I have eaten
the pistachios
that were in
the cabinet
and which
you were probably
saving
for quarantine snacks
Forgive met
they were satisfying
so crunchy
and so salty
Another nod to William Carlos Williams!
Tag Archives: humor
This is Just to Say
I have used
the toilet paper
that was in
the bathroom
and which
you were probably
saving
for lockdown
Forgive me
it was necessary
so soft
and so clean
This is a nod to William Carlos Williams and his poem called “This is Just to Say.” You may know it as the plum poem.
How to Write a Poem
Day One — National Poetry Writing Month http://www.napowrimo.net/
“For our first (optional) prompt, let’s take our cue from O’Neil’s poem, and write poems that provide the reader with instructions on how to do something. It can be a sort of recipe, like O’Neil’s poem. Or you could try to play on the notorious unreliability of instructional manuals (if you’ve ever tried to put IKEA furniture together, you know what I mean). You could even write a dis-instruction poem, that tells the reader how not to do something. Happy writing!”
How to Write a Poem
Sit down.
Scribble ideas.
Scratch the surface—
Pen to paper.
Miss the mark.
Pause.
Stand up.
Walk away.
Go outside.
Rake leaves.
Talk to neighbors—
Witty exchanges,
Clever words,
Flowing.
Remind yourself
That you
Were searching
For meaningful words.
Go inside,
Return to task—
Poem-planning.
Dig deep
For expert expressions,
Figurative phrases,
That tell
A secret
Or celebrate something.
Try for a metaphor that
Falls flat,
Like a
Scanty simile.
Scratch.
Scratch it out.
Start again.
Stack short sayings
One upon another—
Expressions
That may
Topple over because
There
Is
No
Meaningful
Foundation
On
Which
The
Blether
Blather
Babble
Gabble
Prattle
Chatter
Jabber
Can
Stand.
Speak Up for Puerto Rico
You may have noticed that you are not seeing much footage of the mess that is currently Puerto Rico. You may have noticed that you are not reading many Tweets and Facebook messages about the devastation that has happened in Puerto Rico. This does not mean that there is no problem. In fact, it means we have a HUGE problem. It means that we’re receiving no communication because they have no power. That’s right. No internet. No phones. Nothing with which to charge a device. Nothing to maintain food, sanitation, or even hospitals. That means that more than 3.5 million people (American citizens, mind you) are trapped on an island that is completely flooded and has no power.
Now, when Florida was ravaged by Hurricane Irma, and Texas was trampled by Hurricane Harvey (both filled with American citizens, just like Puerto Rico), there was a lot of coverage. Not only did we have news reporters on site, but residents posted their own updates. People shared photos of their neighbors rescuing others. People posted videos of First Response groups getting children out of cars. People posted images of nature at its worst and humanity at its best. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube were filled with updates and we retweeted, liked, shared, and posted the updates. The people in Puerto Rico can’t post updates.
They. Have. No. Power.
So, I did some math . . .
3,679,086 people in Puerto Rico
-600,000 under age 14 (who might not have phones—overestimated, of course)
-750,000 over age 65 (who might not have phones—overestimated, of course)
-329,086 (added margin of error so that my calculations are underestimated and cannot be dismissed as exaggeration)
____________________________________________
2,000,000 people left in Puerto Rico who would likely post updates on social media if they had electric power and internet.
They have been without power for 2 days. If we underestimate that each person had been able to post twice per day (Bet you can’t Tweet just one!) on their chosen social media, we would be at 4 posts per person, which is 8,000,000 posts. We are at least 8 million posts behind on Puerto Rico. This might be why the news channels are not covering as much. This might be why #PuertoRico is not trending on social media. This might be why the president of the United States has not made his plans to go to Puerto Rico yet. We must speak up for Puerto Rico. We are 8 million posts behind. They can not communicate out to us, so we must be a voice for them. 8 million posts is a lot to do, so I would love help.
I will not stop until #PuertoRico is trending on Twitter and the US president makes known his plans to visit and directly address this territory of our nation.
I will be using the following hashtags if you’d like to help get to 8 million posts:
#PuertoRico #SpeakUpForPuertoRico #8MillionPosts #HurricaneMaria Statistics taken from https://suburbanstats.org/population/how-many-people-live-in-puerto-rico
United Airlines
Budget-changing United Airlines
Has found it’s way into the headlines—
While peanuts are no longer complimentary,
They’re happy to throw in a concussion for free.
NaPoWriMo.net – Day 14 – a clerihew poem
Spam (NaPoWriMo – Day 9)
SPAM
I can meet other folks,
Cure illnesses and strokes,
And win lotteries in Chad.
Change sizes of things I don’t own,
Qualify for a hefty loan,
And pay off debts I never had.
Princes will send lots of dough —
I have to open these emails, though.
Hmm, maybe it won’t be so bad.
NaPoWriMo.net – Day 9 Prompt “Because today is the ninth day of NaPoWriMo, I’d like to challenge you to write a nine-line poem. Although the fourteen-line sonnet is often considered the “baseline” form of verse in English, Sir Edmund Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene using a nine-line form of his own devising, and poetry in other languages (French, most particularly) has always taken advantage of nine-line forms.”
NaPoWriMo – Day 15
NaPoWriMo challenged participants “to write a poem that incorporates the idea of doubles. You could incorporate doubling into the form, for example, by writing a poem in couplets. Or you could make doubles the theme of the poem, by writing, for example, about mirrors or twins, or simply things that come in pairs.” So, I wrote this. 😉
Three Cheers to things that come in sets of tri
Three little pigs
And billy goats gruff
Three sneezes will do,
When two’s not enough
Petals, unfolding
To lure in the bees
Strands of a braid
That goes down to her knees
Two birds in the bush
Plus the one in the hand
Lines of haiku
Written freehand
Traffic lights
In red, green, and yellow
Sheets to the wind
Or just a little mellow
Steps in a waltz
Bones in the ear
Rings in a binder
To keep papers dear
Rings of a circus
Larry, Curly, Moe
Strikes to be out
It’s time to go
This Is Just to Say
This is Just to Say
I have read the book that parodies Wiliam Carlos Williams
and that should probably be returned to the library
Forgive me It is so hilarious and it is staying on my bookshelf.
Poetry Month – Day 15 (Cinquain)
This one is a cinquain (5 lines, syllables 2-4-6-8-2).
Auggie,
With heart of gold,
Face-to-face with bullies –
Being himself for his own sake
And theirs.
Poetry Month – Day 6
This is a “Found Poem” which is like a word-collage. I pulled some words and phrases from pages 98-100 of
The Smart Aleck’s Guide to American History, and arranged them into this:
Whig on a penny
Depression
Grew up to be
on the five-dollar bill.
Hated by some
Abraham Lincoln
Crippling anxiety
“Good Guys” and “Bad Guys” on both sides
States’ rights
Not all Southerners favored
Articles of Secession
Tariff disputes
Stovepipe Hat
End slavery
The Read-e-ologist 