Light Switch
You are so difficult to turn off
for an insomniac
like me.
Embarrassing the Roommate
As you turn on
We turn off.
Sight
Who would think that the merest flip
could give you to me?
Light Switch
You tease me with sparks and flashes of light
when you short circuit.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
April 26, Character Sketch- Silhouettes
"It was difficult to tell if it was a he or a she--that is usually your first question, is it not?-- But I would go with male because of the nose. It was strong, firm and prominent. Just as a nose should be. For a person of consequence that is. And I don't mean money or power but consequence of, what could you say-- being. It's true it was just a glimpse from behind one of those silk Chinese screens but that was all I needed. Observationary, that's me. One of the best. I can pick a ripe cantaloupe from sight alone, just like I can spot someone who matters from a shadow of a profile. Never need to even feel them for soft spots, I don't."
"Please, 'mam, although it is indeed a rare talent in the so incomprehensible sphere of deceitful and disguised rotten fruits, could you please return to the subject at hand?"
"No need to get testy young man. I was pickin' those "incomprehensible" cantaloupes before you were born! Anyway, back to that stark profile from behind the screen. It must have been a man, but then again, some women do wear their hair short like this one's was, kinda cropped like a mushroom you know. I think they actually called it a mushroom cut once...And the frame was rather slight. Reminded me of one of the string beans that struck my eye so strategically earlier this week. There it was, slight and long, full of slightly bulging beans and greener than a hill in Ireland in spring it was! And boy did it want to be picked."
"Ehem, is it going to be vegetables now, then?"
"Well if you want an accurate description then yes, indeed it is! These things take time and when you're lucky, an experienced eye to get to the truth! You know, now that the string bean came to mind, I would say that wiry is the best word to describe the build. Wiry and oily. Oily like that top layer that congeals on the top of peanut butter, he was. And no need to comment on the change to sandwich spreads! If you want to know, then you're gonna have to listen. And in order to get the best description you'll have to take it as I like to tell it."
"Yes 'mam. So we've discerned that the silhouette that you saw from behind a Chinese screen was somehow like a wiry, oily, string bean, cantaloupe with a mushroom on its head? No?"
"No, you idiot! I can spot em like a ripe cantaloupe! Don't you dare put in your write up or whatever it is that he was anything like a cantaloupe. Because he, or she for that matter, wasn't."
"Please, 'mam, although it is indeed a rare talent in the so incomprehensible sphere of deceitful and disguised rotten fruits, could you please return to the subject at hand?"
"No need to get testy young man. I was pickin' those "incomprehensible" cantaloupes before you were born! Anyway, back to that stark profile from behind the screen. It must have been a man, but then again, some women do wear their hair short like this one's was, kinda cropped like a mushroom you know. I think they actually called it a mushroom cut once...And the frame was rather slight. Reminded me of one of the string beans that struck my eye so strategically earlier this week. There it was, slight and long, full of slightly bulging beans and greener than a hill in Ireland in spring it was! And boy did it want to be picked."
"Ehem, is it going to be vegetables now, then?"
"Well if you want an accurate description then yes, indeed it is! These things take time and when you're lucky, an experienced eye to get to the truth! You know, now that the string bean came to mind, I would say that wiry is the best word to describe the build. Wiry and oily. Oily like that top layer that congeals on the top of peanut butter, he was. And no need to comment on the change to sandwich spreads! If you want to know, then you're gonna have to listen. And in order to get the best description you'll have to take it as I like to tell it."
"Yes 'mam. So we've discerned that the silhouette that you saw from behind a Chinese screen was somehow like a wiry, oily, string bean, cantaloupe with a mushroom on its head? No?"
"No, you idiot! I can spot em like a ripe cantaloupe! Don't you dare put in your write up or whatever it is that he was anything like a cantaloupe. Because he, or she for that matter, wasn't."
April 21, Limerick- A Woman's Purse
There once was a girl with a curse
Who carried her life/soul in her purse
When it started to fray
She watched in dismay
As her heart met the world with shy squirts.
You can figure a girl by her purse,
If empty, she's probably terse,
But a full pocket book
May signal a crook
Who will land a man dead in a hearse.
A woman can get rather terse
When a man tries to open her purse
He can't understand
It's her mind in his hand
And the secrets she'll take to her hearse.
Who carried her life/soul in her purse
When it started to fray
She watched in dismay
As her heart met the world with shy squirts.
