Stick Poet Superhero

Submission Saturday Starts in 30 Minutes

2013-05-18T12:37:00.000-05:00

I've got to shift some files from one laptop to the other or work from my old laptop to do submission Saturday today. Yes, that ads a layer of work moving stuff, and maybe I'll just use the today to complete this weeks submissions. Still, I do need to get some stuff moved.

It sucks when you have work out that is waiting someplace you'd like to see if find a home and don't want it to submit it any place else till you here back. I do a lot of simultaneous submissions but there are pieces that I really want to control more where they might end up. Getting picky I guess.

Confession Tuesday - Busy Week Edition

2013-05-14T22:47:00.001-05:00

Dear Reader-

It's been two weeks, three poems accepted, one new laptop and a poetry workshop since my last confession.

I confess that I have this mysterious pain that comes and goes just below my right waste-line. It's been doing this off and on for a while now and I've gone to the doctor they can offer no explanation so far. Labs are fine, no bladder infection, x-rays show nothing extraordinary. Sometimes I'll go a while with nothing and then the pain can be bad enough to keep me awake parts of the night. It's good to know some of the things that have been ruled out but it remains frustrating just the same.writers

Saturday morning when the sky was bright with invitation I was conducting a poetry writing seminar with 8 writers who could be out soaking up the sun rays but were instead sitting around tables doing writing prompts for three hours. I confess that I was appreciative to have such an attentive group to work with.

My new laptop is an ASUS & it has windows 8 operating system on it. I have been a Tashiba user for a long time. I did not pick this one out. My wife and computer savvy daughter did. Windows 8 dealt me a fit the first two days. It's still not my favorite platform but I am getting the hang of it.

It's been a pretty good week... And I've had three new poetry books delivered by the postman since the weekend you can't get much better then that.

Poem Up On Punchnel's

2013-05-08T12:38:00.000-05:00

My poem titles "Both" appears on Punchnel's today. This is a really interesting venue, an eclectic collection of material. Check it out! Oh, and click here for my poem.

Feel Good Delivered By E-Mail

2013-05-05T21:22:00.002-05:00

It's been an exceptionally good weekend for me with two different venues accepting a total of three poems. I think from now on I'd like my acceptances in bunches please.

I know we can't always have what we want but it really feels good to get several poems accepted over two days as opposed to several rejection letters over two days.

This is just another example of my Submission Saturday venture paying dividends.

Worked on some re-writes today. I'm trying to put together about three more pieces that need some fine tuning so that they can be ready for prime time too.

Confession Tuesday - feeling life edition...

2013-04-30T21:51:00.002-05:00

Tuesday again! Come along to the confessional...

Dear Reader:

It's been a week since my last last confession. Much of that confession dealt with a death watch for my mother-in-law. She has since passed and we put her to rest in a funeral service yesterday. This turned my weekend into a three day weekend and I confess I believe we all in this household were worn down by the weeks leading up to this.

I confess that the service was short but nice. The weather preformed perfectly and it added an uplifting element. But this is now past. Life goes on.

I confess that the "life" part of that is what I want to focus on. I confess too that I want to feel life more deeply. I want not to miss any part of it. I want to be passionate about life. I want to see more art in life, sing more songs and read more lines of poetry into each minute of the day.

Praise be to Life!

Amen!

Why Poetry Can be About Anything

2013-04-26T05:08:00.000-05:00

"Anything one does every day is important and imposing and anywhere one lives is interesting and beautiful." - Gertrude Stine

Confession Tuesday - stalking death edition

2013-04-23T23:05:00.000-05:00

To the confessional....

Dear reader:

Tuesday night and I've just got home a short while ago. It's been a long-long week since my last confession and I'm ready to get this over with so I can put it behind me and move on and unwind tonight.

