The Best of Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum : 10.30.10
“Either move or be moved.” Ezra Pound
Don't Talk To Me (above) by mad painter and featured artist Christian Millet, one of over 20 artists currently coloring the virtual walls in Mad Swirl's eclectic electronic collective Mad Gallery.
Just in case you missed it, here's a taste of the poetry we featured this week in Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum...
•••••••••••
Walking Down Prospect St
Walking down Prospect St
Lifting my cheeks to flowing raindrops
The deep melodic tone beating off of railroad tracks
I breathe deep, soaked to skin
So happy to be alive.
Mexican couple carrying
plastic bags of groceries
enough for tonights dinner
laugh as they pass
the wife balances a flat of eggs in one hand
smacks her husbands ass with the other.
Simplicity is the root of all happiness.
Lillac trees sway
to the breeze of speeding cars
Puddles splash up on
my soaked shoes as they squish squish squish
like a Kerouac haiku.
Funny the crazy looks you get
walking through afternoon rain.
Like the smile I got from you
Diana Rose
(1 poem added 10.30.10)
editor's note: A great snapshot of life from our friend and Contributing Poet, Diana Rose. Think I'll go for a barefoot walk, it's been raining all weekend, but no reason to hibernate. Life brings us poetry daily, if we'll just get out in it. - mh
•••••••••••
FEARLESS
Every time I get seized
by the urge
to do
something reckless
I have the sense to
wait a while
before doing it
and sure enough
the foolishness of it
catches up with me
panting
but triumphant
and we walk away
from it all
together.
But not this time.
Every day that passes
I want it more and more.
I’m sure.
This is what I want.
I’m tired of being lonely
or scared.
I’m done settling
for lesser joys.
I’ve wasted enough time
to realize
the pain and fear
will not go away
if I don’t face them.
It’s you.
It has to be you
and I will not wait.
They tell me
it’s not worth it
but they are not
as nearly blinded
by the jagged edges of reason
I’ve been staring at
since the last time
you orphaned my hands
of their spark.
They tell me
not to risk it
but they’re not the one
who goes to bed each night,
wanting.
From this storm
raging around my soul
I will break everything
that cannot survive
this irreversible sacrifice
put my faith to a test
such as it has never known before
and catapult myself
into a truth
that will transcend
the half realities
that were my world
before you
walked into my heart
and occupied
the black
between the stars.
Iris Christine Orprecio
(added 10.29.10)
editor's note: Here's to the fearless leap into love! The stakes are high, the payoff huge - if you're willing to gamble your heart. - mh
•••••••••••
Ritual
I remove another beer
from the refrigerator
as a cold, flickering
light bulb
reminds me
I have done this
all too often
and I am
burning
it out.
The mouth is
cracked,
and the contents
poured
over retained memories
and unborn thoughts,
removing the pulse
from all things
real and abstract.
I have reverently observed
this sacred ritual
on so many nights
that have abandoned
so many
relentless days
and it is here
that peace is found
and solitude embraced.
I am unmoved,
unused,
and free.
And as life outside
struggles
to simply maintain
after all the tragedies
both immense and tiny,
and another beer is opened,
I will remain
just as I am:
uncaring.
Keith Landrum
(added 10.28.10)
editor's note: Great thought provoker! Ritual; daily observed, rigidly enacted, frees the devotee from all care. But, I will call "bullshit", you provocative poet, you. Real devotees don't care enough to write about it. (Caught ya!) - mh
•••••••••••
REASONS FOR DIALING 911
if there aren’ t enough checkout lanes open at the store
if you didn’ t get enough mcnuggets with your order
if you bought a cd and only a couple of songs are OK
if someone’ s been badmouthing you at your workplace
if there are too many previews before the movie begins
if the birds outside your window won’ t let you sleep in
if you suddenly can’ t afford to fill your car up with gas
if rush says the liberals are trying to ruin the whole U.S.
if you’ re worried about the junk floating around in space
if you haven’ t gotten e-mail in your inbox for two days
if someone you just friended on facebook doesn’ t care
if you’ re alone and just need to know someone’ s out there
M.V. Montgomery
(added 10.27.10)
editor's note: One person's ho-hum, don't care, negligible inconvenience is another person's life-threatening (ok, at least peace-threatening) situation. What constitutes an emergency, anyway? Is anybody out there? - mh
•••••••••••
Magical Douche
The pallor mortis man
with his ghostly white hair
is, in fact,
a magical douche
But this is not poetry
composed for apparitions,
it's more a sharp sprig
cut loose
When he found out I wouldn't be sleeping with him
When he found out I wouldn't be sleeping with him
When he found out I wouldn't be sleeping with him—
he disappeared.
