to
the plot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it contributes to neither,
either change it or cut it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Scenery creates particular issues in this regard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before devoting a paragraph to a tree, a
writer should have a good reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Identifying where action occurs might be one, if the location matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Describing snow swirling across asphalt can
be nice, but the cold or treacherous conditions should tie into the story
rather than merely abutting it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Determine who is doing what and why, and write exposition that reflects
or accentuates this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Use
Your Verbs<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sometimes a better word choice can eliminate the need
for description.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is a person walking,
ambling, shuffling, or trudging?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of
these words conveys a different image, a different attitude, much more
efficiently than writing adverbs around “walking.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Active, specific verbs create visual impact
by showing movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In contrast, nouns
and adjectives around passive verbs tend to sit still, and in doing so deprive
readers of that impact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Consider what more often distracts you: a color that
sits to your left, or a sudden movement in the same area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The color may be beautiful, bright, and lush,
but the movement pulls you to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Giving
Your Writing Curves<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">None of this should
discourage anyone from pursuing beauty in writing. Rather, pick your
spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Music that is a wall of sound at
one consistent volume is not music, but noise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Similarly, writing that carries no ebb and flow does not carry a reader’s
attention as well as writing that does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Move through the work, giving details that matter without stopping the
action on every page for those that do not, and you will hold your reader’s
attention—or at least give yourself a better opportunity to do so.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-70588571090727899582015-04-30T19:52:00.002-07:002015-04-30T19:52:57.267-07:00Day 30!: After the End<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the End<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The climax arrived last week,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">days or years after the prologue.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The earth has stopped shaking;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">smoke plumes left the shells of buildings;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the dust that hovered for days</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">has settled on the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning the hero looks out</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">from a porch three hundred miles away,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on a sunrise orange and red—<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">just like the one that announced</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">yesterday’s arrival, bright promise</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">of an ordinary suburban day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He lingers, putters, walks inside</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">past a dormant phone to sit,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">flips the television on,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">passes the latest petty squabbles</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and lands on <em>Three's Company</em>,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with Jack again in quite the pickle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He sighs, a Mona Lisa smile on his lips</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for a character who never wonders</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">what he might do today.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
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<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the final poem in the National Poetry Month challenge, so endings were on my mind. The idea of what comes next has always affected me; I live in a world where projects move quickly and intensely, then end, and we move constantly between first and fourth gears, with little in between. Gearing up can be hard, but it means moving into a stream of activity that resembles a plot: we know what needs to be done, and experience and instruction work together so we know how to do it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stopping, though, means leaving the comfort of predetermined work and into the unknown, from the constant push through to needing to create the motion again. I suspect this is true of any major ending; the transition is much more difficult than the action.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem explores the idea from the perspective of a hero after the ending action, trying to adjust to life in the denouement, in an almost cruel juxtaposition of sameness and change. It uses a verb tense shift to contrast what was from what is, the remains of catastrophic change from a staid present. <em>Three's Company </em>works as a layered choice showing both change and sameness; the formula stayed mostly the same even as the cast rotated, but exists now only in syndication with John Ritter having passed.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-6388671079784583192015-04-30T14:57:00.001-07:002015-04-30T14:57:15.693-07:00Day 29.5: The Theory of the New Parent<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Theory of the New Parent</span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The diligent father-to-be studies,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr. Spock and What to Expect</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stacked on the nightstand</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pages folded, spine cracked.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He finds spare work time</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to sneak to parenting sites,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">browse expert advice</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">splashed in pink and blue.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He nods at younger,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">vomit-streaked parents,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stifles a smirk at their</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">premature creases,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">offers academic advice</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and ignores politely</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the baggy-eyed glares</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">they shoot in response,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">wears an easy smile,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ready for anything—</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">until the sun’s rays shine on the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">precious dewdrop from heaven <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as he destroys fifteen diapers</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and eighteen burp rags</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">in ten hours of</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">infant annihilation;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">starts crawling ahead of time,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tests like a Jurassic Park raptor</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to find the weakness in the</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">childproofing system;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sleeps sweetly for fifteen </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">minutes every night,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">timing the next scream </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with a parental eyelid drop;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and crawls diapered to the door,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">reaches for a ladybug,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">holds it in a chubby little hand</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and devours it,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">crunches happily while the last</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">parents-to-be look on,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">suggest a ladybug-free diet,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and try not to smirk.