Ironically I’m sitting at the puta writing a poem about energy when I am exhausted after a very long day.
Two Notes: 1. Formatting is an issue (the poems don’t look as good as they do properly formatted in a word doc) as is often the way with WordPress. 2. The old maxim, sorry about the long poems, I didn’t have time to write short ones is particularly true tonight.
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Australian Energy — a call & response poem
Australia is the third-largest exporter of coal in the world
no, it’s the biggest
home to two of the 10 largest coal mines in the world
four of the 10
Australians believe {of the total workforce} : the coal mining industry makes up 11%
in reality it’s just 0.3%
oil & gas employment make up 20%
just 0.2%
Australians believe {of GDP} : the economic value of the gas industry is 12.4%
2.5%
coal mining contributes 13.6%
2.6%
50% of Australians believe {of what we should be building} : new gas power stations
only 21% believe we should be building new renewable energy projects
my apologies i was confused
let me try that again
50% of Australians believe: new renewable energy projects
only 21% believe we should be building new gas power stations
the 2023-2024 Australian Federal Budget has been released fossil fuel subsidies (such as the Fuel Tax Credit) – will cost the Budget over $41 billion over the next four years
significantly more than all the funded climate initiatives combined
despite fossil fuel industries being the past
& clean energy initiatives, the future
(perhaps, assuming
we survive)
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Funfact Day 3 – TIL how to grow iconic French architecture
Paris’s brutal metal heart — the Eiffel Tower can be as much as fifteen to sixteen centimetres taller in summer
{ thermal expansion heats the iron up the particles gain kinetic energy & in so doing : take up more space }
think how tall she will get when The Iron Lady starts experiencing month long 40+ degree days
when Ville-Lumière becomes Ville-Chaleur & Ville d’Amour becomes Ville d’Sueur
{ City of Light melts into City of Heat & City of Love drips into City of Sweat }
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Funfact Day 3 (bonus) – TIL other Eiffel things
i. the Tower was initially intended for Barcelona but those pesky Catalans thought it an awful eyeful (ouch!) so Gustave pitched her to Paris instead
ii. initially the French weren’t overly impressed either metal-shaming her as “useless & monstrous” “a stupefying folly” & “an odious column of bolted metal”
always something of a prickly loner writer Guy de Maupassant dined every day at the cafe directly below — the only spot in Paris he claimed he couldn’t see the damn thing
but they grew to love her — as did the whole world till she became what she now is (like so many modern landmarks) little more than Instafodder
Not sure how long the poems will synchronise but today, as with yesterday, they do. The whole first poem is included as it didn’t turn out, quite as I intended …
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morning zoo kookiness
mid-january 2019 : an Adelaide-based : morning breakfast radio crew : conceived a whacky notion : can you really fry : an egg : on a car bonnet : on a hot enough day : the forecast was for 45º : so using a brand new car : provided by a car dealership : i shall keep remained nameless : as a cynical : free marketing opportunity : they cracked : a couple of eggs : (& sadly : more than a couple : so-called whacky jokes) : before throwing on : some bacon, snags & hash browns : the eggs : allegedly : commenced cooking : straight away : thrilling the cool gang : except a deeply concerned : car paint expert (that’s a thing?) : who called in to explain : why you shouldn’t try this at home : raw egg will eat right through your paint : he wheezed : yep : that’s the takeaway : not that the world : today : was really farking hot : & only getting hotter
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Day 2 – TIL about Chefs’ hats
a good yolk
i. according to ancient culinary legend the pleats of the “toque blanche” the tall white chef’s hat subtly represent the many skills acquired over long years of kitchery
ii. furthermore & specifically the 100 folds supposedly show the chef knows the 100 different ways to prepare eggs — but let’s be frank — if you can poach properly you’re tiptoeing towards … perfection
iii. today i also learnt upon doing a little extra interwebbing that this so called “fun fact” culled from some chirpy digital listicle is actually total BS
bonus iv.
