Tag: writer

Out Like a Lion

crow

Yes, friends, here are TWO more entries in the first Open Mic Invitational of 2017. Of course, it’s so near the end of the month, that February’s Open Mic Page will soon go live. So if you missed out this time, or if you just want to keep this party going, you still have time.

The first new entry is from Stephanie L. Harper. You can hear the audio here (where you find a link to the words as well); check out her site here.

The other entry is by me. It was the fourth most popular poem on the site in 2016. Some language in this one… Listen here.

 

the origins of sculpture (20170128)

crow12 Comments

o, unlucky bastard who dug
uncovering wet sticky globs of clay
not for planting, but for
the first grave he ever had to dig

grimy and covered in filth
did he know the worth of those
handfuls of red earth that made it
impossible to grow his crops

did he have the capacity to
imagine or to indulge in idle
thought about that dense earth
that squeezed through his fingers

that kept the impression of his
thumbprint, his fingernails, his toes
did he make an image of a child lost
an image that baked in the sun

did he remember an old story
of life entering the earth
as breath or did he make that up
himself, and did he not

try to resurrect that child
did he not breathe into that clay
did he not rise with lips red and wet
his own lungs empty

New! Open!! MIC!!!

crow2 Comments

Robert Okaji (his site is O at the Edges) has sent me a new entry for the January 2017 Open Mic Page. Can you believe it? I’ll post at least one more entry of my own before the month overtakes us all.

In the meantime, please head over to the January 2017 Open Mic Page to listen to Robert’s velvet tones, and make sure to stop by his site (if you aren’t already following him). If you don’t, you are missing out.

stopgap measures (20170122)

crow3 Comments

grab me by the shoulders
and shake me
see if you can hear
the sense rattling
in my gourd

don’t worry
my brain will stay
where it belongs
i’m not a baby
and i’ve got the neck
muscles of a brahmin priest’s
prize bull

open me up though
and you will find
my contents may
have settled
during shipping

you can always
spray some
construction foam
in there
it’ll expand
and ooze out the holes
where the sound
comes in
comes out

peace and quiet
party of two

does it hurt (20170121)

crow12 Comments

bottles are clearly marked
return for deposit

once the silicone and titanium
formaldehyde and mortician’s wax
has seeped out of us
when we are no longer anything
but mulch
is that our recycling

or does the soul
–if it even exists–
does the soul undergo
some other process
some forge that burns off memories
and with them grief and guilt

does it hurt