ASF Poetry Thread

[drillinto]

“Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?"

Ron Koertge

Give up sitting dutifully at your desk. Leave
your house or apartment. Go out into the world.

It's all right to carry a notebook but a cheap
one is best, with pages the color of weak tea
and on the front a kitten or a space ship.

Avoid any enclosed space where more than
three people are wearing turtlenecks. Beware
any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks
across the muffled tennis courts.

Not surprisingly, libraries are a good place to write.
And the perfect place in a library is near an aisle
where a child a year or two old is playing as his
mother browses the ranks of the dead.

Often he will pull books from the bottom shelf.
The title, the author's name, the brooding photo
on the flap mean nothing. Red book on black, gray
book on brown, he builds a tower. And the higher
it gets, the wider he grins.

You who asked for advice, listen: When the tower
falls, be like that child. Laugh so loud everybody
in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh."

Then start again.



from Fever, 2006
Red Hen Press, USA

 

[2020hindsight]

Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe. - John Milton (Paradise Lost)

HEARTS MINDS AND OIL

To overcome with hateful force
is to overcome but half your foe
the other half is heart of course
and "win the peace" is "way to go";
to conquer lands for oil and gas
with full unhealthy appetite
will always have a hint of crass
and never make that conquest right.

 

[2020hindsight]

WEATHER vs CLIMATE

Are differences so massive twixt what's weather and what's climate?
it's whether you use an eggtimer praps, or old Big Ben to time it
for instance think of weather as one grasshopper, (or one warm)
but when there's millions in a line - that's climate! - and a locust storm.

the answer isn't yes or no to whether the future's stark
the claims that say it's getting cold are the only question mark
as NASA said it's "here and now" (and CSIRO)
It's not which way or why or how, it's the speed and how far it'll go.

http://www.greenhouse.nsw.gov.au/what_is_climate_change/global_trends

 

[2020hindsight]

FIRST DRAFT OF LAST WORDS

oh what a great spring scene was there
when I first opened eyes on the world
as I strolled through my youth with a naive stare
as my flag was designed and unfurled

oh what a brilliant summer flashed by
as I strove to avoid the worst strife
as I climbed on through laughter, and smiles and cry
and immersed myself in life

what a fantastic autumn display
in the forest where noone could find me
and the downhill breeze on the loose leaf day
and my hair slowly fell out behind me

a bitter sweet winter, of losing old mates
there’s memories that leave a man speechless
but I hear that old Peter keeps oiling those gates
to ensure that one’s passing is featureless

I’ll meet you less
greet-you-less
and the world one old creature-less
treat-you less
preacher-less
one old fool teacher-less

that was life
adios …..
finito

 

[2020hindsight]

CULTURE

Culture – the Japanese excuse for whaling;
Culture – the Chinese excuse for locking bears in cages and milking their bile;
Culture – the Spanish excuse for a slow death of a bull amongst cheering leering spectators;
Culture – the excuse for **** fights to the death,
dog fights till one is maimed irreparably,
dogs in packs fighting bears before a crowd,
dogs, man's best friends, being asked to kill a pig – and sometimes being killed by them.


Culture ......
can be so uncultured
I think I hate culture - especially when it has degenerated to nothing but an excuse.

 

[2020hindsight]

Sung by Baez - To Dylan
"Diamonds and Rust lyrics performed by Joan Baez. ... it is autobiographical and the man she is singing it to is Bob Dylan "

Diamonds And Rust -tribute to Dylan and Baez

Diamonds And Rust Lyrics (Joan Baez)

Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

the ease with which pain is changed to sarcasm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGMHSbcd_qI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f01UehWq3v8&feature=related

 

[Wysiwyg]

From Cairns to Coolangatta, north to south poles
The people they scamper, into their safe homes
To find one of truth, honesty and pride
Someone to love, you don`t have to hide
May take some time, something we learn
And one day we all, shall have our just turn.

With time always winner, and time never end
Do what is needed, with lover as friend
For time is a constant, and aging too swift
To give of one selfless, true lovin` a gift

W

 

[2020hindsight]

the queenslander showing in you wys..

from Cairns to Coolangatta and also the bahamas
we know how to bend em!
- now can you straighten bananas?

ps great poem.

