I drove over the mountain to get here. I drove over Mount Hood. I drove over the mountain into the desert. Eventually, I ended up close to three other mountains, the ones we call The Sisters. I drove over the mountain to get here. This is the place where I will try to help peopleContinue reading “#344: I Drove Over the Mountain to Get Here”
Category Archives: Poetry
#343: The Steampunks of Spring
The Steampunks of Spring Two octopuses sit on the window sill sporting their top hats and flight goggles, little works of art made mostly from recycled odds and ends, scrap leather, gears, watch parts, wheels, lucite grapes, steel wire, old jewelry, junk. Behind them, through the glass, Spring arrives. The oaks are alive with squawking crows andContinue reading “#343: The Steampunks of Spring”
#342: G is for Gully-Whumper
You’re going to hear a real gully-whumper right about now. If you weren’t such a gulpin you’d have a chance of seeing right through the gum. In my life, I have never heard such gummation. Go ahead and pour yourself some guinea red, loosen yourself before the gumball machine comes down the gravel drive. Don’t give meContinue reading “#342: G is for Gully-Whumper”
#341: This Animal, This Dog.
Say the word animal. Look at this dog. It doesn’t seem right somehow. The word animal simultaneously not sufficient and too much. This creature seems to rise above the distinction, as you talk to it and feel for it, pick up after it and play with it as if it were a human child. AndContinue reading “#341: This Animal, This Dog.”
#340: Skylarking
It’s 1986, the winter after our wedding and we’re living in a shack. Seriously, I’m not a tall guy and I can stand in the living room and place my hands flat on the ceiling. It’s the holiday season and I’ve just bought XTC’s “Skylarking,” which I listen to from start to finish over andContinue reading “#340: Skylarking”
#339: A Poem for Easter
Jesus and the Easter Bunny walk into a bar. Sugar ants invade the bathroom, are crawling all over the toothpaste tube and toothbrushes. They are not, necessarily, on friendly terms; it goes almost without saying. The bunny goes in for Steam Punk art, likes Jesus and the Mary Chain, which the Son of God finds amusing,Continue reading “#339: A Poem for Easter”
#338: A Wannabe Nerd
He says, Do you remember that song by M.? That was 1979, I say, and I was fifteen. Talk about, he said, pop music. That’s the only thing I remember. Yeah, the only other thing I can remember is shooby dooby doo wop. It was a kind of, I say, spoken word thing, a nonsensicalContinue reading “#338: A Wannabe Nerd”
#337: A Living Legend on Two Continents
Coincidentally, I have already written a poem this month that follows today’s suggestion from the napowrimo website, to write an abecedarian, a poem that uses the alphabet as some key feature of its form. If you haven’t seen it already, here’s a linky-link. It turned out nicely, I think. Since my intern Max isContinue reading “#337: A Living Legend on Two Continents”
#336: Kids These Days
My intern Max delivers a lesson today to 9th graders in a unit study of Elie Wiesel’s Night. Today, he’s asking them to think, write, and speak about indifference. My sixth period, usually rambunctious, squirrely, silly, noisy, rises to the occasion today with seriousness, sincerity, and hope. Max, my intern, asks, What’s our obligation towardContinue reading “#336: Kids These Days”
#335: CPR Anytime!
How many times have you had the urge to do CPR in your home? Now you can do CPR anytime you want! Perfect for dinner parties, summer pool get-togethers, birthday bashes, and holiday festivities with friends and family, any occasion during which some unfortunate soul might keel over. Fun for all ages. Get a kickContinue reading “#335: CPR Anytime!”
michael jarmer 