Poetry is what gets lost in translation.

[jackshoegazer]

Some of my favorite poems from this past year...

haunting

I saw a ghost today
not real
but
metaphorical
like the spectre
of an ex
still rattling
chains
and
moaning
spooky music
at all your favorite
downtown
haunts.


inadequate

some poets write
of skies
and dirt
leaves and trees
of mothers and earth
of beauty
with eyes clear
peeled
for the truth of nature
and I sit in the cube
of my telephone job
with the stale air
and dirty keyboards
and ergonomic chairs
and I wonder
what I would write
if I were outside
and life didn’t require
a paycheck from me.


ironic patriotic

i saw an american flag
while waiting for the bus
high on a pole
in the winter-whipped weather
it snapped and rolled
with pornographic abandon
and i watched
joyously
but with remorse
at its tattered edges
frayed and unraveling
and i thought
"how apropos"
which means appropriate
but pronounced differently
it means to take exclusively
for oneself
without permission
and i thought
"that's apropos too"
considering our history
and how we got
that fucking flag
in the first place.


charles baker hennington

charles baker hennington
is a name i just made up
because lies are cheaper
than a drive to the shelter
to donate blood for love
like a junky craving smack
in a blackened back alley
with ten-penny whiskey
and his flack jacket on
because his name this day
is charles baker hennington
i just made him up and
gave him life and breathed his soul
to say hello and let you know
someone is listening.

Comments

[surrealkitten.livejournal.com]

i like that first one, but i thought Quince wrote it, and now that i know a guy wrote it, it's different somehow.
i guess because most places are full of girls who look alike anyway. or maybe that's the point.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

i find your statement to be totally untrue.

[redheadedlawyer.livejournal.com]

These are among my favorite pieces of yours. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy your writing? :-) You inspire me to write more.

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Why, thank you! I really appreciate that :) AS much as writing is supposed to be self-expression, having it enjoyed by others is just as inspiring.

[shallowdepths.livejournal.com]

If you wrote these, then you are amazing...
and if you didn't, well, you're STILL amazing.


-Bekky

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

Yup, they're all mine :)

4 Poems

[castleclear.livejournal.com]

While I enjoyed both "Haunting" and "Charles Baker Hennington" and think they are technically good, you really got me where I live with "Inadequate" and "Ironic Patriotic". Have you submitted either for publication? I think they're awesome!

Re: 4 Poems

[jackshoegazer.livejournal.com]

I haven't submitted them at all, and thank you for the praise. My favs of the group are "haunting" and "ironic patriotic" and perhaps I should submit a few of them. What's the worst thing - I get turned down. Thanks again for digging back here :)

Re: 4 Poems

[castleclear.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I enjoyed reading your poems. :-)