 

[2020hindsight]

.....
queenslander's lunchbox

 

[2020hindsight]

DEAR TRADING DIARY – A FEW SIMILES I'm trying to SMILE AT.

Should I force a smile for the firing squad
as the Dow and the all ords sink,..?
in a storm should I go hold a lightning rod
and then stare back at God and don’t "blink"?
"SHOOT STRAIGHT! you old bathtub" with a nonchalant nod!
(and hide what you can’t bear to think)
"Just remember old greybeard, my piece of green sod
and on Friday’s I like a wee drink."

There are many I’m sure, who are equally poorer
and still hold a stiff upper lip,
now the world’s gone all mean with a definite lean
since some iceberg emerged amidship,
the inflation round here is incredibly dear
like an outgoing tidal wave rip,
though the future's in doubt, I’ll not kneel, down or out
to slings, darts, fickle fortune, nor whip !

I’ve retraced my bold steps to my very first bets
and the source of this journal’s ink,
my high wire-ing act was quite foolish in fact
as I balance my bank on some brink,
Ahh I’ve been here before and it’s sorry and sore
I return to my paycheque so sad,
....
and I’m starting to think, for the sake of one "blink"...
- which I didn’t - but I wish that I had.

 

[bvbfan]

This has probably been posted before but thought it was fitting for the current market.

One of my favourite

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

 

[2020hindsight]

thanks bvb , I needed that
- "trust yourself when all men doubt you " - lol - one can only assume that Kipling wasn't a rich man - or didn't deal in shares maybe .

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss

I'm starting to wonder if, in a lemming charge - it's best to stay with the pack?
the trendy lemming is your friend?

you know, I was thinking (for some strange reason) - about 2am last night -
about an incident once when I was walking across a really busy highway with 4 little kids , two of mine, and two of the neighbours at the time (great friends).

We held hands in a daisy chain (mine-neighbour-me - neighbour - mine) - and started to cross the road - there being only one car and he was "miles away".
Then two things happened. My smallest boy ( probaby 2- 3 yr old) decided he liked the look of a pebble or something on the road - stopped , let go the hand of the kid next to him, and bent down unsteadily to get it . But simultaneously , for some crazy petrolhead reason, this hoon in the car accelerated from a great distance, and went past at a rate of knots - seriously fast - and in the end missed my kid by inches.

So the market goes down ?

so what !

 

[bvbfan]

I don't know about lemmings

And I don't ususally recommend anything on CNBC but if you watch only one thing from them make it Fast Money!

I may not like some of those guys(gal) as traders but they seem to be a cluey bunch of people.

Were calling for a climax event which I thought was yesterday but I suspect given today's rally that it may be a day early.

The bull is stomping its feet but will it charge.

The bear may be preparing to hibernate for the winter.

Once the US elections are out and a winner is found then the fun will begin

 

[2020hindsight]

http://www.robertburns.plus.com/louse.htm

To A Louse On seeing one on a Lady's bonnet at Church.
Robbie Burns

Probably written late in 1785.
The use of Lunardi to denote a type of bonnet, then the very height of fashion, is an allusion to Vincenzo Lunardi who made several balloon flights in Scotland that year. Incidentally, the first manned flights in the British Isles were made in Sept 1784 by James Tytler, editor of the Encyplopaedia Britannica and a collaborator with Burns in the Scots Musical museum.

This is one of the most remarkable of Burns Poems and in so many respects the antithesis of the Mountain Daisy.

In the Daisy Poem he laboured to produce a histrionic moral emotion, whereas in the Louse perhaps better than anywhere else, he shows his ability to direct an apparently casual, occasional poem to a didactic conclusion, this conclusion expressed with all the simple gnomic quality of a country proverb.

The poem is alive with bright descriptive touches and an all-embracing humour.

