Tag Archives: political commentary

Improv Screams

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Day 5 of National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) 

Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt is a bit complicated to explain.

… inspired by musical notation, and particularly those little italicized –and often Italian – instructions you’ll find over the staves in sheet music, like con allegro or andante.

We are presented with three columns of words, and instructed to

First, pick a notation from the first column below. Then, pick a musical genre from the second column. Finally, pick at least one word from the third column. Now write a poem that takes inspiration from your musical genre and notation, and uses the word or words you picked from the third column.

I won’t reproduce the full columns, but the notations include gems like, “play like you are about to start crying,” “tempo di murder” and “with a hint of frenzy.” Musical genres include, “yacht rock,” “jazz fantasia” and “breakup anthem,” among others.

My selections were: genre “power ballad;” notation “improvisatory screaming;” and the word vampire.

Thus, my poem:

Screaming Meemies

A ballad not for faint of heart
this story I’m about to [scream]
a tale so foul [a shuddered moan]
derived from Satan’s basest dreams.

The clock tolled noon one fateful day.
A lightning strike; earth split a seam
and from the depths of hell arose 
a fiend astride a golden gleam.

This incubus [a prolonged shriek]
this vampire spewing blood and greed
loosed upon our hallowed grounds
to feast upon our direst needs.

A knight in armor tarnished gray,
and yet a hundred score and five,
fell at his feet [cue gnashing teeth]
to save careers (and ruin lives).

Such devastation [Banshee’s screech],
depriving souls their tended dreams,
all done to fatten Satan’s purse
and trample those of lesser means.

This [haunting howl] yet to resolve,
to hell consigned or fait accompli?
No hero comes to save the day.
It rests on you, it rests on me.

Not Bride nor Groom

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You’re not his bride.
He’s not your groom.
You’ll never tango;
that dance takes two.

Beware the rose
clenched tight in your teeth.
It still carries thorns
the groom slyly bequeathed.

You claim vindication
to the near-empty church,
saying it’s you who has left
the groom in the lurch.

The groomsmen drift off,
gifts must be returned,
future in-laws sent home
by the bride sadly spurned.

The bridesmaids, too,
dressed up all the same
try in vain to save face
in the scorned bride’s name.

But they hike up their dresses
another wedding to seek
before the guests notice
how the bride’s bouquet reeks.

As break dancers take
to the reception hall floor,
the tango strains follow
diplomacy out the door.

Wedding crashers line up
awaiting a feast.
They’ll not go home hungry;
they will feed off the beast.

And so your romance
with clandestine ties
is unraveling now
before everyone’s eyes.

The moral is simple
for all those misled:
know with whom you are sleeping
before climbing in bed.

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“He’s not my bride, and I’m also not his bride or groom”
~ Russian President Vladimir Putin, in regards to Donald Trump. (9/5/2017)

“It takes two to tango. It seems to me, our U.S. counterparts for now are performing solo breakdance moves.”
~ Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (9/1/2017)

Weekend Coffee Share (2/4/17)

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#WeekendCoffeeShare is graciously hosted by Diana at ParttimeMonsterBlog.com.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I’m feeling conflicted this morning. When I take part in the “Weekend Coffee Share,” I literally sit down with my morning cup of coffee and share what’s on my mind. I don’t preplan a topic and I sometimes surprise myself with what comes out.

Today, my mind is on so many things, I don’t know which of them I want to write about. I want to be lighthearted and talk about the Super Bowl, and post photos of my dog, and tell you about my latest DIY home impairment project.

But… I’m also thinking about how the country in which I reside is imploding. The saying, “It’s like watching a train wreck,” comes to mind. The destruction happens almost as though in slow motion, car by car by car (or day by day), and even though it’s hard to watch, you just can’t seem to look away.

I’d love to unplug from the media and ignore all the politics. I’d love to try and remain apolitical. And I feel strangely guilty for being “inconsiderate” in “harping” on my “opinions.” For being a malcontent, when I imagine my readers here or my “friends” on Facebook would rather read something humorous or warm and fuzzy.

But I read something yesterday that basically said that ignoring the declining conditions in the world – ecological, economical, political, ethical — is a luxury that only the privileged in life can afford. Or think they can. Major paraphrasing there, but that’s what I got out of it.

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Of course, once a (literal) train wreck starts, you can’t stop it, and maybe we shouldn’t look away. Maybe we need to witness it, look for our own culpability, be there to help pick up the pieces and offer aid in the aftermath.

The metaphorical train wreck can be stopped, and I think we have an obligation to do what we can, to witness what is happening, to look for our own culpabilities and be there to help. It’s not fun by any means. It doesn’t sit well with morning coffee and croissants. It may seem overwhelming.

Or it may all sound like hyperbole. Like Chicken Little running around fretting that the sky is falling. I would still suggest we not look away, because there’s that other fable about the boy who cried wolf. One day the wolf was really there, and no one saw it coming.

And so I leave you with a warm and fuzzy photo of my dog Chules and his anticipation of the Super Bowl, and the humorous suggestion that he is looking bummed because his toy football has been a victim of Deflategate. And I’m off to work on my DIY home impairment project and make the most of today.

There must be a fable somewhere about finding hope amidst the storm.

deflategate