Monday, April 28, 2008

In praise of prose 2

Free poetry diction from form of tradition,
Set yourself off in a new direction;
Let loose one's poetry from restriction,
Explore virgin worlds without protection.
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Shakespeare waving wand of discipline,
Petrarch insisting on romantic minglings?
Milton inscribing formalistic epistles,
Even Lear formatting Limerick jinglings --
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Rather, launch creative verbiage outward,
String sentences in various combinations;
Shift one's mental focus laterally,
Casting out the technical restrictions.
Savor novel essence of precision verse,
Liberated from prison of meter and rhyme.
(Ironic how a Sonnet can turn into a rant)


Rewrite of a workshop poem, one that morphs from formal to informal.
A clean religion

Others go to church, worshipping a diety.
Attending regular services, gossiping regularly.
My own preference is to clean on Sundays.
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As I scrub off, dust, remove last weeks' dirt,
Shrug off and remove resentments, hostilities;
Clear my mental field of last weeks' useless clutter.
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Reset and renew commitments,
Forgiving and releasing others
From responsibility for any pain.
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Vaccuuming up and throwing away
Memories of harsh words and slights,
Misunderstandings and stumblings.
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Communing with nature while filling compost heap,
Enjoying the renewed sense of hope that comes,
With sparkling clean countertops and a shiny floor.
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Throwing away old mental trash and junk,
Leaving my livingspace clean and pristine;
All set for another busy, productive week!
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Has worked well for me, although it has not done much to alleviate the disapproval of society, directed at anyone who does not attend a "real" church.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Earth Day part 2 - realities.

Torrential rains give way to afternoon sunshine,
April's favorite trick, first torture and then tantalize;
Balmy evening air, greening foliage sublime,
Find springtime nature fantasies realized.
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Airwaves are full of Earth Day chatter,
Green promises, proposals, suggestions;
Make pleasant-sounding verbal pitter-patter,
Darkened by vistas of stark realizations.
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Soaring gas prices a grim, daily reminder,
Developing economies soaking up every drop;
World politics keep hobbling oil finders,
Shortening period to next price shocks.
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Could it be time for a bold, counter-intuitive move?
Throw open Alaska, Continental Shelf, let the Majors groove!
Responsible exploration and development possible today,
Maintain our modern economy, standard of living this way.
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We have a national resource piggy bank, and it is called Alaska. Time to tap it, like it or not.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

A salute to Karl Albrecht and Brain Power
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Feeling stupified by complexities of life?
Overwhelmed by choices, large or small?
Don't give in to external or internal strife,
You do not have to suffer a mental fall.
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Just crack open a book called "Brain Power,"
Written by lecturer-consultant Karl Albrecht;
Learn about ways to make creativity flower,
Sharpening skills like a scholastic veteran.
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Spend time daily setting better habits,
Making freewheeling associations;
Twiddling knobs on your concepts,
Improving memory and visualization.
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Go out and try new things,
Do puzzles and play games;
Give your imagination wings,
Stoke your creative flames.
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Problem solving, Crap Detecting,
Learn to think on your feet.
Modify paths you are selecting,
Never acknowledging defeat.
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Building cognitive skills,
Enhancing your brain power;
Finding new mental thrills,
Read it all in a few hours!
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So here is a big salute to Mr. Albrecht,
For causing us to take a look;
Inside our brains, all wired and wet
With one simple yet critical book.
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Some of the origins of digital revolution,
Computers, Internet, devices galore,
Surely derives from thought evolution,
Outlined in this one information store.
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Want to unleash your true, hidden potential,
Inventions, ideas that could change the world?
Read "Brain Power," gain your credentials,
As another innovator, shining mental power unfurled.
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Every adult in the USA should try and get, read, study this book.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Scoring bananas
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Payday finally arrives, just in time,
I've been broke, charging on my Visa;
For work change, down to my last dimes,
Finances more precarious than Tower of Pisa.
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Big paycheck generates weekday excursion,
Trip to Hell-Vee for cash and groceries;
Was reminded of my personal aversion,
To this location for scoring necessities.
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Verbal jabs coming at me out of nowhere,
Confused teen clerks trying to multitask;
Shoppers queuing up in lines everywhere,
Twitching, glaring, fidgeting, moving up at last.
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Once again, a simple attempt at shopping,
Finds me wading into pile of problems popping.
Clutching bananas, made my escape at last,
Abandoning problems intractable and vast.
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A train was going by on my road home,
Resultant delay failed to perturb my mood,
Grocery store stupidities will fire my hormones,
More than any railroad delay will make me brood.
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Whew!
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Saturday, April 12, 2008

One fine April day,
My crazy cat, feeling like going astray,
Leaped out an opened door, happy and gay,
Stalking through the snow, looking for prey.
-------------------------------------------------------




My silly, stubborn Snick.....

Friday, April 11, 2008



Midwestern Precipitation

Spring rains keep coming down,
Falling in unceasing waves;
Weather keeps a perpetual frown,
On exhausted midwest wage slaves .


Other bad news adding to misery,
Economic meltdown, bank foreclosures;
Oil prices continue to increase rapidly,
Joblessness conspires to upset our composures.


Midwestern folk keep getting deluged,
Bad news, worse events keep conspiring;
People beaten down, seeking refuge,
Lousy things just seem to keep transpiring.
Gives new meaning to definition of Midwestern stoic,
Getting through a normal day can be downright heroic!


Sonnet on the continual rain of bad news nowadays.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Stuff of Space and Time
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I recently read a science-fiction novel,
In which material was made of "space-time"
Rules of mathematics, physics wobble,
As one moves across a surface sublime.
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Humans discovered artificial construct,
Upon entering giant conical asteroid;
Journeying through levels, were struck,
With changing values in encased void.
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Reality is, everything made of substance,
Spacial stuff combined with linear timeline;
Houses, cars, ships all attain permanence,
Through craft combined with material design.
Physical values remain, unique forms manifested,
Each made of Space-Time, differently suggested.
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The books were Greg Bears "Eon" and Eternity".

Saturday, April 05, 2008

MLK assasination 40th anniversary


Grainy, black and white footage shown,
Marchers arm in arm, singing and chanting;
Police cars, dogs hover, as teargas blown
Across peace activists, angry bullhorns ranting.

Social justice changed hearts and minds,
Bought at high price in blood and tears;
A preacher left his church, commited acts divine,
Won equality and justice, despite threats and jeers.

Dr. Martin Luther King and his peers,
Changed history, paying the ultimate price;
America stayed intact, despite peoples fears,
King went to memphis, ignoring safety advice;
By giving his life in peaceful martyrdom,
He gave an entire race new hope and freedoms.



Written on Friday, april 4th, 40th anniversary of MLK assassination.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

One in Fifty


Helpless infants, one week old,
Only control they have is crying;
Burly, badass boyfriends, ever so bold,
Find their incessant noises trying.

So they pick up baby, slam into a wall,
Shake it, kick it, slap it around;
Anything to stop that confounded bawl,
Throw it up, let it drop to the ground!

So many broken families today,
Single parents caring for little ones;
High-risk boyfriends come over to play,
Frustrations taken out on daughters and sons.
One in fifty kids today are neglected or abused,
Grim statistic on our society, we all stand accused.


Did this after hearing about this today on the news.

Weaponize

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