</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>Commentary:</u></strong></span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u></u></strong></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This penultimate offering in my National Poetry Month challenge is a self-deprecating look back at the early days of parenthood: the careful studying that preceded the births of my boys and the retrospective absurdity of my confidence in my knowledge. I combined experiences from the babyhoods of each; artistic license is my friend.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The poem structure of four-line stanzas reflects the classical, rigorous approach to studying for parenthood, while the varying line-lengths, beginning with the birth itself are meant to reflect the splitting at the seams of expectations.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-37883052789643941882015-04-30T06:51:00.001-07:002015-04-30T06:52:40.455-07:00Day 28-ish: Anticipation<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anticipation<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It starts with a whisper,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a tiny notion that rises<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and floats on the air,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">bounces and swirls,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">finds connections and builds.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A million invisible thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">collect, pull together, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">take shape and puff out,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">deepen and darken</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">from the edges in,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">loom over the thick air</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while heat and pressure<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">surge below, and a </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">world-sliver churns,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">thickens till inevitable</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">burst washes over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This leaves two poems remaining, to complete today, and perhaps that lends toward the thrust of this poem, the concept of anticipation building inexorably toward something. The metaphor starts with a droplet of water vapor, builds, and drives through to the rainstorm that has to come in the end.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-41559107122718858802015-04-29T04:54:00.002-07:002015-04-29T04:54:44.977-07:00Day 27-ish: The Solo<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Solo<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The expressway exists as chaos;</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">cars and trucks streak past,</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">forward and backward,</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">weave along the asphalt loom</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">red and blue and black,</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">bright and dingy.</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Smooth hums and angry roars</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">carve into every radio choice,</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a cacophonous cast of upstagers.</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But just now, a clearing emerges,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my car settles between</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">masses ahead and behind,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a solo dance in the middle</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">of the show-stopper.</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I look around, and initial jitters</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">settle into the brief quiet,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a moment of contemplative</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">equilibrium with the driving world</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">before the rest of the cast</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">rushes in again from all directions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem captures a rare moment on a busy highway, that time when the car is suddenly alone, if only for a few seconds. It always feels oddly unsettling before it becomes peaceful, something I equate to performing a solo in the middle of a big group performance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The metaphor I build here works to encapsulate that moment, and set it apart from the frenzy both before and after. I try to let it linger a moment, like a drop of water holding to a leaf before it falls, while at the same time letting its evanescent quality show with the mass of movement before and after.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-32928279347298229742015-04-28T11:13:00.002-07:002015-04-28T11:13:29.151-07:00Day 26-ish: The Astonishing Wonder of the Forty-Year-Old Mind<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Astonishing Wonder of the Forty-Year-Old Mind<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At fifteen the male mind sharpens,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">focuses on every word</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to find tangential sex jokes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After this we broaden</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(though sex jokes linger,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">couched in our brain center<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">like the flower’s stigma,</span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">surrounded by pretty petals</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but lingering at the core),<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">until at forty the brain</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is no longer the flower </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but the bees.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It darts in every direction</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to pollinate the meadow,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span>at once recalling nectar in </span><span><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">high school locker combinations</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and the first warm squish of lips</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on my lips twenty-five years ago,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the meaning of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">res ipsa loquitur</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and the lurch of a world that stopped</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">spinning the days my sons emerged.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And yet, amid the swarming,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">it skips the occasional daisy,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">found again when I stumble upon<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a novel, three days lost,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">nestled gently atop the string cheese</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">at the bottom of the refrigerator<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while the front edge of my hair</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">climbs back on its expedition </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to locate </span></span><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my misplaced glasses.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>Commentary:</u></strong></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u></u></strong></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I often marvel at the mind's ability to recall arcane facts and nuances of life experience, while failing to hold on to something like why I've left one room to enter another. Aging can be a beautiful, maddening experience.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">This poem takes on this constant contradiction, playing between the flowers and the bees in a meadow, touching on detailed memories and everyday slips of mind. The movement of the poem, through youth to age, intentionally incorporates attaining and slipping of memories not as separate effects, but as two aspects of the same process.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-45368773766353118502015-04-27T12:28:00.002-07:002015-04-27T12:28:27.938-07:00Day 25-ish: Seeing Clearly<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seeing Clearly<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Late night in someone else’s city</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I slink into the hotel bar,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a fifteen-hour work day behind me,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">smiles that know me too well ahead.