Ugly Cat Speaks

Saturday, December 27, 2008

A few forgotten poems

Merry, Happy Chrismahanukwaanzica to all! I hope everyone had a festive winter solstice feast with family and friends. (There, I think that covers everyone!) As I usually do, I brought home one of my various notebooks to write in while escaping the hilarious fun that is the holidays. (Or to avoid having to help clean the house before the company arrives.--Hey, I do my share, but sometimes, I need my quiet time!) Since I have multiple writing notebooks, I tend to forget when I write something in one of them. (Well, not so much forget, as decide that it is crap and not worth sharing with the world.) So, since I promised I would update this blog more frequently, and forewarned you that quantity would override quality, here are some poems I found from earlier in the month (and one I wrote on Christmas Day).


[untitled]

we all feel alone
it seems so real
quickly, quietly
passing these days
giving in to the guilty
pleasure of self-pity
before slipping on
the icy facade
of normalcy

ltv



Unblinded

Hope is to be avoided
if there is any chance
of reality setting in
letting in light
is painful when
you first regain
your eyesight

ltv



[untitled]

happiness sneaks in
amongst the nausea
the pain of headaches
backaches and
stomachaches -- drugs
doubts clouding reality
until the only thing
left to do is mundane
chores or simple tasks
playing with the cats
or a video game
just to trick the brain
into believing in something
other than what hurts

ltv



Remembering Dad

his birthday slips
between reindeer
hoof-prints on
the snowy roof
and memories so
far gone only the
emotion remains
yet the cost of
his grave marker
is anchored there
with the coffee
bought every morning
and the number of
days before Christmas

ltv

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Lessons from Auntie Lala


I've been working on this poem for a few weeks trying to keep it from sounding too Hallmark-ish. (Or would that be hallmark-y?) However, I have resigned myself to the fact that this poem has a certain hoke-factor I can't control as of yet.

Needing some words for the blog instead of just showing off the photo to the left, which is my sister's holiday card of my nephew in his dashing tux (which I got for him last year), I revised this poem yet again. I welcome any comments and suggestions. I am not too happy with the title, so suggestions are welcome on that as well.




Lessons from Auntie Lala

never forget that everything is new
and should be explored
even if you already
think you know what it is

sing songs when your favorite
relatives come to visit
or when your Mom makes
that special casserole after Thanksgiving

take apart the toaster when it’s broken
just to see how it used to work
do your best to fix it – but
for your parents’ sake – unplug it first

discover who you are
reading every book written
by authors you like
and some from those you don’t

talk to strangers at family picnics
they’ll tell you stories
about when your parents
did embarrassing things at your age

practice making funny faces
in the bathroom mirror
then step back to see your own
beautiful natural face

don’t argue with your mother
about your clothes
unless you can explain
how they make you feel unique

goof off for hours every summer
until you see the fireflies
then lie on your back and
create new names for the stars

ponder alien life
find life forms
alien to you under rocks
in your backyard

cry when your ice cream
falls on the ground
laugh when it happens
to someone else

experience all
your emotions
but don’t let them
control your behaviors

believe in the power of God
but don’t confuse
the power with the idea
ideas change over time

never forget that everything is new
even when it seems to be
exactly the same
as something else

ltv

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Testing the New President

If I see one more headline like this Foes warned off testing Obama I think I'll scream. I am sick of the fear-mongering of how all of America's enemies (both foreign and domestic) will attempt to test Obama soon after he is inaugurated in January. Really? A president will get tested after he takes office? You mean something horrific might take place, say, nine months after a president takes office? Hmmm, where have I heard of something like that happening before? The news media hasn't specifically pointed to such a thing before (unless you count them talking about Kennedy and the Bay of Pigs). Nope, where would they get the idea that terrorists might take advantage of a new president by doing something, hmm, what, what might they do? Oh, I don't know, fly planes into buildings or something? Nah, that couldn't happen. And, if it did, it certainly wouldn't be evidence that the nation's enemies are TESTING the new president months after taking office. Or is my math wrong? Let's see, the presidential elections are held every four years with the inauguration taking place the following January. We just had an election in 2008 which means we had one in 2004 and in 2000. Okay, that means inaugurations were held in 2005 and 2001. What major events happened in 2005 & 2001? Well, let's just list them out (just the ones that affect the US directly, we won't bother about car bombs in Madrid or political assassinations in other countries, we're Americans we don't care about that crap).

Oh, and I've decided to include natural disasters in this list based on the Religious Right's belief that God is punishing us for our bad behavior. (NOTE to the RR: Once you make a point, you have to deal with the fact that it can be used on both sides.)

2001

January 20 - George W. Bush succeeds Bill Clinton; becoming the 43rd President of the United States.

February 16 - Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network.

April 1 - U.S.-China Spy Plane Incident: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead.

July 16 - The People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation sign the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. (I included this because it's just creepy to think about.)

September 11 - Almost 3,000 are killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crash into the World Trade Center's Twin Towers in New York City, American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into a grassland in Pennsylvania.

September 18 - The 2001 anthrax attacks commence as letters containing anthrax spores are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer.

October 4 - Federal officials announce the first anthrax attack in the U.S.

October 7 - The United States invades Afghanistan, with participation from other nations participating in Operation Enduring Freedom.

October 9 - The 2001 anthrax attacks continue as contaminated letters are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey, to U.S. Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

October 26 - U.S. president George W. Bush signs the USA PATRIOT Act into law.

November 13 - In the first such act since World War II, U.S. President George W. Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals against any foreigners suspected of having connections to terrorist acts or planned acts against the United States.

December 13 - U.S. President George W. Bush announces the United States' withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

December 22 - A Paris-Miami, Florida flight is diverted to Boston, Massachusetts after passenger Richard Reid attempts to set his shoe, filled with explosives, on fire.


