I don’t know how I found her. In 2008, either because I hadread something or someonehad recommended her to me, I bought a CD. I don’t think I had a clue at the time about her collaborations with otherfamous artists or that she wasJeff Buckley’s fiancee up to thepoint of his tragic drowning.So beyond allContinue reading “#765: J is for Joan As Police Woman”
Tag Archives: poetry
#764: Things to Remember
A swarm of 50,000 bees is nesting inside of her bedroom wall.How many plush toys or teddy bearsdid it take to make you feel safe? It is important to remember thatall living things have but one purpose.
#763: J is for Jimenez, José
Filed under Jimenez, and not underBill Dana, the name of the comedian whoplays the character–José Jimenez The Astronaut, the First Man in Space, is the only comedy record albumin my collection, the only record in the collection that was once part of my parent’s record collection. That record was lost to me until I foundContinue reading “#763: J is for Jimenez, José”
#762: Ars Poetica
To be bad at it. Good at the sentence, bad at the poem. To write proseand then just break that shit upinto lines. To write the poem-like-thing, the almost poem, the near beer poetry. To reach for the formbecause of its economy,its compression, its spongy versatility. To reach for the formbecause you have a thingContinue reading “#762: Ars Poetica”
#761: J is for Jethro Tull
Sitting on a park bench. Snot dripping down his nose. Both of my Jethro Tull albumsare used acquisitions, Aqualungstill has a price tag on it of $1.99. Aqualung, my friend, don’t you start away uneasy. You poor old sod, you see, it’s only me. And I want to know who has a friend namedafter aContinue reading “#761: J is for Jethro Tull”
#760: Early Morning Ride to the Airport in Darkness
At 4:30 in the morningthere’s no one on the roadsuntil one gets close to the airportand suddenly there are carseverywhere. The departure laneis jam packed and I can’t evenget close to the curb to drop off my son, so he has to make a go of it three lanes deepto join the throngs of airContinue reading “#760: Early Morning Ride to the Airport in Darkness”
#759: J is for Jellyfish
I cannot think of a better 90’s bandthat did not sound like the 90’s. Maybe The Posies or They Might BeGiants both come close, but thesecats, this Jellyfish band, I saw liveonce in their first iteration at a smallclub downtown shortly after that firstalbum, Bellybutton, and it was nearlya religious experience. Andy Sturmer, lead singingContinue reading “#759: J is for Jellyfish”
#758: The Voice That Is Not My Voice Is My Voice
I was compelled to use the word“voice” three times in the title of thispoem, and looking at the word (everyone has had this experience)it feels unfamiliar, unreal, made up. That sound I make when I talkis called a voice, and the personalityof my writing or my art is also calledsometimes a voice, but, too, theContinue reading “#758: The Voice That Is Not My Voice Is My Voice”
#757: Sobriquet for Jeff
I learned a new word today: sobriquet. It’s a fancy word for nickname, a kind of nicknamefor nickname. Because the scientificnames are difficult and hard to remember, people have given sobriquets to flowers and plants: baby’s breath, bleeding heart, poppy (known most commonlyas Papaver Somniferum), even the word lily is shortfor something. We give nicknamestoContinue reading “#757: Sobriquet for Jeff”
#756: J is for The Worst of Jefferson Airplane, or the Worst of American Airlines
Coming home from Dayton with a short layover in Chicago, our flight, scheduled for take-off from O’Hare at nine, is delayed because of “technical issues.” That’s just the thingyou want to hear waiting to boarda plane. Your thinking goes to uglyplaces. And then, on the other hand, statistically speaking, you are safer ina plane thanContinue reading “#756: J is for The Worst of Jefferson Airplane, or the Worst of American Airlines”
michael jarmer 