The opening with its exclamatory suddenness, carries us right into the situation:
Ha! whare ye gaun, ye crawlin ferlie!
Your impudence protects you sairlie
I canna say but ye strunt rarely
Owre gauze and lace
Tho' faith, I fear, ye dine but sparely
On sic a place

Not only do we see the louse crawling in the unconscious lady's bonnet but we see the poet himself watching it with exaggerated indignation. A note of social satire creeps in as the poem continues

Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner
Detested, shunn'd, by saunt an' sinner
How daur ye set your fit upon her
Sae fine a Lady!
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner
On some poor body

The theme is developed at some length.

Swith! in some beggar's haffet squattle
There ye may creep, and sprawl, and sprattle
Wi' ither kindred, jumping cattle
In shoals and nations
Whaur horn nor bane ne'er daur unsettle
Your thick plantations

Now haud you there, ye're out o' sight
Below the fatt'rils, snug an' tight
Na, faith ye yet! ye'll no be right
Till ye've got on it
The vera tapmost, tow'ring height
O' Miss's bonnet

My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out
As plump an grey as ony groset
O for some rank, mercurial rozet
Or fell, red smeddum
I'd gie you sic a hearty dose o't
Wad dress your droddum

I wad na been surpris'd to spy
You on an auld wife's flannen toy
Or aiblins some bit duddie boy
On's wyliecoat
But Miss's fine Lunardi! fye!
How daur ye do't?

The contrast between the vulgarity of the louse and the social pretensions of the lady on whose bonnet it is creeping produces ever greater mock outrage on the poet's part until he finally, with effective abruptness, drops the pose of the disturbed onlooker and turns to address the lady herself. As soon as she is named - by the simple country name 'Jenny' - she ceases to be a fine lady and becomes just a girl to whom the poet is addressing a friendly remark. The note of amusement is not dropped, but it has become kindly.

O Jenny, dinna toss your head etc
An' set your beauties a' abread
Ye little ken what cursed speed
The blastie's makin'
Thae winks and finger-ends I dread
Are notice takin

And so the poem ends on a simple proverbial note

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us
It wad frae monie a blunder free us
An' foolish notion
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us
An' ev'n Devotion

This last verse contains the often quoted lines and shows Burns depth of understanding of human nature.
Note the capital P in Pow'r denoting God.

This last verse translates as

Oh, that God would give us the very smallest of gifts
To be able to see ourselves as others see us
It would save us from many mistakes
and foolish thoughts
We would change the way we look and gesture
and to how and what we apply our time and attention

 

[2020hindsight]

just watched Knight's Tale (Channel 7) in the background

HEATH LEDGER RIP

what a talent - what a loss - what a man - and so much merit
how respected by his acting peers - they only had to dare it
how much cruel misalignment of the planets o'er his head...
how so Lord - he's only 29 - how so his soul has fled ?

how so Lord - this houshold hero - how so Lord you want him dead?

 

[Wysiwyg]

DEAR TRADING DIARY – A FEW SIMILES I'm trying to SMILE AT.

Should I force a smile for the firing squad
as the Dow and the all ords sink,..?
in a storm should I go hold a lightning rod
and then stare back at God and don’t "blink"?
"SHOOT STRAIGHT! you old bathtub" with a nonchalant nod!
(and hide what you can’t bear to think)
"Just remember old greybeard, my piece of green sod
and on Friday’s I like a wee drink."

There are many I’m sure, who are equally poorer
and still hold a stiff upper lip,
now the world’s gone all mean with a definite lean
since some iceberg emerged amidship,
the inflation round here is incredibly dear
like an outgoing tidal wave rip,
though the future's in doubt, I’ll not kneel, down or out
to slings, darts, fickle fortune, nor whip !

I’ve retraced my bold steps to my very first bets
and the source of this journal’s ink,
my high wire-ing act was quite foolish in fact
as I balance my bank on some brink,
Ahh I’ve been here before and it’s sorry and sore
I return to my paycheque so sad,
....
and I’m starting to think, for the sake of one "blink"...
- which I didn’t - but I wish that I had.

