Monday, May 24, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Writing.Com: Writing.Com Newsletter Archives: Poetry
Writing.Com: Writing.Com Newsletter Archives: Poetry Poetry archives at Writing.com
isnoop.net's fridge 3.0. Play with my magnetic words.
isnoop.net's fridge 3.0. Play with my magnetic words. Move the words around with your mouse.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Harvestman
Most conspicuous in the fall
the harvestman.
In the house, we call them
daddy long legs.
Its head, thorax and abdomen are
all fused together.
A leggy creature,
the harvestman.
If you try to handle
one of his legs, it might
fall off.
He can escape his enemies this way,
but his legs are important to him
as they tell him about his environment, since
instead of looking at us with eight eyes,
he has two.
The second pair of legs
are the ears
and nose
and tongue
and maybe the second
set of eyes.
In my house
he dispatches
the moths
and flies
and mites
that may live inside.
Notice how after each meal
he draws his legs
one at a time through its jaws,
cleaning them
Make a friend of the
harvestman.
He doesn't eat much
he's quiet
and
never complains.
the harvestman.
In the house, we call them
daddy long legs.
Its head, thorax and abdomen are
all fused together.
A leggy creature,
the harvestman.
If you try to handle
one of his legs, it might
fall off.
He can escape his enemies this way,
but his legs are important to him
as they tell him about his environment, since
instead of looking at us with eight eyes,
he has two.
The second pair of legs
are the ears
and nose
and tongue
and maybe the second
set of eyes.
In my house
he dispatches
the moths
and flies
and mites
that may live inside.
Notice how after each meal
he draws his legs
one at a time through its jaws,
cleaning them
Make a friend of the
harvestman.
He doesn't eat much
he's quiet
and
never complains.
General Tsao's Chicken
Sometimes,
in the afternoon,
I'm overtaken
by an urge to get
a pound
or two
of General Tsao.
Today, while in line,
a woman of seventy,
or so
at least a foot shorter,
clean
smelling good
not too much cologne,
with a thick, German accent,
waited for service.
We exchanged a few opinions
about our love
for General Tsao's chicken
and how much we would like to meet him.
I was smitten.
Not only was she as cute as a bug,
She had a wonderful sense of the absurd,
and I could listen to her for hours.
in the afternoon,
I'm overtaken
by an urge to get
a pound
or two
of General Tsao.
Today, while in line,
a woman of seventy,
or so
at least a foot shorter,
clean
smelling good
not too much cologne,
with a thick, German accent,
waited for service.
We exchanged a few opinions
about our love
for General Tsao's chicken
and how much we would like to meet him.
I was smitten.
Not only was she as cute as a bug,
She had a wonderful sense of the absurd,
and I could listen to her for hours.
Ever See a Crow's Nest?
No,
not the
one way up
the mainmast
on a sailing ship.
I mean the one at
the top of the pine tree
made out of twigs and lined
with rootlets to anchor the nest
in the tree as they once anchored
the plant to the ground. The crow's nest
that holds the shy, black,shiny birds. A sailor first
saw the America's from a crow's nest on Columbus' ship.
Crow's post a sentinel in a nearby tree top to watch while the
rest of the flock feed, below. This bird, against which the hand of
every farmer is uplifted, is shy and cunning. They post a sentinel in a
nearby tree top to watch while the rest of the flock feed, below. When
the crow moves on, the horned owl might move in if the tree is in a dense
forest. The crow, on the other hand likes his tree in an open field, as long as it's high
real
high
Monday, May 17, 2010
NIGGER TOES
Mom, Dad and I used to sit at the kitchen table
cracking the heavy, dark shells of
the Brazil nut.
Dad called them nigger toes.
They didn’t look like any toes I had ever seen,
but I was only six or seven at the time
and had not yet traveled the world,
nor had I seen that many feet of strangers.
The nuts were hard to crack – even across the length.
It took more than one squeeze of the nut cracker to break the shell into enough pieces so the nut meat could be dug out with the fingers or a nut pick.
I was ten or so when I learned the real name of this nut, but I often think of the name dad used, even this morning when I picked a handful out of a bag of mixed nuts and ate them first.
Dad used the term without blinking or chuckling, or looking for a reaction from me or Mom. He said it as if it was the real name of this delicious nut and used the name as easily as if he was talking about the weather.
cracking the heavy, dark shells of
the Brazil nut.
Dad called them nigger toes.
They didn’t look like any toes I had ever seen,
but I was only six or seven at the time
and had not yet traveled the world,
nor had I seen that many feet of strangers.
The nuts were hard to crack – even across the length.
It took more than one squeeze of the nut cracker to break the shell into enough pieces so the nut meat could be dug out with the fingers or a nut pick.
I was ten or so when I learned the real name of this nut, but I often think of the name dad used, even this morning when I picked a handful out of a bag of mixed nuts and ate them first.
