Bone Orchard Poetry Open Submissions

This is a blog that publishes poems on its site, the guidelines are simple and straightforward which I love: Submit 1-6 poems or 1-3 prose poems, paste these into your e-mail to boneorchardpoetryATgmailDOTcom. Make sure you include a short bio and in the subject line include “poetry submission/last name” so they know it isn’t spam.
Check out the blog to get a feel for poems they publish and for the details verbatim at:
http://boneorchardpoetry.blogspot.ie/
Good luck to all who submit, please drop in again next week…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.blossombones.com/winter_spring2012/darling_ws2012.html
“Noctuary: by Kristina Marie Darling

http://www.blossombones.com/winter_spring2012/henney_ws2012.html
“Blueprint” by Theodosia Henney

Thanks for clicking in, please drop by tomorrow for more open submissions…

Doug Draime's More Than The Alley

Doug Draime’s More than the Alley has been published by Interior Noise Press this year and is a full-length collection of straightforward, hard-knocks poems that many fans know and love. His poems are inspired by Bukowski and the grit of life, below I am happy to share some samples:

Red’s Tavern

Pete’s stab wounds
were a badge of honor.
Pulling his beer stained
Dodger t-shirt up
showing me
a 5 inch scar
across his huge
beer belly.

That’s something, man
I said.

He jumped up from his stool
turned around and
with both hands
pulled his t-shirt
up to the back of his neck

revealing a large, imbedded
nasty looking gush
in the middle of his back
clear down to
the cheeks of his fat ass.

He turned around with a goofy
drunken smile on his face
pulling his shirt down. “The ex done
that with a broken beer bottle the
night she left and went to Tucson.
They say I lost 4 pints of blood.”

That’s something, man
I said again and bought him a
Beer for that one.

I love that this poem talks about the battle scars of relationships and that it shows that men aren’t the only ones who are violent. The older I get the more I learn that relationships can be brutal for both sexes and while women may compare emotional battle scars it is interesting to read a poem where men show off physical battle scars of relationships. No one gets out of a bad relationship without some scarring and the fact the poet buys him a beer for “that one” of the battle scar stories makes me smile. Women might buy their lady friends a cocktail or treat them to a mani-pedi, men buy each other beer. We all have our way of coping and of comforting our friends, or fellow hard-luck strangers.



Someday I Will Write A Poem That Will Flood The World

And I will own all the
arks, boats, ships,
rafts, and canoes,
and tug boats, ferries—
all forms of water transportation.

People will have to come
to me for their means
of survival.

The stubborn and destitute ones
will drown in my poem
sinking to the bottom
screeching like anchors on
rusty
chains.

The rest of humanity will plead
for cut-rate discounts. But fuck them.
I’ll make them pay out
the ass. No rainbows
this time.

This poem makes me grin, what writer hasn’t wanted to write an epic of some kind that grabs the whole world’s attention? I feel that way when I’m experiencing writer’s block or read someone else’s work that is so great that I’m immediately jealous that I cannot write like that. This poem is my own selfish indulgence to share with you all, I simply love it. I wonder what the inspiration was for Mr. Draime for this poem?



Burning Bag of Shit

She found the last 50 poems I wrote
in my notebook, cut them out
put them through her office shredder
twice: once lengthwise and then
width-wise. She told me all
of this, as she was standing
screaming and crying on the stoop
in front of my apartment, with the pieces of
my poems in a small paper bag. She
took out my Zippo from her ass-tight
jean pocket, lit the bag, waited for it
to get going good, before she
dropped it at my feet and turned
still crying and ran to her car. I watched
her drive away and walked back into
my apartment, letting the bag of words
burn like a bag of shit on Halloween.
I made a cup of strong black tea and sat down
at the kitchen table with a new notebook
and I started another poem…
just for fucking spite.