Reads like the lament of a date raider, not the trials n tribulations of a hardened, wisened and determined stock market investor.:

 

[2020hindsight]

Reads like the lament of a date raider, not the trials n tribulations of a hardened, wisened and determined stock market investor.:

Was I wise not to sell - crawling shot and speared
by a misbehaving Dow ?
as I watched as it fell - till the dust was cleared
in a paralysed "holy cow!"

Was I wise? good question- I'm right royal sheared
as I hitch my back to the plow-
Are my dollars gone west? - (some have reappeared )
......
well, I'm bludiwell wisened now !

thas for sure lol

PS That other poem was written the night before the big rebound - in the depths of my crisis - not that I'm sure I was alone

PS wys, the silly thing is, I was thinking "gee if only I could go short ... but with a SMSF you can't -

"I would if I could but I can't so I won't" sort of thing -
but lol
I didn't have the sense to translate that as Put it in the bank !! - at the very time I was saying so on other threads lol.
Ah only money.

 

[2020hindsight]

GILLIE's LEGACY

Gillies gone and hung his gloves up
put his bat back in its chest
with the photos of his centuries
you were baggy green at best
the fastest ton by an aussie
and the man of many a year
whether “has been” or just “wassie”
izzie great bloke? – is this beer? :bier:

The sixes from his willow
that went bouncing round the stand
they’ll keep landing on my pillow
when I dream of sloggers grand
and the catches and the shoulder rolls
the sportsmanship and smiles
and the walks and winks and wonder
of the king of sporting styles.

When we're browsing future history books
of past lights that have shone
of the dinky dye true Aussies -
just a few come near the Don-
theres'll be sighs to ancient photos, mate,
of Gillie, now he's gone
as a memory prized - to motivate
.....
as the kids and the show go on.

 

[2020hindsight]

DISTANT HILLS
by ... a certain unhappy Far Side cow


The distant hills call to me.
Their rolling waves seduce my heart.
Oh, how I want to graze in their lush valleys.
Oh, how I want to run down their green slopes.
Alas, I cannot.
Damn the electric fence!
Damn the electric fence!

coldn't find a Far Side Cow cartoon - but here's a Far Side polar bear one lol

or this one (you'll have to imagine it ..

There is a FAR SIDE that I see in almost every theatre projector booth I go to...

It is a picture of an audience in the theatre chanting FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!
And hanging out of the projection booth window is the goofy projectionist looking at the floor where he tried to see his glasses that have fallen on the floor.

Heaps more Far Side memories here :-
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~insrisg/nature/nw95/farside08

I've always appreciated the cartoons that insert ordinary situations into a
scientific context -- for example, the two scientists ripping each others'
radiation suits in a radioactive chamber. With extreme examples, Larson showed
scientists as ordinary people.

My favorite one showed a carload of entomologists with a giant butterfly
strapped to the car hood.
Second favorite: Why dinosaurs went extinct.

As a wildlife management senior, there is one Far Side cartoon that hits home:
The cartoon consists of a student taking an exam. The question on the exam
reads 'How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.'
The question is then followed by answers: A) 100 board feet; B) 200 board feet;
etc. The caption reads 'The Wildlife Management Finals.'
I too will miss the daily dose of off-beat humor that Larson's cartoons
brought.

My favorite Larson cartoon is of a couple in a car on the moon. The woman is
saying to the man, "Now look where you've gotten us."
His cartoons brighten a darn decade.

My favorite dealt with cow poetry. A cow stands before a seated group, reading
his/her poem that describes the desire to run free and unfettered, but ends
with the refrain, "Damn the electric fence! Damn the electric fence!"
I send my best wishes to Gary. I miss him.

Hi. As a Caver, and being employed by the Ozark Underground Laboratory in
Missouri, as well as being a bat enthusiast, I have always appreciated the
Larson cartoons involving bats. One of my favorites shows a group of bats
hanging upside down (of course) listening to one of their peers give his
"acceptance speech": "And, during my term, I'm looking forward to a kinder,
gentler cave, with a thousand points of darkness showing us the way."
Larson deserves a pat on the back!

