Random Acts of Poetry
Hiss
There is no place for draining.
A solid sky, water licking
dark under sidewalks,
translucent silks of rain,
like sheer drapes convulsing,
but every window shut.
The distant smokestacks
dissolve like an ancestor's
faded reminiscence. Shapes
drift away, vacating dreams.
But from the stony bottom
a face rises, a garnish of seaweed
like a headdress,
more slime from the sluice gate.
What's that the rain hisses?
Ssssh. Slippery season.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
So it goes
So it goes
"Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?"
~~~
"It is a very mixed blessing to be brought back from the dead."
~~~
"Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why."
--Kurt Vonnegut
"Who is more to be pitied, a writer bound and gagged by policemen or one living in perfect freedom who has nothing more to say?"
~~~
"It is a very mixed blessing to be brought back from the dead."
~~~
"Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why."
--Kurt Vonnegut
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
April: Cruel Month
Cruel Month
What is it about April, the month poet T.S. Eliot famously described as the "cruelest"? Schizophrenic weather and tax day might have something to do with it, but April is also prime time for some of the most angst-provoking national commemorations and "holidays."
April is, for example, National Anxiety Month, according to an outfit called the National Anxiety Center, which gives out something called the Chicken Little Award. The Center seems far more concerned with supposedly over-hyped "liberal" issues like global warming than with the health consequences of frayed nerves -- which means it is itself a cause for anxiety, if you ask me.
More salubrious, perhaps, is the designation of April as Stress Awareness Month, sponsored by the Health Resource Network. This is described as a "national, cooperative effort to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies, and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society." That's nice, but I think people are already pretty aware of their stress as they struggle with all those tax forms -- when they're not trying to decide how to dress for freezing rain. August might be a better time to bring up stress awareness. Can't relax, even while you're sunning yourself on the beach? There's a reason....
This is also Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. A good cause, to be sure, but why April? Maybe it has something to do with all those baby chicks and rabbits that are sold around Eastertime and presumably die shortly thereafter -- something to ponder while you're biting the ears off your chocolate bunny.
April has certainly lived up to its cruel reputation when you consider the number of disastrous events that have occurred in this month. The Columbine massacre, the Oklahoma City bombing and the 1992 Los Angeles riots all took place in April, as did Lincoln's assassination, the San Francisco earthquake, and the sinking of the Titanic.
April 15th is -- no, not just IRS appreciation day -- Rubber Eraser Day. The origins of this day are lost in the mists of time, but the reason for it is clear enough. If you can fill out your tax return in pen, without first doing a draft in pencil, you're living a simple life indeed. (I suppose it is actually April 17th this year, since the 15th falls on a weekend and the Feds therefore gave us two days' grace.)
April is National Poetry Month, which seems to make Eliot's remark ironic. Or does it? I suppose it depends on your opinion of the state of modern poetry.
I could go on. April 6th is Sorry Charlie Day, dedicated to "those who have been rejected and lived through it." April 11th is Eight-Track Tape Day. April 17th is National Cheeseball day. April 26th is Richter Scale Day. And April 1st, of course, is a day dedicated to making a fool out of you.
Maybe the best thing about April is that it will soon be over.
(This essay appears in the latest issue of The Hudson Current.)
What is it about April, the month poet T.S. Eliot famously described as the "cruelest"? Schizophrenic weather and tax day might have something to do with it, but April is also prime time for some of the most angst-provoking national commemorations and "holidays."
April is, for example, National Anxiety Month, according to an outfit called the National Anxiety Center, which gives out something called the Chicken Little Award. The Center seems far more concerned with supposedly over-hyped "liberal" issues like global warming than with the health consequences of frayed nerves -- which means it is itself a cause for anxiety, if you ask me.
More salubrious, perhaps, is the designation of April as Stress Awareness Month, sponsored by the Health Resource Network. This is described as a "national, cooperative effort to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies, and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society." That's nice, but I think people are already pretty aware of their stress as they struggle with all those tax forms -- when they're not trying to decide how to dress for freezing rain. August might be a better time to bring up stress awareness. Can't relax, even while you're sunning yourself on the beach? There's a reason....