This poem makes me laugh, actually. Maybe that’s cruel of me, but I feel like saying “that’s what you get for snooping!” Mr. Draime is like myself, what we really feel is written in poetic form and most of those poems aren’t left out for public consumption, it’s in a journal/notebook/private space of sorts. This poem is the ultimate example of such a scenario and as true testament that Mr. Draime is a writer he goes right back to writing more poems after his notebook is shredded and then burned to a crisp.





To be honest, there are a half dozen more poems I’d love to share with you but I limited myself to the ones that made me grin big. If you enjoyed this review, you may purchase a copy of Doug Draime’s More than the Alley for $15.00 at:
http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Alley-Doug-Draime/dp/0981660665

Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow…

The Improvised Life Site

It’s not all poetry but what I love about it is that it incorporates my favorite things: Home design, art, and poetry. Check it out at:

http://www.improvisedlife.com/

Thanks for dropping in, please stop by tomorrow for another featured poet…

Blood Pudding Press Chapbook Open Submissions

There is a $5.00 entry fee through PayPal which is well worth it, if you ask me. Also, you may submit 10-25 poems (approx.. 12-30 pages for total manuscript) via e-mail with “BPP Chapbook Contest (your name)” in the subject line. You may attach your manuscript to the e-mail and be sure to include your full name and contact information along with your bio in the body of the e-mail to the editor, Juliet Cook to:
julietcooATgmailDOTcom
*Make sure you check out the website to get a feel for what is published, the deadline is October 15th and you must read all the details at the blog to make sure you submit your manuscript correctly.

Check out all the details at:
http://www.bloodyooze.blogspot.com/2012/09/blood-pudding-press-is-accepting.html

Good luck to all who submit, please stop by again next week…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://fictionaut.com/stories/tina-barry/white-legs--2
“White Legs” by Tina Barry

http://juked.com/2012/09/secondperson.asp
“Second Person” by Perie Long

Thanks for clicking in, please drop by again tomorrow…

An Interview with Juliet Cook's Post-Stroke Collection

Juliet Cook’s collection of poems POST-STROKE is darkly rich and decadent. The chapbook itself is beautifully made by hand and is a treat just to hold, the words inside just as delicious a treat. After reading some discussions Juliet Cook has had since her stroke, I’ve learned that her carotid artery was bleeding and causing aneurysms and she has been tackling her difficulty with reading and creating words with determination and guts. I am thrilled she has agreed to an interview about her poetry regarding this collection and I happily introduce you to Juliet Cook:


Hello there. Before I answer your questions, I wanted to thank you for your interest in conducting a poetry-related interview with me – and I also wanted to honestly admit that I had a bit of a tough time with these questions, due to them being predominantly focused on my stroke and its impact. Obviously, the reason your questions focused on that was because they were in relation to my POST-STROKE poetry chapbook. However, even though I still have real side effects from my stroke and can’t simply ignore them, I don’t want that to be one of the primary things people focus on about me and poetry. My health issue did not largely change my poetry reading and writing style (except for slowing it down) – BUT my poetic content is mentally/emotionally based and the health issue had an impact on those parts of me. I’m happy to share some of this with others who might find it helpful or interesting.

1. Juliet, you made mention that before your stroke in 2010 you felt you were coming into your own with your poetry in 2008 and 2009. Can you tell us a little bit about your work and creative flow before your stroke occurred?

I have a tough time with dates and other time frame details, but I’ve been reading and writing poetry for many years and had been submitting it for years, as well – and despite occasional acceptances, my rejections outweighed the acceptances until probably somewhere around 2007 or so, I started receiving significantly more acceptances AND feeling more strongly about my own poetry writing styles. After many years of working hard and having a slow writing style, my poetry finally started flowing out more quickly and powerfully and naturally.
In 2008, I had five different poetry chapbooks published AND my first full-length poetry book, ‘Horrific Confection’, was published the end of that year. Then in 2009, I also had five different poetry chapbooks published and was in the process of working on several others. I think 2007- 2009 felt like really exciting, successful writing times for me, during which my poetry was starting to take off, both in terms of my own writing style improving AND being more widely accepted for different kinds of publication.
Then early in 2010 (January 6 2010), I had an unexpected carotid artery dissection, which caused a 99% bleed out, which caused aneurysms, which caused a stroke, which caused me to lose some brain powers – oddly enough, most of those powers related to words and memorization.