The One Hundred Egg Preparatory Methods are:
hardboiled (15-20 minutes) : medium (5-10 minutes) : softboiled (3-4 minutes) : coddled eggs : curried eggs : scotch woodcock : pickled eggs : beet pickled eggs : tea eggs or soy eggs : deviled eggs : angeled eggs : hammond eggs : egg salad : egg tetrazzini : over easy : fried hard : over medium : sunny-side up : eggs au beurre noir : frog in the hole : toad in the hole : scrambled eggs : cloud eggs : baked eggs : shirred eggs : shirred eggs and ham : eggs mornay : eggs florentine : egg nests : eggs in potato nests : eggs in tomato cups : omelette : cheese omelette : ham omelette : omelet fines herbes : baked omelet : puffy omelette : omurice : frittata : quiche : quiche lorraine : poached eggs : poached eggs in red wine : poached eggs in soup : spanish eggs : eggs sur le plat : scotch eggs : eggs benedict : meringue : cheese custard : creole eggs : egg casserole : cheese egg float : cheese pudding : dutch bunny (old time egg pancake) : yorkshire pudding : souffle : cheese souffle : asparagus souffle : chocolate souffle : vanilla souffle : eggs goldenrod : french toast : eggs a la king : eggs fu yung (foo young, various spellings) : egg timbales : egg drop soup : creamed deviled eggs : eggnog (not usually cooked, i know) : creme brulee : floating island : baked custard : custard pie : custard soufffle : frozen custard : coconut custard : chocolate pots de creme : zabaglione : coffee custard : rice pudding : custard sauce : angel food cake : shakshuka : ham kedgeree : eggs au gratin : nicoise salad : piperade : coin purse eggs : iron pot eggs : steamed gold-and-silver eggs : huevos revueltos con totopos : huevos revueltos con chorizo : huevos rancheros : higaditos : enchiladas sencillas : whipped cream omelet : sweet (or jelly) omelet : three pepper tagine with eggs : kefta tagine with eggs
April is here again & so thus Na/GloPoWriMo 2024. I’m moderately motivated by the month ahead though I always enjoy it, as things kick into gear.
As late as mid-afternoon, I wasn’t sure what to focus on this year. My themes-based approach to Na/GloPoWriMo which has worked so well over previous seasons will continue — but I wasn’t sure which direction (or project) most appealed. Then it happened. The collection of poems I read today (I always try & read one volume a day during this hectic month) was bought for two reasons: because it had herons on the cover & because the poet is an acclaimed activist/political poet.
So that’s what my focus will be each day — an activist poem (a poem about one of the many issues I feel I should be doing something about, but aren’t). Hence, writing poetry — because we know all how that a few lines of well-crafted verse can change the world.
However, as with last year, I have a project in mind which may depend on the poems not being made public prior to their appearance. So I won’t be posting the entirety of each poem on my blog, but a [hopefully] tantalising snippet (many journals/etc refuse to accept poems even if they’ve just been on personal Facebook pages or blogs with only 100 subscribers).
As a wonderful compensation for skimpy serious verse, I’ll be repeating my daily Poetic Factoid poem assignment from last year — which I thoroughly loved & from which I got some absolute cracking poems.
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bad timing
this crisis is so slow moving — and intimately place-based a flower blooms early — an insect’s life cycle alters by weeks & suddenly birds have nothing — to feed their chicks
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Day 1 – TIL more about cool Japanese words
solitary maw
i. i’ve long suspected the Japanese do words better than us — ever since learning electron means electricity child — today’s discovery is Kuchi zamishi which describes the act of eating when you’re not really all that hungry but because your mouth is lonely Koo-chi-sa-bi-shē is how it appears phonetically — & honestly it could be on my family crest
ii. it’s kind of “peckish” : but not — less brazen than “stress eating” — technically you’re not starving : but you keep checking the cupboard every 7 mins or so to see if something new & delicious has somehow miraculously appeared in abstentia — only my eyes want it : but i’ll eat it anyway : & so food silences mouth
iii. sure we could cultivate awareness become mindful when we devour overcome our unconscious consumption through gratefully savouring each bite as Zen Buddhists do — but honestly where’s — the bleedin’ fun — in that
Last year I used the Marathon to create over 40 poems for a verse novel I’ve been plodding away on for years. It was an excellent way to create content that was 1) occasionally pretty good in it’s own right or 2) good starting points for editing. Which I’ve been doing for the past couple of days. I think I’ve probably got around 50-60 poems to write to finish the narrative, then I can assemble, cull, crunch, create when there are gaps or whatever is necessary. Regardless. I should after tonight have a pretty decent rough edit assembled. Yay!
