tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58949915689594196812024-03-12T16:27:33.632-07:00Analog VersePoetry, Prose, Fiction, Travel Writing, Lyrics, Punk Rock, Experimental, D.I.Y.Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-10943445119995602402018-01-15T20:14:00.001-08:002018-01-16T07:37:04.795-08:00On The Fence<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">I’m on the fence about whether it’s a good thing or not for the NBA to cash in on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King by broadcasting a marathon of games on TNT today, but I’ll try to figure that one out while I watch the Golden State Warriors take on the Cavaliers of Cleveland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Instead of sitting around the house watching NBA or surfing the interwebs today - or generally doing anything of service - I decided to take my children on a 5 mile hike to some waterfalls out by the Lewis River in SW Washington.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">It was especially fun because my older brother came along too. And actually it is sort of a service for my kids, gave them an opportunity to get away from their devices and see the outdoors ... and spend time with their Uncle Pat!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">I remember going to San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge with my aunt and uncle and cousin when I was young. And I want my kids to have that sense of family and experiences that they can pass on to their families.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Now it’s halftime, and Charles Barkley and Shaq are talking like the Warriors-Cavs might be the best rivalry in the league. And yet maybe we won’t see either team in the Finals this year. There are a lot of good teams. In the West and in the East. OKC, Houston, Boston, Toronto ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">For my money, the best rivalry might be between my son and my daughter though. Over and over they are battling about who’s first, who gets the most attention, who’s the favorite. And that’s when it turns ugly. They argue about who can cover their face the best, who wears a hood better, versus hiding her face with her hair; who’s going to push who off the wall, into the drink; and who’s going to be the most annoying. Who gets the most attention. Who’s the loudest. Who gets to control the dog. And who gets to control me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Me, that’s who.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">I try so hard not to show any differential favoritism to either of them, I don’t think there’s any way I could love someone more that I do them. And it’s different, but not equal. I love them with pride, I love my son with satisfaction for doing an excellent job; and I love my daughter with fear - fear of a new school, fear of fitting in. But it’s even more than that, it’s love from seeing the results. And a fear of expectation. My expectations are high, but I </span><span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">hope for their expectations to be even higher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">So when I hear from my son that he thinks I take his sister’s side all the time in arguments, it breaks my heart; disappoints me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Well, now the Warriors finally taken the lead in the 3rd quarter with a 3 from Curry, and we know it’s going to be all right. I still don’t know if it’s ‘okay’ to use MLK-day to sell a televised basketball marathon. But they play basketball on Christmas, and I don’t hear too many people at my church complain. In fact, that’s always something we look froward to. Just so long as the refs don’t play favorites.</span></div>
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Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-51941870260760350782018-01-13T15:38:00.001-08:002018-01-14T13:59:52.942-08:00Linguisa Omelette from Paul’s Restaurant & Lounge<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui text"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Starting a new blog. Writing about something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Writing about eggs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Writing about an omelette.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">A linguisa omelette from Paul’s Restaurant & Lounge in Vancouver WA. The omelet was okay, but it came with a half order of homemade biscuits and gravy which was really good. But the linguisa was cut up, looked like bits of hotdog. Didn’t taste as exciting as I’d hoped.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">But let me tell you about the biscuit. It was a square, like something cut from the pan of a cornbread cake. It tasted real good / had good flavor, and the sausage gravy was thick and yummy. But it wasn’t like an actual biscuit! Then I doused the whole thing with Cholula Hot Sauce, which earned a comment from our waitress, and then who could tell anyway. Not a crumb was wasted.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">But this wasn’t our regular joint! So we weren’t used to eating here (right next to the Elbow Room, world famous drinking establishment). It was Bruce, Tom, Tim, Nancy, Neil, Jerry, and me. Seven of us at the table, and the waitress was on her game. She had comments and coffee enough for all of us, and that’s enough of a reason for me to come back again, try it again. Tim had pigs in a blanket, and the waitress had something funny to say about that too … after all, he’s a grown-ass adult.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Our regular spot is Dulin’s cafe, just around the corner from Paul’s, on Main Street. It might be a little better, but it’s also a little pricier. And it’s also a lot more crowded. But Dulin’s was closed today - for maintenance. I’m thinking, maybe best to keep that quiet too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">But of course we’ll be back to Dulin’s. They’ve got a traditional English breakfast that’s really good, even comes with grilled tomato. And an omelette called the French Connection with brie cheese baked inside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">I like having breakfast with these guys. This is a good crew, even though Larry was missing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">The other crew goes to Provecho, an awesome Mexican restaurant. There’s Greg and Richard and sometimes Brian and Reed. A good group of guys. A little too conservative, but they let me hang so that’s cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">It’s literally (not literally) a hole in the wall establishment, Provecho. They’ve got outside eating, and a sausage and egg burrito that’s to die for. Also, today would have been a perfect day to eat outside. Weather’s just amazing. Instead I’m spending it inside writing a blog, waiting for the NFL games to begin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">And Provecho has this proprietress who always has a snarky comment, and lets Richard ask if they have any leftovers from the night before. Maybe a cup of soup, or a single enchilada. And the chips & salsa cost $6 … but I think they’ll refill them for free. The salsa is always delicious, and the red sauce will make you cry it’s so good. I’ll sometimes get the hiccups after eating too much. Such a gringo!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">But back to Paul’s … </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">Paul’s almost makes you yearn for the day when you could smoke in a restaurant. There was another party sitting at about 5 tables pushed together with dudes wearing black leather vests with Christian Motorcycle Club patches on the back. Hell’s Angels rejects. Christian badasses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".sfuitext";">And there we were, seven of us squeezed together in this makeshift booth. I’m jealous because Tom and Bruce are going down to Mexico next week, and that’s what a lot of our conversation consisted of. And the James Taylor concert soon with Bonnie Raitt. “Oh Mexico, I never really been so I just don’t know.”</span></div>