2. Once you had your stroke and you were working with the speech therapist you mention that reading and writing was difficult to do. What techniques did you use to overcome those difficulties and what kinds of words were the most difficult to work with? Were they action words? Naming items? Conceptual words?

I’m not even sure what ‘action words, naming items, and conceptual words’ MEAN – so yes, I guess my difficulties included those kinds of words and/or basic understandings of word-based meanings. I could barely read or write at all at first. I could understand many words if someone else said them, but I had a hard time thinking of words myself – especially the basic kinds of words that you learn when you’re a kid – like colors, shapes, sizes, body parts, even ABCs. At first I repeatedly went over the alphabet and colors and numbers and other stuff you learn when you’re a young child.
I had a hard time with months and days and even times. I had a hard time with food words, animal words, and people’s names. One of the first things I had to do when home from the hospital was write down the names of me and my husband’s immediate family members and read those multiple times a day so that I could learn them again. I would look at my own dad and it’s not like I didn’t know who he was, but I couldn’t think of his name. If I had to re-learn the names of immediate family members, imagine the names of friends and other poets. I felt out of it and clueless and still do to an extent. I still have to concentrate a lot when it comes to easy little words – sometimes I remember certain words; sometimes I don’t; sometimes the first letter and relative length pops into my head; sometimes it seems as if there is no particular rhyme or reason to any of it.
My parents helped me with therapy, much of it involving reading children’s books (which were very hard for me to read at first) and a Children’s Picture Dictionary. Much of the therapy was annoyingly repetitive, boring, but necessary (and frankly, I feel like most of my stroke-related answers to interview questions might be boring for other poets to read – because why would a unique creative individual want to read about another adult’s children’s picture dictionary therapy?).
I will say that I truly believe my passion for poetry had a profound positive impact on my recovery – because I cared about poetry so much, that I would spend hours upon hours reading the same poem hundreds of times in a row.


3. Were there any specific words that “stuck with you” after the stroke? Words that were easiest for you to read and speak despite the stroke and what were those words?

Seemingly random words would suddenly pop out of my head and that still happens. Also, it seems that my brain has become more visual and seemingly random (yet strong) images often pop out. Sometimes it’s really overwhelming, because I can’t clearly explain the images with words. Word-wise, I didn’t lose big words as much as small words - but sometimes when a big word pops out, I’m not sure what it means and so need to check it out via the dictionary.
Sometimes it’s all kinds of imagery from my past, suddenly popping out. Pop pop pop pop pop pop – one image after the other, for no apparent reason – no matter how much I close my eyes, place the pillow atop my head, and try to control my thinking, all this imagery just keeps popping around in my brain – most of it really visually specific images from a long time ago.
The speed of the popping can be really overwhelming and sometimes lead to weird panic attacks. Another detail that contributes to my panic is that a little over a year ago, I started having small seizures, as a result of how my brain is healing.


4. Your chapbook is made with textural paper and the yarn that binds it is soft and comforting. Is it easier to create with materials than with words since your stroke? Does the type of materials you use help you present the words you are trying to speak?

My brain does act more visual than it used to, BUT I’ve always liked visual art and I’ve always used bits of visual imagery outside the poetry chapbooks I create. I started Blood Pudding Press, my itty bitty hand-designed print poetry chapbook press, near the end of 2006, and I always enjoyed adding small visual art snippets to the chapbooks I created. I preferred using ribbon-esque doodads rather than just staples. The soft yarn like substance I used to bind the POST-STROKE chapbook made me think of the color of brain veins. It could be perceived as warm and soft; but it could also be perceived as misshapen, discolored, and creepy. Dark and light; up & down; malfunctioned and scary.