You can figure a girl by her purse,
If empty, she's probably terse,
But a full pocket book
May signal a crook
Who will land a man dead in a hearse.
A woman can get rather terse
When a man tries to open her purse
He can't understand
It's her mind in his hand
And the secrets she'll take to her hearse.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
April 15, Acrostic- Christmas trees on the side of the road
On Christmas Eve you'll never find
Hearts as full or mind as kind
Cause Christmas season is full of cheer
Hardly carried throughout the year, we
Raise a tree as we lift our standards
In how we share what now seem grandeurs
Smiles here and a held door there
Tell a sour soul you care, and
Melt the rest of frozen year attitudes
Ardently and without any platitudes
So often ignored in lessons and classrooms
Taught by deed as Christmas trees loom
Rectifying hope with shining stars
Each wrapped carefully or sealed in jars
Every time the tree is thrown, with the
Spirit of Christmas onto the lawn.
Another take on it:
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
Cut down with axe
Hung from the car
Ropes never lax,
It's not too far,
So Christmas tree, so Christmas
Tree, how strangled are your branches?
More burning lights,
And tacky balls,
Secure hooks that bite, and
Twist so nothing falls,
Ruined Christmas tree, ruined Christmas tree
End on the curb with
Empty branches.
Had to stop, just not gettin anything yet, have the idea though just have to get the pace
Hearts as full or mind as kind
Cause Christmas season is full of cheer
Hardly carried throughout the year, we
Raise a tree as we lift our standards
In how we share what now seem grandeurs
Smiles here and a held door there
Tell a sour soul you care, and
Melt the rest of frozen year attitudes
Ardently and without any platitudes
So often ignored in lessons and classrooms
Taught by deed as Christmas trees loom
Rectifying hope with shining stars
Each wrapped carefully or sealed in jars
Every time the tree is thrown, with the
Spirit of Christmas onto the lawn.
Another take on it:
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree,
How lovely are your branches!
Cut down with axe
Hung from the car
Ropes never lax,
It's not too far,
So Christmas tree, so Christmas
Tree, how strangled are your branches?
More burning lights,
And tacky balls,
Secure hooks that bite, and
Twist so nothing falls,
Ruined Christmas tree, ruined Christmas tree
End on the curb with
Empty branches.
Had to stop, just not gettin anything yet, have the idea though just have to get the pace
April 14, Sestina- Halloween Candy
Words I will use for the last words of each sentence
pillow/ghoul, ghost/trick
candy
sweet ("sweet!" sweet taste, sweet to share it)
share (share the candy, had your share of it)
mine ("Mine!" like a miner searching for treasure, it's all mine
evening (nighttime, evening out the candy)
pillow/ghoul, ghost/trick
candy
sweet ("sweet!" sweet taste, sweet to share it)
share (share the candy, had your share of it)
mine ("Mine!" like a miner searching for treasure, it's all mine
evening (nighttime, evening out the candy)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
April 12, Sapphic Ode- A Lantern at Sea
The gale has raised for just a night
We thought the winds would never cease
Our only light, one star shines bright
On tempered peace
With morning tide mayhap we'll find
The silken calm was but a dream
Yet while I lull in hammock's bind
My grin will gleam
Out at the night through portal's view
The sleeping waves so take their rest
Their kiss like tulips' morning dew-
The hull's behest
Yet hark! A light I think I see
Which shocks me from my revelry
And makes me wonder could it be
pure devilry?
Or am I right to think a lamp
Has past across my cabin's glass?
Why would they stray from where they camp?
Unless for brass!
One dare not break the Captain's rules
By leaving post to walk the halls
Unless to seek some/hide some secret jewels
The thought enthralls....will finish later! Have the rest planned just at a standstill right now
We thought the winds would never cease
Our only light, one star shines bright
On tempered peace
With morning tide mayhap we'll find
The silken calm was but a dream
Yet while I lull in hammock's bind
My grin will gleam
Out at the night through portal's view
The sleeping waves so take their rest
Their kiss like tulips' morning dew-
The hull's behest
Yet hark! A light I think I see
Which shocks me from my revelry
And makes me wonder could it be
pure devilry?
Or am I right to think a lamp
Has past across my cabin's glass?
Why would they stray from where they camp?
Unless for brass!