My wife used to talk about driving a fast 45 MPH or a slow 45 MPH. But 45 is 45 right? I guess it's kind of like time. Twenty-four hours is twenty-four hours and yet some days seem like an eternity, and extrapolated a week of those kind of days are like, a week of eternities. My mother-in-law decided to stop dialysis recently and of course the result of that is that the body will finally shut down, death becomes imminent. Her decision has dictated much of the past ten days or so. My wife has been dutifully at here bedside some of every day. In many instances spending the night with her. I've watched her (my wife) attempt to find some degree of normalcy each day where there is nothing normal. I know this is far more difficult for her then myself, but I confess it's not easy to watch my wife go through this with her.

There have been several times that we thought, or someone would convinces us that it was her time. Her time has really been taking it's time. I got a call from her today at work and rushed home to run her out there. She had not planned to go out till tonight but they called from the care facility to tell us they though the family should come out. On of here brothers had been there all day and they had been in touch throughout the day.
Oh, and they said they were putting out refreshments for the family. Refreshments? Really? I confess this seems a little circus like.

We went out and were joined by other family members. Honestly she looked pretty good. Her breathing pace has slowed but she was not breathing labored. She is in a sleep. Some occasional facial expression changes though not many. She once sort of squinted open her eyes. Cathy ended up staying the night (as she had planned) but she and I agree, Mom is not looking like tonight is the night.

There are aspects of our life that seem on hold. Only because of the uncertainty of the end time. Each day is another possibility. I know Cathy hopes it is sooner then later. She has at times asked me to pray that it comes soon. I confess that I feel uneasy with such prayers.

In the meantime, death (a subject that clearly takes me outside my comfort zone) seems to dominate my day and night and I have no control over it.

Submission Saturday

2013-04-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

It's been a morning of submission. Normally I submissive to the publication Gods in the afternoon on Saturdays but I did a morning gig today and it feels good to have it over with.

One rejection letter so far this week. It was a journal I had not tried before.

I have a poem that I am nearly ready to move out of the draft garage this week and park it with the other work that I submit from. I've got several drafts that are keepers that are approaching that same nearly ready for prime time status but I don't like to push these along too fast as much as I'd like to. I have I've always believed in that I've sent to several journals without success and I am thinking of messing around with it some more to see if I can get a new perspective on it before I send it out again.

Confession Tuesday - petty anger edition

2013-04-16T23:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Reader:

I confess that I did not confess last Tuesday and I don't remember for sure why - except that it has been a crazy time these past week to 10 days and if I would pick most any night last week I could tell you with certainty I was exhausted and on low function by the time I got home most evenings.

I finished off a journal, switched out the copy with a refill from my journal binder yesterday. I confess a brand new journal refill always leaves me feeling fresh and hopeful. I'm weird that way. I guess my hope is that the new journal will have smoother flowing hand writing, less crossed out or scribbled things, and perhaps more interesting writing in it. See how naive I can be?

Sooner or later it was bound to happen... I fell off the NaPoWriMo wagon this week. THIS is why I don't like doing it. This is the same reason I dislike New Years resolutions. What part of doomed do people (me) not get? I am however going to move forward writing a poem today and hope that over the next week I can catch up and finish out the month with 30 poem drafts. No promises though...

This morning my wife dropped me off at work and kept the car so that she could drive out an check o her mother in the nursing home. I saw that someone was in my designated parking spot in the lot. I have to tell you that I was angry about this, even though I was not going to need the spot today. Sitting at my desk, I was fuming about it until I started feeling petty about it. Then I confess that I rationalized that the driver (who has been warned this is designated parking) had no idea that I would not be driving today and still had the nerve to take the spot. But then I felt petty again.

The Tax Culture & Finding a Little Happiness

2013-04-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

I did my taxes last night. The past two years I've gotten them done early but the important thing is they are finished and filed two days before the deadline. It's that deadline that I'm writing about today.

April 15th is a day the tends to resonate in the mind of Americans. It's a date that's particularly memorable to us. Ask a married couple what day he/or she proposed and they often won't know right off. What day is Tax Day? April 15. Bang... right away they know the answer.

In American culture taxes have become tied to death as two things you can't get out of. It's no wonder April 15 has become such a dreaded but easily remembered day. In recent years various businesses have played on this trying to evoke some cheer and pleasure in the lives of ordinary people by offering give-a-ways... food and other items of cheer.