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Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-2345721294824685462017-12-31T12:57:00.004-08:002017-12-31T12:58:59.654-08:00Happy New Year – Hoorah!<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SgJTGD1ATfWzXn1QLz6uOvR3Frto2RdlvHWdzZdG9hnPHmuOZ5h2Ha3MtEc_hFFOMFvVCh0e_DVXYUxpbBhkw6_LM-D4czAgUVjKPiAe3gjmMGbFnTGOle7JP7Dr5s4JwOvKA2dBqyY/s1600/Blogger+Tour.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="396" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4SgJTGD1ATfWzXn1QLz6uOvR3Frto2RdlvHWdzZdG9hnPHmuOZ5h2Ha3MtEc_hFFOMFvVCh0e_DVXYUxpbBhkw6_LM-D4czAgUVjKPiAe3gjmMGbFnTGOle7JP7Dr5s4JwOvKA2dBqyY/s320/Blogger+Tour.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So I’ve signed up to be a part of this thing called the
Poet Bloggers Revival Tour … I think. At least I think I signed up for it.
Anyway, I’m going to try blogging at least once a month starting in 2018, so
might as well try to start today. January 31, 2017. Maybe it’s just my way of trying
to piggyback onto something larger than me, and so motivate myself to write on
a more regular basis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">So to continue, I’m going to be using this opportunity
to shamelessly self-promote my book, which I never really did on this blog, Analog
Verse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">(See I’m even better at promoting my blog than I am my
book.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">But it’s been a good year for me, for my book, for my
writing, for poetry. We had a book launch all the way back in January of this
year (2017) at Angst Gallery that I didn’t really promote on this blog. Then we
had another Portland book launch at Mother Foucault’s Book Shop – that I dind’t
really promote. A little bit. But it takes a lot of work to do promotions. (That’s
why a lot of companies have their own promotion department, as a paid staffing
gig.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm13UdCM0eoIRGBz37B0XK5KIdrgVR7fraWny0CPZmTSA1cHDu4xD-mZtyQ80zCuBIwGD0YYcJxjUTXjffgubxUbrUoUR_nGgl-38FPAiuNFMVTypwxzv0krON-tYV2MZoTVooqVb8APA/s1600/15873460_10210170502613240_2410964885034101997_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="726" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm13UdCM0eoIRGBz37B0XK5KIdrgVR7fraWny0CPZmTSA1cHDu4xD-mZtyQ80zCuBIwGD0YYcJxjUTXjffgubxUbrUoUR_nGgl-38FPAiuNFMVTypwxzv0krON-tYV2MZoTVooqVb8APA/s320/15873460_10210170502613240_2410964885034101997_n.jpg" width="242" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We don’t. Tourane Poetry Press is a very small company
run out of Willow Glen, California.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So because I didn’t do the promotion thing, maybe I
short-changed my supporting readers who helped me do the whole book-launch
thing. So let me begin with that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the Angst Gallery book-launch we had Nathan
Tompkins, Alex Vigue, Toni Partington, and Jennifer Robin as guest-readers. And
we had cake!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It was a very family-friendly affair, my mom brought a
cake, my wife brought our children, and a lot of folk from the community showed
up as support. Lots of people from my church, Toni Partington’s husband (and
the poet laureate of Clark County) Christopher Luna MC’d the event – it was
quite overwhelming, and filled me with so much hope. Very lovely. Leah Jackson,
the gallery’s proprietor was smiling as it did just what she built the gallery
for, to create community and support artists around the Vancouver area.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aEnx0g6KmXRW7kpv4Afa-MVn1Jr8hW6yBDM_qYROHdIU7W6EGh2gwOHpHSwLaJclK5ioX8UEqnjECuuCXF0_KUkP3JVLTzasHPeSOUcAnG58TQAsPnZe9FQnr0AohPFRsllejpgsYbg/s1600/15895088_10210164568664895_2554349478350650497_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aEnx0g6KmXRW7kpv4Afa-MVn1Jr8hW6yBDM_qYROHdIU7W6EGh2gwOHpHSwLaJclK5ioX8UEqnjECuuCXF0_KUkP3JVLTzasHPeSOUcAnG58TQAsPnZe9FQnr0AohPFRsllejpgsYbg/s320/15895088_10210164568664895_2554349478350650497_n.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the Mother Foucault book launch we had Jennifer
Robin (again), Amie Zimmerman, and Mike G. Adam Strong acted as the MC. And
again, it was just an amazing night. So to all those artists that helped and
inspired and supported and wrote and read and submitted work and were turned
away, and turned away, and turned away again … and then finally published, I
owe a great debt of appreciation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I continue to read at the Ghost Town open mic (which continues
to be run by Toni and Chris) and also I want to still support Tony’s Talking
To, which has now been taken over by Mike G. And the writing community in
Portland and Vancouver continues to be lush and amazing. (And I continue to
have a big box of books to sell.) And so to all those things continuing in
2018, I say hoorah!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And so to hopping on the Poet Bloggers Revival Tour, I
say hoorah!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Hoorah!</span></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-77192042530449974782017-11-17T22:35:00.001-08:002017-11-17T22:41:49.415-08:00White Rabbit - for Songbook 9 - at Post 134, Alberta StreetBlogging, first time in a while. Feels weird. Everything's different. Yet nothing has changed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LJjysT9KSWmLZPcwsd5ar2bDbKxGIgTvOZcYvKI8EmcoQPkpVayXJTugNNHkiJNbxCcqKTKFPOyfu1eQDoYVGxN9rDRlRZuendoa0E7fwDYN8sfmiOYAV3u8fnd-xpcCuy6jd45Zs3s/s1600/Songbook+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LJjysT9KSWmLZPcwsd5ar2bDbKxGIgTvOZcYvKI8EmcoQPkpVayXJTugNNHkiJNbxCcqKTKFPOyfu1eQDoYVGxN9rDRlRZuendoa0E7fwDYN8sfmiOYAV3u8fnd-xpcCuy6jd45Zs3s/s400/Songbook+9.jpg" width="285" /></a>Maybe I'd like to make this a habit ... idea for a future blog, why have I resisted blogging for such a long time?<br />
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Anyway, that's for a future post. Right now I want to share that I'll be reading tomorrow night at Post 134 on Alberta Street, series called Songbook. I'm really excited to be doing this. I think I was at the very first Songbook reading and I thought, holy shit. This is awesome. I want to be included on this dais. And so somehow I managed to introduce myself to Adam Strong, the cat who hosts this series, and even become friends with him. And in fact I'm his regular sub for his digital arts class. (But that too is food for a future blog as well.)<br />
