October 2011
2 posts
*On "Sight"
I’m currently in school learning to be an optician. Today we were discussing divergence and convergence, amongst other things. As we drew incident and reflected rays, focal points and convex mirrors, I couldn’t help but think of the beauty in the idea of two parallel rays converging to a point. I wrote this poem and I felt like a bit of a nerd since I’m writing an optical love...
Sight
Two rays of light met
at this focal point,
converging to form a
real image
that never seemed likely
in this plane.
Like magnets we collided
and walked
and explored
and we formed a beautiful image
(I saw you and you burned a place on my fovea, where rods and cones and every piece between sclera suddenly became more beautiful and more perfect than its previous incarnation, seeing for the...
July 2011
1 post
Okay
There’s a peace that comes
in knowing that everything is okay.
All alright.
Okay.
It’s okay.
I’ve seen people get worked up over nothing
traffic
a cold sore
the weather
but in the end, there’s nothing scary
in this world.
Nothing can touch us.
March 2011
1 post
A Cold Air Current
Tiptoe around
creaky carpet clad sock feet
cool air current currently
in the summertime when the air is less fresh.
Modify modification
turning the screw and doing whatever
the not so quiet quiet ones always
ask to do. In view of all things
holy
and considered
considerably Ash Wednesday and Jesus not so distant
as before and after Christmas.
Considering the cool air sweeping underneath...
February 2011
3 posts
To Evonne
There is nothing so comforting
as finding you waiting,
and finding you at all
leaves me smiling, elating.
There’s a peace that comes
when you rest in my arms,
and a desire to be more
than my jokes and my charms.
When we’re old and we’re breaking,
when our youth’s had its fill,
I’ll smile and I’ll kiss you.
I’ll adore you still.
Not Quite Raining
It’s not quite raining, but it wants to
open up.
The garden fears drowning if it
gets anymore.
The birds just want to fly and sing
the songs taught to them by their parents when the
world was much simpler and less esoteric.
The snails are in waiting - ready to be thrown onto the
sidewalk - making their peace with God for the inevitable
crush
under foot of a rainy day, or the...
Learning Cantonese
I push my tongue to the back
and try to make the “ng” sound
that you make fun of me for.
I try and try but it’s always,
“Naw” and “No! Stop the
hard ‘n!’”
Wo ai ni.
Mandarin’s easier.
Wo ai ni - no “ng” -
it trips me up.
I will practice and practice though
and continue pushing my tongue
to the back.
I...
January 2011
4 posts
The Enemy
Silence is not the enemy!
Not the enemy,
not (the enemy)
is time.
*On "Happier"
This is my first Evonne Der poem, although she likes to point out that I didn’t write this poem for her since I started just writing a poem about the enjoyment of jumping in puddles and brought her in later. I disagree though. I was happy enough to write a poem about jumping in puddles because my mind almost never deviates from thinking of her and since she makes me happy, this poem...
Happier
I jump in puddles
and sing Rogers and Hammerstein, oh!
what a beautiful morning!
In a cacophony of water,
I spin and dance, deliriously happy
and boyish with a fluttering
heart that pounds like a Tchaikovsky cannon
announcing, “Here come the French!
Here come the French!”
And over its pounding I laugh
and say, “No.
Today is the greatest!
Today is the greatest,
and...
1.1.11
It’s raining.
Again it’s raining and I really shouldn’t
really shouldn’t. It’s raining.
Miraculously the clouds open up
and I think maybe (just maybe) I
can start it over this time.
It’s raining
and time is an arrow.
December 2010
1 post
Rotten
anything will do
to see me through
and into
and into
anything will do
November 2010
2 posts
*On "11.5.10"
I like this poem. It’s not perfect, but I still like it. I wrote this shortly after reading either Love That Dog or Hate That Cat and was inspired to throw in the W.C. Williams bit. I’d been familiar with the poem for a long time before reading the Cat/Dog books, but they definitely pushed me to use it. I’ve always mentioned Williams as a huge influence on my poetry - generally...