This year I've searched for some of the Tax Day Perks and found some interesting things.

Between 6PM and 8PM stop by participating Cinnabon bakeries and get free Cinnabon bites. A little sweet to make you smile.
Arby's offers curly fries & potato cakes all day Tax Day with coupon . This is their third annual give-a-way & what's better on such a day then comfort food?
Office Depot will do up to 5 lbs of shredding for free with coupon on Tax Day
Get a Tax Day Rib-bate for 2 for $10.40
White Castle - 15% off entire purchase on Tax Day with coupon.
Free HydroMassage on Tax Day through April 19 with coupon..
Sorry, this was for early filers but In LA and San Francisco you could get a "brand new" Trojan Vibrator while supplies last on Thursday and Friday. (Glad they were new). Anyway, this stimulus package may be the most innovative yet.

So if you are feeling blue, and your pockets are now empty, you can find a few ways to pick yourself up after you've paid your taxes.

Thought for the Day

2013-04-05T23:34:00.001-05:00

The folly of mistaking a paradox for a discovery, a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself for an oracle, is inborn in us. ~ Paul Valery

Heard any good Metaphors?

2013-04-04T20:07:00.001-05:00

"Metaphor sleeps around." ~ Alfred Corn

Celebrating Poetry

2013-04-03T20:42:00.002-05:00

While National Poetry Month is relatively new I will share a like to The Academy of American Poets web site where they feature a list of 30 WAYS TO CELEBRATE. I'm sure everyone can find as couple of ideas on now to make this month one of enrichment for themselves and others.

Meanwhile I've completed poem #3 on the third day of NaPoWriMo so I've not fallen off the wagon yet. (fingers crossed)

Recalling Dana Gioia's book of essays, "Can Poetry Matter?" I give you the following link to a Chicago Tribune story on Maj.General John Borling who writes poetry of survival.

Have you written or shared a poem today?

Confession Tuesday - Poet Crush List Edition

2013-04-02T23:47:00.000-05:00

Dear Reader:

It's been one Giants Baseball regular season game, 6 & a half innings of another, one NaPoWriMo poem and one one week since my last confession.

April is that cruel month when some of us inflict the agony of 30 poems in 30 days on ourselves. I confess that I've stepped knee deep into this madness again this year. Some years I avoid the pressure and other times I just plunge right in. This is a plunge year.

This month being National Poetry month I though it would be a good time to update my Poet Crush List. I started doing this some time back and I believe the last time I did it was like May of last year. So almost a year and being April I thought it would be a good time to revisit the Crush List and revise it. As writers, we are supposed to be all about revision aren't we?

So my Poet Crush list is comprised of ten living poets. If I would do this three or four times a year it would likely fluctuate back and forth like undulating waves coming ashore sometimes what's left behind is familiar and sometimes it's new. With that in mind I will give you the new list and my last list.

NEW LIST - April 2013
I Confess these poets rock my world!!!

PREVIOUS LIST - May 2012

I Confess these poets rocked my world last May

W. S. Merwin
James Richardson
Sharon Olds
Kelli Russell Agodon
Dean Young
John Ashbery
Mary Biddinger
Ada Limon
Charles Simic
Beth Ann Fennelly

Later this week, what makes these poets special...

Amen!

WALL TO WALL POETRY - NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

2013-04-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

It's National Poetry Month and NaPoWriMo month as well. I typically struggle about committing to NaPoWriMo as I have a sort of love/hate relationship with it. I don't really care for the pressure to create because I feel that it conflicts with the best physical and mental dynamic for good writing. I have no problem writing daily and I strongly believe in it. But saying I'm writing a poem every day of the month is a lot of pressure.

There are days it comes easy. There are days & nights that it's tough to birth a poem no matter how hard you try. I consider these all poem drafts because rarely do I ever write a poem in a single setting. I generally try to get something that shows enough promise to be a keeper - something that can be improved over time. But for the sake of NaPaWriMo, these are poems in the most primitive context.

If after 30 days I have 30 poems and 6 or 8 are real keepers, then that's an outstanding month. That is the bar I'm setting this year.