5. Your collection of poems features a mix of medical words, descriptive words such as “red” and various forms of the word “blood” and animals that are not always pleasant such as rats, tigers, crows, pterodactyls. As you were recovering, how did these words come to the forefront of your mind into your poems? Were they ones you used before your stroke or were they words that associated with your inner feelings during the healing process?

6. I’d like to share the first poem in your collection with our readers which has no title. Can you describe what is happening with your writing and recovery with sharing this poem? Reading it I see a woman trying to reconcile her body and her soul, her body has a “pernicious red limp” and the previously “non overly obvious poetry” is “dead.” Now there is “platinum mesh/deep inside my odd head” and a “vicious new voice” waits to speak. Can you describe your emotions and the details behind this poem’s creation?

Post-stroke my words are not over-
ly obvious. Why on earth should my
non overly obvious poetry be dead?
1. Telebloodied brain cadaver with pernicious red limp.
2. Telebloodied drain dagger with growing open limbs.
3. My carotid swirling, awaited a dangerous blow torch
from the crotch; clicked in, rose up, added platinum mesh
deep inside my odd head. In spite of my almost annihilation.
4. A vicious new voice will slowly seep out of my skull.
5.Will spill more pretty crooked plucked out wordage.

In a conjoined response to your questions 5 and 6, many of the bloody, body part, and medical words within my POST-STROKE poems are related to what happened to me, during or after my stroke.
That first poem’s first three lines ARE its title – and some of that poem’s content is related to the surgery I underwent.
Within that poem, the ‘platinum mesh’ technically describes the kind of stent I had inserted during surgery – it was moved all the way to my upper neck, below the brain area using some tiny device inserted through a whole poked into the area of my thigh right next to the crotch panel.
Granted, it wasn’t technically inserted with a blow torch, BUT the kind of stuff that was happening seemed so unexpectedly bizarre that a blow torch didn’t seem like all that much of an over the top descriptor in the midst of what was actually going on – which was my carotid artery bleeding out and then platinum mesh getting inserted near my crotch and surgically moved all the way up to my upper neck area – a blow torch seemed to fit into that picture, mentally speaking.
I’ve always used a decent amount of animal words and body part words and horror words in my poems. I actually have a harder time with animal words now and culled some of those words (as well as some of the other words within my POST-STROKE poems) from poems in progress and revisions.
One sort of words I used amongst the POST-STROKE poems that are not so much my usual poetic norm were quite a few words that reminded me of death and funerals and burials; in part because I felt as if pieces of my brain had died or were still alive but strangely buried.


7. In your poem “Unfurling” I am struck by the mix of images and the “she/he” of your brain as though it’s a separate entity. I’m also interested in knowing where the “inner thighs” comes from? The poem makes me think of your brain trying to grow organically in a new phase but it is a somewhat gruesome and tenuous process. The ending line you talk about the cat killing mice as well as butterflies, are you alluding to the fact that both good and bad knowledge/memories are missing in this stage of your recovery? Can you tell us more about this poem and how it came about? The poem is below:

Unfurling

On & off my brain she/he wants to break
tiny splinters embedded into inner thighs
with a high pitched buzz. Lobbing orchids,
wet dark truffles oozed through funereal fantasyland.
Tentacular lobes unglued, steamy, no longer able to fly.
My parents’ cat kills not only mice but butterflies.


I can still FEEL the visual impact I used in these poems; but I still can’t describe it very well in a non-poetic form of writing. I still feel lobbing and tentacular and unglued and steamy and unfurling!

In addition to having platinum mesh inserted into my upper neck area all the way up from my inner thigh/crotch area, I then had to have a device inserted into that little whole in my inner thigh/crotch area – a vascular closure device called a collagen sponge near my femoral artery. My surgery was 50/50 (as in 50% chance I’d live; 50% chance I’d die) – so in a way, that poem combine’s inner thigh insertion with almost death but oddly lucky life; thus the ‘funereal fantasyland’.