DaVinci painting the Mona Lisa, his dog sitting nearby thinking, "So where's my
dinner? One of the great masters, indeed." This is especially funny to
work-at-home free lancers (biologists and other folks) with dogs.

Favourites? Well, I would hardly know where to begin but I will try:
One of my favourites is the one which depicts aliens landing in a field watched
by a dubious looking visually challenged character. The caption: "The Zeonians
came equipped with the answers to the universe. Vern, regrettably, came with
thick glasses and a deer rifle."
Cheers from the other side of the world. (Australia)

Gee, this is so difficult. Any entomology one especially those with wasps. But
recently I saw one with a woman walking through the forest with her vacuum
cleaner and feeling uneasy because she knows "nature abhors a vacuum." But it
was better in the cartoon.
It was the little things that made a difference. The spider making a mess of a
web. "That can't be right" wouldn't have been nearly as effective as "Whoa!
That can't be right."
How can I face mornings without my calendar Larson for the day?

It's almost impossible to choose a favourite Larson, but as an Australian
ecologist I really enjoyed his cartoons with kangaroos, especially the one
where one roo is saying to another, "Just jump fool, you don't have to go
boing."

My favorites are the "Horse Veterinarian" cartoons. My favorite is "Doris, like
all vet students breezes through Chapter 9". In the panel you see an open book
with a list of equine diseases and their 'treatments': Every single entry in
the treatment column is "shoot".
Gruesome, but wholly exaggerated and therefore hilarious.

My second favorite shows a frightened cow strapped upright to the wall of a
medieval torture chamber, the back of a torturer with cat-o'-nine-tails in
hand. Caption: "The Horrible Truth About Whipped Cream".

My wife's favourite is the two deer standing face to face, one with what looks
like a shooting target on his chest. His pal comments, "Bummer of a birthmark,
Hal".

.. three or four crocodiles standing around a big oak tub full of water; some of them have their snouts in the water. The caption:
Bobbing for Poodles. (I'm still chuckling even now!)
A close second is the image of a frog, suspended by his tongue, handing from
the underside of a Boeing 747 as it takes off over his pond in the background.
I guess there's a greedy streak in all of us! (Australia)

My personal favourite had a dog realtor showing some prospective clients around
a house. "Here is a feature that you folks will love," he says. The door to the
bathroom is open and you can see a tree in there. One of the dog's tails has
just a couple of lines by it to denote suppressed excitement.

the human couple who regain consciousness in their yard wearing alien ear tags and radio collars.

"Great Moment in Evolution" where fishes playing baseball
have accidentally hit the ball on land. (Belgium)

"The rooster stared back at me, his power and confidence almost overwhelming.
Down below a female paused warily at the coop entrance. I kept the camera
rolling. They were beautiful, those 'Chickens in the Mist'."
flipside lol
"And then the bovine watchers were given a real treat. On a small knoll, in full
splendour, there suddenly appeared a Guatemalan cow of paradise."
Let the readers know we roll in the aisles in Australia too.

 

[2020hindsight]

omg there are some funny memories on that website ... lol
never realised before that you could describe one of Larson's cartoons and get nearly as many laughs

I remember seeing one with this bear's cave , and Father bear reading to a little bear (bit like a human reading Goldilocks) - and saying like "Then the first hunter said 'yoo hoo - yoooo hoo - hey Joe I think we can try this one, it's empty'" ... and there in the corner of the cave are a few skeletal bones stacked neatly plus vests and rifles and stuff.

Aside from the biological/scientific nature to Larson's cartoon, I think the
characteristic that pervades most of my favorfite ones is that the humor lies
in what is about to happen rather than what is already shown.
An example: Man with lion entering elevator, assures the elevator occupants
that the lion is harmless, just as the elevator door is closing on the lion's
tail.

My personal favourite (we spell it this way in Australia) is of the child
trying to enter the "gifted" school by pushing on the entrance door marked
"PULL".

I'm an archaeologist. My favorite Far Side has two cavemen, one of whom is
carrying a tool box full of rocks. He's handing one to the second caveman, who
rejects it, saying, "I asked for a hammer! This is a screwdriver!"