Years ago after a particularly frantic cleaning frenzy because my college roommate was coming to visit, one of my then-teenaged sons said in frustration, "this house is a lie!"
There's nothing quite like a pre-company or pre-vacation cleaning frenzy. Your poem captured it wonderfully.
Poetry does scare me. I wrote very, very bad poetry when I was in my twenties and once I became aware of how really bad it was, I just couldn't even touch it. Sometimes I read poetry I like but I don't trust my own instincts is this regard. Traumatized by poetry.
Also I too clean like a banshee when my Dad is coming. Doing it right now in fact, because he's coming this weekend... NOT because my birthday is tomorrow *which it is * but because he is hand delivering a dollhouse he built for my son's girlfriend.
i love and thank you always and now is one of the always times!
to answer your questions, i will now answer your questions:
do you write poetry?
do i write poetry?
do i write poetry?
the question is do i ever NOT write poetry!
and the answer is yes to both of these questions.*
are there genres of creative work that scare the shit out of you?
horror movies
who are ur fav poets or whatever?
mary oliver
david whyte
e.e. cummings
rumi
why did I have to say ‘or whatever’ there like I was a sophomore in high school?
is it because you feel like you are a sophomore on the inside?
or is it because you are sophomoric? (which sometimes means funny?)
or is it because you are funny and thought it would be funny and also does address the way that you feel on the inside?
is it okay to answer your questions with questions?
love,
myq
* sometimes i share poetry that i write over at my substack area. ALL ARE WELCOME! HOWEVER MANY ENTER, HOWEVER MANY LEAVE! LIKE THE OPPOSITE OF THUNDERDOME. (ENLIGHTENINGDOME?)
Alex -- I think of the damndest things when I read your Newsletter. Tonight is no exception. First of all this is awesome because you are vulnerable and can step back and laugh about and question why the hell we do things. Leave it to Wilder to probably realize it. The manic cleaning is a very funny observation. My sense is this is rooted deep in our DNA and we, the same way apes and chimps primp and clean each other, we all get crazy about getting the kiddos baths at what, by any reasonable standard, is way too often. It just becomes part of a tradition by which we probably measure ourselves. Its not as if our small children are working up a sweat or getting appreciably dirty, we just bathe them out of impulse (and then apply the requisite lotion to avoid their skin drying out from too many baths.
Finally, the poem is altogether awesome and Wilder will have a blast reading it many years from now. Don't forget to download your writing because by the time you remember to save it, Musk will have bought Substack and will have banned you from the platform for some perceived pecadillo.
1. Yes, but not the volumes of really bad stuff I wrote as a teenager.
2. All genres of creative work scare the s**t out of me. Especially dance.
3. Lord Byron, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Charles Bukowski, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickenson... Shall I go on?
4. Because when it comes to appreciating poetry, we're all sophomores in High School.
Love this poem so much. I've never written one, at least not as an adult or since like idk 3rd grade??? But lately I love reading them. They feel so poingnant. And I too am a "or whatever" kinda person, I don't know why I do it either but I can't stop.
1. I have written poetry when I was younger. Haven't for a long time. Although, as a natural troll, I have been know to turn to speaking in rhyme. Why? Because I enjoy analyzing the reaction to it. I don't do it nearly as often as my main method of testing someone's personality. But, it is fun trying to talk in rhyme or limerick. Especially if you're trying to keep it meaningful. I think it's good mental exercise especially for vocabulary.
2. Not off the top of my head, but I'll keep this question in mind for a while.
3. I've never invested in fav. Though there are some poems that have definitely been firmly embedded in my head.
4. You might have said it because there are quite a few elements in culture that grow out of poetry that we don't often consider or call poetry. Songwriting for example grows from it. Some poems often lend themselves quite well. Emily Dickinson for instance is often sung to Yellow Rose of Texas.
i dont read poetry as oftn as i'd like to. Could say that for alot of things but we won't go there as its a family show....right?! In past few years found Mary Oliver and re-read some Whitman. Always been a big fan of prose poetryt like John Dos Passos, or political content Ginsberg's "Howl" it goes on and on but heres a passage from Rimbaud whom i delved into a little after Patti Smith in her newsletter on here brought his attention to me. Its the first part of a long piece and i guess one should know he had recently had a dramatic (ie semi violent?) break-up with his lover Verlaine. Anyways for me it definitely reveals the power of poetry to cut deep, entrance, overwhelm:
Once, if I remember rightly, my life was a feast where all hearts opened, and all wines flowed.
One evening I sat Beauty on my knees – And I found her bitter – And I reviled her.
I armed myself against Justice.
I fled. O sorceresses, O misery, O hatred, it was to you my treasure was entrusted!
