Random Poems

Some random poems from my writing journal.

Simplex

the heart of Pro
lies disconnected
bypassed to
a smaller ticker
of time cards

the caretaker
makes his rounds
arrested by
his predecessors' diagnosis:
"not needed anymore"

ltv


(and a couple from the dark side, no need to worry the feelings have passed)

Titanic

how can I be happy
when all I feel is dark
knowing icebergs lay ahead
how do I embark
if I try to dull my mind
in the weeks before my fate
how do I begin to love
this trip I've grown to hate

ltv


[untitled]

my Beauty is invisible
to no one else but me
and so the ugliness I show
is all that They can see
the fear behind
the twinkling eyes
causes language to be curt
and if They dare
to touch me
all I feel is hurt

ltv

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Arts & Industry Bldg from the roof of Pro Corp

There's a brick elevator room on the roof of the Pro Corp building in Florence/Northampton. This photo of the Arts & Industries Building (221 Pine St, Florence, MA -- the OLD Pro Brush building) was taken through the window in the elevator room on the "new" Pro Building on Nonotuck Street.

Dreaming of an English Christmas

Yes, I know, it's August and I myself was just relaxing in the warm sun after swimming a few laps in the pool, so what am I doing thinking about Christmas? Well, it begins with Harry Potter. Or should I say "the boy that lived"? No, it definitely began with just Harry Potter.

I have always been late when social trends are blossoming. Even though I saw a couple of the movies and, I think, even tried to read the first book when it came out; I simply couldn't get into the "Harry Potter Craze". It's not that I disapproved (I may be a muggle, but I'm not totally out of it); it's just that it didn't capture my fancy at the time. Now that I am unemployed and with the added impetus of knowing that the last book is already published (hence no tortured waiting to find out what happens next), I decided to read the whole series. This decision came at the end of July and it is now two and a half weeks into August and I am more than halfway through book three. (I have some idealistic thought that I will complete this mission in August; however, I do not want to spend these glorious summer days inside with my nose in a book 24/7.)

So, I happened to be reading "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (Or it could have been any of them really), when I read about the events surrounding Christmas at Hogwarts. That's when I began to think about a traditional English Christmas, and well, the rest, is poetry.


Dreaming of an English Christmas

sinful plum pudding
flashy crackers
with surprises
inside -- wanting
Dickens' sentiment
Harry Potter's wonder
wanting
the happiness
to stick to my fingers
but it splits with a bang
as I grasp for a paper crown

ltv

W

he is the boy
watching two
cats fight
he is not interested
in the fight
he wants to see
who wins
who does what
to gain power
he learns from them
he doesn't get
involved unless
he is impatient
then he gives
one cat the advantage
this will end soon
he thinks
but still
the fighting
continues
both cats learn
and begin to fight
together against him
but the boy won't leave
he is stubborn
and cats have
many lives
to lose

ltv


I was going to title this "he is the boy" and then open with the second line. What do you think?

God and Politics at a Cocktail Party

Here's one I forgot about from July 15th.


God and Politics at a Cocktail Party

Do I politely
avoid those
spicy morsels
wrapped with
fatty bits that
add flavor
to the dish

I wish I could
sip my drink and
not -- casually question
the status quo
just to see where you go
will you defend it
out of habit
seeing me as
the position I take
or by rote because
your stance is
who you think
you are

If I mingle
amidst the crowd
and sometimes --
out loud -- describe
what appears to be
broken -- will
you try to fix it
or commiserate
the sadness
of its status

ltv

Afternoon Picnic

Afternoon Picnic


heavy summer day
all things thankful
of the warm breeze
however small
that swept through
the trees preparing
their leaves for collages

ginger white cat
too hot to hunt
slumps on the mat
of the back stoop

a caterpillar
makes his way
across the grooved
black plastic mountains
surrounded by
the concrete steppes
just in time for
an afternoon picnic

ltv




And here's some of my special brand of crazy:

Truth be told, this poem took some poetic license with the events I actually observed.

First of all, Mackenzie, my all grey cat, was the organizer of the impromptu picnic. But "all grey cat" didn't have the same ring as "ginger white cat" so Willow gets the attention (as usual).

Second, It wasn't that hot and Mackenzie had been stalking the caterpillar since it first landed on the mat. She even had it crawling on her face at one point while making first attempts to eat it.

I'm not sure why I felt it was important for you to know that. Perhaps I think it makes me a better poet to have "poeticized" the event. But isn't that what writing poetry is about?

Poets see the world so differently than anyone else. We see the essence of things and we see everything. We see the glittering silver sequin in the pile of dog crap and we see how beautiful it makes everything around it. We see the flaw in the diamond and can imagine it both ruined and exquisite.

New Poetry - "Evolution"

Evolution

the animals
are learning
watching
their predators
they feign
empathy
with a sad look
or an unexpected
action
they use weapons
in the jungle
but can they
understand
the reflection
in the mirror


ltv
7/29/07

My Thoughts on Evolution and Cats

Don't get too excited. I'm not going to write a dissertation or anything. I read an article recently about a cat with double paws (extra toes on one or more paws) who had a litter of kittens who also all had double paws. The article was joined by a photo of one kitten with two extra toes on each paw. It looked as if it had opposable thumbs (or thumbs anyway, regardless of their opposability). I immediately thought of how cats with opposable thumbs would inevitably wipe out Mankind.

They would be able to come and go as they pleased. (And you know they would never remember to bring their keys! It's not like they have pockets.) Once able to come and go according to their own body's rhythms, rather than whenever they are lucky enough to escape, cats may start learning a few new things about the world. Oh sure, they would begin by learning how to make fire, build tools, etc so they could feed themselves better and build cat scratching posts worthy of scratching. But what about other stuff? Technology, social structures, government. A government based on the notion that if the guy in charge wants something, it gets done or the other guys get beaten down. Wait, a minute, that's beginning to sound familiar.

Moving on. From a completely different perspective, these thoughts came to me after reading a blog posting about theories behind why we haven't seen extra-terrestrial life (or evidence of it such as radio waves, etc). Here's the link if you're interested, it's fascinating (well, to me anyway). http://www.daylightatheism.org/2007/08/fermis-paradox.html

What if alien life forms saw us -- Humans -- the same way we view well-fed feral cats. Opportunistically living out of dumpsters, consuming whatever we find because we are only looking out for ourselves, trying to survive in this hostile environment. Sometimes adorable, but usually quite dangerous. Are we pests to other life forms? Wait, let me rephrase that since the answer to the question I just asked was a resounding "YES." (Just ask the bear in your backyard; or the raccoon or skunk.) Are we pests to non-terran life forms? They travel the Universe, which to them is nothing more than the "big city" in which they live -- complicated, but navigable once you know the layout. In the course of their journeys, maybe one day they come across these feral beasts scrounging for an existence on this out of the way rock. What would that conversation look like? (Assuming there were only two and that they both could be translated into English):

Alien 1: Ooh look, Humans!

Alien 2: Don't get too close! They could hurt you. They tend to lash out when they are frightened. And anything can frighten them.

Alien 1: But they behave in ways that resemble some of our behaviors.

Alien 2: That's only because you think they do. Leave them alone and let's go to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.


I wonder if sometimes it might be better for me NOT to share the weirdness in my head. But how would anyone else know where their spot on the crazy-meter is without something to compare it to?

peace.