Two newer poems

Cheese Pizza with James Taylor “Steamroller” playing in the background James Taylor jumping like David Lee Roth and playing the guitar with his teeth afraid to turn towards Jon tears splashed on the back of my neck we both gravitate towards the greasy pizza napkin no more cheese pizza but two empty spots for necks Track 12 Necks rubbing in the dark my upset stomach ruining the moment he is finally listening to the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel playing Bridge Under Troubled Waters our criss cross fingers leading towards friendships only voices of roommates voices making hot dogs no worries were alone together but when track 12 is over, so is the romance

Two new poems

The Doors

Room full of doors

Each door is shaped differently

One door is shaped like lust

One door is shaped like love

Grabbing towards love I hesitate

Lust is so intriguing

So many colors for such a short period

Just a peek inside

Visions of bodies moving up and down

Lips intersect with other lips

On the far wall is a plaque

“No Love No Lust”

Only filtered sounds of Barry White move around

Shutting the door I had to wonder

Lust will always be

Love door opens slightly

The air smells like fresh rain drops

Sounds of Barry Manilow pound through the atmosphere

So many colors of pinks and whites

There are no bodies

Love seems so dull without different colors

Vanilla is the key smell

Vanilla perfume, Vanilla cupcakes and Vanilla sofas

Looking further into love

Only cardboard cut outs of hearts

Petting a puppy on a pillow

A small cut appears

Is it true?

The cliché of love hurts

Maybe lust was the way to go

DJ’s vs. Blockbusters

Garbage Pail Kids the movie is sitting in comedy

Where is Pee Wee’s Big Adventure?

Chairy and Globy need to be in my heart

Action and Adventure section is full of biceps and hair gel

But the romance section should be called Hugh Grant

Moving up the aisle and seeing crunch bars and Laffy Taffy

My eyes meet

Romeo, I am your Juliet

DJ’s video and Blockbuster hates us being together

Obviously Romeo and Juliet turn out great

Married with children

Wait a minute, what?

Language Poets

I have always been interested in language poetry. There are so many weird poets experimenting with the English language. The first poet I read was Susan Howe. The first poem I read was "Speeches at the Barriers". I have no idea what the poem is about but the language is so beautiful. She used a lot of the same consonants. She used a lot of "f"s, "s"s, "g"s and "w"s. When read out loud, the words seemed like a tongue twister. I would like to know why she used so many similar consonants. Maybe the effect of using the words was for the use of the reader to actually read the poem out loud and not so much to read to his or herself. One of the most compelling lines in her poem is in part one stanza six: "old woman prowling genial telling her story". The image I got from the line was the woman from Mary Poppins. The woman who is feeding the birds. This woman has a story to tell and it is an interesting story. From far away, she looks old but from close up she has beauty in her past. In White Foolscap, Howe is playing with the way she ranges her poems. I prefer the poems not to be crazy positions because it seems to busy for my brain to concentrate. There were two poems that I actual preferred. The poem started with "Running ring" was actually very interesting. The poem is about a wren and her child but the way the poem is formed makes me wonder why she did that. The poem is in a "s" shape. She rhymes and uses alliteration to make her point. The second poem is underneath the "Running rings" poem and most of the words are combined with other words. I did not realize the poems were under one poem called "White Foolscap". I do like the repeating of "I can retrac my steps I who crawl between thwarts Do not come down the ladder i for I haveaten it a way". Susan Howe combines words for emphasis. For an example of her combining words "re trac Iwho haveaten". I have no explanation for why she did that but when I read the words out loud I started to realize the sounds of the words. By using field composition, Susan Howe makes the reader realize the most important aspect of poetry, the words. Lyn Hejinian I like and dislike. Her poetry scheme is a new technique called "the new sentence". "The new sentence" is combining sentences that do not have any connection to any of the sentences. I read Lyn Hejinian's "My Life" fall term and I struggled to understand the concept. I like the way she wrote "My Life". I like actually using the concept of "the new sentence" for good use. When I actually tried the concept I guess I misunderstood and messed up the poem. I like that I have more of a chance to explore more strange and unusual concepts.

One boy four poems

Zombie Game
Gummy worms piling on the dinner plate
fresh glass of beer bubbling with sounds of pops
pieces of beards falling down to the ground
glass tables viewed from around the corner
four people playing a zombie game
wanna join?

