A-acorns, that become trees, big seeds, runner up, aristotle
B-butterflies, that become caterpillars, wrong, runner up, birds
C-candy, peppermint patties, product placement, runner up, cool
D-dentist, see above, little shop of horrors, runner up, doo-wop
E-everything, as in, i want all of it, runner up, earth
F-fern, wilbur, charlotte, templeton, runner up, farm
G-gas, petrol, fossil fuel, global warming, runner up, gun
H-hungry, as in, feed me, stomach gurgles, runner up, hearing
J-jungle, welcome to it, appetite for destruction, runner up, journal
K-kangaroo, the shoes you knew, 1980’s, runner up, keds
L-lyrics, we got fun and games, axl, runner up, lauryn hill
M-machine, rage, capitalism, scientific management, runner up, money
N-need, as in, i still want all of it, got to have, runner up, nothing
O-ocean, surf it, watch it, love it, moon waves, runner up, oscillate
P-perfume, fragrance, cover up sweat smell, runner up, party
Q-queen, as in, you are a queen, mercury, runner up, quiet
R-radio, am, fm, shortwave, fireside chats, runner up, racism
S-smart, as in, my boy’s wicked smart, runner up, skylar
T-teacher, we need more, learning, education, runner up, terrific
U-underwear, fruit of the loom, hanes, commando, runner up, unless
V-valuable, diamonds, friends, family, life, runner up, vaccine
W-wood, after the tree died, cedar, cherry, floors, runner up, wonder
X-x-ray, lead apron, teeth, bone image, runner up, xylocarp
Y-yacht, rock music, doobies, what a fool believes, runner up, yonder
Z-zoo, captured, monkeys, popcorn, languid lions, runner up, zebra
Tag: Writing
Let Technology Go
Sit in silence, with screens in another room. Wait quietly
for each word to arrive. Have faith
that they will, that the universe will guide you/me/us.
Alone, we feel detached from the world where everything happens.
Now someone is tiktok singing, now someone is
posting a photo, now someone is smiling on a screen.
But no one is here in this room, which could be an ocean or
the branch of a tree, free to be. Dare we separate from the
netflix masses and those who have lost their way?
I understand them, I too have been lost
but now found.
Poetic Inspiration
reading you makes me want to write, then write some more
that you were able to say it just so pushes me to plow ahead
to speak the nonsense things while sitting in my bed
you help me drift and sift through words lingering in the air
with hopes they might land lightly on the page
for what you wrote has become my nightly stage
At McKay’s
the poetry section is a jumble of
paperbacks, anthologies, Chaucer
Elizabeth Bishop, Neruda, Donne
Dickinson, page after bent page
used books, leaning paper spines
the dead supporting each other
most of their words long forgotten
USA $29.95, once the price of wisdom
now two dollars, time erases money
and memories of Isla Negra
Amherst lilacs, and all the rest
Birth of a Poet
i lived five years
without screens
never bought
anything online
or watched
tv
or had
email
at home
never got a phd
but five years
without screens
that was my
doctorate
and what did i do?
oh, you can guess
i read and read
and wrote
instead
Only These Four Words
only quiet these woods
bark green leaves, smell
of jasmine is everything
we wished for this
only ocean gray waters
sand sun toes touch
cold salt wet time
here on winter beach
only nature and words
my notebook of memories
we walked up mountain
your eyes forever sky
only everything, this air
we breathe in together
life, all of it
will go on forever
Tooth Extraction
twisting he tugs
as i imagine white roots
appearing like hardened snow
on gummy blood, my
molar protruding unnaturally
dangling out of jaw socket
waiting for the final yank
and this is what
i came for, the concluding
moment where self leaves
body and is gone
he holds it up for me to see
that indeed life is real
and things do end
Conform
just do what i do
five words in a line
just do what i do
be like all the rest
it is just so easy
to lose that inner voice
four words in a line
do not do that
When Instagram Spoke
no one wants the poems
give me the photos
no time to look at letters
on a page, and i don’t
really care anyway
about your abstract ideas
related to sound and sunlight
so forget it and paste
your iphone image
on the screen
get to it old man
the future is now
Frist Art Museum
Daniel W. Polk 