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So without further ado, here's the piece I'll be reading tomorrow. Enjoy!<br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">SONGBOOK – WHITE RABBIT</span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">18 NOVEMBER 2017 – POST 134, ALBERTA STREET</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Dad had a Realistic amplifier / tuner. It was all tubes, baby. Bragged about picking it up at the RadioShack – back when RadioShack actually meant radio. We’re talking Hi-Fi here, sound an audiophile might lose their shit over. It had a face that would glow green with AM numbers all the way from the 500’s, and up into the stratosphere. And it had FM too, baby. This thing would play in stereo, with speakers so big, the bass would make your bell-bottom trousers rattle like an actual bell had just been rung.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">And Dad would take out the Jefferson Airplane record, Surrealistic Pillow, place the needle down on track number 2. Hear the crackling – that warm analog sound – as the needle digs down deep into the grooves, cleaning out the dust with that popping and static. Hear it …</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">When the truth is found – to be lies</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">And all the joy within you – dies</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Don’t you want somebody to love?</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Don’t you need somebody to love?</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Wouldn’t you love somebody to love?</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">You better find somebody to love …</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>But this piece isn’t about that.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Flip the record over, side 2, track 5 – “White Rabbit.” 2-1/2 minutes of pure pop sensation, moving from innocence and perception into a crescendo of psychedelic bliss and Lewis Carroll imagery: the Queen of Hearts, that caterpillar smoking hookah, <i>Through the Looking Glass</i> …</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="p7">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>But we’re not there yet.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">............................................</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>In our house, Saturday mornings meant house cleaning, and Saturday Morning Cartoons – something this generation has no concept of. Now they can get their cartoon fix whenever and wherever they are. Whenever that imperious urge strikes, just pull out your device and connect to the nearest Wi-Fi, hotspot, 4G streaming, and view the latest adventures of Gumball, or Steven’s Universe, Teen Titans – parodies of the great shows that we would wake up for <i>early</i> on a Saturday morning. I’m talking the Super Friends, Superman and Wonder Woman, the Adventures of Batman and Robin, all teamed together with Aquaman, the Flash, and of course the Wonder Twins with their monkey sidekick, Gleek. Gems of the Hanna-Barbera canon. Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Gang. Dick Dastardly and Muttley, Speed Buggy and Jabberjaw, Captain Caveman, the Super Harlem Globetrotters. These are some real gems here folks, some of the best writing for any 8 year-old mind!</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Then we had the Warner Brother’s cartoons, shows our Dad would actually sit down and watch with us. Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner Show, Wile E. Coyote always trying to procure some device from ACME Inc. to help him catch that Road Runner – a 20 ton anvil to fall on his head, casks of TNT, roller-skates and electromagnets attached to train tracks, getting strapped to the back of a rocket (never a good idea), painting tunnels on cliffsides – and then actually getting steamrolled by a speeding locomotive. Defying Newton’s Laws of Gravity! We just loved it, Dad and all three of us boys.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Then it came time to clean the house. Every Saturday, spick and span. Literally, Dad did a white glove check to make sure that we dusted right. He had a sign in his garage that read CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS. And he believed it too. But when it came time to cleaning, he knew what we needed. We needed music – especially for the vacuuming – and Dad was our DJ.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>And that was when he would take out the Surrealistic Pillow record. A simple album cover, the band’s logo written in pink with a black and white picture of the group. There’s Paul Kantner sitting with the headstock of a fiddle covering his right eye. And the drummer, Spencer Dryden, holding up a banjo for some reason. And there’s young Marty Balin, holding a flute. And why is Jack Casady staring off to the right for some reason? And there’s Jorma Kaukonen, lead guitarist, looking as heavy as possible, wearing dark shades and striped shirt.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">But there in the center, Grace Slick, the ringleader, the lion tamer, looking as pretty as ever, somehow managing to keep this motley bunch of pranksters together. Leader, by default.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">But not without contest.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">And there’s Dad, pushing that vacuum, singing along. And there’s Pat and me and Timmy, pulling couch away from wall so we can chase the dust bunnies back there.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">And now here comes side two of the record, opens with the rocker “3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds,” which is followed by the mellow gold of “DCBA-25.” Takes you right into that zone.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Then “How Do You Feel” – has that Mammas and Pappas groove, sung in harmonies by Paul Kantner, Marty Balin, and Grace Slick. Then that gives way to Jorma Kaukonen’s acoustic masterpiece, “Embryonic Journey.” Beautiful, melodic acoustic guitars.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Which leads then into Jack Cassidy strumming out that bass line, a trance – the exotic, eastern sounds of “White Rabbit’s” intro. It’s in like an invitation, taken up by cadence, now tapped out on snare, a jazzy march – transports us to some other destination, maybe a riverboat, fully shaped now by hypnotic drone of guitar, feeling something like a snake charmer as Grace Slick replies …</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">One pill makes you larger</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">And one pill makes you small</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">And the ones that mother gives you</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Don’t do anything at all</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Go ask Alice – when she’s 10 feet tall</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">She chants; her vocals informing us now of this ceremony taking place – we are not just spectators.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Her low, lamenting tenor is mysterious, sexy. Grace Slick. She is the Acid Queen, prophetic, and this dance is timeless – the 2-1/2 minute song could last forever, seems to touch infinity; takes up so much presence, says so much in such a brief moment.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">The perfect pop song, conjuring <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> – we are all players on this chess board, vacuuming the house, stacking chairs on kitchen table, to run that vacuum under kitchen table, behind curtains and couches and carpets. <i>Cleanliness </i>is<i> next to godliness!</i></span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Takes us back to San Francisco – Top of the Mark. Eating dim sum in Chinatown with Aunt Peach and Uncle Dick. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, now cloaked in fog.