Track 12
Rubbing necks in the dark
Upset stomach ruining the moment
Jon is finally listening
To the sounds of Simon and Garfunkel
When track 12 is over, so is the romance

Motorists
Yelling at passing motorists
Walk in the cross walk
Wanna get hit by two yelling motorists
Keep on walking
Because one day I'll be the pedestrian
getting hit by you

Bathrooms Open
Tapping my fingers slowly on a notebook
I think I'm almost done
Done waiting for an opening
talking to fellow bed wetters
loud thump
bathrooms open

Allen Ginsberg is a comic genuis

I really enjoyed reading the black mountain poets. There is a real dry humor to a lot of the poets. In earlier poetry classes, I was exposed to Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery. Both poets were brilliant. One of my favorite poems of all time is Frank O'Hara's "The Day Lady Died" poem. After reading poets that were not that much of an interest, I was introduced to Allen Ginsberg. I was fascinated by two of his poems: "To Aunt Rose" and "America". Ginsberg did a wonderful job using descriptions in the poem. When he describes aunt rose, this image of an average looking white female came into mind: "with your thin face and buck tooth smile and pain of rheumatism-and a long black heavy show for your bony left leg limping down the long hall..." Ginsberg made this unbeautiful woman beautiful through poetic language. Through his comedic descriptions of objects and aunt rose he did a wonderful job in abstraction. Through out his telling of his Aunt Rose, he supplies lines that do not go well with the main subject of Aunt Rose. I am unsure that Aunt Rose is his actual aunt or a female character he looked up to. Mid way through his poem, he tells a story about how Aunt Rose helped him out: "the time I stood on the toilet seat naked and you powdered my thighs with calamine against the poison ivy- my tender and shamed first black curled hairs what were you thinking in secret heart then knowing me a man already-" I do not know how to feel about this statement. There relationship seems to inappropriate to be family. He is describing the way she is cleaning his naked body and she is checking out his pubic hair to see if he is a man. As a new reader, I was not expecting this bold of a statement so early in the poem. I am surprised by the content in the poem from when he actually wrote the poem. He wrote the poem in 1958. The sexual revolution would not start for another ten plus years. The last stanza seemed to see the end of Aunt Rose: "last time I saw you was the hospital-pale skull protruding under ashen skin blue veined unconscious girl in an oxygen tent the war in Spain has ended long ago Aunt Rose". The words Ginsberg used to describe Aunt Rose on the hospital bed are chilling. Even though he does not describe his feelings about Aunt Rose on the hospital bed, I could tell by the last line that he wanted the last time he saw her alive to be happy. When I first read "America" I enjoyed Ginsberg's witty commentary. I was surprised to hear how different the poem sounded when Ginsberg read the poem out loud. I enjoyed hearing the audiences reactions and his own reactions. He changed a lot of the printed version of "America". Through out the poem, I got a sense of Walt Whitman. Whitman's love for nature and Ginsberg's love of nature through America. Ginsberg explanation of beauty was completely different from Whitman's version of beauty. A great example of this beauty was "I smoke marijuana every chance I get. When I go to Chinatown I get drunk and never get laid". Ginsberg's love of America is trying to get laid in China town and smoking weed every chance he gets. Ginsberg had a surreal outlook on this poem. He is explaining why he loves America in a strange and unusual way. When he thinks of nature, he mentions his love for marijuana. His natural resource are two joints and male genitalia. He is honest with his audience. Instead of using metaphors for describing his love for America, he using funny banter with real statements from his own personal life. Ginsberg was a comic genius who only spoke the truth.

Newer poems

Chocolate man
Balding chocolate man looking at me
tie died purple alien shirt
zero amount of sleep
day glow friend moving
one pillow for two heads
uncomfortable empty cranberry juice
air smells like moldy bread
slammed door
cold white van
all alone crying
my eyes see you
brand new you
chocolate with a side of prescription
no digits in hand
wait your turn
only two years
dark like turns into fire
oven filled with screams
my first impression
went so well

About ten shots
About ten shots shot down
wicker basket filled to the top
spilling over into gray morsels
a lifeless body sunk in the pollution
only seconds to revive
drive within seconds into brown bath water
A mother's concern about to come true

Aloofa sponge squished in hand
pouring down each birth mark
eyes rolled back in head
no response
laughing is not an option
cleaning the mess with an open eye
dribbling in embarrassment
white towels changed

Picking up comedy through a lens
the audience sees a black man and a white man
discussing politics would be unfair
conversations of Saddam Hussein's sex life
Satan and Saddam butt fucking
no image beforehand
only a girl who doesn't commit

Raw Meat
Flipping raw meat in the air
the uniforms glowing
a field of chest hair popping out
stop turning me on
boy with Ben Savage hair


Greasy Salt Shakers
Greasy salt shakers
moldy brown teeth
side salads with fingertips
he is touching my v-line from behind
the trash is overflowing
eat the feta cheese
because real men have hair

DSLs
He has DSLs
The shape of spicy chicken
smiles from red hair
eating cold chicken strips

Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise flipped on tee shirts
multiple coffee stains on necks
the morning crew kissing
with observation from
John Travolta and a missing ear

Poke

My friends leave for room in my car
Left alone with the boy I crush
A bunk bed
Room for one more
We share the child size bed
The silence is roommate
Squeaking from above
Sounds like masturbation
Curious of what is above
I feel a poke
From behind
Just touch it
Five seconds
Really, only five seconds
Smiles burst through my fingers
What will happen tomorrow?
You poke me
But is it a true poke
A smile so big
With the best eyebrows
Each brow sharpened by Jack Nicholson
Mike gives me faith in future pokes