a pure minded pedant of yore(starts like a limerick don’t youthink? never fear) well this guypurged ancient literature of anyoffense he eliminated all suchtainted material but he was toomuch a scholar to get rid of ittotally so he put it in appendicesthat meant all us latin and greekstudents didn’t have to search forthe naughty bits […]
poems
Posted inArts & Culture
suicide poem number what
suicide poem number what well it’s three years today sinceshe chose to leave us I shouldn’tfeel any different today since Ithink about her every day butsomehow your bones remind youmore strongly. I guess I have somethings to be thankful for that shedidn’t take a messy way out withshotgun or fatal jump an overdose anddrowning is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
foodie poem #4
those of us who live alone talk out loudto ourselves, come up with varied gamesone of mine when the larder is bare yet going to the store seems onerous is toplay freezer surprise select something long frozen unmarked undated of coursedefrost and see what leftover is for supperyesterday’s did not look promising a sortof grey […]
Posted inArts & Culture
hearing poem #1
I have a friend with tinnitus hehas sound in his head all the timesometimes it’s a buzzing he sayssometimes a hissing but it’s constantalways there sometimes he tells meI stand out on the back step in theearly morning feel the breeze seethe leaves moving and I wonderwhat does silence sound like
Posted inArts & Culture
foodie poem #5
a friend lately led a class to chinasaw many wonders took tons of pixone sight was not so palatable at thezoo you could purchase a live chickenor even an entire cow and feed it tothe lions you could buy just a haunchof meat if you were squeamish orwatch a movie of a tiger tearing intoa […]
Posted inArts & Culture
greenpoem #4
a friend tells of her sister whowhen very small recited acatechism with the line “god isthe supreme being who rulesheaven and earth”– for years shethought “supreme being” was a“string bean” entrusted with thisformidable job it seems to mewe could do worse a string beanis upright reliable you can counton a string bean it is humbleunpretentius […]
Posted inArts & Culture
enos park poem #1
hey guys hows about some good newshere’s enos park on the humble nearnorth side we have a sculpture gardenacross from susie q’s a pink and bluetuxhorn behemoth swung our firstlarge statue into place and there’s thewest side christian church with itsscores of volunteers come to givemcclernand school a face-lift surelya spirit-lift too (it sure lifts […]
Posted inArts & Culture
word poem #6
this babble game on the netsorta like boggle isn’t a completewaste of time yesterday I learned“isohyets” are lines on a map thatconnect areas of equal rainfall Isee that useful in conversation Ialready knew “oriel” a window butit pleasantly recalled st chapelleanother “feces” familiar enoughyet a reminder of our commonhumanity broader though for allcreatures defecate even […]
Posted inArts & Culture
estate sale poem #1
one should not feel regretfor the things not boughtat an estate sale after all I gotthe presents for my grandkids’joint birthday bash due that nighta fleet of bright little motorcycleswell-made 50c each and an artsydragon music box that played arather unmagical puff for onlythree bucks but what I reallywanted was the worn pull toyfrom the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
LoveIT
Love this comic in Illinois Times! Homage to all my brothers and sisters in poetry and prose out there who continue to craft in the art, even though the art pays out infrequently, if at all. I read a book once that offered ways a poet could make a living at writing poetry. The book […]
Posted inArts & Culture
earthday-ecopoem # 11
“A major study commissioned by theBritish government concludes in itsyesterday report that rapid andsubstantial spending to combatglobal warming is needed to averta catastrophic reduction in worldwideproductivity on the scale of the GreatDepression that could devastate foodsources, cause widespread deaths andturn hundreds of millions of people in-to refugees.” – Los Angeles Times, Oct. 31, 2006 our […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 4/25/13
CLEARING CLINTON Jon Gray Noll’s complaint about Bill Clinton being picked for the Lincoln prize left me thinking “really?” (April 18, “Bill Clinton picked for Lincoln prize? Really?”) Specifically, in this forum’s limited space, two things come to mind. First, “… the Monica Lewinsky investigation ….” No such thing. There was the “Independent Counsel In […]