I am posting my daily work on a private poetry forum. This gives me some accountability and allows for some feedback but at the same time is is off the beaten path of the Internet so that the work is not truly published and I am free to work on these pieces for possible submissions down the road.

Are you participating? How do you approach it.?

I intend to be very active on my blog this month. Tomorrow is my normal day for Confession Tuesday. It's been almost a year since I did my last Poet Crush List. I'll be updating that list as part of my Confession.

Dragonfly

2013-03-30T13:46:00.000-05:00

Surround the summit
in flight
in exacerbation of wingspan
a sentinel aloft

Confession Tuesday

2013-03-26T23:10:00.001-05:00

Dear Reader:

It's Tuesday again.. another week since my last confession.

It's been a strange evening. I came home and fixed dinner grabbed a couple books and settled in to read. I confess I still have these books beside me hours later and I've basically been in a TV trance.
Somehow I've managed to settle a lesser form of mental stimulation. I'm not proud about it.

I was saddened this week by the death of Walt Bodine a long time local radio personality. I think Walt was 92. I confess I used to stay up late listening to his call in program as a young teen. His program was always so eclectic.

I've has this uncanny mental thing going on where it seems I'm seeing poems in all these different things around me. At least segments of poems. I confess I've been swishing these thoughts around trying to keep them straight so that I might be able to get these down on paper before they evaporate.

That's it for tonight, wishing you all a great week.

Amen~

Dead Writers Cologne - How can you not be inspired?

2013-03-24T10:56:00.000-05:00

Looking for a little inspiration or maybe the perfect gift for that writer friend? How could you go wrong with Dead Writer cologne?

I know you have a puzzled What? look on your face about now but consider according to J.T. Siems, "This blend evokes the feeling of sitting in an old library chair paging through yellowed copies of Hemingway, Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Poe and more. The Dead Writers blend makes you want to put on a kettle of black tea and curl up with your favorite book."

Simes is the Seattle brain (or nose) behind this enterprise. It's a unisex blend and it's available here.

*Note this is not and endorsement of the product. I have not tried it but it is curiously intriguing.

Pope Peeps

2013-03-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

My wife was searching the web and sent me a link to some items that she though would interest me and bingo, we have a winner! (She knows me well)

What would Easter be without Peeps? I love Peeps - probably not the best thing for diabetics. They do make a sugar free variety these days and they are not bad.

Fortunately for Catholics worldwide, well will not have to go through Easter without a Pope. And as you can see at the left, we has Pope Peeps thanks to The Monkey Cage. They outfitted a whole Papal Conclave of Peeps in red felt Cardinal suites. Is that not a crack-up?

Confession Tuesday - Lazy Edition

2013-03-19T22:59:00.001-05:00

Another week has come and gone. Let's go to the confessional.

Dear Reader:

I confess that I'm being lazy tonight. I'm doing this blog post from my phone because I don't want to fire up my laptop.

I confrss that I've slacked off on reading. I have several books started and this psst week have not gotten much further into any of them. I hope to read some tonight when I finish my confession.

I have say that I enjoyed getting reacquainted with Bailey's Sunday. It's been a while since I have indulged in any. I confess I like it a little bit too much.

The past two nights I've had itchy eyes. I went out and bought some eye drops last night but I confess they are again annoying me. Right now i'm so annoyed by them I feel like poking them out. Ok, not really but obvioudly have had the thought enter my mind.

I don't know what it is but I've read a bunch of really good poems the past few days. These are for the most part from poets new to me. I confess it's strange that so many of them have struck me as especially enjoyable. Perhaps I will share links to some of them in a blog post later this week.

I confess that's all I have to give tonight. Have a good week...

Amen

An Irish Blessing

2013-03-17T09:56:00.002-05:00

May joy and peace surround you,

Contentment latch your door,

And happiness be with you now,

And bless you evermore.

Hey Hey it's Saturday...

2013-03-16T15:39:00.001-05:00

So what's the big deal?

Ok, the big deal is this... I started organizing myself so that I do my submissions on Saturday. I just finished this week's. Yeah!

