The Marathon journey continues. Search under the category Day Trip Poetry Marathon 2018 for earlier entries.

On September 13 I went to Brendlinger Library, Montco, on a humid, rainy day.

For some reason this parking space marker captured my eye – the colors seemed almost tropical in this dark gray morning.

I left some clay face tiles on the little bridge over the wetland area. I had left clay rocks here a couple of weeks ago and they were gone when I came back the next week; I forgot to say. I thought I’d try the location again. (These were gone when I left the school some hours later.)

I settled myself on the main floor and got to work.

My evolving plan is to finish out September as I have been doing, Marathon-wise. In October and through the rest of the year I plan to complete various books/projects I have outstanding, write Little Vines, some new poetry, and figure out what form the Marathon/my writing will take in 2019. It is time for some changes, but I don’t know what they will be yet.

This year has been one of many changes, for my daily life, for my art, and for my writing. For whatever reason it’s been a year of clarity, either sought out by me or (more often) insights occurring through things falling on me (figuratively, only!).

I’ll digress into one example – for decades I’ve felt apologetic for my lack of math education – I went to the Algebra II level and no further, limited by my schools and other factors. I had been thinking of taking classes to fill this gap. For decades. So I checked an algebra book out of the library just to give me a sense of what it would all entail, looked it over, and realized – I don’t want to do this! And not only that – I realized that to be studying math, I’d have to give up things I do want to do.

Poof! Decades of math inferiority vanished. I no longer care. That’s what I mean. Clarity.

OK. Back to writing. I did a session of one-hour write as fast as you can. I tried it last week and I liked the results. Obviously a cue to repeat.

I also worked on Little Vines, of course. But when I was ready to get started…Oops. I forgot my notebook that I need for working on these guys. So, I went home at lunchtime and stayed there to write them today. Well, that was nice – it gave me a chance to listen to my collection of Sharon Jones music.

Here are some samples from today.

This sequence is what I call a haiku group – a chain of haiku on the same subject, one inspiring the next, but not reliant on the others for meaning. I got started on this chain when I overheard one student say to another “If I could find anything attractive…” and though I was trying, I could not hear what or who he was trying to find something appealing about – another person? algebra? the salad bar? Anyway, here’s what I came up with – a rumination on attraction or lack of.

5.

if I could ever
find any attractive trait
I would point it out.

Immediately
I knew we would never find
any shared beliefs

Talk all you want but
I’ve made up my mind to leave
as soon as you stop

From across the room
I hear your raucous laugh and
it still gives me chills

I can’t help but see
your arid inner landscape
printed on your face

I am right to feel
distrust and suspicion but
I don’t enjoy it

Flat out it’s dislike
So there. Now you can see why
we’ll never have lunch.

Here is a poem written from a phrase card – somehow it ties in with my theme of changes and returning and remaking, and how that happened, I do not know. In this poem I put the phrases in any position in the line, one phrase per line.

I would also like to say, I had a skirt like the one I mention here that I wore to work, 35+ years ago, and if I could find one like it today I would buy it. Immediately.

7.
Ready-made and it was a snug fit so I
held my breath and counted to ten
there are so few chances to make things right
to look back or to begin again – I say so and to anybody who’s ever tried you know it –
but in the daytime light the details are always revealed
to anyone not in a hurry or nearsighted. Do not force it.

I sighed and buttons popped. Of course I always knew there was a certain amount
of trial and error and patience in any good fit– talk it over with your tailor
before you try it – remember: whatever style that was yesterday and you missed it
it can still find you today. Just look. And I recommend – Decipher the instructions
before you take any of it apart or add to it. The improbable often is.

But if you don’t cut the cloth
you will never have
that black and white
houndstooth wool skirt
No matter how passé it is today
you have always wanted one.
Made for you.
Go ahead. Be measured
today.

Little Vines.

b.
when I hear
your sour voice on the telephone
I wish I had no ears

c.
there are a few people
who belong to both of the top clubs in this town:
cannibal clan and serpent cult

d.
I am the ghost with no ears
listen to me
don’t talk to me

e.
the teacup mutt wandered the streets
miniature and ingenious
there he is hiding inside a doorbell

f.
sound really carries in this house
the crying baby got his second wind
blew the roof off

h.
see what you can find in that storage locker
scuttle the rowboat
then we’ll meet back at the abandoned shack in the woods

j.
one through ten eliminating the eighth
I escaped this time but some day it will find me
it marked me one through the middle

q.
this globe half in darkness half in light
No matter how many times I run away from home
it always catches up to me

s.
I don’t blame you for
kindness and decency
I’m on the fence about your application of it.