Poof!
Sandra Bazzarelli
(added 10.26.10)
editor's note: From douche-bag to magician, an undeserved honor for the man with the obvious agenda and a liberating moment for the woman who said, "No, thanks!" - mh
•••••••••••
Neo
So who is going to step up?
No self adorning crap is needed. Just humility
and a lack of concern for results, should do.
Someone to speak and turn... without asking. Without needing
to eat from gold leafed plates as an 86' neuf de pap gets poured
down the sink.
Don't tell me it can't be. I have seen faces. On milk cartons and
billboards, in alleys and parking lots. Hell, there were 103,000
at the Volunteers season opener. Could not one of them be the one?
Given the chance, the dumpster behind
the abortion clinic may hold the one. And yet, all I see
are mouths... agape and vacuum-esque in form, asking
where's the meter... pointing to the work of a literary ghost, with fingers covered
in gall, coyly proclaiming.... that his rhythm is off.
Where is a good beer shit now?
We have needs.
Rob Dyer
(1 poem added 10.25.10)
editor's note: Looking for the one, the prophesied savior - lot's of energy expended; societies shaped and opportunities wasted. The only One who will save you is yourself. See Rob's new page in our growing list of Conrtibuting Poets!! Welcome, Rob! - mh
•••••••••••
The Illusion
this short moment
like the one before it
sheds it's skin
ridding itself of the past
still it remains, however intangible,
a string of light shining brightly amidst the void
the crude mask of sanity that proves we exist
time; this guilty passenger,
walks me through ruins
I stare down
at the shadow-stained Earth
and know
a hard rain must wash the ground
this soft music
smooth and psychedelic
composed by the orbital currents of the moon
how the sound reverberates
from the insects' paper wings
the confusion you feel
is the illusion revealing itself to your
eyes; these minuscule windows,
too small to perceive the depth of it all
how will I remember this dream
when I awake
just a yoke in an egg?
Nicholas Martin
(1 poem added 10.24.10)
editor's note: And, yet, some "minuscule windows" perceive, postulate, then proclaim. Then, a majority of minuscule minds will follow... - mh
•••••••••••
The whole Mad Swirl of everything to come keeps on keepin' on... now... now... NOW! Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, every decade, every every EVERY there is! Wanna join in the poetic conversations going on in Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum? Then stop by whenever the mood strikes! We'll be here...
Movin',
Johnny O
Editor-in-chief
MH Clay
Poetry Editor
••••••• 1st WEDNESDAY IS UPON US •••••••
Happy Birthday to us... Happy Birthday to us... Happy Birthday Mad Swirl Open Mic!... Happy Birthday to us!!!
Yep, that's right, Mad Swirl will be celebrating our 6th year of open mic madness! And 0n 11.03.10, starting at 8:00, Mad Swirl will continue into our 7th year of doing what we do! Join host Johnny O and co-host MH Clay, along with the musically magical trio Swirve Wright as we do our darndest to both blow and open your minds. We will be callin' all you swirlingly mad poets, musicians, dancers, actors, singers, performers & any other miscellaneous mad ones in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to come & strut your mad, mad stuff!
Come one, come all! Come to participate. Come to appreciate. Come to celebrate this open mic madness!
Interested in performing? Then show up the night of and get on the list!
Mad Swirl Open Mic: It's THE place to be on the first Wednesday of the month!
Where's this madness take place? Absinthe Lounge is at 1409 South Lamar Street, Dallas, TX 75215 (located in the SouthSide on Lamar building)
And please, by all means, FEEL FREE TO SPREAD THE WORD!
fo'mo'info' visit www.MadSwirl.com
Don't Talk To Me (above) by mad painter and featured artist Christian Millet, one of over 20 artists currently coloring the virtual walls in Mad Swirl's eclectic electronic collective Mad Gallery.