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Then hearing the stories before the three of us boys were even born. Dad, driving school bus on the hills in San Francisco, down Lombard Street. Mom riding the bus with her sister at five years old in the 1950’s with Aunt Mable.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Now Mom at Cal, pregnant with my older brother, walking through a protest – as the riot stops and pauses, waits for her to pass, as she goes on to her next class – and then starts up once again and she is safe. Vietnam War and Civil Rights, protests and marches – the 60’s that were just before my time.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Logic and proportion, the Mad Hatter – we’re all mad now! And as we run that vacuum cleaner, Dad singing away, playful gleam in his eye.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">And now here we are, five days before Thanksgiving, we can all remember what the door mouse said, stuffing ourselves with turkey and cranberries, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie – hear the ghost of my Dad – spooky, groovy – and sing along with me now:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Remember what the door mouse said,</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Feed your head!</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;">Feed your head!</span></span></div>
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Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-69426098036216194882015-12-03T19:40:00.001-08:002015-12-03T19:47:12.832-08:00Dark Matter<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;">Originally published in </span><i style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 10px;">http://thisdarkmatter.com/black-friday-fiction/black-friday-fiction-5/</span></span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;"> Copyright © July 2015 </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10px;">– </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10px;">This Dark Matter</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>1 – The <span style="background: white; color: #252525; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Opening:
Breakfast</span></b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">She
drops the newspaper on my desk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
tells me 85%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">85%
of what?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
ask</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: center;">------------------------------</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">She
drops the newspaper on my kitchen table</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
tells me 85%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Between
the coffee and the half and half I have left out</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
the crumbs from my toast – pumpernickel rye with butter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">An
article from the Wall Street Journal or some other</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">reputable
news source</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">85%
of what?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
ask</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Over
1/4 of the universe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
says, it’s dark matter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
thought you just said 85%</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
say</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Doesn’t
matter – it’s all dark matter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
says</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
do we know this?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
ask</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Doesn’t
matter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
tells me, they’re coming together</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">1
mile beneath the earth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Who?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
ask</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">The
scientists</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
tells me, they’re coming together</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
conduct experiments</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">for
300 days</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">they
will congregate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">1
mile beneath the earth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">in
South Dakota</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">the
Black Hills</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
tells me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Hiding
from Cosmic Rays</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">these
scholars will study and chant</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
pray and search</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">for
some proof of this Dark Matter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Burning
incense</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">with
vows of silence and secrecy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">in
a trance-like state</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">meditating</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">on
the gravitational pull</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">It
brings things together</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
says, it’s like the glue of the Universe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">And
then what?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
ask</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">And
then you can finish</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">your
pumpernickel toast</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
tells me</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>2 – The Conjuring:
Invitation</b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
see you looking over your shoulders</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">what
were you doing out there in South Dakota</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">1
mile below those snow capped</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Black
Hills, burning incense</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Chanting
the names of your idols</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">over
and over –</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Darwin,
Dawkins</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Hawking,
Voltaire</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">In
a trance-like state</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">for
three hundred days they’ve gathered</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">These
mystic priests of science</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">hiding
from cosmic rays</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Shooting
out gamma rays</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
find this elusive stuff</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">This
Dark Matter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">what
is this stuff that makes up</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">More
than 85% of our known universe?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">they
