Publishing on the fly is like this: I make premature postings, find typographical errors, inappropriate emoji, or worse, one or two times I’ve accidentally liked myself. While attempting a poem with my phone, mistakes are made and become immediately public– my dumb ass on display for the whole world, or, at least, the tiny fraction of it that’s actuallyContinue reading “#151: Mistakes Are Made”
Tag Archives: A poem a day for a month
#150: Sick Dog (an Abecedarian)
At 3 in the morning, no Barking, but an old dog fails the attempt to Climb the stairs, Drops back down: Early, the dog is sick. Fuck. Shit everywhere, God awful stench, Holding back my own retching, In every room of the main floor, I’m Juggling paper towels, disinfectant, Kitchen linoleum scrub, Livid, trying not toContinue reading “#150: Sick Dog (an Abecedarian)”
#149: Unspeakable
Unspeakable I’m trying to find words to describe how I feel when, during a reading from Elie Wiesel’s Night, I look up and see students looking at their phones. One student, in particular, looks at me, and without irony, without hesitation, and without, I would say, consciousness, says, as if it were a legitimate explanation, that sheContinue reading “#149: Unspeakable”
#148: I’ve Got To Write A Poem
I’ve Got to Write a Poem The boy says, daddy, come play with me, and I say, no son, I’ve got to write a poem. A pitfall of national poetry writing month: potentially bad, or at least neglectful parenting. Oh, damn, that’s right, he says, it’s April. You never play with me in April. AndContinue reading “#148: I’ve Got To Write A Poem”
#147: Ode to Ears
Ode to Ears They say you only appreciate something once you’ve lost it. I didn’t lose my ears, literally, but rather, the use of them. Because some glob of wax lodged itself deep inside my ears, I have been dizzy deaf now for several days. A horrible experience, but worth it: the doctor reaches inContinue reading “#147: Ode to Ears”
#144: Love Poem
Today from http://www.napowrimo.net: “I challenge you to write a “loveless” love poem. Don’t use the word love! And avoid the flowers and rainbows.” So here’s a love poem about my mother and father for which I tried to avoid cliché and all the other various love poem traps. Love Poem I think of my mother massagingContinue reading “#144: Love Poem”
#142: This School Year Has Not Been, Thus Far,
On this second day of National Poetry Writing Month, compliments of the prompt for the first day on the http://www.napowrimo.net website, a poem of negation, a poem that describes a thing in terms of what it is not: This School Year Has Not Been, Thus Far, soft and cuddly, a baby blanket; warm and inviting,Continue reading “#142: This School Year Has Not Been, Thus Far,”
#141 Teaching Without A Voice
I begin the cruelest month of National Poetry Writing hopefully recovering from a bout of laryngitis and ready to go back to the classroom. Thus, the inspiration for my first poem of 30, one for every day of the month of April, comes not from a prompt, but from this: Teaching Without A Voice isContinue reading “#141 Teaching Without A Voice”
Embarking Yet Again on Another Forced Creativity Experiment: Year 3 of NAPOWRIMO
Happy National Poetry Month! Beginning on Wednesday, April 1 (this is no April Fool’s joke), I will attempt for the third year in a row to participate in the NaPoWriMo challenge of writing a poem a day for the entire month and publishing each poem here on the blog site. I promise, once again, not to cheat; IContinue reading “Embarking Yet Again on Another Forced Creativity Experiment: Year 3 of NAPOWRIMO”
#113: The Child House
The Child House is so called because the children in this building outnumber the adults about thirty-seven to one. Inside over a thousand big children are busy (or not) at some purpose which often remains mysterious to them, but never- theless is perceived by many to be of some importance. Many of the kids love theContinue reading “#113: The Child House”
michael jarmer 