Dad used the term without blinking or chuckling, or looking for a reaction from me or Mom. He said it as if it was the real name of this delicious nut and used the name as easily as if he was talking about the weather.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sharkbite Bob
Sharkbite Bob told the pretty girls
in southern California
he lost his leg to a shark
off the port side
of his sailboat
while swimming with otters.
Part Comanche,
a fearless man, a little shy of 66 inches
in his tan Timberlands.
He was a long-distance truck driver.
Sharkbite lost his leg
to thrombosis.
Early one Sunday, last year,
he lost his life to exiles
of the Soda Butte wolf pack,
in Yellowstone.
All they found was his camera
some aluminum pipe -
all that remained of his left leg,
and some bones,
gnawed by bears.
The last picture
recovered from his camera
the hungry pack surrounding him
as he balanced on a log in the clearing.
Crowded together
jowl to jowl
muzzles wrinkled,
dripping with saliva
eyes aglow
in the red light of
the morning hunt.
in southern California
he lost his leg to a shark
off the port side
of his sailboat
while swimming with otters.
Part Comanche,
a fearless man, a little shy of 66 inches
in his tan Timberlands.
He was a long-distance truck driver.
Sharkbite lost his leg
to thrombosis.
Early one Sunday, last year,
he lost his life to exiles
of the Soda Butte wolf pack,
in Yellowstone.
All they found was his camera
some aluminum pipe -
all that remained of his left leg,
and some bones,
gnawed by bears.
The last picture
recovered from his camera
the hungry pack surrounding him
as he balanced on a log in the clearing.
Crowded together
jowl to jowl
muzzles wrinkled,
dripping with saliva
eyes aglow
in the red light of
the morning hunt.
Bob and Roberta Were Swallowed By Their Television
Bob and Roberta Bongwater were watching TV
last night.
Bob was watching a re-run of a Tom Waite Interview.
Roberta wanted to watch a show on how to grow containerized vegetables.
They were fighting over the remote
when a high pitched tone was emitted.
Then the sound of a giant vacuum
from the front of their sixty-five inch flat screen.
They were both sucked out of their recliners into the box,
into the black hole created by a wound in the time continuum.
Only Bob’s burning Camel and Roberta’s 64 oz Slurpie remained on their seats.
This has happened twice this year in the area, and authorities are baffled.
last night.
Bob was watching a re-run of a Tom Waite Interview.
Roberta wanted to watch a show on how to grow containerized vegetables.
They were fighting over the remote
when a high pitched tone was emitted.
Then the sound of a giant vacuum
from the front of their sixty-five inch flat screen.
They were both sucked out of their recliners into the box,
into the black hole created by a wound in the time continuum.
Only Bob’s burning Camel and Roberta’s 64 oz Slurpie remained on their seats.
This has happened twice this year in the area, and authorities are baffled.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
How to Print a Chapbook
How to Print a Chapbook 20.07.2009 | Author: Pier55 | Posted in Scrapbooking
Are you tired of keeping your poetry a secret? Decided it’s time for the world to take note of your writing skills? If you are just starting out as a writer and want a cheap easy format in which to share your writing with others why not make a chapbook? A chapbook is a short, inexpensive booklet that you can make at home. It can feature your favorite poetry or even short stories or articles if you so desire. The world is your oyster when you print a chapbook of your very own!
Make a mock-up of your chapbook. Take five sheets of paper, fold them in half and decide where you would like each poem or story to go. If you are adding pictures or photographs to your chapbook make sure you leave some pages open for these.
Now, number each page so that you have a workable layout for your book once the pages are laid flat. If you print a chapbook from scratch phase 2 will be a master copy.
The back cover of your chapbook should include:
* A short description of the contents that invites readers in.
* A short biographical note about the writer or (if it is a group effort) a list of the names or all the poets or authors and their contact information (if you choose to include it).
* Contact information for the publisher i.e. yourself (don’t leave this out – it could even turn into a lucrative business opportunity for you!).
The back and front covers can be printed on one side of one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
Are you tired of keeping your poetry a secret? Decided it’s time for the world to take note of your writing skills? If you are just starting out as a writer and want a cheap easy format in which to share your writing with others why not make a chapbook? A chapbook is a short, inexpensive booklet that you can make at home. It can feature your favorite poetry or even short stories or articles if you so desire. The world is your oyster when you print a chapbook of your very own!
Make a mock-up of your chapbook. Take five sheets of paper, fold them in half and decide where you would like each poem or story to go. If you are adding pictures or photographs to your chapbook make sure you leave some pages open for these.
Now, number each page so that you have a workable layout for your book once the pages are laid flat. If you print a chapbook from scratch phase 2 will be a master copy.
The back cover of your chapbook should include:
* A short description of the contents that invites readers in.
* A short biographical note about the writer or (if it is a group effort) a list of the names or all the poets or authors and their contact information (if you choose to include it).
* Contact information for the publisher i.e. yourself (don’t leave this out – it could even turn into a lucrative business opportunity for you!).
The back and front covers can be printed on one side of one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.
Monday, May 3, 2010
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