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Men and women sing here and I know them,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">know what they will sing</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and why.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know Joe makes a great martini</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and Dane is a living rainbow,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that Chrissie smiles a little less</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">when her boyfriend drinks here</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and the woman with the senator</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">meets a different senator every week.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know the room,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">gritty and pristine at once,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lets the Steinway gleam classical</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and still feel ragtime</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">through showtunes and blues.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know to leave my glasses behind,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to let this tiny universe wash over me</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">in points of light that</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">spread out like a kaleidoscope</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">before Joe serves tonight’s</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">first drink.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem represents a scene, repeated may times while I was working out of town. This came as part of the experience that did the most to lead me to my current career path, and in the process showed me a world very different from what I knew up to that point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The poem is built on repetition, reinforcing a cyclical feeling within the moment, while simultaneously paced to feel like it is moving constantly forward, blending people and music and visuals as different swirling aspects of the nights there.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-25747428533888442192015-04-27T08:35:00.001-07:002015-04-27T08:35:56.952-07:00Day 24-ish: Spring Confrontation<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Spring Confrontation<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sun today shines down,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">shimmers over April afternoon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I walk with my son,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">talk about the world while he</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tosses back Minecraft analogies,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">bright blue eyes looking up</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">from under brown hair</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">two weeks late for a trim.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A gang of Canadian geese lurks</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">over by the pond,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">mills about in feather jackets,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">honks smack about the ducks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One looks over, snarl-beaked,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pushes up the bank.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The breeze pushes bare branches,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">blows a plastic bag tumbleweed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">across the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stretches,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">waddle-stalks forward and</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">charges, yells something about</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my mother or his turf—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t know (I speak Canadian</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but I don’t speak goose).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The boy whimpers into my back,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">face under my shoulder blades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have no interest in the goose,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">his gaggle or his lady,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but I’m an American</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and won’t back down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I stand tall, puff my chest,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and step forward once,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">glare into beady eyes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that falter and drop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He calls out a parting,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">impotent shot; tiny fingers</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">squeeze tightly on mine,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and we walk on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a story-telling poem that captures a moment from earlier this month. I used personification and some exaggeration for effect. The poem also uses present tense to make the action feel more immediate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The poem moves between characters and setting, an attempt to build a world both around and within the confrontation. This works to both focus in on the moment described and frame it as just a moment within a broader context.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-38399874150597401502015-04-26T11:52:00.002-07:002015-04-26T11:52:41.722-07:00Day 23-ish: Three Haiku<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem(s):</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three Haiku<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On clear, quiet nights</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pinpoints in a slate black sky</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">universe peeks in<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Muscles strain today,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">push forward, move beastly load</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘round the carousel<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sunset, here again—</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">color streaks red, orange, purple,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">yields again to black<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These poems may be read together or in isolation. A haiku is a short form of poetry that originated in Japan. Traditionally, the poem contains seventeen syllables, divided into three lines, with five syllables, seven syllables, and five syllables, respectively, and focuses thematically in nature. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The form, like most poetic forms, has been stretched outside these traditions over the years. It should, though, say much with little. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In addition, a common element of haiku is juxtaposition, combining or shifting between two ideas that may be ambiguous or contradictory. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Here, all three of the above haiku build from the idea of a cyclical world. The first juxtaposes a quiet night with the appearance of an entire universe. The second moves between the idea of big effort and that of a stationary carousel's grounded movement. Finally, the third places the bright colors of a sunset in the context of the inevitable blackness that follows, while at the same time hinting that the color returns as inevitably as the black.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-66306504253418063672015-04-25T20:07:00.001-07:002015-04-25T20:07:10.243-07:00Day 22-ish: The Saturday Degenerates Club<strong><u>Poem:</u></strong><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Saturday Degenerates Club<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From one to four they gather,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">the same twelve grey heads</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">perched on bodies crammed together,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">bent over two tiny tables</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">in the corner of the grocery store </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">right next to the liquor.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Fingers curl around red wine</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">in plastic cups, fifty cents a pour.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve seen them in town,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">where they shuffle, putter,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">babble about grandkids,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">disappear into themselves</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">from forty years ago.