Sunday, April 30, 2006

Project Success

too many poets too briefly one way humbled their crafted focus voices intensity like passing blowtorches what was that who are you can we sit down talk expand festival form know one poet what we all assume feast exceeds my appetite producer fatigue no measure project success

Friday, April 28, 2006

New People

bought master mattress maple mowed no think glockenspiel meeting Mt. Angel new people wine pizza small prayer good broke tooth slipped away dentist dream night pool skipped crunches spacy ready poets fifteen dinner ham oven fixings out

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Vital Expression

farmer poems soldier poems Gertrude Stein poems let people express feelings thoughts expression as vital as impressions otherwise blocked alone flat world empty of meanings so I am glad to do poetry festival errands chores drive around keep books write talk meet interesting people this modest world no simpler inside family elements seasons

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Fluff Balls

Jane Jacobs my kind of life exposed dishonest mask of pretended order lifelong war on dandelions no way win poisoned they frantically make seeds even as leaves shrivel white fluff balls rise above lengthening grass or twist groundward Dad had me dig them from the lawn special tool deep root weedmaster only encourages them I prowl lean down grab seed heads stuff plastic bag hold back hordes

Monday, April 24, 2006

Too Fast

not content to be a plain glum man decrepit car nor smug consumer keeping young GTI nifty leather sift passing time through sensitive fingers thinking crystallize bright spring sun quiet town bustle of cars country road too fast write toward water recoils first contact even warm ground static buildup discharge ions feeling flow conductive pool same exertions every time I practice neutral buoyance floating mantra turning imagined compass man

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Not Scared

husband lost a cornfield creamery closed we're meat and potatoes people so blue cheese people city way back not always tulips attract sunlight fence deflects deer love them too my Christmas present wine glasses held high round structural stems I barely bear to pick them bring spring inside rooms just a few bright bursts outside they close at night cut stay open offer deep interior markings over only when petals fall still enjoy until after action reports Melaney's father Germany Virginia grew up dairy farm Jeremy baby these not scared poetry

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Heart Mind

Andrew acting lively board Shawn hanging light pipes not want hear me why not care nonprofits all day totally distracted usual self interest others community exchange favorite poem Marlowe shepherd mistress surprise emotion rose over gladly shared workshop Inada playful joyful brought out each own facts feelings take chances write dinner Ginger's look Shull paintings DeFrees tells Berryman picked on her weeping nun introduce them reading Abbey full house embracing heart mind quiet above world

Friday, April 21, 2006

Still Flesh

burning thigh skin almost pain not mine is Parfit changing me idea not just body nothing else who drives up mountain walks green afternoon smokes imagines "Hamlet" jumping teens in comes inspiration challenge hot Fleming shakes my tame thinking follow yellow lights gently dipping land lines history section still flesh

Thursday, April 20, 2006

What Lion

what happens must be possible can you walk home are you safe anywhere what lion eyeing you my identity tooth chipped long French fork Burgundy lunch that it happened my memory trivial she leaves less resonant realness grant applications Julian's beans kill weeds poetry practically here

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Come Back

anticipation road deli dancing together syllables falling over spontaneous beat quickly think what former thought form how to read my blog written daily read it weekly pick a day say Saturday ten at a time about right dear Blogger shows them let me know front door squeaks dryer sunlight we're off another last night date untrammeled ease come back anytime again and again

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Counting Poets

counting poets our trees double year choose tulips irises enough daffodils barn driveway pull thistles grass fast haircut tomorrow we shine brighter later if Bach piano faster iron sheet edge Fleming poem fun Ginger Mahler

Monday, April 17, 2006

Waiting Wings

all is revealed chance taken what I wanted always why else words but their meanings anxious exposure private speech in public snap-back scratching unspoken truth not everyone existential impulse what live for meaning light revelation pattern coded do you read me is this clear if not I am fooled if so reality enforcement waiting wings

Like Butter

It may be the thought that this particular thought, even if exactly similar to other thoughts that are thought, is still this particular thought—or this particular thinking of this thought. (Derek Parfit) With a brain like yours, you could probably cut through that curriculum like butter. (Christopher Wicks) Being in the theatre is like living in an eternal present, the way they say dogs live in an eternal present. (John Guare) That's how you stay alive as a writer, by actively not repeating yourself.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Easter Morning

what I'm saying is there's a life beyond this and these things are not the most important Muriel Spark her own category Florence 88 and then I came upon the sea wide, dark orange, serene the palest blue where people stood in awe gazing at the wide horizon and sat upon the grassy banks as ships plied forth the Rio Plata on errands to the far unseen (Daniel Potter) my website published michaeltownsendsmith.com

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Happiness

the place of happiness in a political world my subject always what else really matters Art is truth, or as close to it as we can get, and the truth of the man is in the work. (Ada Louise Huxtable)

