This is my third poem of week three of the online retreat. I went off-prompt for this one. There’s a cuticle moon tonight Its amber tinge may or may not be the gauze of my curtains That the waxing gibbous has diminished is not a surprise Most of us don’t go that far back but [...]
The second poem of the third week of the online retreat. The keys are cards, blue and green, with icons in white. I assume the one with the lamp on it controls the lighting. I am incorrect. They are only keys. If this studio were a condo, it’d go for $600k, easy. That’s a bit [...]
The first poem of the third week of the online retreat. A tool question Why don’t they make hex wrenches with screwdriver handles instead of the hard-to-handle L shape? It took me 20 minutes to fasten the first two screws— plus I lost two washers and had to go out to buy more. A memory [...]
I did not do the Sunday meditation prompt last week, but I did do this one, which involved responding in some way to the 11 February 1980 entry from Andy Warhol’s diary. He said she gets sick because she’s always acting happy no matter what. I can’t say I know that feeling, but I do [...]
This is my fifth poem of week two of the online retreat. A penguin, a panda, a porcupine, and a platypus walk into a bar; the bartender thinks she’s hallucinating. The old man at the other end of the bar asks the porcupine if he can borrow a quill for his cocktail; the porcupine says [...]
This is my fourth poem of week two of the online retreat. We have mythmakers in our midst; they make merry whilst misery multiplies, dead and dying on either side. The old stories talk about Nero fiddling, and the Roman Senate being the best that money could buy; if he’d been there, I’m sure Sisyphus [...]
This is my third poem of week two of the online retreat. I just want to sleep but have no place to stash the full moon. When the last one fits in a corner of the storage shed but this one would strain the boundaries of every armadillo hiding in Texas oil fields, you can [...]
The second poem of the second week of the online retreat. (Slightly revised.) The old neighborhood ain’t what it used to be, I’m afraid. Used to be you might could do whatever you want, wouldn’t have no trouble doin’ it, neither. Like any place, it took gettin’ used to at first, but once you figured [...]
The first poem of the second week of the online retreat. Praise the impulse and the current, for they flow through us all. Praise the spark and the glow for they show what we might not see. Praise the conduit and the transformer for they allow us some control. Praise the magic and the mystery [...]
This is my fifth poem of the online retreat. It is in two parts, one for each of the two prompts. 1 I woke up this morning with my mask fallen away I know I toss and turn sometimes at night— what is that, anyway? The usual aches and pains took a rest along with [...]