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But here they chuckle and hop,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">jab elbows and swear,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">exchange sex jokes and</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">complain about their kids.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One looks up and smirks,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">winks at a twenty-something</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">who purses her lips and looks away</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">from the old men who refuse</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">to act their age.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I stand by my cart and watch,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">smile and shake my head,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">slip my phone in my pocket,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and sip my own escape</span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u>Commentary:</u></strong></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><u></u></strong></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love seeing people act differently from what I expect of them. Sometimes this means acting kindly when I expect a more directly selfish action. Other times, it means seeing my expectations of age or gender or any -ism I didn't even realize I still had in me turned on its head.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this poem, the manifestation is a group of elderly ladies and gentlemen who gather for every wine tasting at the local Kroger. They seem to relish the moment, the escape from living as parents and grandparents to just enjoy the company of friends and wine.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I worked to frame the poem in a way that avoided judgment, positive or negative, focusing instead on the movement and images, both of the watchers and the watched. The final couplets serve also to reveal the boundaries around my own time out there, using the cart and the phone as symbols of duty surrounding the moment.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-77277087876241076932015-04-24T19:57:00.001-07:002015-04-24T19:57:32.725-07:00Day 21-ish: Snapshot<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Snapshot<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They stand in front of a bridge,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a nice connecting piece:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">his world and hers, one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her head presses to his chest,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hair flowing over his shirt</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">like hair in love will do,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">all wavy and happy,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the kind you can call tresses</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and not laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His hair is almost perfect,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a wisp in front curled up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even love gets windy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Their eyes fix on the camera,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">intense and distant at once,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">happy or wistful or stoned—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">who can tell, really?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No drug renders us </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as vacuous as love can.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the smiles…</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Something feels amiss,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">photographer-forced.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The noses don’t quite crinkle</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as cutely as they ought.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cheeks aren’t rosy;</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the proper Glow is lacking,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">just two pale people</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">who wear polite grins. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did one of them stub a toe,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so the stretched mouths hide</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a grimace and a smirk?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe they came from the dentist,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a romantic Couples Root Canal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">before paparazzi invaded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An argument, perhaps:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">strain of a day mouths forced</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to curl against natural bent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ache of life on hold,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">meetings and deadlines and coffee</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">waiting when they finish?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Or, just maybe, passion restrained,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a “We’ve been posing</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for this damned picture<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while we could be tangling limbs,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">or rock climbing or reading or sleeping,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hurtling through a life too short<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to waste on seventeen takes</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">standing in front of this bridge</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for the likes of you.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>Commentary:</u></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong><u></u></strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The concept of this poem is what we try to read into a single image, here a picture of an ostensibly happy couple. The repetition of "love" comes with tongue planted in cheek, a word we use sincerely, but to cover many different situations and apply to people whose hearts we don't really know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I played in this space with the idea of examining the way a couple looks, picking apart motivations and feelings from a single frozen frame. We do so looking at accused criminals or lovers or kids squirming under inquisition, all attempting to use skills we believe we have to understand the inner workings of another's mind.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-11661702578382268932015-04-24T08:55:00.000-07:002015-04-24T08:55:08.790-07:00Day 20-ish: The River<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The River<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The river rages and gushes,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">carves its muddy banks,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pushes broken ice along,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">bounces chunks on currents,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">splashes and roars,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">wet fury unfurled.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only a week ago it sat,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a placid, frozen sheet,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">held small feet up</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while heat set in,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sank into serene surface</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while water pushed up.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Outside and inside squeezed,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">invisible, silent,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">cracked the solid depth</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">till the surface shattered.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With spring comes new life: rain descends, trees blossom and bloom, animals wake and surge with nature's call to procreate. With all of this comes a sense of surging emotions, and this poem works to use a spring scene to connect to anger.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The breaking into stanzas seems appropriate to reflect the breaking up of ice in a river. The imagery is built around the concept of emotion that starts to build well before anyone can see or feel it, the burning and rising below an ostensibly serene surface, the quiet simmering before that surface breaks. So much happens underneath what we see; this poem is an attempt to capture the underneath.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-69645369010202508912015-04-23T14:07:00.000-07:002015-04-23T14:07:21.781-07:00Day 19-ish: Words in the Wind<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Words in the Wind<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It makes sense in my head,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a thought I sculpt for hours,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">chisel, shape, unveil.