As per the 2022 24 Hour Poetry Marathon I won’t be posting all of every poem on this website. I’ll post the best few lines or 2 to 3 lines that make the most sense out of context. Consider them: pseudohaiku.
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& we’re away. As with last year, the Marathon offers two official prompts every hour, one text-based & one visual. Being a sucker for punishment & given it worked last year I’m gonna attempt to create TWO poems every hour ... Here’s the first hour’s snippet.
(Hour 01 BONUS) 10.30-11.30pm. IMAGE PROMPT: toll booth in forest
glow
ahead : oddly : a light : in a window : in a hut : a warm glow : in the darkness : of the forest
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(Hour 02) 11.30-12.30am. TEXT PROMPT, POV of self from 10 years ago
At least now it’s quiet Except for Mummy sobbing on the floor I go to her: Mummy I’m hungry Go away she screams
I don’t know where to go
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(Hour 03) 12.30-01.30am. VISUAL PROMPT, woman sitting in an orange “well“
Well
sometimes i feel trapped : a speck of white dust : at the bottom of an endless well : at the bottom of a black hole : at the bottom of the universe
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(Hour 04) 01.30-02.30am. BOTH PROMPTS combined: marriage poem without mentioning marriage + silver cave light space with benches
a slight snag
futuristic igloo : crossed with minimalistic man cave : for the modern adventuring extraterrestrial
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(Hour 05 BONUS) 02.30-03.30am. VISUAL PROMPT: computer chair in an empty room with polished floorboards
moving
we take what we need : to survive : but this house : i’m in : at the moment : has broken me
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(Hour 06) 03.30-04.30am. TEXT PROMPT, flat earth
I quite like this poem, it’s short & kinda punchy so I’m posting the whole thing. The prompt in full was: “The earth is actually flat, you look over the edge and what do you see? Describe it.”
edgelords
if i could : look over the edge : of everything : what would i see
the edge : of the horizon : more dust the edge : of the earth : tree roots crumbling into air : ocean waterfalling into mizzle the edge : of the galaxy : perhaps even : the red desert hole of a planet : these interstellar arseholes came from
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(Hour 07) 04.30-05.30am. VISUAL PROMPT, swing on the edge of a field of sunflowers
flowers of the sun
that wild violent yellow racing off towards forever
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(Hour 08) 05.30-06.30am. AUDIO + VISUAL PROMPT: Sylvan Esso – Funeral Singers (feat. Collections of Colonies of Bees) + man by fire beneath stars
Another complete poem post, cos it’s one I truly love. Not least because the Marathon led me to a song (perhaps band) I (will) really enjoy.
sparks
thank god : for friends who : sing at funerals : keep lighthouses : collect bees : float beneath ceilings : remain fresh : despite being behind the times : embody goosebumps : ache for books : live in sylvan worlds : flash time : stare skywards : sail boats to stars : love limitlessly : hypnotise laughter : huddle to fires : reveal in blue infinities : stick their arms out car windows : to let their hands : fly up with the force of the wind : like aeroplanes : as someone they love : drives them : endlessly home
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This was an interesting prompt, one that is often used: make a poem using at least 5 out of a list of 10 words (I always try & include all 10). Two words had a distinctly American flavour: elk & bayou. Given I am an Australian poet, I have changed those words which do not suit my poems being set in Oz. Nonetheless the original words did their jobs by forcing me to think in images I wouldn’t have done without the prompts. In fact they did the job so well, those 2 lines are my favourites from the poem…
(Hour 09) 06.30-07.30am. TEXT/VISUAL PROMPTS: ten words + 2 butterflies
Butterfly curses
Eyes that suck me in like mangrove mud
Always angry as a wild cassowary
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(Hour 10) 07.30-08.30am. TEXT PROMPT: title begins with words “what is love”
what is love
home : which now : contains : little more than drifting ghosts : to rescue a boy
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(Hour 11) 08.30-09.30am. TEXT PROMPT: “Extraordinary in Ordinary”
pillow talk