haven’t got a clue</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">But
now they’re saying it’s destroying itself</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">inside
the Milky Way’s core</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">This
has now become urgent!</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>3<span style="background: white; color: #252525; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> – The
Gathering: Banquet</span></b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
would you describe your sense of vision to someone who cannot see?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
would you explain the Grand Canyon to a blind man?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
would you describe the taste of a Granny Smith sour apple</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
a person without a tongue, or a cappuccino to someone who cannot taste?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">That
sensation … how would you describe Tchaikovsky’s </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Pathetique</i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">or
Brian Eno’s </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Ascent</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> to a deaf man?</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What are they
doing down there?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">That
sensation … to feel, to smell, the scent of fresh bread</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">or
an apple pie cooling in a window sill.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
would you describe that</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
a person who cannot –</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">who
cannot?</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What are they
doing down there?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">You
can see them working feverishly in the shadows of their gamma rays</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">hiding
from all light and cosmic rays and other high energy particles</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
weakly interacting massive particles – we only know they’re there</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">by
measuring the gravity released, absolved, acquit, annul, void</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What are they
doing down there?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Dispersed,
displaced, relegate,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">supersede,
supplant, unmake,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">usurp,
uncrown, exiled, banished, deposed,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">it’s
keeping me up at night</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">I
cannot sleep – this dark matter is affecting me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">this
dark matter – it has affected me …</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">You
can see the silhouettes of these mystics</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">dressed
in robes with cokebottle lenses</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">in
a trance chanting to their gods</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">these
monks of science in white labcoats and pocket protectors</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">stuffed
with a cargo of pens and mechanical pencils, a sliderule</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Clutching
scientific calculators and iPads</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">reams
of yellow legal paper</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">with
calculations and inscriptions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">searching
for proof of this dark matter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">proof
of their very existence – of their soul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
of God himself</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What are they
doing down there?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">These
pujaris ripping off their clothing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">dancing
to the firepit and to the drums</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
to the gravity</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">bringing
everything together</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">existence
and consciousness and other worlds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
otherworldliness</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">In
vows of celibacy</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">in
prayer and meditation</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">in
study and in trance</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">burning,
burning, testing procedures and hypotheses</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">experiments
and research</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">burning
and burning the midnight oil</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">that
fragrant incense</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
would you describe that smell to someone who wasn’t there</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
someone who could not smell</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">who
did not have the ability</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">olfactory
system gone</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">no
taste, no scent</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">those
shadows bouncing off the stone wall</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">deep
within the cave</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">1
mile beneath the earth</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">the
snow capped Black Hills of South Dakota</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">how
would you describe this scene</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
those who cannot see</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
those who cannot discern</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">the
colors, the shadows</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">bouncing
off each other</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What are they
doing down there?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">The
orange light, the fires</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">the
green flames, the blue core</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">the
white, the hellish red</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">those
men of science</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">these
mystic bodhisattvas</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">these
priests of Algebra and of quantum theory</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">these
searchers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
would you describe this scene to those who were not there</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">to
those who cannot feel the immensity of the universe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">of
the gravitational pull</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">of
the longing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">of
the pull of the dance</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
the rhythm and the chanting</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">How