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the words leave my lips</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and lift off,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">blown dandelion seeds </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that float, wiggle, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">whorl on fickle winds.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They rise or drop,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">split or hold together,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">land in soft soil</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">or on concrete slabs</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while I watch</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and hold the empty stem.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem should strike a chord with anyone who has attempted to advise a child, an employee, a friend, or anyone else, only to watch helplessly while the advice dissipates as though never spoken at all. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thinking about the random ways dandelion seeds float, and the underlying connotation of wish-making as one blows, the image for me captured at once a picture of elegance and helplessness. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">It is a very short piece, but within it I tried to blend hard sounds with soft (<em>e.g.</em>, "whorl on fickle winds") to further capture that dichotomy, reflecting both the ease with which the words part and disappear and a note of bitterness watching it happen.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-38425352540202548382015-04-20T16:33:00.004-07:002015-04-20T16:34:08.911-07:00Day18-ish: Shootout at the Two A.M. Corral<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shootout at the Two A.M. Corral<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The sheep, long since counted,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lie dead in the pasture,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and someone must pay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The usual suspects yell and strut;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the banker shouts down the office
worker,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while the movie star shrieks at the
doctor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They kick up dirt and sod,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stomp and bellow around woolly
carcasses,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">till someone pulls a pistol</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and the others jolt to action.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shots echo from mind-corners</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with grey puffs from black barrels;</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">synapses fire from all corners,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">behind stuffed and brimming
trash cans,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">from tranquil beaches to corner offices,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">an extended brainscape</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">behind wide-open eyes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chaos pushes hair </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">out, stray shocks</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on a head that pulls apart</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while the clock ticks toward</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">another dust-cloud morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem peers inside a brain that refuses to sleep, something I and many about whom I care know all too well. I start with the proverbial sheep but have them come in already killed off, letting the sheep play the role of Archduke Ferdinand for this particular war.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I let the characters and everything in the landscape reflect various concerns and desires that might flood a mind on any given night, an effort to give an allegorical feel to the action taking place while reflecting the chaotic feel in the mind of a person who just wants to shut it all off.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-72534121096304991872015-04-20T09:46:00.003-07:002015-04-20T09:47:04.470-07:00Day 17-ish: Boating in the Deep<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Boating in the Deep<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We push off and start to row;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hard, steady strokes</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ripple gently the quiet lake.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A bit of water pools,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tickles sandaled toes</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and we laugh and flex,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">proclaim our powerful rowing</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">will splash a whole lake</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">into our boat.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Farther and deeper</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">our strokes slow;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the laughter falters</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while the pool rises.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We reach down,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">find and cover the leak—</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but another appears, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">water bubbles in,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and we scramble.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Knees press wet metal;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fingers fumble over</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">patches and plugs and buckets.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We bail frantically the rocking hull,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">shout competing instructions</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while one oar floats</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">toward purple and red-streaked horizon</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and the fading shore.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem reflects something most people have experienced at one point or another: the building up of concerns from something we can laugh off to a compilation that becomes overwhelming. I worked to create a contrast between the idyllic scene and the human emotion within it, a reflection of an outside world moving quietly, steadily forward despite the human turmoil occurring within it.</span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In writing poetry, both this poem and more generally, I worked to avoid editorializing, letting emotional impact and any ideas emerge from the visual and auditory cues. Hopefully this allows the poem to resonate very differently for different readers.</span></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-92006996117939552082015-04-20T08:48:00.000-07:002015-04-20T08:48:08.850-07:00Day 16-ish: Still Life, with Children<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still Life, with Children<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the middle of a lacquered pine table</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sits an oak bowl,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">one black knot carved into its side.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The tips of four bananas</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">protrude above the rim,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">curl around six faded red apples</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and five tiny oranges,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a gap in the center of the bowl</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while fruit almost balances</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">around the rim.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beside the bowl,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">powdery orange fingersmears</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 151.5pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and dusty shards of Doritos</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stretch toward the edge,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a curved river of artificial colors</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that slides between </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span>leaning, </span><span>three-quarters finished </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lego ship</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and yesterday’s mail pile.