Poetry: Three Stories From a Stranger
Three Stories From a Stranger
At 17 fresh in California from Chicago
at the Pacific she walks the flat rocks along the low tide
with her former best friend, her former boyfriend.
It’s her first ocean and what she remembers most
is the big sky—it’s vast and blue, reflects her eyes
stretches out forever like her limbs.
She carries with her everywhere in her imagination
her baby seal with cat ears.
He’s piglike too: with his wings he can fly.
On her lap, he purrs his violin song.
When he’s hungry he sounds his horn
calling for peblets, for apples, for leftovers.
She wants to go to a cathedral in Ireland
to see something so precise and big
to stand in the doorway
to just be there on a gloomy day.
Grey skies blend in with her nubby wool sweater;
green hills roll a cotton scarf across her shoulders.
I wrote the first draft of this poem in Danika Dinsmore’s “Poetry BookCamp” writing workshop during Ojai’s WordFest. It came out of an exercise where we interviewed a partner. I wanted to add a final stanza but it kept sounding like I was “telling” about her and I thought the poem already “showed” what I was telling so I gave up and post it now as is.
Many thanks to Danika for a wonderful workshop, to my partner for sharing her stories with me and to Sequoia Hamilton for organizing the Master Classes during WordFest.
For more poetry by bloggers from all over the world, catch the Monday Poetry Train!
I took the accompanying photo above with my iPhone February 2011. For more of my poetry, please check out my new collection 3:15 experiment poetry Middle of the Night Poems from Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son (en theos press 2011). Read sample poems here. Read a review by Robert Peake here.
Are you about to head somewhere to enjoy Easter dinner? Are you in a quandry about what wine to bring? Here are some ideas including reds, whites, roses, and sparkling!
Plus here’s a link to Kosher wines from Herzog for Passover.
via Wine Predator
Earth Day: 5 Tips for “green” wine & more
What can you do to “green” your red wine consumption–beyond recycling your empties? Read on and learn! Plus videos from a documentary on “natural” wine and photos from our recent trip to Zion!
Yes it all ties in together–Happy Earth Day!
Here’s 2010’s Earth Day post with more tips: How NOT to Celebrate Earth Day Today
And here’s 2008’s Earth Day Post with tips and actions.
PS The original full sized and full color body print currently hangs at Kama Sutra Closet in the El Jardin Courtyard, downtown Ventura. I’ll be there next First Friday May 6 around 7pm!
via Wine Predator
When my friend Ron Wells speaks, I listen. And I post what he writes. I hadn’t heard about this film when he sent his review to me a few weeks ago, but I figured it was worthy of his praise. Take a look at this trailer and read his review and I bet, you, like me, will put this film high on your “to do” list.
To be Thomas McCarthy right now must be an overwhelmingly wonderful experience. Among his many roles and projects, he’s been a TV actor (The Wire), a movie actor (Michael Clayton, The Lovely Bones), and even more importantly, a unique and dynamic writer and director.
McCarthy has now written and directed his third film, Win Win, after previously giving audiences the unique and offbeat Station Agent, and the quietly powerful The Visitor. Like these two other independent gems, Win Win is a film filled with humor and drama that stems from real situations and interesting characters who invite the audience to enter their very relatable world.
Thank God, Win Win is not in any way a blockbuster of a movie. Instead it deals with characters who are quirky, intriguing, and most importantly, real. McCarthy has the amazing ability to put widely divergent people in situations that allow the audience to just sit back and care about the people on screen as they interact with each other in ways that are not always predictable. No one is larger than life, and most are somewhat flawed, or at least very human, in their actions.
Because of his unique and insightful writing ability, Read more…
Last Saturday offered lots of National Poetry month fun in Ventura County! I made it out to Carol Henry’s Gallery where a few of her friends read their own work plus Pablo Neruda in English and in Spanish and I read some of my poetry from too including this Easter lily poem for Horace Bristol and Taxes. Then we went over to Art City where Kevin Carman’s poetry is literally painted on the walls as well as on more portable artworks.
There’s still time to celebrate National Poetry Month!
For Allen Ginsberg by Dottie Grossman
Among other things,
thanks for explaining
how the generous death
of old trees
forms
the red powdered floor
of the forest.