just to rest : for one night : in luscious luxurious : lighter than air : angel’s wings : fairy floss : cotton cloud cliche : comfort
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(Hour 12) 09.30-10.30am. TEXT PROMPT: poem about a closet
behold
almost as if : the room breathes : albeit out of time : with me : so i stand still : in the doorway : trying to allow my breath : my heartbeat : to match the room : soon : we sync
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(Hour 13) 10.30-11.30am. TEXT PROMPT: profession description, humorous x2
Ryan: an abridged Resume
Many Name Bearer : Ring Diver : Cruiser of Lands : Star Partner : Sky Hunter : Brother Discoverer : Pod Rider : Doggo Adopter : Bad Man Outsmarter : Orange Hater (the colour not the citrus) : Propulsion Ponderer : Dam Buster : & of course : Earth’s Only Hope Against Evil Invading Army Of Desert Loving Crustacean Creature Things
Stella’s CV
Born again cave girl Dweller in silent places Reluctant Guerrilla Fighter in a war I doubt we can win Grandparent Seeker Admirer of Many Dawns
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(Hour 14) 11.30am-12.30pm. PROMPT: redact a poem
REDACTED
here’s what we know : there are ⬛️⬛️ types of ⬛️⬛️⬛️ : currently on this ⬛️⬛️⬛️ : there’s the ⬛️ : which we think are at least partially ⬛️⬛️⬛️ but mostly ⬛️⬛️⬛️ : then there’s the : ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ things : of the two : the ⬛️⬛️⬛️ are more ⬛️⬛️⬛️ : they have a ⬛️⬛️⬛️ kind of ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ : or at least a ⬛️⬛️⬛️ board which makes them : pretty effective ⬛️⬛️⬛️ : though they can be ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ : with effort : the ⬛️ just run by rote : doing manual ⬛️⬛️⬛️ style tasks
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(Hour 15) 12.30pm-13.30pm. BOTH PROMPTS: another POV + pot head.
perfect posture
Priya has put the pot On her head … & left it there
… Despite our cautionary silence. We all cheer. Now she’s dancing. Russian squat Irish River. Twerking. Flossing. The pot a part of her as much as her hair.
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(Hour 16) 13.30pm-14.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: poem pretending to be something else
Thank you Poetry Marathon gods … this is exactly what I needed.
ATTENTION
unfortunately this poem factory is currently
CLOSED FOR LUNCH
We will reopen again at 2.30 ACT after a bite to eat & possibly a quick lie down
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(Hour 17) 14.30pm-15.30pm. PROMPT: Kaleidoscope
But decidedly uninspired by kaleidoscope, chose to play round with this app instead.
burn it down
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(Hour 18) 15.30pm-16.30pm. BOTH PROMPTS: haunting + photo of 2 corvids
three ravens
& we wander on : away : wondering : what calamity occurred here : worse than elsewhere : to flaunt its : torment so brazenly
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(Hour 19) 16.30pm-17.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: inarticulate surroundings, tiny truth
exhausted
we’re lost high on some tiny hills somewhere in a valley of paradise overlooking a misspelt ancient Spanish warfield dripping olives
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(Hour 20) 17.30pm-18.30pm. VISUAL PROMPT: animal with red eyes in blackness
embers in the dark
Been exhausted so long But his eyes in the dark like red embers glowing
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(Hour 21) 18.30pm-19.30pm. BOTH PROMPTS: start & end with running + yawning lion
running problems
iii. Running nose Dribbling onto a shirt Worn 9 days running
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(Hour 22) 19.30pm-20.30pm. BOTH PROMPTS: pizza + silence
a small piece of peace
& suddenly : for the first time : there’s a beat : of genuine : silence : as we all remember : piping hot : pizza : greasy fresh : from the box : till Rueben breaks : the ceasefire : gotta be Hawaiian : & Priya screech-shouts : pineapple : on piz-zah! : please tell me you’re kidding
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Not quite sure what’s wrong with me … but as I finished the previous poem with half an hour to spare, I elected, ie, of my own volition, to undertake a bonus poem. (IKR!)
This was the full text of Hour 22’s prompt. — A few years back I prompted everyone to write a cheese poem because of this quote, “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” ― G.K. Chesterton. The same could be said of pizza, so that’s your prompt this year. Pizza.