One dare not break the Captain's rules
By leaving post to walk the halls
Unless to seek some/hide some secret jewels
The thought enthralls....will finish later! Have the rest planned just at a standstill right now
Monday, April 11, 2011
April 10, Free Verse- Talking to you yourself
You know they caught you the other day
I know, I know
But it wasn't as if it was the first time
Too true, too true
I've really gotta find
a way to close my mind
At least when others are around.
Well, they were only crows after all...
Ahh but crows are still judging I gather
from their bright eyes
And sordid beaks!
They'd laugh if they didn't cackle,
They'd raise their rounded heads and throw em back
and laugh
If they could.
But why would their mocking matter?
I guess you're right.
But if you remember,
When I was scolding myself for their very presence
(Aloud)
That's when the trouble really started
That's when someone who could understand understood.
But is that really trouble?
A little judgement here and there never really hurt anyone
Ha! Listen to yourself.
Well, either way, they all do it anyway.
Or at least they should?
Shouldn't they?
I know, I know
But it wasn't as if it was the first time
Too true, too true
I've really gotta find
a way to close my mind
At least when others are around.
Well, they were only crows after all...
Ahh but crows are still judging I gather
from their bright eyes
And sordid beaks!
They'd laugh if they didn't cackle,
They'd raise their rounded heads and throw em back
and laugh
If they could.
But why would their mocking matter?
I guess you're right.
But if you remember,
When I was scolding myself for their very presence
(Aloud)
That's when the trouble really started
That's when someone who could understand understood.
But is that really trouble?
A little judgement here and there never really hurt anyone
Ha! Listen to yourself.
Well, either way, they all do it anyway.
Or at least they should?
Shouldn't they?
April 9, Craigslist Missed Connection- Sandy Beach Restroom
So, I know it's not the most romantic of places to notice someone, but I still noticed you.
How on earth could I not? You must know exactly what you're doing with that beige bikini with the matching "wrap" that was so completely not doing it's duty. But it was only a glimpse, and then you were gone. Into the sandy restroom. As I walked into the opposite, I knew we were walking away from each other, but into similar situations. Past the oldies and the fatties, away from mirrors and behind a wall, you must have put your towel down, as I did, taken your sunglasses (so prettily and too perfectly holding away your curls) from your head and sat on one of the same splintery benches, with me. Yet did you think that? I know your eyes met mine, and I saw the corner of your mouth slightly lift (a smirker!), but was it the same you give to all adoring eyes? Or was it just for mine? I shouldn't have to mention this if you did notice me, but my suit was yellow. Bright. And my hair is black. Dull. And I appreciated you with every rod and cone of my being.
Anyway, back to my revelry of you and putting our towels down. I bet as you stepped out of your beige that you tried to avoid the floor and balance within the contours of your sandals. That sandy, rough floor. As I did. And as it dropped you contributed. We both contributed at the same moment. In opposite beach restrooms we added to the sand on the floor.
As we took our bathing suits off.
How on earth could I not? You must know exactly what you're doing with that beige bikini with the matching "wrap" that was so completely not doing it's duty. But it was only a glimpse, and then you were gone. Into the sandy restroom. As I walked into the opposite, I knew we were walking away from each other, but into similar situations. Past the oldies and the fatties, away from mirrors and behind a wall, you must have put your towel down, as I did, taken your sunglasses (so prettily and too perfectly holding away your curls) from your head and sat on one of the same splintery benches, with me. Yet did you think that? I know your eyes met mine, and I saw the corner of your mouth slightly lift (a smirker!), but was it the same you give to all adoring eyes? Or was it just for mine? I shouldn't have to mention this if you did notice me, but my suit was yellow. Bright. And my hair is black. Dull. And I appreciated you with every rod and cone of my being.
Anyway, back to my revelry of you and putting our towels down. I bet as you stepped out of your beige that you tried to avoid the floor and balance within the contours of your sandals. That sandy, rough floor. As I did. And as it dropped you contributed. We both contributed at the same moment. In opposite beach restrooms we added to the sand on the floor.
As we took our bathing suits off.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
April 6, Tweet Length- Taxidermy
Always Adelaide
With frozen hair,
and a glass stare,
she watches from the mantel.
Also, amazing website:
http://www.taxidermy.net/
And, Taxidermy literally means the movement of skin.
With frozen hair,
and a glass stare,
she watches from the mantel.
Also, amazing website:
http://www.taxidermy.net/
And, Taxidermy literally means the movement of skin.