I was truly lucky to live, but then the unfurling or ripping apart of my life continued. Not that long after my stroke, I was temporarily living with my parents (and even though I was certainly lucky to have a temporary space to reside and I appreciated my parents’ support, living with one’s parents when in my late 30s was less than ideal for me), having troubling brain issues as well as emotional issues as well as relationship uncertainty issues. I ended up getting divorced, but I didn’t want to rush that choice – and I felt like some people wanted me to rush it ASAP – and even though they meant well, it ultimately needed to be my own decision – and it’s hard for me to make my own decisions when I’m in a space that’s not my own.
Sometimes I felt as if I didn’t know where I was or who I was or what I was aiming for anymore. Sometimes, I still feel that way – especially quite recently, since my first serious romantic relationship since my divorce recently ended.
My parents own several outdoor cats and on at least one occasion, while living with my parents, in addition to viewing one of their cats playing with and/or malfunctioning a mouse, I saw one of them malfunctioning a butterfly – and although that bothered me, at least I could work it into a poem – in which it seemed to offer a hint as to how my life style situation and malfunctioning brain felt.


8. The closing poem, Aftermath, speaks of an ending relationship, it mentions “A woman in need” and “I could be borderline/poison when he drank” and “I could be a super-sexual séance.” How were intimacy and relationships affected during your recovery? Can you tell us more about how this poem came about?

Aftermath

He purged me like a decapitated spread shot;
a moldy magpie slot when I used to be a slit
with girly feathers flung into a strip-tease.
I had turned into a grotesque disease.
A woman in need. Unworthy.
Might as well be dead.

Vile has two meanings.
I could be borderline
poison when he drank; strange
treat when he spit me out.

I could be a super-sexual séance underneath
a more luscious arrangement of teeth.
My porno-horrific rippling sensations will turn
into telepathic tinsel. My misshapen tonsils will grow
into succulent ornaments to float over your head.
I’m not a nightmare. I’m a dark delightful dream.

Just a few months after I was back from the hospital, my husband was tired of hearing about my stroke. He thought that my immediate family was focusing on my stroke and my recovery too much, treating me like I was a baby. As mentioned prior, it’s true that a great deal of my initial therapy involved working with children’s books, because at first even children’s books were hard for me to read, and I had to re-learn words and meanings that I had initially learned as a child. It certainly was not my idea of fun or enjoyable, but it had to be done.

I really don’t want to get extremely personal in this interview, but that last poem was largely inspired by my marriage ending; we did end up getting divorced exactly one year after my stroke happened. Some of the details of that poem derived from some of the thoughts/feelings/emotions I was undergoing at the time. I sometimes felt as if an unexpected health issue had turned me into an un-fun, worthless challenge - and who wants to undergo such challenge to stick with a decapitated, unhealthy pile of broken down crap.

So the first stanza is quite negative and derogatory – the second stanza is a bit more in between, emotionally speaking – the third stanza is aiming towards new hopes, dreams, and desires that I still might have my own unique appeal.


9. Where are you now with your writing? Are words easier to speak, read, and write? Are you still recovering parts of yourself? What differences have there been artistically for you?

My reading and writing is much better than it was at first, but still slower than it used to be – so hopefully my brain still has an ongoing healing process ahead of it.

A little over a year ago, I started having mini-seizures, as another result of how my brain has changed. Those are certainly un-enjoyable, but could be far worse.

Emotionally speaking, I’m still kind of a mess – brimming with self-doubt and even self-deprecation; frequently questioning myself; feeling like I will most likely never be deeply, intensely loved by anyone again, at least not for any sort of extended time period. Feeling as if everything will most likely end to soon.

I still very much enjoy and care about poetry and art, but I feel more ‘what is the point’ about life in general. I wish I could re-energize my emotions into a terrain in which they are writhing with creativity and joy and love, but I haven’t figured out how to do that yet.


