Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks in American English; dashes, colons,
and semicolons almost always go outside the quotation marks; question marks and exclamation
marks sometimes go inside, sometimes stay outside.
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Two, older poems.
A Visit to the UPS Counter A small machine in a deep fold of my brain lifts each corner of my mouth in turn and I smile at the pretty woman behind the counter. A whisper automated sends a spark to my chest, and I let go all the charm I can muster as the worm in my groin stirs, recoils, from the electricity of this unfamiliar arena. A feeling, not unlike hunger fear paints the inside of my stomach. Her teeth are straight and white. Her eyes reflect something from the inside I’d never seen. I am validated. ###### Family Gathering I was picked up by one leg dropped hard onto the middle of the living room. I sat there for a long time looking at the flocked wallpaper. A lady in a bright, red dress joined me, sitting quietly, expressionless, staring straight at me her legs opened in a wide “V” her back straight and stiff. Two little kids and a dog joined us. A boy, about ten a girl, five. The dog was solid black. His mouth was open as if to bark, but I couldn’t hear anything, only the adenoidal breathing of the little girl playing with her doll house and creating her own little family gathering in the living room of a tiny cardboard house.
Friday, November 6, 2020
Monday, October 19, 2020
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Sunday, October 4, 2020
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Monday, September 21, 2020
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Friday, September 11, 2020
Who Was the Falling Man from 9/11? - Falling Man Identity Revealed
Remembering 9-11 and commemorating the loss of so many souls. This article is hard to read, but is very impactful.
Who Was the Falling Man from 9/11? - Falling Man Identity Revealed: Do you remember the photograph of the falling man? In the United States, people have taken pains to banish it from the record of September 11, 2001. The story behind it, though, and the search for the man pictured in it, are our most intimate connection to the horror of that day.
Who Was the Falling Man from 9/11? - Falling Man Identity Revealed: Do you remember the photograph of the falling man? In the United States, people have taken pains to banish it from the record of September 11, 2001. The story behind it, though, and the search for the man pictured in it, are our most intimate connection to the horror of that day.
Friday, September 4, 2020
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Snakes of Summer. POEM
All summer I saw them as they scurried in front of my whirling mower blades. Some of them evaded the metal blades. The slower ones were halved and quartered. The first time this happened, I was shocked and saddened. The second time angry at myself remorseful for mowing the fields I called home and thought of as my private park. I made adjustments. I walked the field with my dog before I mowed, chasing the gopher snakes ahead of me to their dens. These slow moving, diurnal creatures usually sunned themselves in my field, readying themselves for active nights hunting lizards and rodents. Their prey is suffocated by the constriction of loops of their chocolate spotted body, and then they dine, shyly, maybe a little remorseful about what they’ve done.
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Abeeku: A poem
Abeeku
Abeeku stole a bright, gold watch from the busy shop in the market. The shopkeeper saw him slip the watch into his waistband - chased him, yelling and gesturing, “?? ,?? “ Thief, thief!”
The crowd caught up -
surrounding Abeeku
in the middle of the street.
They beat him.
Someone slipped an old tire over his head,
and another
and another helped
pull the tire over his arms
pinning them to his side.
The shopkeeper picked up the watch
its crystal broken and
its case scratched and split.
He put it on his wrist and
joined the chant, “Thief, thief.”
A boy pressed through the throng
with a tin of petrol,
pouring it over Abeeku’s head.
A shadow offered matches and Abeeku was covered in flame at dusk while the African sky was ablaze in red and yellow light.
Monday, August 17, 2020
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
10 Editing Tips That'll Instantly Make You a Better Writer (Infographic)
10 Editing Tips That'll Instantly Make You a Better Writer (Infographic) Good, very basic stuff. Good infographic for students.
Friday, June 5, 2020
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Friday, May 1, 2020
Thursday, April 30, 2020
One of my poems from February, 2011
A Sign
The madman chalked red X’s on the sidewalks of the houses if he suspected or had evidence that people there were unkind to each other, or their dogs. When he was a young man, he studied hobo signs chalked on railroad cars, mailboxes, fences, buildings in barn yards, in towns he probed. Signs that said “doubtful”, “mean dog”, “be ready to defend yourself”, “dirty jail”, or “nothing doing here” sent him away or might draw him closer to investigate. He was a harvest hobo, following the crops in the West. Once beaten senseless, and left to die in a Fresno alley. They laughed when they punched and kicked him, stealing his knapsack and his kit. The beating injured his brain. He was never the same. He lost all inhibitions and good judgment. He couldn’t remember what rows to pick when he picked grapes in Visalia and oranges in Porterville. He lost track of time, and had to write everything down. He made little sketches so he could find his way back to his box under the railroad bridge. At night, he played his harmonica until he dropped into dreams of his days as a boy or his job with the city. He dreamt of the beautiful woman that gave him a whole pie when he begged for food at her door. He dreamt of the old, black man that looked into his eyes for a long time before tears came. The old man saw himself in his eyes. He saw a man with even less than himself, and it was more than he could endure. The hobo impressed the dirt path in front of the man’s simple cottage with a new mark – a mark never seen before. It was an austere eye, a large tear in both corners, made with polished pebbles and shells he carried in his pack.
The 10 Best Free Ebook Download Sites
The 10 Best Free Ebook Download Sites: Want free ebook downloads? Here are several of the best sites for downloading free ebooks.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Why Do News Anchors Sound Alike? | Mental Floss
Why Do News Anchors Sound Alike? | Mental Floss: No matter where you are in the country, local and national news anchors have the same vocal delivery. There's a good reason why they learn it.
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