April 5, Dialogue- The Invention of the Noose
"You know a noose doesn't necessarily have to hang someone."
"Well of course not, sometimes they're innocent."
"No silly, I mean the actual purpose of a noose is not just for tightening around people's necks. In fact, a noose is simply the the loop at the end of a rope (or other long, thin, binding material that can fulfill the same, ehem, role) that is collapsible and serves to make the loop adjustable. Thus, the merest tug, pull or push on a correctly made noose makes it tighter and tighter and the loop smaller and smaller."
"Oh," (Looks down. Then, up, hopeful) "Well it certainly works for our purpose doesn't it?"
"Indeed."
"Well of course not, sometimes they're innocent."
"No silly, I mean the actual purpose of a noose is not just for tightening around people's necks. In fact, a noose is simply the the loop at the end of a rope (or other long, thin, binding material that can fulfill the same, ehem, role) that is collapsible and serves to make the loop adjustable. Thus, the merest tug, pull or push on a correctly made noose makes it tighter and tighter and the loop smaller and smaller."
"Oh," (Looks down. Then, up, hopeful) "Well it certainly works for our purpose doesn't it?"
"Indeed."
Monday, April 4, 2011
April 4, Haiku- A Conductor//A Lynching
Too Much To Handle
The conductor sits
as the train has ceased its course
yet she is still dead.
The Train Game
The conductor starts
to pull the whistle, as loud
as his grinning face.
Conducting
He speeds past dead fields
of scorched crops, leaving only
billowed smoke behind.
Sex Conducting
"Tickets please," she asked
the men who would never take
her seriously.
Lynching Haikus
The body drops hard
when the box is removed from
the fast clinging feet.
They strung him up high
to make sure it was clear that
he was swinging dead.
Hanging Entertainment
Women and children
were seated in the forefront
for a better view.
The mob tore his clothes
to make the noose that would go
fast around his neck.
How many black men
have ignorant racist mobs
strung up in the trees?
They quickly covered
the fear in his eyes in order
to finish the "job."
A quick broken neck
was a blessing to all those
who dangled from trees.
The conductor sits
as the train has ceased its course
yet she is still dead.
The Train Game
The conductor starts
to pull the whistle, as loud
as his grinning face.
Conducting
He speeds past dead fields
of scorched crops, leaving only
billowed smoke behind.
Sex Conducting
"Tickets please," she asked
the men who would never take
her seriously.
Lynching Haikus
The body drops hard
when the box is removed from
the fast clinging feet.
They strung him up high
to make sure it was clear that
he was swinging dead.
Hanging Entertainment
Women and children
were seated in the forefront
for a better view.
The mob tore his clothes
to make the noose that would go
fast around his neck.
How many black men
have ignorant racist mobs
strung up in the trees?
They quickly covered
the fear in his eyes in order
to finish the "job."
A quick broken neck
was a blessing to all those
who dangled from trees.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
April 3, Limerick- Frankenstein
(Collaborations with Steven)
1.
With bolts in his neck above stitches
The giant the color of witches
Was huge everywhere
Except where he cared
And that's why he never got bitches.
(The reason he never got bitches).
2.
Frankenstein walked kinda funny
His affect was never too sunny
It seemed that the man
Left out in his plan
A colon to empty his tummy!
1.
With bolts in his neck above stitches
The giant the color of witches
Was huge everywhere
Except where he cared
And that's why he never got bitches.
(The reason he never got bitches).
2.
Frankenstein walked kinda funny
His affect was never too sunny
It seemed that the man
Left out in his plan
A colon to empty his tummy!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
April 2, Hip Hopera- Dog Earred Pages
Dog Earrin' Again
You know pages often tell me
And less than often sell me
Yet every now an' again
There's somethin strikin in 'em
That needs to be remembered
dissected and dismembered
To help uncover meaning
hidden in the reading.
That's when I pull out tactics
to file all didactics
or imagery and synergy
or metaphorical "symbology"
that all serve the very purpose
to bring what's hidden to the surface
and illuminate that meaning
so deftly hidden in the reading.
These tactics that I mention
Do often have the penchant
To ruin a book's appearance
and create some incoherence
in the harmony of the pages
yet the most profound of sages
would adhere to my belief
that it brings the book no grief
In fact it shows that it is used
Not neglected or abused.
So bend those pages!
Mend those rages!
Pick up a book and end those cages!
