Luck of the Draw

—for Elisabeth, in lieu of a comment

Bored to death with life,

Why does he think it so

Uncommonly oxymoron

To consider himself

Lucky in that

He’s still in the running

For the surefire ticket

That will take him out

Of the ordinary.

Huuklyeand Cinquor on Why Hubris Is Blasphemous

Hell, every time I swear

I’m one step nearer to God,

Some cloven-hoofed preacher

Puts his foot in my mouth.

Moderator’s comments: What the devil, Cinquor, watch your step and cheer up; Christmas is just around the corner!

Dream Scene

On a barren, godforsaken crest,

A great snowy owl leaving

Her neophyte alone

On the edge of their nest—

The nest a huge cotton swab,

A cloudlike canopy covering

The uppermost reaches

Of a lone pine tree.

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Nay, I don’t—but I do remember seeing the film, though I can’t recall seeing a nag called Pegasus.

Whenever I Look Your Way, You Look the Other

Solipsist, why

Are you always answering

My questions with another

Question?

.

Because that blank

Look in your eye

Has that insistent self-

Same look of my questioning

Glance, don’t you see why?

"Desire Longing for Perfection"

wind. pines. needles. solitude.

no longer longing but the wind and trees

never mind.

Definitely Not Lemmings #31

A welcome and a thank-you to number 31--"fmklalex'-- for coming on board; wish I could tell you more about him/her but that's all I know!

Stamina

jasmine flowers

through morning,

dusk too.

Transient

We don't forget,

but something vacant settles in us.

—Roland Barthes, from “Mourning Diary”

This time whatever that something is

isn’t checking in just for the duration.

NB: My thanks to Bob Arnold for this one.

Revisionist Poetics

Of what is left, suppress

What’s worthless, surely

Whatever’s priceless

Rewrites the rest.

Huuklyeand Cinquor on Buffoonery in Poets

It’s ridiculous humoring poets who now think

Their work has turned grave—

These people were clowns way back when 

They thought they were dead serious.

 

Not One Universe

— for William Michaelian, fellow star trekker

Unable to find the time,

We fall asleep

With one unfinished verse still

Running through our mind—

Billions of galaxies

In the universe

One can’t even dream

Of waking up in time.

Huuklyeand Cinquor on Why Begging the Question Never Pays

Get smart, mendicant—

You wouldn’t be holding your hand out

Asking yourself why, if someone gave you

Their two cents’ worth every time

You said something stupid in reply.

Moderator’s comments: Cinquor, en archei aiteisthai or hysteron proteron?

Poetry Salzburg Review #18

 

Recently Received: Meligalas’ sad sack version of Hermes Trismegistus delivered the latest issue of Poetry Salzburg Review yesterday afternoon. I’m pleased to see poet and translator friend Mario Domínguez Parra’s poems gracing this fine poetry magazine a few pages away from those of yours truly—now that is a pleasant coincidence!

Hands Down

I swear it’s no contest—

No matter how difficult

A dish my wife sets out to prepare,

In the end I find it delicious that

Each has that impalpable finishing

Touch that tastes like nothing

So much as her winning grace.

Definitely Not Lemmings #30

A hearty welcome to DNL #30--the indefatigable poet, sculptor and all-around artist par excellence Ed Baker--thanks, Ed!