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One orange sits on the edge,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dangles precariously,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hovers ready to demolish the ship</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">or settle gently among the bananas.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is an ekphrastic poem, responding to Salvador Dali's <em>Living Still Life</em> with my own take. The painting essentially deconstructs the concept of a still life painting by showing dishes and utensils in the air, in motion, leaning, and basically anything but still. As a parent of two elementary-aged boys, this represents my reality, as even when things look still, activity lingers either at the surface or just beneath.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I think of a still life in words as noun-focused, and I ended most of the lines with nouns for that reason. The tension lies in between, in the lines that do end differently and in the verbs in the middle of the lines, representing an attempt within the poem to reflect the activity underlying everything there.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this case, the table is one just left, signs of life and movement evident everywhere. Objects lean and dangle, and even the non-moving river of Doritos aftermath shows the mess actively left behind. I end with the orange, hovering on the edge between destruction and peaceful settling, the perpetual state of things where children are involved.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-79354192419397788272015-04-18T23:07:00.000-07:002015-04-18T23:07:17.356-07:00Day 15-ish: Love Letter from a Kept Man<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love Letter from a Kept Man<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tell you I can live without you,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and one morning even tried—<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but stumbled bleary-eye,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">watched a world fast-forward,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">launch free through open air</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while I sludged through the Sargasso.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I fought through fog</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">thick as the pillow I still craved;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">voices wrapped in white noise</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span>called as from miles away</span><span>;<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and through the haze </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">your siren call beckoned.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I turned to you again,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">breathed in your strength,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">absorbed your heat in my hands,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tasted you on my lips,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">felt your life flow through me</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and woke to the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem plays on the concept of a love letter, in this case not to a person but to morning coffee. I chose language to mimic the angst and yearning we often see in love poetry, and sought to build in the sensual experience of consuming that first cup.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I chose couplets in this poem to reflect the feel of a morning before coffee, a jagged experience that moves from moment to moment before caffeinated coherence arrives. The mythic imagery is meant to accentuate a state between dreaming and waking while I lurch into the day.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-9349176906822639392015-04-17T10:41:00.002-07:002015-04-17T10:41:40.921-07:00Day 14-ish: Tension, Release<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tension, Release<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Knees and elbows quiver</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">knobby and sharp</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">along the starting line,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">weapons poked from skinny bodies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A pistol bangs;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">bodies spring while it echoes,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lingers in the air with</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span></span><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">distant shouts and wafting sweat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A multicolored mass </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">two hundred wide</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">funnels to narrow aperture;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span>angry grunts rise </span><span>over skin-smacks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sprint slows to trot;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">feet shuffle, hop,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stomp the torn turf,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">bounce side to side,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">steer toward a crevice</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">only the scrawny could fit,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">launch through the crack,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and burst free.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My college jazz director claimed that all music, regardless of genre, is built on tension and release, on building dissonance that drives toward and yields inevitably to consonance. To me, this describes how music reflects life, in that the peace or euphoria of release rise from the tensions that precede it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The metaphor I chose here came rom experience. My favorite cross country race in high school was not the fastest I ran, and in fact it came my freshman year, when I was running with no expectation that I might contribute meaningfully to my team. The race was designed to funnel quickly from the starting line to a narrow path, such that all but the fastest starters were quickly hemmed in. From here came a mile-long struggle to just find an opening, one that had me and most of my fellow runners surging with angst until that opening came.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The focus here is the tension and build. I tried to use active verbs to describe the force exerting itself within that bottled-up position, describing almost a desperate energy waiting to be let out, right up until the moment of escape. This also keeps the poem short, a compact piece with stray long lines to reflect the almost claustrophobic experience.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-15892082317855702672015-04-16T06:58:00.004-07:002015-04-16T06:59:59.095-07:00Day 13-ish: The Moment<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Moment<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First the eyes widen.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Iris expands, pupil shrinks,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a face perceptibly brighter</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as though reflecting the soft glow</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">of the proverbial incandescent bulb</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that shines just above the forehead.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mouth-corners rise,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">not a Cheshire Cat leer</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but infinitesimal,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">barely a hint at the inner leap.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shoulders sink as the back unfurls;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">chest lifts and falls</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with an easy sigh.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For one ephemeral moment</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">body and mind unite,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">grasp a sliver of universe</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and savor.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I teach something, whether a point on writing, attorney-client privilege, or how to cope with the rages of adolescent angst, I look for signs of understanding. They are small, but powerful, and that moment when comprehension reveals itself is one of the most beautiful things in my experience. That instant is one I look to capture here.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The keys to writing the poem lay in word choices that revealed the subtlety of the moment, at the same time showing its fleeting nature and the significance of it. The poem is short because the moment is, but within it I intentionally use multisyllabic words ("ephemeral," "incandescent," "proverbial," etc.) to show the stretching of the mind and to simulate a lingering on that moment.