10. With your press, have your tastes changed in the types of writing you enjoy reading, editing, and publishing?

I think every writer/reader/editor’s tastes change a little bit in the course of time, but I don’t think I’ve had a recent BIG taste change. Because everything takes me a little longer than it used to, I can’t afford to publish very many Blood Pudding Press print chapbooks – but just because the press is slower doesn’t mean I’ve given up on it.

The last Blood Pudding Press chapbook I created was a collaborative poetry collection called ‘Fainting Couch Idioglossia’ – and I am currently accepting poetry chapbook manuscript submissions for the next two Blood Pudding Press chapbooks (from now through October 15, 2012). More details are available via the Blood Pudding Press blog, linked to at the end of this interview.


11. As for yourself, what are you working on these days that we can look forward to reading in the future? Any manuscripts or published works we can be on the look-out for and where can we find them?

I’m still reading, writing, and submitting my own poetry (although somewhat slower than I used to be in such realms). I’m also submitting my second full-length poetry manuscript. One never knows exactly how long that’s going to take to be accepted; but golly, I would sure love it if it found its ideal home this year or next year when I am 40.

I do have a new poetry chapbook coming out quite soon from Grey Book Press! It’s called POISONOUS BEAUTYSKULL LOLLIPOP and offers twenty some pages of my poetry ranging from 2008 to very recent work. I’m excited about it and imagine more information will appear upon Grey Book Press’s website when it’s available, here - http://greybookpress.com/.


Juliet Cook, thank you so much for sharing your work and your experiences with us. I wish you continued success in all areas of your life and hope you will keep us up-dated with your upcoming works.

If you enjoyed this interview I urge you to purchase a copy of POST-STROKE for yourself for a mere $4.00 at her etsy.com site at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69547229/post-stroke-by-juliet-cook?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga_search_query=blood+pudding+press&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=ZZ&ga_min=0&ga_max=0&ga_search_type=all

Juliet Cook is the editor and creator of Blood Pudding Press which you can visit at:
http://www.bloodyooze.blogspot.com/

To purchase other poets’ wonderful work from Blood Pudding Press as well as more of Juliet Cook’s work through her etsy.com website go to:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BloodPuddingPress


Juliet Cook reads her poems at Menacing Hedge:
http://menacinghedge.com/podcast/2012/menacing-podcast-2012-04-29.php

To learn more about Juliet Cook and read more of her work, please visit her personal the sites below:
http://julietcook.weebly.com/

http://doppelgangrene.blogspot.com/

Thanks always for reading, please click in tomorrow for more Poems Found by Poet Hound…

Twenty Four Hours On-line Site

Interviews galore with artists of all kinds: Musicians, writers, editors, you name it! Please check it out at:

http://www.twentyfourhoursonline.com/#!/

Thanks for clicking in, please stop by tomorrow for an interview with poet and editor Juliet Cook…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

https://sites.google.com/site/55rhpissue/the-note
It’s not a poem, it’s Dale’s editor’s note for the issue about music and you should read it. I work with people who are aging and his note talks about musicians who are living longer than most people think musicians would. I think all artists should strive for longevity, don’t you?

https://sites.google.com/site/55rhpissue/trina-gaynon
“Yoshi” by Trina Gaynon

https://sites.google.com/site/55rhpissue/david-tomaloff
“Photographs of Wounded Statues” by David Tomaloff

Thanks for clicking in, please drop in again soon…

Laura Madeline Wiseman Site

I read a great interview on here and there are lots of wonderful inspiring things to read and look at so check it out at:
http://www.lauramadelinewiseman.com/

Thanks for clicking in, please drop by again…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://www.smartishpace.com/issues/issue_18/the_ohio_poem/
The Ohio Poem by Amy Pickworth

http://wickedalicezine.tumblr.com/
Was Becomes by Sally Molini

http://www.lightedplace.com/bud.html
Bud by Sarah Sloat

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Still Life Is A Human by CEE

Still Life Is A Human by CEE is published by Alternating Current’s Propaganda Press as of 2012 and is a collection of photographs by Mrs. CEE paired with poems by CEE inspired by those photographs. It is visually satisfying and entertaining to read. Below I am happy to share a couple of samples (sans the photographs, you’ll have to purchase the collection yourself to see them):