This is also Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. A good cause, to be sure, but why April? Maybe it has something to do with all those baby chicks and rabbits that are sold around Eastertime and presumably die shortly thereafter -- something to ponder while you're biting the ears off your chocolate bunny.
April has certainly lived up to its cruel reputation when you consider the number of disastrous events that have occurred in this month. The Columbine massacre, the Oklahoma City bombing and the 1992 Los Angeles riots all took place in April, as did Lincoln's assassination, the San Francisco earthquake, and the sinking of the Titanic.
April 15th is -- no, not just IRS appreciation day -- Rubber Eraser Day. The origins of this day are lost in the mists of time, but the reason for it is clear enough. If you can fill out your tax return in pen, without first doing a draft in pencil, you're living a simple life indeed. (I suppose it is actually April 17th this year, since the 15th falls on a weekend and the Feds therefore gave us two days' grace.)
April is National Poetry Month, which seems to make Eliot's remark ironic. Or does it? I suppose it depends on your opinion of the state of modern poetry.
I could go on. April 6th is Sorry Charlie Day, dedicated to "those who have been rejected and lived through it." April 11th is Eight-Track Tape Day. April 17th is National Cheeseball day. April 26th is Richter Scale Day. And April 1st, of course, is a day dedicated to making a fool out of you.
Maybe the best thing about April is that it will soon be over.
(This essay appears in the latest issue of The Hudson Current.)
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
What I'm Reading
What I'm "Reading"
The Color of a Dog Running Away, by Richard Gwyn
Cryptic invitations, bizarre events, cults, the ordinary and the surreal... I don't know why this sort of thing appeals to me. Actually, I do know why. Long story.
The Color of a Dog Running Away, by Richard Gwyn
Cryptic invitations, bizarre events, cults, the ordinary and the surreal... I don't know why this sort of thing appeals to me. Actually, I do know why. Long story.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Word of the Day
Word of the Day
minatory (adj)
Menacing or threatening
"He was often observed peeping through the bars of a gate and making minatory gestures with his small forefinger while he scolded the sheep with an inarticulate burr, intended to strike terror into their astonished minds."
--George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss
I observed a sheep being sheered once, at a state fair. The animal was scared and made a weird, keening sound that was undoubtedly the sheep equivalent of a scream. Those huge, noisy electric clippers were minatory, to the sheep -- something I occasionally think about when I wear wool.
minatory (adj)
Menacing or threatening
"He was often observed peeping through the bars of a gate and making minatory gestures with his small forefinger while he scolded the sheep with an inarticulate burr, intended to strike terror into their astonished minds."
--George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss
I observed a sheep being sheered once, at a state fair. The animal was scared and made a weird, keening sound that was undoubtedly the sheep equivalent of a scream. Those huge, noisy electric clippers were minatory, to the sheep -- something I occasionally think about when I wear wool.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World
No Bonsai
The 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World
NB: When the plums dry on your tree, it's time to prune.
The 10 Most Magnificent Trees in the World
NB: When the plums dry on your tree, it's time to prune.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
time lapse
They paved paradise
Here's some time-lapse photography of a parking lot. Sounds boring, but it's actually kinda mesmerizing. Why am I reminded of an ant hill? (Requires Flash)
Here's some time-lapse photography of a parking lot. Sounds boring, but it's actually kinda mesmerizing. Why am I reminded of an ant hill? (Requires Flash)
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel
I've been sorting through some boxes of old books that were never unpacked after the move. Some I don't remember ever reading, some I can't believe I ever wanted to read, and some I can't help reading while I'm supposed to be sorting. It is taking a long time.... Spring is a day away. The ground is covered with snow and ice -- more than we've had all winter. At the train station, people in the waiting area keep warm by standing under infrared lights -- like french fries in a fast-food restaurant. And daylight savings time started weeks early this year. The calendar seems to be slightly out of whack.... Sign on a hotdog stand: "What foods these morsels be".... An annoying commercial on the radio: "Name a star after someone." For only $60, you get the stellar coordinates and an official certificate, plus the name recorded in a "copyrighted" book. Of course, the International Astronomical Union, the only official body capable of officially naming stars, won't recognize your name (and they usually just assign numbers to stars). As for copyright meaning anything in this sort of situation -- you can copyright your grocery list, too.... Why don't I.... memetrack?