I managed to erase all human hope from my mind. I made the wild beast’s silent leap to strangle every joy.
I summoned executioners to bite their gun-butts as I died. I summoned plagues, to stifle myself with sand and blood. Misfortune was my god. I stretched out in the mud. I dried myself in the breezes of crime. And I played some fine tricks on madness.
And spring brought me the dreadful laugh of the idiot.
theres a mic drop there somehwere....makes onbe waqnt to crawl humbled into some boot cluttered closet and in fetal position question own heart soul imagination while groping for cell phone to check AL standings.....heeeeeeheee
I was part of the Writer’s Circle club in high school, but while most of the kids there wrote poetry, I wrote short stories. Modern poetry never clicked with me creatively, but I appreciate the art.
Ok so I majored in English Literature, but my whole life I thought I HATED poetry. Until, out of NOWHERE, I got inspired to write my first ever poem last week! And it was FUN!
I realised I only hated overly abstract poetry. Relatable, easy to understand stuff? It rocks!
And because I don't do things by halves, I have now enrolled myself into a poetry writing workshop TOMORROW!!
So many confusing messages. Is it only important to be clean for others? Why does one feel driven to fit the narrative of someone else? Because to not, would cause?....judgement, concern, unsolicited interference? I struggle to compose my own narrative, my voice. I don't know if I also can simultaneously meet all those 'well meaning' expectations for their narrative, mine is a full-time job. Poetry. e.e.Cummings. T.S.Eliot. Plaith. Poetry, can be like jazz, or even modern dance...words, rhythm. Any creative endeavor that requires public speaking- I'd take 5th ring of Hell for 2 lifetimes. Lean into your fear, without falling into an abyss.
Years ago after a particularly frantic cleaning frenzy because my college roommate was coming to visit, one of my then-teenaged sons said in frustration, "this house is a lie!"
There's nothing quite like a pre-company or pre-vacation cleaning frenzy. Your poem captured it wonderfully.
Poetry does scare me. I wrote very, very bad poetry when I was in my twenties and once I became aware of how really bad it was, I just couldn't even touch it. Sometimes I read poetry I like but I don't trust my own instincts is this regard. Traumatized by poetry.
e.e.cummings!!!
Also I too clean like a banshee when my Dad is coming. Doing it right now in fact, because he's coming this weekend... NOT because my birthday is tomorrow *which it is * but because he is hand delivering a dollhouse he built for my son's girlfriend.
This is what Bard thinks
Clean
In this economy,
It's hard to make ends meet.
But one thing I can afford,
Is a clean home and a clean street.
A clean home is a happy home,
A clean street is a safe street.
So I do my part,
To keep my world clean and neat.
I take out the trash,
I sweep the floors,
I wash the dishes,
And I make my bed.
It's not much,
But it's something.
And it makes me feel good,
To know that I'm doing my part.
To make the world a cleaner place,
For me and for you.
So next time you're feeling down,
And you're thinking about all the things you can't afford,
Just remember,
You can always afford to be clean.
It's a small thing,
But it's a start.
And it's a way to make the world a better place,
One clean home at a time.
In this economy...
1. yes!! but I don't show it to anyone. At least, not while I'm sober haha
2. every one of them. that's the good part
3. I'm just gonna pick pablo neruda. everything he wrote touches me in some way
4. gonna have to quote mr. steiner and say: we're all sophomores in high school when it comes to poetry
That's the kind of poetry I can vibe with!
dear alex,
i love and thank you always and now is one of the always times!
to answer your questions, i will now answer your questions:
do you write poetry?
do i write poetry?
do i write poetry?
the question is do i ever NOT write poetry!
and the answer is yes to both of these questions.*
are there genres of creative work that scare the shit out of you?
horror movies
who are ur fav poets or whatever?
mary oliver
david whyte
e.e. cummings
rumi
why did I have to say ‘or whatever’ there like I was a sophomore in high school?
is it because you feel like you are a sophomore on the inside?
or is it because you are sophomoric? (which sometimes means funny?)
or is it because you are funny and thought it would be funny and also does address the way that you feel on the inside?
is it okay to answer your questions with questions?
love,
myq
* sometimes i share poetry that i write over at my substack area. ALL ARE WELCOME! HOWEVER MANY ENTER, HOWEVER MANY LEAVE! LIKE THE OPPOSITE OF THUNDERDOME. (ENLIGHTENINGDOME?)
love and thanks, friend!
That IS, indeed, a poem and a damn fine one at that!