Friday, April 14, 2006

All Pattern

no solution no problem no answer all pattern leaves push out green wood rain mist cool raga theatre switched off dark heater warms chill hands friendliest sensors gliding on the slick

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Diving Deep

structural revolution in rural areas required save India tension between love and hate keeps generating boredom John talks drinks wine we argue about poetry drives me nuts reporter taking notes ridiculous things being said tulips peak lilacs rhodies starting pear blossoms galore dandelions attacked mowing season weeds bugs deer is this diving deep for meaning is it all emotion is it Pound age Mt. Angel College are we serious not really

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

First Time

Allan Kaprow no longer happening experience anything art existential power sex with god can I be sincere I am sincere despite ironies conscious distance first time open mouthed thought retreats gasping ache dry apricots nourish gentle wisdom patient appreciation pure line prominent curve loud color ringing note Flaubert somnambulist nonstop sex

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Not Enough

Doing is not enough; being is not enough; knowing is far from enough. So we clump around, putting feet on the dazzle floor, awaiting the real schedule by celebrating the dazzle schedule. (William Stafford) First the impulse (a word or phrase arrived unbidden) then the wondering (the state of being lost) and finally, the making or understanding of meaning, and the delight when it comes together. (Susan Juve-Hu Bucharest)

Monday, April 10, 2006

My Dinner

I was a reasonable and polite child, if not one thoroughly conscious of her own model-childness. I am the kind of person who wanting to be good imagines my own good choices moral imagining I am the kind of person who defines the good everyone like me better world what we talk about torture shame Bush allows rationale leave Iraq ungrateful DeLay damage politics Democrats immigration dilemma Republicans win defeat Americans not poor enough pick my dinner Carol fasting

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Civic Duties

there now the weekend gone not regretted civic duties private pleasures sunshine rain whether accomplishing anything matters wheels roll spin juices flow nothing stays home knitting thinking guillotine passages cataracts tintinnitus stews ejaculations cool fingers yellow red tulips deer fence box office attention due festival publicity link my pages wireless virtual magic spell

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Hold Still

writing blog as a way of painting pictures different words different colors I see them walking sudden sunlight singing heart out blue green soft shades light red hold still don't dance failing hips worry face fate blossom sequential treats deep console strokes dictated what came before ideas new impressions time from nothing this

Going Mad

I used to think that going mad began with accidents and led to the unknown edge of ruin. Now I'm clear it can be fun to watch the pieces fly together not apart, to dance with them and now they are beginning to tango: Open to magic in accidents with unexpected information Dancing with spirits Drunk without drinking Wise without judging In love with the moment (Daniel Potter)

Friday, April 07, 2006

Free Expression

worldless after word people seeding poetry ACLU video appalling governing humanists minds like free expression generous hearts pass out posters flyers Powell's my book I am no big doer leader do one little more personal meaning secret intimate private in tension phones cut off computers down love natural works poignant stab transcendance

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Only Imagine

brain parts conspire memory constructed dream reality confusingly virtual did I hear do that only imagine Sibelius meeting Kelley Ginger Molly we are festival staff Steve Salem film friendly coffee Jerry never called Carol showing Albany balance horses human love no reason home alone nap mow grass take out trash drive Trader Joe's Elini's Sellwood dinner bar outrageously delicious liked eccentric Triffle comedy sped home

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Soon Alone

8:20 stars shyly emerge as daylight gradually withdraws they were always there plain disregarded light shows ease kindness skilled goodness gladness safety Dan now Argentina nearly shot Brazil thrill painting people who anything body buoyant flat face up warmly held breath wet images blurred learning relish together soon alone

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Creative Transformation

Jackie McLean jazz junk connection creative transformation past nostalgia help children remake world glory play form content body living conscience waking defeat depression Gavin Lambert "Mainly Lindsay Anderson" read five months sad stark realist lucky me equally defeated but love blessed mellow no work bitter never so bright saving daylight

Monday, April 03, 2006

More Children

stolen moments lost images forgotten intimacies who said did I say to describe known nay shared religious conservatives have more children thus they will win fated fading swamped even wrong before may determine after quantum dislocation radical blood custom property hidden alliances

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Love Express

interaction Dan Potter lets me feel goodness brotherhood modest ego art devotion practice love express the people with money make the choices no things but nameless no names but thingless one made new errands for art "Man All Seasons" drawing crowds Kelley sews girl four steps three countries going what could I do that they would like senior farmer faces wives want serious mainstream sense

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Lies Ascendant

polishing pages Carol moving hay fences thinking about Iraq worse than imagine completely disrupted wreckage torture death no upside offhand lies ascendant necessary vengeance how much left lose Times failure isolated comfort distance politics power good coopted evil conmen shameless sincerity sacrified for naught bedrock virtue trashed bad substitute