I've been sorting through some boxes of old books that were never unpacked after the move. Some I don't remember ever reading, some I can't believe I ever wanted to read, and some I can't help reading while I'm supposed to be sorting. It is taking a long time.... Spring is a day away. The ground is covered with snow and ice -- more than we've had all winter. At the train station, people in the waiting area keep warm by standing under infrared lights -- like french fries in a fast-food restaurant. And daylight savings time started weeks early this year. The calendar seems to be slightly out of whack.... Sign on a hotdog stand: "What foods these morsels be".... An annoying commercial on the radio: "Name a star after someone." For only $60, you get the stellar coordinates and an official certificate, plus the name recorded in a "copyrighted" book. Of course, the International Astronomical Union, the only official body capable of officially naming stars, won't recognize your name (and they usually just assign numbers to stars). As for copyright meaning anything in this sort of situation -- you can copyright your grocery list, too.... Why don't I.... memetrack?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
100 Most Often Mispronounced Words
How Not to Sound Illiterate
The 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English
Does anyone ever actually say "a blessing in the skies" instead of "a blessing in disguise"? I wonder. I kinda like the phrase "a blessing in the skies," though. It makes me think of a warm, sunny day, like today.
If spelling is more your bugaboo, there's also this:
The 100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English
The 100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English
Does anyone ever actually say "a blessing in the skies" instead of "a blessing in disguise"? I wonder. I kinda like the phrase "a blessing in the skies," though. It makes me think of a warm, sunny day, like today.
If spelling is more your bugaboo, there's also this:
The 100 Most Often Misspelled Words in English
Word of the Day
Word of the Day
rebarbative (adj)
Tending to irritate or repel
"Over the past couple of hours a lot of rebarbative, ulcerated and embittered people had been working hard at bedding their resentments down in sensory-deprivation tanks full of alcohol."
-- Will Self, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis
The world is full of rebarbative people, many of whom insist on riding the PATH train at rush hour, like the guy yesterday who asked me if the train was going to New York. When I said yes, he asked two other people the same question -- as if it was a matter of opinion and he needed to take a survey.
rebarbative (adj)
Tending to irritate or repel
"Over the past couple of hours a lot of rebarbative, ulcerated and embittered people had been working hard at bedding their resentments down in sensory-deprivation tanks full of alcohol."
-- Will Self, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis
The world is full of rebarbative people, many of whom insist on riding the PATH train at rush hour, like the guy yesterday who asked me if the train was going to New York. When I said yes, he asked two other people the same question -- as if it was a matter of opinion and he needed to take a survey.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Camino Surreal
Camino Surreal
I saw a thought-provoking production of Tennessee Williams' Camino Real last weekend, produced by the local Art House Productions. It's one of those ambiguous stories that you could spin a lot of theories about. You could say it's simply a dream, which would be too dismissive, I think. You could say it's about people -- including such literary personages as Casanova and Lord Byron -- trapped in a sort of purgatory. (It reminded me a little of a highly disturbing episode of an old anthology TV series called Ghost Story that starred Patricia Neal as a woman who gradually realizes that the hotel she's staying in is, well, only what appears to be a hotel. Whoever wrote it may have had Williams' play in mind.) But it's probably best not to try to reduce such abstract stories to a literal, linear, connect-the-dots plot. Let a thousand meanings bloom.
I saw a thought-provoking production of Tennessee Williams' Camino Real last weekend, produced by the local Art House Productions. It's one of those ambiguous stories that you could spin a lot of theories about. You could say it's simply a dream, which would be too dismissive, I think. You could say it's about people -- including such literary personages as Casanova and Lord Byron -- trapped in a sort of purgatory. (It reminded me a little of a highly disturbing episode of an old anthology TV series called Ghost Story that starred Patricia Neal as a woman who gradually realizes that the hotel she's staying in is, well, only what appears to be a hotel. Whoever wrote it may have had Williams' play in mind.) But it's probably best not to try to reduce such abstract stories to a literal, linear, connect-the-dots plot. Let a thousand meanings bloom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
