michaeljarmer

#134: Good Devil, Bad Devil (a mostly found poem)

I love it that this guy, a Fresno, California, Salvation Army volunteer, found $125,000 that fell from a Brinks truck on Tuesday, and he gave it all back. Joe Cornell, in rehab, with just $1 in his pocket for lunch that day, told the Fresno Bee he began to shake when he came upon the loot. “EverythingContinue reading “#134: Good Devil, Bad Devil (a mostly found poem)”

#133: Stupid Desire

It makes me angry: I can’t stop thinking about things I want. I want a new roof, new gutters, and the house painted. I want to remodel the basement. I want to refurbish the garage and replace the kitchen cabinetry. I want outdoor furniture for the back yard. I want an Airstream, again. And becauseContinue reading “#133: Stupid Desire”

#132: Someone’s Looking At You

You know this now, don’t you? That nothing is private. That everything you say can be seen and everything you’re interested in is now somebody else’s business and part of the permanent and public record of your life and can and likely will be used against you. A whole industry depends on the fact thatContinue reading “#132: Someone’s Looking At You”

#131: My Most Popular Post

I posted on my blog a speech I gave at my 30th high school reunion, and I wonder why so many people are reading this thing–way more than the number who would have attended this event and even way more than the number of people in my graduating class. I’m at a loss. Maybe it’s just aContinue reading “#131: My Most Popular Post”

#130: Farewell, For Now

I asked my students what I should write my last poem of the month about and one kid suggested I go all meta. Write a poem about writing a poem about writing poems, he said. It was a pretty good idea. But instead, I took the prompt from the last prompt of the month from the NaPoWriMo website, not quite soContinue reading “#130: Farewell, For Now”

#129: Recipe for Disaster

Ocean of sky today, blue, clear, and a monkey siphoned all the gas from our car, gasoline fumes wafting, the drip, drip, drip evidence on concrete, crows soaring above the trees, I taste the toothpaste still from half an hour before, and rub an itch on my scalp, an itch that smells like gasoline. Rex Putnam, hereContinue reading “#129: Recipe for Disaster”

#128: John Oliver Slams My State

Today’s optional prompt from the Napowrimo curator is to write a poem entirely from the text of a newspaper article, manipulated any way one sees fit. Here’s this thing, courtesy of the Oregonian’s coverage of the debut episode of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” show. I guess any publicity is good publicity: John Oliver Slams My StateContinue reading “#128: John Oliver Slams My State”

#127: Giant Boy Scoops Up Unsuspecting Bikers Off The Beach

The Bikers were minding their own business, standing around their bonfire, working super hard to keep it going despite the occasional and violent rain, causing no harm, no disturbance, when a giant boy in red sweat pants and a black hoodie scooped them off the beach and tossed them into the ocean to a group of hungryContinue reading “#127: Giant Boy Scoops Up Unsuspecting Bikers Off The Beach”

#126: On Meeting Colin Meloy at the Beach

My friend and I walk down Laneda Avenue in Manzanita when his wife, also a friend of mine, calls the cell phone and says that Colin Meloy is inside the Cloud and Leaf signing books, and, like a teenager, I start running down the street. Having been earlier inside the bookstore, having thought about purchasingContinue reading “#126: On Meeting Colin Meloy at the Beach”

#125: This Is Not A Poem

This is not a poem, but a message. This is not a poem, but an explanation. This is not a poem, but a note to say that, this is not a poem, and that I have not eaten any plums, but rather, this is not a poem, and I will be off-line tomorrow, so thereContinue reading “#125: This Is Not A Poem”