dental hygiene (20160903)

crow17 Comments

the backs of my teeth
are rough
rough enough to make
my tongue tip bleed
from brushing against
them

it’s too bad because
i had so much to say
and now blood
dribbles down my chin
when i try to speak

you ask
what did you do to get
the backs of your teeth
so screwed up

i tell you through
lips coated in pink
froth
it was the words
that hammered against them
while i clenched my jaw
held my peace
the acid of every word
i forced myself to swallow
staining them
eating away at them
making them sharp
and hollow
like dead coral

full disclosure (20160902)

crow11 Comments

of course since we are in the business
of promoting the public good
we believe in complete transparency

no no no–i don’t mean full disclosure
whatever gave you that idea
our secrets are our own and we

will gut you and your family to keep
from exposing them to the light of day
it’s not as if we want you to die in a fire

but there it is and there you are

by transparency we mean that we are in
the business of taking on the role of your
parents guardians in absentia as it were

guiding you molding you and turning you
into us because we’re the public
and that’s good

September Open Mic

crow20 Comments

It’s that time, the first of the month. I COMMAND YOU to participate in the Open Mic invitation.

If only I hadn’t skip-read that book on mind control.

Here’s what you do:

  1. Record yourself reading one of your own works.
  2. Post it on your site.
  3. Include a link to this site in your post.
    OR Comment on that month’s call for entries
    OR send me a message using the contact form.
  4. I will post a link with your name and poem title RIGHT HERE.
  5. It’s an open mic invitation. NOT a challenge.

Some tips:

  • Go simple.
    I record using my iPhone, then email/share the file with myself. I very rarely edit it, unless I really waited too long to start talking.
  • Want better quality?
    You can get a relatively inexpensive mic on Amazon that you can hook up to your computer. Some of there come with editing software. If I do edit, I use Audacity on the Mac. It’s free and pretty easy to use. There’s a version for Windows, too.
  • Hosting.
    If you pay WordPress to host your site, you can add your audio by clicking on the Add Media button in the post editor. Have the free WordPress? You have options.All of the sites below will let you upload audio. Some will host for free up to a certain amount of storage. (I think with Youtube, you’ll have to upload a movie, but you use a still image and add your poem.)

  • Questions?
    Ask below or contact me using the contact form (up above). I’ll try to help you out!
  • And if you have any tips, feel free to share them!

 

September 2016

******

crow
ocean hand

******

Pleasant Street from Are You Thrilled
Naked in espadrilles

******

Poet Rummager (my thorny Rose)
Into Gray

******

Pleasant Street from Are You Thrilled
acid rain

******

Poet Rummager
Fifty Words Story: Gratitude

ocean hand (20160901)

crow6 Comments

we don’t shiver under the sea
not because we aren’t cold
not because we aren’t afraid
but ocean pressure is
the warmth of a hand without fingers

——

for
The Daily Post
Daily Prompt: Shiver

policy in effect (20160831)

crow7 Comments

huddle closer to me
ask me to tell you
everything’s
going to be all right

i do
though i have doubts
of my own grabbing at my feet
though every step
is made on
shifting tectonic plates
each the size of my heart
each the size of my life

no physical clocks
in the house anymore
only digital trance mediums
monsters that communicate
silently with satellites
no ticking to mark the time
but still
the earth shifts
but still
the earth turns

i huddle closer to you
and tell you
i will be your
earthquake insurance

macaque (20160830)

crow6 Comments

watch the monkey
climb down from the tree
see him smile
displaying sharp canines
/what a ridiculous
name for a tooth
in a monkey’s mouth/
and climb into his porsche
to make up for his
pinkie-sized monkeyhood

he’s got a meeting
in hollywood
in forty minutes

the freeway
is gonna clear for him
and if it doesn’t
he’ll throw more
shit than is possible
for his tiny simian body
to produce in a year
at the other
freeway monkeys

leaves ( 20160829)

crow23 Comments

trees shaken by breezes
in summer when shadows
are crisp
in fall
when clouds hide
our other selves

books opened
favored passages
corners dog-eared

your love
in spring when belief
is easy
in winter when the leaves
are moldy memories stuck
to shoes

——

for dVerse ~ Poets Pub
Quadrille #15: Leaves

joke on the road (20160828)

crow8 Comments

the street runs through
a good, quiet neighborhood
though cars drive too fast
zipping through crosswalks
where stop signs should stand
guard

amusing themselves
two boys took an orange cone
and placed it in the center
of the street
then evacuated to a spot
out of the radius
of incrimination
to sit and watch

i remembered as a kid
laying double-sided
swaths of masking tape
in the street and waiting
for cars to hit it
then slow down
the sound mimicking a flat

as a pedestrian i laughed
with those boys
and as a driver
i swore at them
but then i just felt bad

only the first handful of cars slowed
and through some kind of
group psychic message
cluing in drivers to the prank
a swarm of cars barely
slowed at all

they left after a few waves
their cynicism confirmed
or the laughter unsatisfied
or their disgust getting
the better of them