11.5.10
Happy are your autumn whispers
leavesfall and tartly wondrous
browns - reds -
oranges
and all things that make it festively sweet.
Worth consideration is the red
wheelbarrow and the cotton
candy sunset designed
for me and you.
My sandals, I wear year round
and scarves you do too.
Happy is the season,
and we were made for it.
October 2010
4 posts
*On "#24 Effervescent"
Effervescent (ɛfəˈvɛsənt)
1. giving off bubbles of gas; bubbling
2. high-spirited; vivacious
I wrote this one a couple weeks ago and have kind of forgotten my mindset in writing it. I had to rewrite parts of it as I was typing it up because I couldn’t read my handwriting. Nothing really new in this poem. Parentheses. Short sentences. Long rambling chunks to end. Same old, same old. I...
#24 Effervescent
Meter. Jump. Skip.
Lose control. Die. Fade.
Fast.
Meter. Jump. Skip.
Live wondrously
and be extraordinar(il)y
wonderful.
Meet. Step. Stop.
Make a call.
Be extraordinar(il)y
obvious
(ly)
otherworldly and
effervescent
as the stars begin to fade into the end of the end of the end of all time and all that everything you never wanted to happen happens and you can’t stop progress...
*Update
So I’ve been without internet for the past couple weeks now, but I’ve finally got it back again. Aside from the poem I just posted, I haven’t written any poetry during that time; I’ve been working on a play instead. I recently came across some old poems from high school and spent a lot of time reading through them and weeding out the bad ones. I’ll be sharing them...
October, 2010
It’s a great day to be in love
and a good night to fall asleep.
A dream is more real when you’re not awake,
so let me sleep and dream of you.
Dream of you
dream of you.
Let me sleep
dreaming of you
.
September 2010
7 posts
*On "La Nouvelle Vague"
My hope is that this poem came out formatted correctly on your computer. I did my best to ensure that, but who knows how it turned out for you. The title means “New Wave” in French, which refers to the excellent filmmaking era in France. Around the same time that that was getting started, France was going through some political problems. Lots of strikes. Lots of students standing up...
La Nouvelle Vague
And you don’t have to worry about things like paying your bills because if they turn off your electricity, you can just blow up their building. You can say whatever you want to whoever you want.
May 2nd, 1968: Charles de Gaulle
wears a black cape and hat with his hand clapped over the boy’s mouth. He whispers,“
Be young and shut up.
”
You can do whatever you want because you are...
*On "#23 Ebullient"
Ebullient (ɪˈbʌlyənt)
1. overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high-spirited
2. bubbling up like a boiling liquid.
It’s a little hard for me to explain what this poem has to do with the word aside from the “skip in step” bit. I don’t generally have a Muse when I write. I’ve had two very significant Muses in my life and gotten some great stuff from...
#23 Ebullient
The proverbial skip in my step brings me to a
place where a piano can no longer
fall on me like in the cartoons.
How can anyone expect extraordinary in such an
ordinary world as this?
Why would I expect more?
(when my breath returns i might ask how i lost
my footing over this)
It’s very easy to be driven insane by fairy tales, to think
that a beautiful damsel is waiting on the next...
On "#22 Dulcet"
Dulcet (ˈdʌlsɪt)
1. Pleasing to the ear; melodious.
2. Having a soothing, agreeable quality.
I have to admit to really liking this poem. At first I wasn’t so sure about it, but the revisions I made as I was typing it up for this made me like it. There are a few different influences that made this poem. I watched the movie “Highlander” about an hour before writing it....
#22 Dulcet
Falling in love is best done in the
springtime,
but really, anytime will do.
I once looked up into the sky
and asked why God made life so sad,
and now,
on the grass outside a house that I can just barely begin to imagine,
we count paper cranes as they sail
through amicable clouds,
and we fold time,
experiencing forever before the night’s even begun.
A cool breeze blows past
and...
*On "#21 Dissemble"
Dissemble (dɪˈsɛmbəl)
1. to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of
2. to put on the appearance of; feign
I hadn’t really planned on writing one of these for this poem (evident by the large gap between the actual poem and this). Every other of the 100 Beautiful Words poems had one though, so I didn’t want to leave this word out. I don’t...