(see above)
[& now, see below)
(Hour 22) 19.30pm-20.30pm. BONUS: cheese
sour cheese
“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” G.K. Chesterton
Well might English writer, philosopher, critic & Father of Brown
bemoan cheese’s woeful under-representation in the annals of poetics
as he himself being a descendent of Clerihew Chesterton
aka the 1st Lord Chester ; the name Chesterton is an Elizabethan corruption
of Cheeses’ Town from Latin Jesus’ Town — & if cheese is good enough
for our Lord surely it’s worthy of more diverse versification
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(Hour 23) 20.30pm-21.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: a world that is not this one
this is not the prompt i was looking for
almost every poem I’ve written over the past 22.5 hours has been in a world not this one as I continue to flesh out my Young Adult Novel in Verse manuscript Dropped the Sky — a beyond dystopian alternearth where seemingly 99.9% of earth’s biomass has been exterminated converted to fine orange dust via an invasion force of intergalactic end-of-lease style AI/cyborg crustaceans & follows teenaged survivors Stella & Ryan as they seek ways on how to stay alive
that said it seems fair I write this poem about me … in this world as an inverse to the prompt above — given every previous prompt today I’ve endeavoured to filter through Ryan or Stella’s eyes — even if it’s not okay
… I’m too tired to care 🤩
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(Hour 24) 21.30pm-22.30pm. TEXT PROMPT: poem about hope
the hope trap
1. I hope I’m smart enough That next year I remember Nay, I decide not to sign up For another poeting marathon I’m getting waaay too old for this claptrap
2. Except of course I won’t I’ll be here again with bells Revelling in the subliminal Fugue state at the end of a day Built on but a few scattered 12 minute naps
3. Because the beauty of Marathon: Poet-style is the hope that in This heteroclitic haze of exhaustion Gold is struck & I just step out The way, let the shine glow : then — snap!
Always pleased when this month is over (“April is the cruellest month” indeed). That said, I’ve been planning for this poem for a while — ever since the inspiration for it came. A variation on much of this month’s stuff …
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(M)orpheus
in the last bliss-filled : moments before dawn : i complete a poem : i’m soul-fizzingly pleased with
after days of starts & snatches abstract : unoriginal images & clunky similes i’ve completed : one beautiful thing to pay tribute : to orpheus & his life-destroying doubt
single-handed walked a difficult path : ploughed through prose : purpled : pumpkin patched : & guided : something delicate & rare to the light
just as i am about to read : over it : in a highly gleeful, cork-popping : champagne-guzzling celebratory way
a cockatoo screech of alarm : curses me : & those lines : of poetic perfection : whisper away into ether
like eurydice’s half-smile
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Day 30 — TIL i learnt 7 Facts About Grief & (may have made up) 1 Myth
7 Facts About Grief & 1 Myth
Fact #1: Is normal #2: Hard work #3: Unpredictable #4: It comes & goes #5: Always takes longer #6: The way out is through #7: Yours is the worst kind
Today’s poem was quick & easy to write (huzzah!). I’ve had this image saved for weeks. I’ve loved it & known I wanted to use it. About a week ago the title came to me; then the basic content/narrative context/mood/emotion I wanted to explore. The rest, as they say …
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light : at the end of the tunnel
the light : at the end of the tunnel : has tainted me : taunted me : haunted me : since I first saw it : with her : since I last saw : her : drifting into dust : in striking sunshine : dissolving into darkness : would : I could walk : that path again : have those few seconds ago : take ten more steps : five even : would that I could : have been : would that I was : a better man : a stronger man : the world : would look : so much brighter
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Day 29 — TIL i should be napping more
Nap \Nap\, n. A short sleep; a doze; a siesta.
i. Definition A nap is a short period of sleep usually occuring during the day. Already I’m listening …
ii. Naps can deliver a number of benefits Brief naps can be restorative & reduce fatigue. They may counteract daytime drowsiness. These both seem self evident, but fair enough
Naps can prevent/improve treatment of heart, lung, blood & sleep disorders. Good-oh. Will take all these
A short daytime snooze may also boost workplace performance. Not as fussed about this but ok
Athletes may experience improved endurance, reaction times, & cognitive performance. Again not overly fussed
iii. Other health benefits One study found napping 1 or 2 times a week was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular problems, (heart attack, stroke, heart disease). Tick tick & tick
Naps may be associated with a lowered risk of a rupture of aneurysms. Things stopping things exploding in my brain are always welcomed
iv. Tips to Take the Best Nap Now we’re talking.