Caricature of a Wedding
(The Vermin Lord and the Bridegroom)

Let’s be honest
Young divorces are caused, principally
By lack of money
That’s when Your She
Became The Great Horned Rat,
The demonthing, cantreallytalkchick in Beloved
Keep it comin’, schmedrick,
Whether or not you pay the bills
Firehose of lavish waste out into the street

…and, any familial assistance?
She wielded that money,
Wielded it back into that street
Like a bad hammer throw

You two’re a Tears For Fears song, buddy
Indecision
Married with a lack of
Bride
She isn’t
She’s a Vermin Lord
The great, horned recipient of your
Great horniness

This poem makes me grin, I get the impression the writer is not impressed with a friend’s choice of bride. It also reminds of some relationships I’ve seen and known are doomed but no one has the heart to tell “the happy couple.” This poem says it all in regards to a doomed marriage.


Milton
(Writer BFF’s)

A counselor is Not your friend
Once they would be, their advice would be
(Fisheye) “Ohhhh…!!”, dismissed
A banking associate is Not a potential date
Your MONEY is in that bank, Mr. Juan!!
A plumber Isn’t going to come hang, and
Watch the fights w/ you
There’s such a thing as a “working relationship”
It has smiles
It has niceties
So, so, you know,
Like the ever-popping person on SpaceFace who
REAAALLLLY NEEEDZZ YOOOUU!!!,
You Don’t wanta Chatty Cathy correspond
With a faceless other nice enough
To print your coffeestained, diseased haiku,
It leads to “knowing” them, that
Space-Face kinda “knowing”
And, yes, agreed, it’s a new day and all
But, read your Jung, Adler, and
Accept being a writer in an eternal
Year of the Rooster
Ya have tuh scratch for it, fallen angel
Better slips in HELL…!,
Than friends in Heaven!

This poem makes me wonder if the poet isn’t just inspired by the bust of Milton but perhaps by a friend who tends to be rather clueless and annoying. At least, that’s what I envision. A guy who doesn’t understand that his therapist is friendly because she is being paid to listen to his woes, who doesn’t understand that a plumber is there only to do the job that involves plumbing and cannot legally hang out on the couch afterwards when the guy is lonely, that kind of guy. Most of us have met if not personally known a person who tends to be rather clueless about the basics of life and I’ve always found such a person annoying. This poem made me smile and nod, especially the references to “SpaceFace” that thinly veiled reference to MySpace and Facebook where people trumpet personal things, inappropriate things, and try to “friend” people for no apparent reason other than to add to their number of “friends.” This poem gets me off onto my own tangents as you may have noticed so it is a poem that I enjoy because it gets me thinking on a broader perspective.


If you enjoyed this short sample review, you may purchase a copy of Still Life Is A Human by CEE for a mere $4.98 at:
http://alt-current.com/pp/pp_item.html#still_life_is_a_human

Thanks always for reading, please drop in tomorrow…

Smartish Pace Site

If you haven’t stumbled onto this already then definitely check it out for all things poetry interviews, readings, articles and all sorts of poetry fabulousness at:

http://www.smartishpace.com/

Thanks for clicking in, please stop by tomorrow for another featured poet…

Menacing Hedge Open Submissions

I urge you to check out the website and find out what they like to publish. You may submit up to six poems on-line, include your bio and contact information and submit your poems as one attachment. Response time varies, please go to:
http://menacinghedge.com/summer2012/submit.php

Check out the on-line journal at:
http://menacinghedge.com/summer2012/index.php

Good luck to all who submit, please drop by again next week…

Poems Found by Poet Hound

http://theshop.free-jazz.net/albert-huffstickler-reads-vox-audio/shop/audio-poetry/
Albert Huffstickler’s “On the Road”

http://www.zygoteinmycoffee.com/100s/issue138sandcastle.html
Tony Pena’s “Sandcastle”

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