August 2010
3 posts
#21 Dissemble
Talk. Talk.
Smile.
A hand on the shoulder.
Pull away.
A nervous smile.
Talk. Talk.
Dissemble.
Talk. Talk.
Bonne nuit.
*On "#20 Diaphanous"
Diaphanous (daɪˈæfənəs)
1. very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent.
2. delicately hazy.
I’m not going to say much about this poem. I’m going to choose instead to be…diaphanous on its meaning. I’m not even sure I used that correctly there, but let’s just say I did.
#20 Diaphanous
I am not afraid to
float.
(small)
I reach out into the sky
and God whispers a joke
into my ear.
(small)
July 2010
30 posts
*On "#19 Desultory"
Desultory (ˈdɛsəlˌtɔri)
1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful
2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random
I’m not going to say what “maybe the best decision you can make…” refers to just yet. If you want to know that right now, you can ask me. If I do make that decision though, it will be a big one. Key word in...
#19 Desultory
Epiphanous
Crazy
Can’t sleep - push-ups until you pass out
Adrenaline’s not gonna help
Push-ups to take my mind off thinking
Epiphanous
And maybe the best decision you can make when you’re still a
Kid in an adult body
Grow up too fast
Just wanna sail the world
And forget that there’s anything else except
The open ocean - fall so fast
In love with the life...
*On "#18 Desuetude, or May 6, 2010"
Desuetude (ˈdɛswɪˌtud)
the state of being no longer used or practiced
Interesting fact: this is the first of the beautiful words poems to have a title that includes something besides the number and word (sort of - look ahead to the next “sort of” for an explanation). It’s also the first to have any companion poems (sort of (“#6 Billet-doux” was followed up by a new...
#18 Desuetude, or May 6, 2010
Without even trying, I think I broke a girl’s heart today.
I can be a bit of an idiot (the stupid variety)
and if this were a movie,
I’d get on a plane and…
I don’t like being anxious before sleep.
It was easier being bitter.
You feel good looking at your problems and saying,
“Fuck this shit.”
It doesn’t actually solve anything,
but it feels good....
*On the "Desuetude" tetralogy
None of these poems were written to be together in anyway. In trying to write the next word (desuetude) I went through a lot of poems that just weren’t it. At the same time, they still fit with the idea that I was going for with this word. The first two incorporate ideas found in the original desuetude poem that I was writing (which wasn’t very good and thus, isn’t here). Sailing...
Desuetude #4
I’ve got to do something.
I’ve got to do something.
I’ve got to do something.
I’ve got to do something
fast.
Got to do something.
I’ve got to do something.
Got to be someplace.
Got to be someone.
Got to close my eyes and
dream.
I’ve got to do something.
Desuetude #3
There’s a sameness to my days
that’s hard to escape.
A mess, it is,
and my head is heavy.
My dreams are forgotten
and my being is hidden
while I sleep it all-everything away.
(my world is falling apart in the most subtle way imaginable)
Desuetude #2
Like butterflies creating hurricanes
with each beat of their wings,
a sleepless night will change the world.
I went out on the dock and found it gone -
sunk into the sea.
When I thought I might jump in and retrieve
the dock I once did cannonballs off of,
I found that the ocean was gone
and in its place:
a deep pit of rock.
How does the ocean disappear?
Desuetude #1
I have imagined myself
from time to time
sailing from one end of the Earth
to the other.
I bring my harmonica as a companion
and I let the wind take me,
never once allowing myself to wonder if I’m
doing anything at all
extraordinary.
*On "#17 Denouement"
Denouement (ˌdeɪnuˈmɑ̃)
1. the final outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work
2. the outcome of a complex sequence of events
I don’t kid myself into thinking that people are sitting around discussing my poetry and talking about what I do and don’t do in my poems. However, if people were to do this, they’d probably mention that I don’t rhyme much, I...
#17 Denouement
Fireflies and California dew.
Maybe it’s time to go home.
Mud pies and fresh worm stew.
I feel like going home.