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-68852786389065467542015-04-13T10:28:00.000-07:002015-04-13T10:28:14.003-07:00Day 12.5: Middle School Dance<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Middle School Dance<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The masses line the walls,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">haphazard skyline of growth spurts </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and late bloomers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mouths yell through braces,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">modulate to just-audible</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">over pounding bass.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few know the moves—</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">YouTube-studied shuffle-lurches,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">robot brigade for every song.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dozens just move:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">arms wave, legs shift,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">feet sink in cement,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while heads turn and gawk,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">watch The Guy Who Doesn’t Get It</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">leap, spin, dip, whoop,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">launch across the room</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">eyes wide and glazed,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">skin aglow, hair shiny.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He frenzies through his world</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">till the Slow Song arrives;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">he slips, invisible, to the side<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while the pretty ones</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pair for the ark, step out,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lean left to right, whisper.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><u>Commentary:</u></strong></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was struck last weekend watching kids at play. Many ages were involved, and I couldn't help but notice which were trying to figure out how to act and which were just winging it. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The place it all converges is pre-adolescence, and I used the middle school dance as a metaphor for this. I recall great trepidation going into these events, mostly because I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I always envied those who either seemed to know what to do or seemed not to care at all. And as a quasi-grownup, I find at times that I still do.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The goal was to create a visual look and audible sense of the scene, allowing parallels to emerge through the poem. The ark reference was a conscious choice, both in terms of the image and the connotation of selection. And the stanzas are locked in at three lines each, but surge and draw back for both the visual effect and the implication of chaos within the rigid structure.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-74030220683741332762015-04-12T11:25:00.000-07:002015-04-12T11:25:10.097-07:00Day 11.5: Reflections<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reflections<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stride over the pier,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lean over, look down.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A picture appears,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stares back up,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">you outside of yourself.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ripples tease its surface,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">wave from every edge.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like a Scooby Doo monster</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pretending to be a mirror<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">it moves when you move,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">arches a wiggle eyebrow</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the moment you arch yours,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">raises right with you,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">left with you,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dances when you do,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">grins at you</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">until you launch to meet</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">splashes in the wind.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong><br />
<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Day 11 was a day reserved for family, so I don't feel bad at all about this one coming late. The make-up will arrive this evening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem plays on the idea of looking at yourself, the reflection in the water a metaphor for how we see ourselves. I tried to build in some layers to this. Poetry is a means of reflection, but like any other, it is incomplete. A poet sees what he or see wants to see and portrays it as he or she chooses to portray it; looking at yourself and drawing conclusions is no more reliable--and in some ways can be less reliable--than looking at and drawing conclusions about someone else.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Scooby Doo analogy comes in for two reasons. One is that it feels particularly apt: sometimes the self we see is not beautiful but in fact monstrous or grotesque, but we see enough to believe that really is us. The other, of course, is that I loved Scooby Doo as a kid. (I feel no such nostalgic affection for Scrappy, but that is neither here nor there.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, I chose water as the medium for our self-presentation because of its connotation of impermanence. Reflecting on a version or ourselves does not make that version any more real than another version of ourselves, and the splashing away of that image represents that ability to change what we see.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-71320467133365462492015-04-11T03:24:00.003-07:002015-04-11T03:24:32.690-07:00Day 10: Waking First<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Poem:</strong></span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Waking First<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></u></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In sleep I float, hover over cloudscapes</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">when the alarm creeps in,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">its buzzing bleat distant at first,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">whispers of tomorrow from another
universe<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">until a fist hits my back,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pushes me back into bed</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">just to stretch, press a button,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">roll out a hundred pounds heavier.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I shed clothes as I walk,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">kick tub wall, scream silently.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My eyes only open when water hits,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hot pricks on warm skin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don’t remember dressing</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but fabric swishes while I stumble,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lurch toward coffee—</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God’s morning gift.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The world emerges</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a sip at a time,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">listen to my brain hum,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">reboot for another today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sit in silence while birds sleep,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">breathe in the quiet dark</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">an hour before the sun will reach</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to seduce a slumbering earth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>Commentary:</strong></span></u><br />