t.
let me emphasize
the disorientation is manageable
if we take our sweet time.

u.
an ounce of sanity
just scraping by
in a world that thrives on crazy

v.
we’ve traveled a long way together
along this dark foggy road
do you know how to weigh a faithful heart?

x.
Sure took you a long time to get with the program.
Put the squeeze on people. Learn to hold grudges. Extort.
But you did it. Congratulations.

y.
Make sure your paperwork is up to date
because what if polishing the silver
were the last thing you ever did

z.
I can make a poorly-educated guess
in person and in public
but I think you’d rather I not. Am I right?

bb.
you did a belly flop off the high dive
your bathing suit fell off:
the universe’s rebuke to you.

cc.
big ugly house and big ugly inhabitants
what happens to people like us
when we stop paying our bills?

hh.
Never
promise the enigma.
Nothing you can say will change its mind.

ii.
the darkness the rain
the ferryboat at the opposite bank
remember who pulled you out of the water
remember which side of the river you are on now.

Thank you for reading! See you next time.

The Marathon journey continues. Search under the category Day Trip Poetry Marathon 2018 for earlier entries.

On 9/6/18 I arrived at Montco, Brendlinger Library, on another very hot (95 F) day. Even the flags in front of the building were limp and tired in the heat.

I was a little later than usual because I had to do some chores at home before I came. I also planned to leave the library earlier than I usually do, so today’s session was set to be  shorter than the typical one.

I decided to do an hour or so of speed-writing poetry – where I set a timer and just write non-stop until the time is up. This process produces very rudimentary work that needs to be edited or revised later on; but it is also a conduit into my uncensored thoughts or feelings – maybe since you are just writing along, well, your mind does come up with ideas to fill the paper, all on its own.

If nothing else it is an interesting way to see what you might be thinking about, and if nothing else twice over, there are always little nuggets to pick out and use somewhere or sometime else.

Then, of course, I wanted to include a Little Vines session.

A few days ago I sat down to think about the next phase of the Marathon 2018. If I followed the pattern I’ve set over the last 18 months, I’d keep doing what I’ve been doing and produce another volume of poetry at the end of it. However, this summer has been a difficult one and my mind is tired. I want a vacation from my routine. I’ve decided to use Marathon time from October 1 to put together this quarter’s book, to work on poems for my current Large Artist Sketchbook, and to put the Minuscule book in correct form so that I can continue illustrating it and publish it. I’d also like to do some Snippets poems – I have not done any of them for over a year.

I will also write new poems, but not as many, I think. Little Vines, well, they will continue on as usual – I am addicted to them. And I will be considering what direction my writing will take in 2019. I do know it is time for a change in the routine, but what? Well, we’ll see.

OK. Here is some of today’s work.

This shadorma came to me courtesy of the library café. (The food there really is pretty good but I am not so sure about the coffee.)

3.
Burned coffee
reheated pastries
people stand
in line and
eagerly pay for breakfast
they’d throw out at home.

I drive past Holy Sepulcher cemetery every day, almost – it’s about a mile from my house. I was thinking of it as I wrote this poem.

11.
In the cemetery
we walked across the open space
where no one had yet taken up
permanent residence
to reach the outpost that was
the grave we came to see
lost in the vast green
nothing. One day you’ll have neighbors
we told her, but for now
enjoy the view
and we set down a pot of geraniums
a present for her in her new location
stayed a few minutes more
retraced our steps
leaving the hum of cars on the highway
and the occasional bird call
to keep her company
for now.

I saw this scene on the way to the library today. For you local people, it was at the intersection of Highland Ave. and Bethlehem Pike, Ambler, PA.

4.
Wheel her around that corner, lady
you are one hundred percent intent on making the turn
car window open bleached blond hair
sitting stiff on your head. Your blue sleeveless dress
shows off your arms yanking the steering wheel
the early sun spotlighting you in the driver’s seat
unlit cigarette in your mouth pointing straight out
aligned with your route and waiting for you
to get this turn over with and light up

Little Vines.

a.
that chimney fire
you could say it was a flue outbreak
but do you have to?

c.
should I be surprised to see you
working behind the perfume counter
demonstrating a paralytic toxin?

f.
the face belongs to someone you know
surely you recognize
the tiny bones of her ear?

g.
that horn-blowing sound coming from my chest
it’s just my immune system fighting back
I think it’s running into traffic

h.
that exposé was very complete
a wireless tinfoil hat
in cahoots with a satellite that has since escaped orbit

i.
wipe that grin off your face
the key to our social interaction
is that you’re the guilty one here

n.
We have skulls to keep our brains in.
No insult I don’t mean anything by it
I am not sure why you have a skull.

