Monthly Archives: October 2014

Tower on the prairie…Saturday Oct. 11, 2014 / Columbus, OH #SchwervonPoetry

UntitledTower on the prairie.
I can see you from a mile a way.
Like a giant
Totally beautiful
And unnecessary
The tiles of color in my coffee cup holder
The weight of hot liquid held in my mouth
Is it sad
That I have to exercise myself artificially
To compensate for the evolutionary course of nature
We have destroyed?
Or is another example that confirms we are all God in drag
Walking around the parking lot
Driving ourselves to the gym
Making people laugh
Paying people to make us laugh
Rock in our mothers arms
Paying others to rock us
Take a brief moment to look at this floor
Feel the countless claws of dreams that have dragged across it
Kicking and screaming
Loving and encouraging
The heavy machinery of our lives and all the marks that it makes
Every tissue and napkin and plastic fork
They are all little bricks in the dream wall.
Use them thoughtfully
Send each one out into the world like a mother sea line
Hold your little seal-pup-used-applesauce-container
close to your warm beating heart
And
Then let it go.

(This poem was originally recited at The Tree Bar on October 11, 2014 in Columbus, OH)

Spend a little time in an unfamiliar bed…Friday Oct. 10, 2014 / Cincinnati, OH #SchwervonPoetry

image
Every now and then

Spend a little time in an unfamiliar bed

Let alien sirens sing you to sleep
I used to think that power was knowing where you are going
But now I know
getting lost is where it’s at
Stop troubling over the question of whether all of the make-up
people wear on television
makes them clowns or drag queens.
Just tickle yourself at the thought that the higher the definition gets
the more lines and wrinkles appear
So relax
Breathe in the tiny hells.
Taste the singed hairs in the back of your throat.
Bathe in dry creek beds
Light up all the swimming pools.
Climb the ladder.
Peek into that window.
Let life punch you in the face
Then let it blow your hair back
Into place
Then take shower with it
Share a washcloth
Soap up life
Make it a ritual
Like breakfast
Or band practice.
(This poem was originally recited at The Comet on October 10, 2014 in Cincinnati, OH)

Learn to talk to old people… Thursday Oct. 9, 2014 / Indianapolis, IN #SchwervonPoetry

Colts donutI’m not saying that we have to love the corpses of our loved ones
the way we loved them when they were alive

All that  I’m saying is corpses do exist.
And, some day, we will all be one.

But, until that time, perhaps spending a bit more time in their presence
might help us to cut down on the amount we are directly or indirectly responsible for creating.

And then look at some more trees.
Rest in some more grass.
Watch more TV.
Do it well. With a good feeling.
like a loon skating across a frozen lake.
Like a really good athlete.

And another thing.
It’s really important to learn to talk to old people.
Things are harder for them in ways you don’t even think about

Failing eyesight
Slowing metabolism
Sore muscles
Random dizziness

It’s scary.
Comfort them.

(This poem was originally recited at Vibes Music Store on October 9, 2014 in Indianapolis)