<u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hate waking up early--but I love early mornings. This poem was an attempt to capture that dichotomy, both the jolt to an early reality of waking and the peace of settling in to a morning before the rest of the house and the world wake. I selected words that were meant to emphasize the distinctions, both phonetically and semantically.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-59205712446799182682015-04-09T20:36:00.002-07:002015-04-09T20:36:42.649-07:00Day 9: The Plunge<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Plunge<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wake to deep thumps,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">loud and fast.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Heart pounds against chest,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tries to leap out of prison</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">through the rib cage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lifted hands feel detached,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">look blurry in the pre-light—</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">shaking, or fuzzy product</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">of seeing the morning world</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">through cobwebbed eyes?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thirst creeps in,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dry lips and shaggy tongue,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lingering taste of sweet metal,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">like aluminum </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">coated in honey,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">chewed through the night.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hand mystery solved:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">they grab a glass of water,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">pull in to drink;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tossed drops splash over lips,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">cheeks, fingers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The wet fingers drop the glass,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">claw over nightstand's oak,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">clutch medicinal candy.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Devour, breathe scent of sugar</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that chases today’s first panic.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This poem looks to describe the sense of waking up to low blood sugar, something most Type 1 diabetics experience from time to time, and something that, based on my experience and that of others with whom I've spoken, epitomizes the most helpless moments of dealing with that condition. The challenge, of course, is writing a poem that can bring back to that experience someone who has not felt it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The problem of unshared experience, in poetry, finds two primary solutions. One is to use metaphor to draw these connections, and the other is to ground the poem in the senses, to re-create linguistically an experience in touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound. I took the latter approach here.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To me, poetry that looks to share overtly emotions or thoughts generally falls flat. This stems not from denying the validity of an emotional experience, but rather from acknowledging and respecting the unique nature of an emotional or mental impression. Instead, the best poetry evokes mental and emotional notes through the senses as a place where we can connect. That place is the one I aim for here, with stanzas organized to move through the sensual experience.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, there is a detachment built linguistically into the poem, in that I avoided any first or third person references or possessives. In this I meant to represent the sense of a body not in tune with the person. The risk is that the detached language might pull back from the intensity of senses, but I found my initial draft felt less intense for being in first person. That may hold psychological implications for me as reader of my own work, but it represents a consciously chosen path by which to lead this exploration.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-44721913396796853372015-04-09T05:37:00.002-07:002015-04-09T05:37:32.616-07:00Day 8: The Thunderstorm<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Thunderstorm<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At two o’clock in the morning,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the lightning doesn’t wake us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The evening thunder rolled in </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">almost gently,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a hungry sky’s rumbling belly.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But now it hits,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">crashes like the demented offspring</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">of a bass drum and a cymbal,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">enormous and cranky.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It shakes the house, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">turns on seventeen toys</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that whir and blink red and blue;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">two parents who jump and lurch,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and instinctively mumble for coffee;</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and two terrified children</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with wide, wet eyes,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">blue and hazel shining</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while their whole heads scream.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We stampede down stairs,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">footsteps muted by the overpowering</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sky-roar.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three fold onto the couch,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a boy at each end,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">big feet tucked under limbs</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">that look a little smaller tonight.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I take the floor,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ready to leap into action</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">should the lightning or thunder</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hide itself under a cloak,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">rap at our door,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">call itself Unicef or Grandma,</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and try to push inside.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></u></strong></span> </div>
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<span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This one works to build imaginative imagery, capturing the essence of an overnight storm and the reactions it brings. The idea of the storm as a menacing thing, a petulant beast in the sky, is one I get straight from watching the kids react to it, and I wanted to capture it in a way that was at the same time something fun. Or at least more fun than sending the wee hours of the morning sleeping on the living room floor!</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1384274502824331736.post-382404869019134862015-04-08T04:57:00.001-07:002015-04-08T04:57:44.814-07:00Day 7: Jack-in-the-Box<strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poem:</span></u></strong><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jack-in-the-Box<o:p></o:p></span></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know it’s coming;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the crank turns, incessant.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve been ‘round this mulberry bush</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">watched the thin, green leaves</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">flutter in the breeze—</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">more so with the monkey giving chase.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why the pursuit, though?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The weasel kicks up dirt and grass,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and the monkey fights through</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the earthen cloud,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">an acrid scent rising from the animals’</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">torn path.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both run in step to distorted music,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">notes that lull me every time,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">lure me in to the rhythm of the chase,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dizzy me while I watch,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">round and round and—</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">POP!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Commentary:</span></u></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This one is a little fun, a play on an old toy and the song it plays. I tried to play in the song, with the idea of being surprised by something we know will happen underlying it. The concept was to build in imagery around the song while also working in a little depth to ways we think about the toy and the game of playing with it.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02132941151974809780noreply@blogger.com0