o.
resist the ellipse
turn seven into twelve
sew the green twine seam
I told you I’d find out.

r.
The oxygen so blue and fresh
buy me just that one more breath
Give me just that one more day with my old friend

s.
Nearsightedness
did she just say it was contagious?
Outrageous.

v.
that ark scheme of yours
yeah I saw the numbers
now let’s talk about some truck rentals

w.
I just have to get this off my chest:
darn you, why did you start that hunger strike
just when it looks like we’ve finally got a reliable pancake recipe

z.
the untouchable insidious ubiquitous
ghost of that perpetually barking poodle –
won’t you at least consider trying an exorcism

bb.
you’d think by now
the radius of grateful
would have swept over her, but no

dd.
There is more than enough space
in outer space
I’d like to come back home.

gg.
the dust under the sofa
who are we kidding
it means more to me than my own family

Thank you for reading! See you next time.

The Marathon journey continues. Search under the category Day Trip Poetry Marathon 2018 for earlier entries.

On August 30 I arrived at Brendlinger Library, Montco, bright and early. School has started! The parking lot shows the evidence of a repopulated campus.

Remember, I am arriving about 8 AM, so I can tell you this lot will be full by lunchtime. I have noticed the first weeks of school are more crowded than the latter ones: many classes now offer online options or short sessions and some people need to come to the campus only for introductory work, for class-sign up, and for exams. Things have changed since I graduated from college myself almost 40 years ago.

Anyway, a bright and sunny day here.

I noticed the chairs and tables in the quad; a library staffer told me the school was hosting picnics for the students the next few days. That’s nice. The red tent is the twin of one I passed on the way in – they are handing out student manuals. There is certainly a buzz going on right now around here – the anticipation of a new school year, a clean start, progress toward a goal – all good things.

I also noticed the café in the library is open again. I wondered if the same guy would be working there. Yes, there he is.

Today I worked on new poems, a Minuscule story/poem, and Little Vines. Here are some selections.

An old quarry, water-filled, near us, has been turned into a small lake/park.

7.

Off the road
behind the hedges
the quarry
a drowned and
mineral-opaque secret.
A woman fishes.

Here is a photo of the small lake.

In my multi-decades of life I have seen a lot of TV commercials.

3.
Television Commercial

I love you madly
said the manly fellow to his lawnmower
both of them standing on a green lawn
that doesn’t need cutting.
I watch in interest as a woman
dressed too nicely to be doing housework
though she carries a mop
emerges from the house
shouts: Break it up you two
advances on the pair
flails the mop
combining fencing and kendo moves.
She is inexpert but effective
leaving the manly fellow’s lip split
the mower mute but somehow unsubdued.
She turns on her heel
enters the house
slams the door. I hear the lock click.
The manly fellow and the lawnmower
head into the garage
I guess divorce and remarriage
have been discussed
decided on
the settlement made and
it only took a minute, tops.
I hate to see a home break up but
I am happy the woman
at least has her loyal friend the mop
to talk things over with
though I’m left with one question:
What is it I should be wanting to buy?

I used one of my cut-out phrase cards. This time I incorporated the phrase anywhere in the line.

1.

Small Talk

There was a noise. There was a vibration. There was
shapeless sound. There were the words as soon as said
it was all forgotten. There were the small bites of too-sweet on trays
offered to the smiles that poisoned the It’s nice of you to say so.
There were plenty of those moments looping in this room
and all of them nothing but a noise. Small talk did not fit well could not disguise
the heartless full-time say-anything flirts lounging in the armchairs. It felt cold.
It rang false. It gathered in the corners. It walked on thin legs. It sneered.

Little Vines.

b.
the three missing men
I keep thinking about what you said
they are missing only if you’re looking for them

d.
piles of bills in every mail delivery
what a special man
that exhausted postman is

g.
what about all the things that have happened
you think you can walk away
and let me guess you’re in a hurry

j.
the previous chef
livid and shouting
very generous with the cayenne pepper

l.
in the grid of cold-blooded premeditation
he was on the edge
she pushed him over

m.
a house and sixty-five thousand termites
no I’m not overreacting
it’s just that I’ve never seen such magnificence

n.
Her novel was all she could talk about
I knew straightaway
she would make a Grade A tax preparer

p.
from the moment I was born
I’ve been in such a rage
jeepers I just smashed the coffee table

q.
what if you had asked me
is everything all right sweetheart
I could have told you the truth

r.
the band split up
big holes in the bank account
no one wanted to get back on the tour bus
but they did

u.
the engagement’s off
I have no intention of thinking it over
I’m the bird that flew away

w.
that pale man in the dark shirt and the dark suit
he’s been lying to us all summer
you can stand it for eleven more minutes

z.
could you be a little more appreciative
of this treasured family icon
let the cat continue his nap

bb.
a shorthand notebook filled with seven thousand symbols
there was no reason at all to expect a happy ending
but you got one, didn’t you?

ee.
it’s just a shame
they were thinking about a divorce
what they really wanted was a rewind

ff.
I finally had to stick him in the freezer
it’s cold and it’s never been warm
that’s what he likes about it

Thank you for reading! See you next time.