Just in case you missed it, here's a taste of the poetry we featured this week in Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum...
•••••••••••
Walking Down Prospect St
Walking down Prospect St
Lifting my cheeks to flowing raindrops
The deep melodic tone beating off of railroad tracks
I breathe deep, soaked to skin
So happy to be alive.
Mexican couple carrying
plastic bags of groceries
enough for tonights dinner
laugh as they pass
the wife balances a flat of eggs in one hand
smacks her husbands ass with the other.
Simplicity is the root of all happiness.
Lillac trees sway
to the breeze of speeding cars
Puddles splash up on
my soaked shoes as they squish squish squish
like a Kerouac haiku.
Funny the crazy looks you get
walking through afternoon rain.
Like the smile I got from you
Diana Rose
(1 poem added 10.30.10)
editor's note: A great snapshot of life from our friend and Contributing Poet, Diana Rose. Think I'll go for a barefoot walk, it's been raining all weekend, but no reason to hibernate. Life brings us poetry daily, if we'll just get out in it. - mh
•••••••••••
FEARLESS
Every time I get seized
by the urge
to do
something reckless
I have the sense to
wait a while
before doing it
and sure enough
the foolishness of it
catches up with me
panting
but triumphant
and we walk away
from it all
together.
But not this time.
Every day that passes
I want it more and more.
I’m sure.
This is what I want.
I’m tired of being lonely
or scared.
I’m done settling
for lesser joys.
I’ve wasted enough time
to realize
the pain and fear
will not go away
if I don’t face them.
It’s you.
It has to be you
and I will not wait.
They tell me
it’s not worth it
but they are not
as nearly blinded
by the jagged edges of reason
I’ve been staring at
since the last time
you orphaned my hands
of their spark.
They tell me
not to risk it
but they’re not the one
who goes to bed each night,
wanting.
From this storm
raging around my soul
I will break everything
that cannot survive
this irreversible sacrifice
put my faith to a test
such as it has never known before
and catapult myself
into a truth
that will transcend
the half realities
that were my world
before you
walked into my heart
and occupied
the black
between the stars.
Iris Christine Orprecio
(added 10.29.10)
editor's note: Here's to the fearless leap into love! The stakes are high, the payoff huge - if you're willing to gamble your heart. - mh
•••••••••••
Ritual
I remove another beer
from the refrigerator
as a cold, flickering
light bulb
reminds me
I have done this
all too often
and I am
burning
it out.
The mouth is
cracked,
and the contents
poured
over retained memories
and unborn thoughts,
removing the pulse
from all things
real and abstract.
I have reverently observed
this sacred ritual
on so many nights
that have abandoned
so many
relentless days
and it is here
that peace is found
and solitude embraced.
I am unmoved,
unused,
and free.
And as life outside
struggles
to simply maintain
after all the tragedies
both immense and tiny,
and another beer is opened,
I will remain
just as I am:
uncaring.
Keith Landrum
(added 10.28.10)
editor's note: Great thought provoker! Ritual; daily observed, rigidly enacted, frees the devotee from all care. But, I will call "bullshit", you provocative poet, you. Real devotees don't care enough to write about it. (Caught ya!) - mh
•••••••••••
REASONS FOR DIALING 911
if there aren’ t enough checkout lanes open at the store
if you didn’ t get enough mcnuggets with your order
if you bought a cd and only a couple of songs are OK
if someone’ s been badmouthing you at your workplace
if there are too many previews before the movie begins
if the birds outside your window won’ t let you sleep in
if you suddenly can’ t afford to fill your car up with gas
if rush says the liberals are trying to ruin the whole U.S.
if you’ re worried about the junk floating around in space
if you haven’ t gotten e-mail in your inbox for two days
if someone you just friended on facebook doesn’ t care
if you’ re alone and just need to know someone’ s out there
M.V. Montgomery
(added 10.27.10)
editor's note: One person's ho-hum, don't care, negligible inconvenience is another person's life-threatening (ok, at least peace-threatening) situation. What constitutes an emergency, anyway? Is anybody out there? - mh
•••••••••••
Magical Douche
The pallor mortis man
with his ghostly white hair
is, in fact,
a magical douche
But this is not poetry
composed for apparitions,
it's more a sharp sprig
cut loose
When he found out I wouldn't be sleeping with him
When he found out I wouldn't be sleeping with him
When he found out I wouldn't be sleeping with him—
he disappeared.