would you describe this scene to those who cannot feel</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">who
cannot know that there is something else out there</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">that
there is something beyond the gravity</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">beyond
what we know</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Only
15% of the universe is </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">not</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"> dark
matter, for Shiva’s sake</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">for
the wrath of Ganesh –</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">oh
holy Krishna, oh mighty Vishnu</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">how
can we describe this scene to those</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">who
were not there</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
do you think that these 5 senses</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">are
the only ones?</span><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">What are they —</span></i><br />
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>4 – The Closing: Maintenance</b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">Please
don’t forget</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">she
tells me, to clean up the crumbs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">from
your pumpernickel toast</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">and
kisses me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;">on
the forehead</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><br /></span>Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-6852900180315877632015-10-09T10:07:00.000-07:002015-10-09T10:41:08.747-07:00Death Is Like a River<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;">Originally published in </span><i style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;">Perfume River Poetry Review </i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;">–</span><i style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;"> Issue 3: Night Terrors,</i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;"> Copyright © 2015 </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10px;">– </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10px;">Tourane Poetry Press</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10px;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Death
is like a river, the color of burgundy wine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">flowing
down the mountain toward the ocean, vast and wide<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">so
much potential<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pinewood
boxes carry dead soldiers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">convoys
of ships going down<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">never
to be realized, planted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">fruits
of their achievements<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There’s
a revival happening right now<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">in
my living room, daughter singing the blues<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">carving
pumpkins – O Death, do your worst!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ghosts
of our past haunt our present<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">howling
rattling chains we ignore<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">these
ghosts move through our lives unnoticed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">O
Death, you visit me each morning, embrace me at night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the
dew on the grass soaks through my stockings, mud clings to my knees<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your
boney fingers embrace my neck<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">tighten
around my throat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">this
honeymoon of death<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">this
funeral of eternity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">this
sleep<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He
comes to us when we do not expect him<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">this
black-cloaked phantasm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">he
comes when we aren’t ready<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and
visits our loved ones<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
carve your white skull<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">empty
it of its contents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">light
a candle to shine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">from
your eyes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">II<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So
much potential wasted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">young
men and women returning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">in
a pinewood boat, sailing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">that
burgundy river<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">draped
with a flag<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s
getting colder these nights<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
walked by two people<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">on
the street holding a sign<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">on
my way to the theater<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You
can go deeper into the unknown if you choose<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">turning
back from what is safe and comfortable into something else<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
saw Anthony Bourdain kill a goat on TV last night<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">suffocated
under watchful eye of the tribal king<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">to
keep in the blood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ignore
it, pretend it does not exist<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Death
comes when it comes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">it
does not know fair<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">it
does not have principles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">or
ethics<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You
don’t have to go to Syria or Afghanistan<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">you
can sit by a parking structure, hold a cardboard sign<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">meet
Death there too<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Death
does not discriminate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">that
cold chill lurks, returning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">into
nothingness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 1.0in;">