The Marathon journey continues. Search under the category Day Trip Poetry Marathon 2018 for earlier entries.

I arrived at Brendlinger Library on August 23, a beautiful sunny breezy day, a little taste of autumn, in fact.

New thing – the parking lot has had the driving lanes repaved, the whole thing coated, and new lines striped. A nice clean look for school’s start next week.

I left a few clay rocks on this concrete wall. It’s part of a little bridge crossing the tiny creek below. Many people pass by here, so I hope the items will shout out to somebody.

I settled myself on the upper floor, the quiet floor.

Everything has been cleaned and arranged for the students. Chairs neatly aligned in groups. Desks with chairs pushed in. Shelves straightened. School starting soon!

I looked around for the clay tile faces I left here some weeks ago. I had not checked for them up to now. Guess what – all of them are gone. Next week I’ll bring in some new items. You guessed right. Just in time for school to start!

All right. Today I worked on new poems and Little Vines. Here are some samples.

This is one of those poems from phrases pasted on a card. The card itself follows the poem.

6.
After they asked I had to think it over for a while but by the next day
I’d made up my mind. It was trouble, big fat trouble, though lucrative, sure, but the story
appealed to me mostly because it just tickled my fancy. Since I had gotten myself invited to dinner
you bet I’d go, meet more new friends, explore possibilities. I gave serious consideration
to my outfit and a proper hostess gift and timed myself to arrive socially late. I walked out of the library
with an almost-new copy of the latest bestseller and the plain wool coat I wore every day
taking the bus (no license plate on a car to trace) knocked on the door. No voice could be heard
inside the house but that barking dog kind of put me off. I don’t know what length of time
is enough to wait at an unanswered door but I could make the case it’s supposed to be

less time than it takes
to look in the front window
see your hosts
lying on the carpet
not napping
and realize
arriving after the other guests
was a good thing
after all.

My husband will think I am talking about him. I’m not (though we both fall into the category of people who spill on a light-colored shirt without fail). I got the word “spud” in my mind and the rest was history.

9.
Man versus spud
a slip
and butter all over the shirt front
please not another grease stain to remove.
The spud laughs.
Pending laundry success
the shirt resolves to get left at a charity drop box
as soon as possible seeking
employment with a different
Man
anyone other than the current fellow who is right now
dabbing at the stain with buttery fingers

This was a Little Vine that kept going.

10.

The steel door and the peephole
the kitchen walls painted blue
the green bottle of mouthwash on the counter
the rhododendrons that tap against the living room window
the dust on the piano.
The footprints on the carpet
where the ambulance man had mud on his shoes.

Now, Little Vines.

a.
grabbed my hand that ghost did
now don’t scream he said
I’ve brought you lunch

b.
I told you what you wanted to hear
sure it might complicate things
such kisses sit heavy on the lips

h.
she needed a friend a discreet friend
she settled for pride and a bottle of rum
and no one ever knew any more about it

i.
a regular old guy
he looked like he had just finished making the world a better place
I’m 75% certain he had done nothing of the sort

k.
if anyone asks
we knocked you out cold
so you could start over with a clear head

l.
faith and instinct failed me
so special so unique so not worth it
so beat it you creep

m.
your top ten minutes in life
the truth-telling mechanism rolls along
we divert it in all kinds of ways

n.
these people who used to be my friends
she was tearful he was suspicious
I ignored her I pushed him down the stairs

o.
handsome and charismatic
he climbed in the kitchen window
full disclosure he was stark naked

q.
idol man holding a ticket to love
his toenails painted pink
my favorite detail in the whole movie
oh no now you’ve ruined it by laughing

s.
the thread sews in lighter
the lies I tell are so beautifully constructed
and only appreciated in the wearing

t.
one to one street therapy session
there is only one target and it’s on your back
think it over carefully, sunshine

w.
No doubt it was some of my best work
that most recent rendition of my feta cheese chiffon pie
though I used tuna instead. I regret the deception not at all.

y.
the pieces of the puzzle that we created
abandoned years ago
still in the box

dd.
spent some time in the regrets department, sure
but never on account of what I did to those crustaceans
they tasted great

Thank you for reading! See you next time.