How Long Should a Nap Be? The idea adult nap length is 20 minutes but no longer than 30. 20 minutes’ light sleep boosts alertness without entering deep sleep & potential grogginess/
Look to be honest, I think I’m gonna take it from here. It’s all good. No need to keep preaching — we’re singing from the same hymn book & what you haven’t told me, I think I’ll figure out myself. Infactim feelingkinda sleepynowimight\\justgolie ……………………….…………………………………………d ………………………………..………..……………………….. o ……………………………..………………………………….. w
By this stage of proceedings there are lots of random lines, fragments of poems, copies of poems I’ve read over the past month, research notes, etc. After working on a couple of technically challenging poems that weren’t quite working & feeling decidedly uninspired after several hours successlessness; I decided just to play a game & redact a poem I’d read a couple of weeks ago which had a few interesting lines/images, reducing it down to max of three words per line (per original line), often much less than that. Then subbing words from line 2 down into line 8 & vice versa, then occasionally importing whole new words where it seemed useful, then jiggling lines up or down to help them make a bit more sense. The poem is not quite there & feels a little off but I quite like it even if I’m no 100 per cent what it’s saying in every moment. More work post-NaPoWriMo …
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reduction
wing-covered madness soul halfdrunk black liquor lures delirium, hands sound victory without valour terrible-eyed sun won’t allow respite beseeched, prayer-pestered manything torn away suffering like rocks the coming storm hours of prison cool hands, sweet light distant shadows alien phosphorescent uproar comfortless last words
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Day 28 — TIL goldfish are more musically inclined than me
On Thinking It Out, Let’s Get Loud
goldfish can distinguish the music of one composer from another ooh, let’s get it on
just thinking out loud perhaps they should use them to see if Ed Sheeren really did rip off Marvin Gaye
Today was back-the-front because the Poetic Factoid pome came first, which then gave me time to stop & think what I should write for the Big O sequence. It was an easy choice. Somewhere along the way, I started (perhaps subconsciously) pairing the two thematically or otherwise; now it’s become intentional.
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euphoria
it should ache / hurt more / than it does / this wrenching / these many hands / hot hands / wet slippery hands / angry hands / clawing / scratching / screeching / hooting / as they pull me / a / part / like a cloud / i can / only / feel one thing / the buzz / of a billion bees / as my soul / is systemically / set free / as the notes i was / float high / & begin / piece/meal / the long journey / back down below / down / that cold clay / path / i know backwards / but have not / trod / in many years / at last / now / a home / coming / a / re/union / with / she / who was lost / to me / twice before / but soon / no more
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Day 27 — TIL a bit about biology
% H2O
i’ve long known the human body is largely water (60% on average) however TIL the percentage changes slightly with age, sex, & hydration ranging from 45 to 75%
i’d like to posit it also varies depending on the time of night because at 3am doonasnuggled nearing zero outside then i feel close to 98-99% aqua before the suddenly urgent dunnydash — yet strangely only about 12 or 13% upon my safe if shivering return to 4-poster perfection
some folks argue sex with your true love is about as wonderful a sensation this gourd offers but the zen of empty bladder after holding on too long surely comes close
Monday’s volume of poetry read was a recent purchase & one I’ve been saving for the end of the month: Brian Bilston’s Alexa, what is there to know about love? I was saving Bilston for the end because he’s so fun & playful & cheeky & clever in his word game poems — & I suspected/knew I’d need an energising pick me up (this month more than usual; or perhaps not, perhaps it always feels this way by the end. I suspect it does, we just choose to blank it out).