Alex -- I think of the damndest things when I read your Newsletter. Tonight is no exception. First of all this is awesome because you are vulnerable and can step back and laugh about and question why the hell we do things. Leave it to Wilder to probably realize it. The manic cleaning is a very funny observation. My sense is this is rooted deep in our DNA and we, the same way apes and chimps primp and clean each other, we all get crazy about getting the kiddos baths at what, by any reasonable standard, is way too often. It just becomes part of a tradition by which we probably measure ourselves. Its not as if our small children are working up a sweat or getting appreciably dirty, we just bathe them out of impulse (and then apply the requisite lotion to avoid their skin drying out from too many baths.
Finally, the poem is altogether awesome and Wilder will have a blast reading it many years from now. Don't forget to download your writing because by the time you remember to save it, Musk will have bought Substack and will have banned you from the platform for some perceived pecadillo.
First, I love this poem! Now,
1. Yes, but not the volumes of really bad stuff I wrote as a teenager.
2. All genres of creative work scare the s**t out of me. Especially dance.
3. Lord Byron, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Charles Bukowski, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickenson... Shall I go on?
4. Because when it comes to appreciating poetry, we're all sophomores in High School.
5. Looking forward to YAMA/MAYA tomorrow!
Love this poem so much. I've never written one, at least not as an adult or since like idk 3rd grade??? But lately I love reading them. They feel so poingnant. And I too am a "or whatever" kinda person, I don't know why I do it either but I can't stop.
1. I have written poetry when I was younger. Haven't for a long time. Although, as a natural troll, I have been know to turn to speaking in rhyme. Why? Because I enjoy analyzing the reaction to it. I don't do it nearly as often as my main method of testing someone's personality. But, it is fun trying to talk in rhyme or limerick. Especially if you're trying to keep it meaningful. I think it's good mental exercise especially for vocabulary.
2. Not off the top of my head, but I'll keep this question in mind for a while.
3. I've never invested in fav. Though there are some poems that have definitely been firmly embedded in my head.
4. You might have said it because there are quite a few elements in culture that grow out of poetry that we don't often consider or call poetry. Songwriting for example grows from it. Some poems often lend themselves quite well. Emily Dickinson for instance is often sung to Yellow Rose of Texas.
i dont read poetry as oftn as i'd like to. Could say that for alot of things but we won't go there as its a family show....right?! In past few years found Mary Oliver and re-read some Whitman. Always been a big fan of prose poetryt like John Dos Passos, or political content Ginsberg's "Howl" it goes on and on but heres a passage from Rimbaud whom i delved into a little after Patti Smith in her newsletter on here brought his attention to me. Its the first part of a long piece and i guess one should know he had recently had a dramatic (ie semi violent?) break-up with his lover Verlaine. Anyways for me it definitely reveals the power of poetry to cut deep, entrance, overwhelm:
Once, if I remember rightly, my life was a feast where all hearts opened, and all wines flowed.
One evening I sat Beauty on my knees – And I found her bitter – And I reviled her.
I armed myself against Justice.
I fled. O sorceresses, O misery, O hatred, it was to you my treasure was entrusted!
I managed to erase all human hope from my mind. I made the wild beast’s silent leap to strangle every joy.
I summoned executioners to bite their gun-butts as I died. I summoned plagues, to stifle myself with sand and blood. Misfortune was my god. I stretched out in the mud. I dried myself in the breezes of crime. And I played some fine tricks on madness.
And spring brought me the dreadful laugh of the idiot.
theres a mic drop there somehwere....makes onbe waqnt to crawl humbled into some boot cluttered closet and in fetal position question own heart soul imagination while groping for cell phone to check AL standings.....heeeeeeheee
I was part of the Writer’s Circle club in high school, but while most of the kids there wrote poetry, I wrote short stories. Modern poetry never clicked with me creatively, but I appreciate the art.
Ok so I majored in English Literature, but my whole life I thought I HATED poetry. Until, out of NOWHERE, I got inspired to write my first ever poem last week! And it was FUN!
I realised I only hated overly abstract poetry. Relatable, easy to understand stuff? It rocks!
And because I don't do things by halves, I have now enrolled myself into a poetry writing workshop TOMORROW!!
So many confusing messages. Is it only important to be clean for others? Why does one feel driven to fit the narrative of someone else? Because to not, would cause?....judgement, concern, unsolicited interference? I struggle to compose my own narrative, my voice. I don't know if I also can simultaneously meet all those 'well meaning' expectations for their narrative, mine is a full-time job. Poetry. e.e.Cummings. T.S.Eliot. Plaith. Poetry, can be like jazz, or even modern dance...words, rhythm. Any creative endeavor that requires public speaking- I'd take 5th ring of Hell for 2 lifetimes. Lean into your fear, without falling into an abyss.