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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)