“Love in the Age of Google” is a poem made up of single lines from google’s predictive text. I’ve seen a couple of other attempts at this type of poem & thought today is a good day to test it out (for reasons which will hopefilly become clearer in Poem 2). Curation of results has taken place. I wish I made more time to make both poems shorter, tighter, but I don’t …
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Predicting Orpheus
1. DuckDuckGo (yes other search engines are available)
did orpheus save eurydice did orpheus look back did orpheus die did orpheus have children did orpheus see eurydice in the underworld
— think most of these are pretty easy to answer, though the children one pulls me up short
why did orpheus look back why did orpheus look back at eurydice why did orpheus decide to rescue his wife why did orpheus go to the underworld why did orpheus die
— hmmm, feel like these are questions i should’ve asked at the start of the month. life mightabeen easier.
why was orpheus why was orpheus killed why was orpheus adored in thrace why was ephesus abandoned why was ephesus an important city why was morpheus recast
— sometimes the algorithm breaks down, yes, even before i do
2. Google
i. did orpheus what instrument did orpheus play …..oh good, an easy one. the lute. ah, harp. the lyre, the lyre… what did orpheus do …..wandered round the place singing. after that, things get ugly how did orpheus get into the underworld …..excellent question, one which took me considerable …..time in my books & online to answer how did orpheus die …..not pleasantly. will that suffice?
ii. why did orpheus why did orpheus go to the underworld …..even not knowing the tale, surely this is work-outable why did orpheus look back …..which is, of course, the crux why did eurydice run away from orpheus …..run away? really? that’s the verb you’ve chosen. why did orpheus look back at eurydice …..it really all comes back to this, doesn’t it? why did the maenads kill orpheus …..is “it’s complicated” a good enough reply?
iii. outtakes & bloopers (in the interest of balance, google had its share of quirky predictions too)
~why did roman kill orpheus wife ~why did hades give orpheus a condition ~why did the gods gave condition to orpheus ~why did thanatos come out of orpheus ~why did morpheus kill orpheus
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Day 26 — TACD (Today Another Company Died)
The Online Jungle — worse than the real Amazon
i. Audiobookstand, Avalon Books, Bookpages, BookSurge, Telebook, TobyPress, & Waldenbooks
all book-related businesses Amazon has bought & closed (sometimes parts are “merged”)
sadly today Book Depository has been added to that list
a UK online book store once known for its wild range affordability, & free worldwide D
launched in 2004 Amazon “acquired” the company in 2011 (it was several years before i realised my protest purchasing was still lining bald Jeff’s pockets)
but don’t feel too bad (Amazon don’t)
they still own: Audible, Abebooks, GoodReads, ComiXology
none of which they developed themselves. all bought out to prop up/become part of the Bezos behemoth
& this isn’t all of them
there’s MGM, Twitch, IMDb, Kiva, WholeFoods & countless others across disciplines i’ve not even listed at least 115, possibly more
ii. these “killer acquisitions” aren’t limited to the cut throat world of books
fossil fuel companies do it buy green startups shut them down because they don’t want the competition
pharmaceutical companies buy rivals to eliminate competing therapies under development so theirs is the only alternative
it’s something we should all care about it’s why our antitrust laws need to be given real teeth
The superimposed theme has made this year’s Anzac Day Poem a trifle harder than previous years. I’m pleased with the angle taken, though I think it might be expanded upon in a future draft…
*****
the dead down under
long squatting on a rock observing the ferryman
causes me to note the dead do not seem to ever cease arriving
lately though it’s easy to tell some het up petty king up above
must be arguing with some other equally belligerent lord
cos the deadstream of bewildered soldiers is wider swifter & deeper than Styx itself
*****
Day 25 — TIL about biscuits
The Original Anzac Biscuit
i. first up: the delicious sweet biscuit of childhood rolled oats & golden syrup is not the original Gallipoli treat (*even if it is best)
ii. hardtack biscuits are exactly as tasty as they sound having been a soldier’s staple ration for centuries (& some allegedly were that old)
iii. a bread substitute whose best attribute is it doesn’t go mouldy (well yum) unlike bread, they’re very, very hard not to mention pretty well unpalatable
iv. to make them semi-digestible they were ground into a kind of gruel by grating & adding water — for something more exotic (once soaked) jam was added before baking over a fire into “tarts” not quite like mother used to make
v. if you didn’t want to eat them (& why would you) you could also to write letters to loved ones & send them home or use them as paint canvases or photo frames one even transformed to “christmas card” with that most christmas of topics — a tropical scene — painted on it including the wonderful verse WE’RE SENDING THIS / (WE’LL RISK IT) / XMAS CARDS ARE VERY / SCARCE SO WE / WROTE IT ON A BISCUIT
gareth roi poet boi 