billows of august
time is air
ripe yellow plums
dangle with juice
skin holds the weight
still summer moments
september is coming
but not yet
not yet
Be Here Now
Tag: Poetry
La Poesia Street Art: Rome
when art influences life
we must constantly look at things in a different way, mr. keating says in an empty movie theater, empty except for me and a friend, two amc rooms showing the movie at the same time, but everyone else went right, and we went left, so when robin williams stands on his desk, we stand, dead poets society, you guessed it, or you knew, to think that was 34 years ago, and who became a teacher and poet?
My Favorite Writers/Poets
mitch albom, jimmy santiago baca, sylvia boorstein, ray bradbury, raymond carver, pema chodron, ta-nehisi coates, pat conroy, e.e. cummings, emily dickinson, william faulkner, william finnegan, norman fischer, f. scott fitzgerald, nick flynn, natalie goldberg, richard grant, doris grumbach, thich nhat hahn, ernest hemingway, tony hoagland, zora neale hurston, jon kabat-zinn, mary karr, jane kenyon, ted kooser, stanley kunitz, anne lamont, li-young lee, philip levine, patrica lockwood, gabriel garcia marquez, peter matthiessen, frank mccourt, john mcphee, thomas merton, w.s. merwin, joseph millar, marianne moore, john muir, tim o’brien, sharon olds, mary oliver, pablo neruda, jd salinger, suzanne scanlon, shel silverstein, isaac bashevis singer, john steinbeck, wislawa szmborska, richard wilbur, c.k. williams, thomas wolfe, tobias wolff, richard wright
passing algebra
i memorized the quadratic equation, but always forgot to divide my answers by 2, this meant failing the class, which couldn’t happen, so i was introduced to a tutor, mr. marks and his dog pickle (dachshund), my new mathematical friends. i met with him most days in his basement apartment where his stomach growled and balding hair moved with the air from the space heater, but he knew algebra, had taught high school for decades, and had the patience of a man who didn’t talk to anyone all day. they always say, it was a miracle that i passed math, but my miracle had a name, it was mr. marks.
May 25th 2023 or Writing Exercise #1
Quarter of 7, up, make Hudson breakfast, drive to school, check for vultures that were feasting on two dead deer the day before, the deer are gone, strange. Anyway, Hudson’s last full day of school, so happy/sad, that pre-summer, pre-moving out of Tennessee feeling. Home, upload Alphabet poem onto my blog, check email. Fruit only breakfast, blueberries, bananas, apples, all cut up (not the blueberries), eaten with a spoon. Oolong tea, gift from a student, the perfect gift. Read a book on intuition, meditation, sitting, allowing the universe to guide you/me, by Echo Bodine. Talk with my wife, she’s in California driving, hear the road, 280, heading to San Francisco. Meditate for 16 minutes, why 16? Because, it’s one more than 15, bonus minute for me. Walk on treadmill, slowly, because of spondylolisthesis, old man Dan. Nostalgic for the summer of 1988, listen to sweet child o’ mine, treat people with kindness, see Harry Styles dancing, When In Rome, the promise, then sleepyhead, Passion Pit, details, details, details. Research Axl Rose, Wikipedia says he’s 61, abusive childhood, Lafayette, Indiana, home of Purdue, but bad times for Axl. Harry is 29, happy childhood in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, but I didn’t have to tell you the England part, you knew that, and he does seem kind, at least in the video. Suntan by the pool, 14 minutes, slow and steady wins the race, what race? I just like the ritual, hearing birds, watching the ants. Next, oh the excitement, a double pilates workout with Caroline Jordan, I watch her on a screen for 20 minutes, take a break, then another 30, floor based, again, spondylolisthesis, born with it. Salad, so healthy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, cabbage, olive oil, bit of salt and sunflower seeds, bubbly water, a must, now here to write.
City Lights Bookstore
The Veltin School For Girls
I’ve been going through my Grandmother Ethel’s scrapbook. My Grandmother attended The Veltin School in New York City. In the coming days I’m going to post some of her artwork and poetry. She lived her life in New York City, Rochester, NY, then Myrtle Beach, SC, for retirement. I was very close to my Grandmother (1907-2000). We were/are both poets and spiritual people. I’ve taught at a school serving girls for several years now, my Grandmother further connects me to that work and the historic mission of those institutions.
More about The Veltin School: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veltin_School_for_Girls
Daniel W. Polk 