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-62638942075295866442015-05-10T10:30:00.001-07:002015-10-09T10:41:55.172-07:00New Blog Post<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday may 10, 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What a weird day. Okay, well it's Mother's Day. And so I'm finally blogging again. And that's not the weird part. But today I was assistant pastoring at church for the 8:30 service, and so I got up at 5:30 this morning. And then I took an allergy pill. But I've been sneezing all day!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I should have taken it at night.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then the kids woke up as I was finishing writing my prayers. And they were like - were going to make mom breakfast in bed ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So we'll see if that happens.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then at church today Noris had to be helped out with a wheelchair. And I gave Elain a hug after helping her husband sit in the chair. It's though getting old; it's tougher watching your husband get old.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And more ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I need to take Teare out to lunch/brunch somewhere. Cameo? Heathman Lodge? Hudson's Bar and Grill?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We will see ...</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-70231486017227874782014-06-22T20:13:00.000-07:002015-10-09T10:42:23.642-07:00World Cup Sonnet<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was the summer of ’94 and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember it because it was the<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">year the U.S. was hosting the World Cup –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and up in Palo Alto the Brazilians<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">were dominating the games to the<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">rhythm of their metal drums & djimbés<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and we could feel the energy coming<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">down from Stanford to where I lived in San<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jose, in the barrio and farther south<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">into Los Gatos – they were dancing &<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">celebrating : the pulse of the salsa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and the hard hard rhythms,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and the futbol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I would stay up all night in those days<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">& stand bare-chested on my balcony<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">overlooking El Salvador’s house and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">he, waking up early, drinking canned beer,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">watering his plants & shouting up to me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Did you see the game last night? Beautiful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In Los Gatos – all night, man! – the women<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">and Brazilians wearing the yellow and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">the green – the colors of true champions<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-25944313605576696722014-01-20T08:25:00.000-08:002015-10-09T10:42:41.769-07:00Me English Degree<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My English degree</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">is great at teaching me</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">to think for myself;</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">exactly what's discouraged</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">in this modern business world</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">#tanka #micropoetry</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">8 August 2013</span>Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-62975024258854249252014-01-20T08:22:00.001-08:002014-01-20T08:22:58.774-08:00Funny How WhenFunny how when<br />
the boss says, have a good evening<br />
it sounds as if<br />
he truly means it; that is<br />
until I look at my paystub<br />
<br />
#tanka #micropoetry<br />
8 August 2013Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-89102363089624031962014-01-20T08:20:00.002-08:002014-01-20T08:20:58.468-08:00There's Something AboutThere's something about<br />
the shame of talking to my<br />
HR department,<br />
even if I'm not in trouble<br />
I feel I did something wrong<br />
<br />
#tanka<br />
8 August 2013Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-82001753836256663432014-01-20T08:18:00.001-08:002014-01-20T08:18:51.004-08:00As the First Bite of PeachAs the first bite of peach<br />
makes juice explode in my mouth<br />
I rush to the cafeteria;<br />
I don't want my coworker<br />
to call me a pig again<br />
<br />
#tanka<br />
8 August 2013Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-25590404709784844702014-01-17T13:34:00.001-08:002014-01-17T13:34:25.890-08:00You and Your FancyYou and your fancy<br />
spreadsheet, you try and convince<br />
everyone you've got<br />
a handle on why everything's<br />
arriving late, we're an OEM<br />
<br />
#tanka<br />
7 August 2013Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-28064425698516300712014-01-17T13:30:00.001-08:002014-01-17T13:30:44.370-08:00If You was a FlowerIf you was a flower<br />
and I was a bumblebee<br />
wouldn't I do better than to sniff you<br />
because of the strong chance<br />
you're loaded with pesticides?<br />
<br />
7 August 2013Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-82264501357737105722014-01-17T13:28:00.000-08:002014-01-17T13:28:03.730-08:00A Good AttitudeA good attitude<br />
and a tight lip is generally<br />
required for this job<br />
that way you won't complain<br />
much about the low wages<br />
<br />
#tanka #MicroPoetry<br />
7 August 2013Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-19239311899388652572014-01-17T13:20:00.003-08:002014-01-17T13:25:40.045-08:00They Say a CollegeThey say a college<br />
degree is required for this<br />
position, but why<br />
wouldn't they pay someone enough<br />
to pay back they student loans?<br />
<br />
#tanka<br />
7 August 2013Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-1404809857061116992014-01-17T13:19:00.001-08:002014-01-17T13:31:38.681-08:00Is it Thursday YetIs it Thursday yet<br />
<div>
'cause I feel like reminiscing</div>
<div>
on a day & it</div>
<div>
don't feel quite right if it ain't</div>
<div>
Throwback Thursday?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
#tanka #micropoetry</div>
<div>
7 August 2013</div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-85652891139862910572013-11-05T10:51:00.000-08:002013-11-05T11:01:53.331-08:00Palm Springs Sonnet<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 7.5pt;">Originally published in <i>Tule Review,</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px;"> </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px;">Fall 2013 </i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;">– </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;">Copyright © October 2013, </span><st1:place style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;" w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sacramento Poetry Center Press</span></st1:placename></st1:place><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Quest for the Holy Grail: The <st1:place w:st="on">Sunrise</st1:place> in</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<st1:place w:st="on">Palm Springs</st1:place>, it seems so odd to me, by the </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