There's more to life than movies
and alcohol and smoothies
There's Dickens, Austen and Proust
That no T.V. will ever oust
And the best way to arear
is to pick a page to dog ear!
You know pages often tell me
And less than often sell me
Yet every now an' again
There's somethin strikin in 'em
That needs to be remembered
dissected and dismembered
To help uncover meaning
hidden in the reading.
That's when I pull out tactics
to file all didactics
or imagery and synergy
or metaphorical "symbology"
that all serve the very purpose
to bring what's hidden to the surface
and illuminate that meaning
so deftly hidden in the reading.
These tactics that I mention
Do often have the penchant
To ruin a book's appearance
and create some incoherence
in the harmony of the pages
yet the most profound of sages
would adhere to my belief
that it brings the book no grief
In fact it shows that it is used
Not neglected or abused.
So bend those pages!
Mend those rages!
Pick up a book and end those cages!
There's more to life than movies
and alcohol and smoothies
There's Dickens, Austen and Proust
That no T.V. will ever oust
And the best way to arear
is to pick a page to dog ear!
April 1 Prose: Strawberry
Oh, Strawberry!
A juicy explosion, a triumphant squelching dispersion of taste that fills the mouth and lingers after swallowing
OR
Oh, Strawberry!
Just one blissful bite it breathes. And then what? A juicy explosion, a triumphant squelching dispersion of taste that fills the mouth and lingers after swallowing.
OR
It's difficult to be literal when talking about a strawberry, and even more so when writing about one. The very idea of them seems so abstract. They are bright red and juicy, seedy and delicious on their own or dipped in chocolate. Or when they're added to a fruit salad or regular salad for that matter. Yet this one strawberry is a literal as they come. It just wants to be eaten. It lays there in the bowl, alone and passive, bright and languid. On its side, with the green bits slightly exposed, and starkly contrasting to create Christmas. One could chop it into bits I suppose, and in fact some would probably get the urge to. But not this strawberry. It wants to be eaten whole. One swift bite and off with its head. If you could call all that it is its head that is. I doubt that the seeds would even interrupt with much texture. They are small and try to hide, for there can be no mar on this juicy surface, no indent and no mark. I bet they would actually make it more delicious; provide a tiny touch of welcome grit to such perfection. And they would never presume to get stuck in anybody's teeth. That's exactly the type of strawberry that this one is. A dangerous snake, or apple presented by a snake for that matter- waiting to strike after tempting. Just one blissful bite it breathes. And then what? A juicy explosion, a triumphant squelching dispersion of taste that fills the mouth and lingers after swallowing. Yet this strawberry knows, just as I do, that it is practically lethal. As it lays there, patiently waiting with its juices barely contained to almost bursting, it knows of my allergies. And it beautifully/deliciously/tantalizingly mocks them.
A juicy explosion, a triumphant squelching dispersion of taste that fills the mouth and lingers after swallowing
OR
Oh, Strawberry!
Just one blissful bite it breathes. And then what? A juicy explosion, a triumphant squelching dispersion of taste that fills the mouth and lingers after swallowing.
OR
It's difficult to be literal when talking about a strawberry, and even more so when writing about one. The very idea of them seems so abstract. They are bright red and juicy, seedy and delicious on their own or dipped in chocolate. Or when they're added to a fruit salad or regular salad for that matter. Yet this one strawberry is a literal as they come. It just wants to be eaten. It lays there in the bowl, alone and passive, bright and languid. On its side, with the green bits slightly exposed, and starkly contrasting to create Christmas. One could chop it into bits I suppose, and in fact some would probably get the urge to. But not this strawberry. It wants to be eaten whole. One swift bite and off with its head. If you could call all that it is its head that is. I doubt that the seeds would even interrupt with much texture. They are small and try to hide, for there can be no mar on this juicy surface, no indent and no mark. I bet they would actually make it more delicious; provide a tiny touch of welcome grit to such perfection. And they would never presume to get stuck in anybody's teeth. That's exactly the type of strawberry that this one is. A dangerous snake, or apple presented by a snake for that matter- waiting to strike after tempting. Just one blissful bite it breathes. And then what? A juicy explosion, a triumphant squelching dispersion of taste that fills the mouth and lingers after swallowing. Yet this strawberry knows, just as I do, that it is practically lethal. As it lays there, patiently waiting with its juices barely contained to almost bursting, it knows of my allergies. And it beautifully/deliciously/tantalizingly mocks them.
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