2005

January 20 - George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as the 43rd President of the United States.

February 16 - The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.

May 10 - A hand grenade ostensibly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 100 feet (30 m) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.

August 29 - At least 1,836 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes coastal areas from Louisiana to Alabama, and travels up the entire state of Mississippi (flooding coast 31 feet/10 m), affecting most of eastern North America.

September 1 - Oil prices rise sharply following the economic effects of Hurricane Katrina.

September 24 - Hurricane Rita hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, devastating areas near Beaumont, TX and Lake Charles, LA. The New Orleans's 9th Ward re-floods since Katrina, and Mississippi and Alabama are also affected.

September 24 - Worldwide protests occur against the Iraq War, with over 150,000 protestors in Washington DC. See Opposition to the Iraq War.

October 26 - The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000.

December 1 - South Africa becomes the 5th country in the world where same-sex marriages are recognized. (I've included this since it seems ridiculous to me that South Africa, once the worst of the worst in terms of human rights, is now more progressive than the US in this regard.)


In this list I've also included Bush's response to the events as well as the world (and economic) responses to the events. I figure it's only fair to see the results of the "tests" as well as the tests themselves.

How'd our last President do? In response to major crises Bush effectively reduced our civil liberties, failed to properly protect the citizens under his charge, broke away from other nations who were previously our allies, caused our former enemies (and potential future enemies) to team up together, and maybe even caused nations who were once thought "beneath" the status of the US to rise up a few notches in the eyes of the world (the result, of course, being that the US has gone down quite a few notches.)

And how will Obama be tested? That remains to be seen. I can assure you, however, that assuming he doesn't decide to declare himself messiah and enslave the US population, Obama can only improve the situation that Bush has either created or allowed to fester over the last eight years. I have only one request of the media and the politicians: Please stop peddling fear to the sheeple of this once great nation. Yes, Obama will be tested, but you know what? So will you. The American People are getting a little tired of hearing doom and gloom every day. We are feeling the downturn of the economy sharply enough without having to also worry about terrorist attacks that might happen. And shame on you defense secretary Gates for issuing what appears to be a challenge to terrorists to 'just see what will happen if you try something'. Did Bush put you up to that? (And by Bush, of course, I mean Cheney.)

It will be an interesting 2009. Of that I am certain. Let's all start building our bomb shelters now, to avoid the post-inaugural rush. Even if no terrorist attack occurs, we can always live in the bomb shelters when the bank forecloses on our houses. (See, there's always a silver lining. Or is that the lead-lined sheetrock of our new bomb shelters? It's difficult to tell.)

Thursday, December 11, 2008

FloPoSo Meeting Poetry

So once again it's time for the Florence Poets Society monthly meeting and a few days ago I summoned up the willpower to write a poem (which really wasn't all that hard for me to do, but it sounds more dramatic that way). I've included it here along with the poems I wrote DURING the FloPoSo meeting tonight. Enjoy.


if i stop
the noise around me
i realize how loud
it really is
inside my head
why in bed i lie
awake waiting for
exhaustion to pull
me under the cover
of night--but dreaming
often wakes me
hour after hour
i cling to the stark
red digital certainty
as long as i can
before falling back
into that surreal place
struggling to make sense
of the images and emotions
that linger in my consciousness

ltv



a depressive's heart
opens to fellow poets
letting kindness in

ltv


satisfaction

a delicacy
to a depressive
a fitting gift
from fellow poets
appreciation
accepted

ltv



randy candy poetry

sweet purple words
swelling neatly
peachy keen
the meaning
unseen yet
known to all
as syllables
fall from each
poet's lips
interspersed with
quips and comments
fellowship felt
upstanding
uplifting
demanding
our return
each month
coming for
the villanelles
and bells of rhyming
stanzas--we sit on
torturous chairs
in the cold
air because poets
and poetry satisfy
our cravings

ltv

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Happy Birthday Emily (almost belated)

Today is Emily Dickinson's Birthday. It pleased me to think of her poetry today and selfishly it pleased me more to think of mine. Does that make me narcissistic? Self-centered? Uh, hello, I am writing a blog, I would think the answer is obvious. I believe the majority of blog-writers are in some way narcissistic (if not just self-centered, like me). I toyed with the idea of writing another blog which gives advice to people who would send me questions about problems with relationships, money, or work. Somehow it seemed a service rather than yet another way to promote myself and my ideas. Who knows? Maybe I will still do that. But I have so many other projects on my plate right now, that that one doesn't seem like it has a shot of starting (let alone flourishing). Whatever happens, that's something fun to consider in any case.

Here's something else. These are the poems of Emily's and of mine that I had in my head today. Since it is Emily's birthday, I will print her poem first (and, as mine follows hers, mine will follow hers)(If you know me, you understand what that last sentence means).


A CLOCK stopped—not the mantel’s;
Geneva’s farthest skill
Can’t put the puppet bowing
That just now dangled still.

An awe came on the trinket!
The figures hunched with pain,
Then quivered out of decimals
Into degreeless noon.

It will not stir for doctors,
This pendulum of snow;
The shopman importunes it,
While cool, concernless No

Nods from the gilded pointers,
Nods from the seconds slim,
Decades of arrogance between
The dial life and him.

ED



For Emily

Sir, please Kindly pass me by
For we have met before
I’ve seen you walking with my friends
or lingering--at their door

We’ve sat together side-by-side
‘til one of us went home--
to tend to mundane tasks--put-off
or to inhabit the Unknown

Now this Great House is bathed in light
the decorations stunning
music teases through the night
Your humble offer--cunning

But, I’ll not be responding as those before
to your bold invite
you see, my card--alas--is full
I cannot dance tonight

ltv