Last week was the start of this new plan/habit. Maybe it's too early to call it a habit yet, but I have accomplished my planned submissions now two Saturdays in a row. In addition, last Saturday I was an over achiever and submitted someplace in addition to my plan.

Now about the plan. I am trying to plan at least three months in advance. That assures a couple of things. Each quarter of a year I now want I need to do for that period of time. Since I check the reading dates I can make sure I'm getting material to the various Journals and venues that I want to be in and not miss their deadlines or like I've often done, realize on Friday night that a deadline is two or three days away and I've given no thought to what I'd be sending so in the pressure of it all I say, "F it" and just let it pass. "F it" is a well developed form of procrastination for me.

So you see, this not only affords me better control over my calendar of submissions but it also assures that I have time to explore the best fit for my work. Let's face it, if you don't take the time to explore best options and you just slap together three to five poems and send the out, can you really be surprised when they come back in your face rejected? If you want an editor to truly take time to consider your work, take some time and be thoughtful about what might be a best fit for the Journal you are submitting to. Are you always going to nail it? No, but it's better then throwing the spaghetti noodles on the wall to see if they stick.

I've said it before, I hate submitting work. I'd rather write then submit. But no one has ever come up to me and said "Hey, give me something, anything and I'll publish it." And if they did, I might not want to be in what they just published.

So from now on, if it's Saturday, It's Submission Saturday! I've actually felt good these past two Saturdays after achieving my submission objective. So maybe I'll start to like this thing. Or, at least not hate it so much.

In both instances I've felt so good when I was finished, since I was at my laptop I just kept on working either with rewrites or starting new stuff.

Confession Tuesday on Wednesday

2013-03-13T13:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Reader:

I confess I’m slipping into the confessional late for Confession Tuesday. I see you are already aware I am tardy. In my own defense I was at a poetry group meeting last night.

We did an impromptu write – pulling our prompt from a box passed around. I prompt was to write about my favorite trip or vacation during my teen years. I confess this was really hard because as I thought about it, the most remarkable thing about vacations as a teenager was that they were unremarkable. I got something down on paper but honestly I had to really lower my standards to choose a favorite.

Arriving home last night my wife had not eaten yet. I went out to get us fast food. Later, we were watching TV just before turning in and my daughter who had just come home came in to say good night. My wife asked if anyone had any chocolate for her. I confess that she has been dropping not too settle hints for several days she is craving chocolate and I confess that I’ve been neglectful in appropriately delivering on the chocolate hints. Note to self, don’t home without chocolate tonight!

I confess my body is still rejecting the time change from the weekend. Maybe I’ll get it together by this weekend.

I confess that I've been trying to hold out the past two days from making a call to my chiropractor to see if she could work me in on an emergent basis. I have my regular appointment tonight for adjustment and trigger-points. I see the light in the tunnel.

I confess that I have so many apps on my phone that if I were ever to get stranded in the woods someplace I’d have to immediately dump all my apps to conserve battery until I could be located.

I confess I have no idea why I was even thinking about the possibility of being lost or stranded someplace.

Amen~

The Mag 159: The Cycle

2013-03-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

Meal Beach, Burra Isles, Shetland by Robin Gosnall

Listen to the power.

A clean white foam pushed

from behind by a blue-green hand

then pulled back.

The sand wet,

beach reticent briefly-

then the flapping

and laughing of disquieted Seagulls

in the distance; then closer

until deafening.

As the white foam reappears

the gulls circle out to sea

watching, awaiting

the powerful wall of water

once again push in

and take back.

In mocking fashion

the birds do it all over.

Michael A. Wells

The Mag 159

The Mag 158: All Is Spilled

2013-03-09T12:37:00.001-06:00

Photo by TheFoxAndTheRaven

All is spilled

There is nothing more

I romanticize. Not bath

nor sleep. Not the ache

of empty night.

The voices are of no comfort.

They press me awake endless hours

Is this an inquisition?

Must I answer? I am pulverized,

strained through a cauldron

of one sided talk-

I look to my wrist

I look for answers

I look, I look...

Michael A. Wells

The Mag 158