time <st1:time hour="8" minute="0" w:st="on">8 AM</st1:time> rolls around it feels like</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<st1:time hour="13" minute="0" w:st="on">one o’clock</st1:time> in the afternoon – All the</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
sun dresses and short skirts, low
cut blouses</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
open-toed sandals and bare white
ankles</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
I’m blinded by the sunlight
streaking be-</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
hind the mountain range, rises so
quickly</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
placing shadows in the queerest
angles –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Suddenly the manicured lawn becomes
a</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
dry and empty desert choked of any</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
moisture, save what they can steal
from the north</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
to keep those golf courses green,
the Devil</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
speaks in backward rhymes, <i>It’s
on the level<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
</div>
</div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-30605759454116227292013-10-29T10:31:00.002-07:002013-10-29T10:34:58.813-07:00Foxtrot<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 7.5pt;">Originally published in <i>Tule Review,</i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px;"> </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px;">Fall 2013 </i></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;">– </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;">Copyright © October 2013, </span><st1:place style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;" w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sacramento Poetry Center Press</span></st1:placename></st1:place></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
And in those days Dad would pile us in</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
the back of the green Volare and we’d</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">take the drive up 880, past Freemont and </span><st1:place style="text-indent: 0.5in;" w:st="on">Newark</st1:place></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and into Oakland, to the Coliseum</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">to watch the A’s – Ricky Henderson</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stealing his 100<sup>th</sup> base, Dennis Eckersley</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">recording his 45</span><sup style="text-indent: 0.5in;">th</sup><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> save, record setting years –</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dave Stewart striking out the side,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Dave Kingman hitting another home run,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Billy Martin getting tossed by the umps –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> one</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> more</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> time</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
and the return of Reggie Jackson … </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and the only character bigger than them</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">was Dad, buying us hotdogs and soda-pop,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
crackerjack and popcorn, pennants and programs,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">talkin’ bout Rollie Fingers and Catfish Hunter,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and how Mom danced the foxtrot with Vida Blue</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-20455690796152297042013-09-28T13:50:00.004-07:002013-11-06T10:59:05.402-08:00I've Been Graduated<div class="MsoNormal">
I've been graduated</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
now for 10 years with menial job</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
after menial job</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
with my English degree</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
& now you care about my student loans?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
#tanka<br />
7 August 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-51443346039321021852013-09-27T12:26:00.004-07:002013-11-06T11:10:51.808-08:00Arthur is Deteriorating<div class="MsoNormal">
Arthur is deteriorating</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
rapidly from</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lou Gehrigs disease, and they</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
want the world to</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remember their union as a</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
married couple</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
#foundpoem<br />
24 July 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-82425133916632542562013-09-26T15:24:00.001-07:002013-11-06T11:11:45.737-08:00Langston Hughes<div class="MsoNormal">
Langston Hughes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
spoke of freedom</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
with his pen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and with his other</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
spoke of freedom too<br />
<br />
#tanka #MicroPoetry</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
22 July 2013<br />
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-63695001926967724202013-09-25T07:11:00.002-07:002013-11-06T11:12:37.375-08:00The Fugue<div class="MsoNormal">
The violin</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
balances it's melody</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
highlighted</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
by the tone of the viola</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
playing in perfect harmony</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
#tanka #MicroPoetry</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
22 July 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-19381490637604502962013-09-24T08:41:00.001-07:002013-11-06T11:13:33.774-08:00You Eat Like a Pig<div class="MsoNormal">
You eat like a pig</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
she said as the juice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
from the sweet plum</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
fell into the wastebasket</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
sitting between my legs</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
#tanka #micropoetry</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
18 July 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5894991568959419681.post-54859491364253491682013-09-22T18:14:00.001-07:002013-11-06T11:14:34.515-08:00Pulled Pork Sliders<div class="MsoNormal">
Pulled pork sliders</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and barbeque ribs with sauce</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buffalo wings</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
with brisket, beans, mac and cheese –</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Got peach cobbler for dessert</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
#tanka</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
17 July 2013</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Ian Frederick Catonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11615153279040008966noreply@blogger.com0