Tonight, Tuesday April 19, I’m looking forward to tonight’s performance at the Ventura Artists Union Gallery by poet Dottie Grossman with musical improv responses by Michael Vlatkovich. It’s free but they pass the hat; an open mic follows. You can read a few examples of Dottie’s poetry below.
Tomorrow I’ll be Cynthia Killion’s guest on KKZZ 1400 radio in the 11 o’clock hour Read more…
a poem for an 8th anniversary
Today is our 8th wedding anniversary.
Eight years ago today, we married
exchanged vows and then some
up at my grandmother’s house on the hill.
Today the books say we celebrate
with electrical appliances.
But we’ve always done things are own way:
I bought us a 1969 blue Schwinn tandem bicycle;
he bought us season passes for skiing at Mammoth.
We are gearing up for more adventures.
Today we go to the beach
to barbecue by our van
make dinner of oysters
strawberry salads
and salmon.
Today in the sunshine
by the sea
we are
blessed again.
Happy Anniversary to my “fungi/funguy”! The flowers in the photo up top are the ones he gave me when I got home from work; I gave him that card–pleae click on it to make it big enough to read then read the words to this post you will understand why we’re married…
I took the accompanying photos with my iPhone April 18, 2011 along the Pacific Coast Highway between LA and Santa Barbara.
For more of my poetry, please check out my new collection 3:15 experiment poetry Middle of the Night Poems from Daughter to Mother :: Mother to Son (en theos press 2011). Read sample poems here. Read a review by Robert Peake here. For more poetry by bloggers from all over the world, catch the Monday Poetry Train!
On Sunday April 17 you can end your weekend with some wine and art while you walk (or ride your bicycle!) around downtown Oxnard. Read on to learn more about this event which benefits music programs for kids!
via Wine Predator
Art & poetry tonight: Fluxus A Go-Go at Art City features Kevin Carman, Carol Henry offers art, music, poetry + Arcade Series!
Tonight, Saturday April 16, Outlaw Conduit Gallery presents this month’s outsider art and electronic music event, Fluxus A Go-Go featuring artist and poet Kevin Carman and with live music by Stockboken at 9pm and Cybearg at 10pm followed by DJs Kevin C from Leftside Productions at 11pm and Dept and MossMen at midnight. Learn more about these Fluxus A Go Go artists here: http://artcityventura.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/fluxus-a-go-go-3-0/
The event is only $5 at the door; 21 and over, please. Art City is located on Ventura’s Westside near Vons on Main: 197 Dubbers off Olive and Rex. Gate closes at 11:45. BYOB–and bring a few to share with Russel the Rockseller! For more information, go to www.outlawconduit.com.
Also tonight, from 6-9pm, Effloresco! Celebrating spring at carolhenrystudio on April 16th! With the images of Imogen Cunningham, Rondal Partidge and Carol Henry plus musical guest Margaret Marston! 6-9pm, April 16th, Studio Channel Islands Art Center, Studio B1 and poetry– I’ve been invited to read my poem for Horace Bristol.
Also tonight, April 16 at 7pm, Cathy Colman, Dan Gerber and Vanessa Johnson feature at the Arcade Poetry Series, Oxnard Carnegie Art Museum, 424 South C Street, Oxnard with host Jackson Wheeler. Continue reading for sample poems. Read more…
Tax Day 2011: some thoughts
I was moved to tears at times by President Obama’s speech about the budget the other day. It seems timely that we are evaluating exactly how we should be spending our taxes right now as the deadline for filing taxes approaches. Personally, I agree with President Obama that we have a social contract to provide for the elderly. I think it is wrong that so many of the children in this country are living in poverty. And I think it is wrong that so many corporations pay little to nothing in taxes and that under President Bush the wealthier grew more wealthy while the poor and the middle class lost ground. And I think it it wrong to spend so much money on the military when our schools and are infrastructure is so needy. Instead of military service, I would like to see us offer a civil service putting the young and unemployed to work to rebuild our crumbling country.
Thinking about the Tax Man, it seems the post below from 2009 which discusses corporate taxes and this one on being compassionate by guest blogger Grant Marcus are as timely as ever…
via art predator
art predator 
