Advante Guarde Times, June 2008

One of my poems, Road Sign Redux, appears in the Poetry & Literary Works section of the June 2008 issue of Avant Guarde Times. In true blog logic, Go to the bottom of the page and read it first. After reading the other works, click on the title of this post to see a great "sign" graphic.

This poem originally appear on this blog on December 19, 2007 in response to a prompt on Totally Optional Prompts.

Dr. Charles Fredrickson had seen the poem on my blog after a dialog between fellow New Verse News Poets and asked to include it in the June Issue of AVT. Thanks Charles, now I see what you mean about having just the right graphic.

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Meditation

Desensitized

Below the harsh mower rumble
I strain to hear the grass answer the blue bird song
Before me,
Boats pass over a deeper source of life
One I can only analyze.
A gnat attack jerks my eyes to a blur
As if the taste of grass numbed me
For a moment I am deaf
I touch myself just to make certain.

[The following section is
optional if you prefer a dramatic ending.]

This immediately set off a cranium war
The cerebellum said no way, not my fault
Hey I been thinking, said the left frontal lobe
“Don’t blame me,” the right frontal lobe mused.
The hippocampus faked memory loss
Finally the amygdala got the blame, for

Nothing left to fear.

The propmpt: Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota by James Wright

and don't forget " A Moment" by Ruth Stone

Pittsburgh Poet Terrance Hayes

is the Northwoods Poetry Workshop leader where I will be next week.

Stop in and Listen Online NewsHour: Report | Pittsburgh Poet Terrance Hayes | April 24, 2008 | PBS

and some links that will make sense to someone
Bothell Poets et al.: A poem by Dean Young


My Father's Love Letters by Yusef Komunyakaa

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

Banking on By Golly

Click on the poem and see the big picture.

Somewhere, Somehow

On the Far Side of a Dakota Sunset

" ... why oh why can't I?" Judy Garland

In the upside down world Hillary won,
General Custer smokes peyote root with warriors,
Politicians draw pundit cartoons.
Being last is heroic.
Refineries make cars disappear
& buffalos lie down with their greedy enemies.

The souls in that world vote for fools, who
Descend to earth & turn into public servants,
Saviors who tell the truth,
Walk to the sky and back each morning
Making love all the day long
Just as proclaimed in their holy books.

When they say war it means peace.
When they say peace it means compassion.
When they say shop it means rebuilding
& reparation for creation.
In the upside down world Hillary is naked
& Children feel her beauty,

Termosapiens cower in wind cooled mounds
Hiding from the Ecitoninaen hordes.
Hope is the dream of a place, where
Monica is a bonobos name for friends
Who couple with you in joy
& Praise the mythical goddess of virtue.

This poem was linked to Totally Optional Prompts, hence the comments. I really like that community of poets - it is interactive and supportive.