Nothing’s
so simple
as being
a child
with no
loose ends
or concerns
of a
serious nature
it’s all
many simple
nothings.
Moon beams and fishing trips.
I feel like going home.
Living dreams and Christian praying lips.
Maybe it’s time to go...
*On "#16 Demure"
Demure (dɪˈmyʊər)
1. characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved.
2. affectedly or coyly decorous, sober, or sedate.
This is a haiku. Traditional Japanese haikus are written as one line, so I thought I’d give it a try that way. I actually like it a lot - enough that I’ve considered changing my theme again so that the entire line isn’t broken up. I’m not sure why I...
#16 Demure
one should breathe slowly in silence the snow begins one should be at peace
*On "#15 Demesne
Demesne (dɪˈmeɪn)
1. possession of land as one’s own
2. an estate or part of an estate occupied and controlled by, and worked for the exclusive use of, the owner.
3. land belonging to and adjoining a manor house; estate.
4. the dominion or territory of a sovereign or state; domain.
5. a district; region.
My friends know that one of my favorite things to do is fish. I love just sitting...
#15 Demesne
I brush away the snow
and set down my chair.
It’s cloudy. Maybe rain.
Cold enough for snow?
Maybe snow.
I set down my chair
and I bait my line.
From my rock I cast into the frigid lake.
I breathe in fresh air.
I close my eyes.
I wait by my lake.
I wait for a fish - or
maybe no fish at all.
I just wait.
I look around and smile,
touching my rock and gazing out
onto my lake.
I...
*On "#14 Dalliance"
Dalliance (ˈdæliəns)
1. a trifling away of time; dawdling.
2. amorous toying; flirtation.
This one’s pretty self explanatory and the breeze metaphor is far from complicated (metaphors were never really my thing). I have one confession: the final line was sort of lifted. I say sort of because it’s not an exact lift but I definitely got the idea from Pedro the Lion. The song is...
#14 Dalliance
You are a breeze - my breeze
(for now).
You are a breeze capable of knocking me to the ground,
a knock I will gladly take.
You are temporary -
more temporary than the already temporary nature of all things.
You will pass, my breeze,
and I will pick myself up off the ground.
You’ll be gone and I’ll forget you
after I’m knocked to the ground again by a
stronger and
fresh...
*On "#13 Cynosure"
Cynosure (ˈsaɪnəˌʃʊər)
1. something that strongly attracts attention by its brilliance, interest, etc.
2. something serving for guidance or direction.
I focused on the second meaning and also the Greek root (κυνόσουρα). If you can read Greek, you’ll see that it’s pretty easy to see where “cynosure” came from. The Greek means “the dog’s tail” and is a...
#13 Cynosure
Odysseus followed the stars to return to Penelope
(with a little help from the gods).
Little Bear, guide the way.
Guide the way home.
It begins to rain and he wonders what he did to make the sky so angry.
Swing the dog’s tail,
guide the way home.
He dreams of Telemachus, wondering what he must look like,
all these years later.
Boys should know their fathers, and now? He’s a...
*On "#12 Conflate"
Conflate (kənˈfleɪt)
1. To bring together; meld or fuse
2. To combine into one whole
I don’t really know what this poem is about. I was listening to Riceboy Sleeps when I wrote it and so it was really just my reaction to the music as I thought over the word. The first image I imagined was a big red blanket stretching out over the sky and then ideas began to drop from off the blanket. A...
#12 Conflate
Mesh.
Adagio.
Mesh.
Close your eyes and mesh.
It’s like waking up to Christmas morning
when you went to sleep in July.
It’s finding peace in chaos
and seeing the simplicity of it all
when nothing really makes sense.
Mesh.
It’s like saying hello.
(hello)
*On "#11 Comely"
Comely (ˈkʌmli)
1. pleasing in appearance; attractive; fair
2. proper; seemly; becoming
I don’t like the word “comely.” I never have. When I hear it, I think of slutty girls wearing very little who are giving you the eye and trying to seduce you. They’re motioning you to them with their index finger as if to say, “Let’s get down to business.” Obviously...