Poof!
Sandra Bazzarelli
(added 10.26.10)
editor's note: From douche-bag to magician, an undeserved honor for the man with the obvious agenda and a liberating moment for the woman who said, "No, thanks!" - mh
•••••••••••
Neo
So who is going to step up?
No self adorning crap is needed. Just humility
and a lack of concern for results, should do.
Someone to speak and turn... without asking. Without needing
to eat from gold leafed plates as an 86' neuf de pap gets poured
down the sink.
Don't tell me it can't be. I have seen faces. On milk cartons and
billboards, in alleys and parking lots. Hell, there were 103,000
at the Volunteers season opener. Could not one of them be the one?
Given the chance, the dumpster behind
the abortion clinic may hold the one. And yet, all I see
are mouths... agape and vacuum-esque in form, asking
where's the meter... pointing to the work of a literary ghost, with fingers covered
in gall, coyly proclaiming.... that his rhythm is off.
Where is a good beer shit now?
We have needs.
Rob Dyer
(1 poem added 10.25.10)
editor's note: Looking for the one, the prophesied savior - lot's of energy expended; societies shaped and opportunities wasted. The only One who will save you is yourself. See Rob's new page in our growing list of Conrtibuting Poets!! Welcome, Rob! - mh
•••••••••••
The Illusion
this short moment
like the one before it
sheds it's skin
ridding itself of the past
still it remains, however intangible,
a string of light shining brightly amidst the void
the crude mask of sanity that proves we exist
time; this guilty passenger,
walks me through ruins
I stare down
at the shadow-stained Earth
and know
a hard rain must wash the ground
this soft music
smooth and psychedelic
composed by the orbital currents of the moon
how the sound reverberates
from the insects' paper wings
the confusion you feel
is the illusion revealing itself to your
eyes; these minuscule windows,
too small to perceive the depth of it all
how will I remember this dream
when I awake
just a yoke in an egg?
Nicholas Martin
(1 poem added 10.24.10)
editor's note: And, yet, some "minuscule windows" perceive, postulate, then proclaim. Then, a majority of minuscule minds will follow... - mh
•••••••••••
The whole Mad Swirl of everything to come keeps on keepin' on... now... now... NOW! Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month, every year, every decade, every every EVERY there is! Wanna join in the poetic conversations going on in Mad Swirl's Poetry Forum? Then stop by whenever the mood strikes! We'll be here...
Movin',
Johnny O
Editor-in-chief
MH Clay
Poetry Editor
••••••• 1st WEDNESDAY IS UPON US •••••••
Happy Birthday to us... Happy Birthday to us... Happy Birthday Mad Swirl Open Mic!... Happy Birthday to us!!!
Yep, that's right, Mad Swirl will be celebrating our 6th year of open mic madness! And 0n 11.03.10, starting at 8:00, Mad Swirl will continue into our 7th year of doing what we do! Join host Johnny O and co-host MH Clay, along with the musically magical trio Swirve Wright as we do our darndest to both blow and open your minds. We will be callin' all you swirlingly mad poets, musicians, dancers, actors, singers, performers & any other miscellaneous mad ones in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to come & strut your mad, mad stuff!
Come one, come all! Come to participate. Come to appreciate. Come to celebrate this open mic madness!
Interested in performing? Then show up the night of and get on the list!
Mad Swirl Open Mic: It's THE place to be on the first Wednesday of the month!
Where's this madness take place? Absinthe Lounge is at 1409 South Lamar Street, Dallas, TX 75215 (located in the SouthSide on Lamar building)
And please, by all means, FEEL FREE TO SPREAD THE WORD!
fo'mo'info' visit www.MadSwirl.com
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