Celticangel.org

Today’s haiku is a bit…depressing. Sorry.

New Week. New Theme. That’s right. It’s haiku week. (at least) one haiku will appear each day this week. Feel free to join in the fun and comment in the form of a haiku. (I’m not guaranteeing topic…or that the haikus will be good, but there will be at least one each day.)

See? Occasionally I remember that I’ve chosen to be creative this year. So to start off with, here is my random haiku of the day:

Bonus Haiku:

Okay, so this poem passed muster with the birthday girl, so here’s the recording of Outlaw(s) in all its snarky splendor.

Outlaw(s) by themusecalliope

This poem fought me tooth and nail, as befits one on this topic, I suppose.
(Initially, I went hunting the data for a particular poetic form, but all I could find was a bunch of “how to write a poem” and “how to read a poem” nonsense. I even went to the bookstore, and found more of the same. Growl. I’ve taken any number of classes in reading/writing/etc. poetry. At one point, I could even analyze poetry in French, for goodness sake. There has to be the equivalent to a programmer’s guide to a language for poetry out there, yeah? Form, description, usage, and a quick glossary? The opposite of a Dummies’ Guide? Just for a quick review? Anyone? Sigh.)

And this poem kept mutating into all sorts of forms. (At one point it even tried to be a song…) You should see all the notes.

Sorry. Got a bit riled up there. The rant is now over. Now on to the poem… (Happy Birthday, DJ! If you like it…I’ll go ahead and record it.)

Outlaw(s)

You’ll find that I’m no hero
Like Robin Hood of old
If I should chance upon you
I’ll damn well keep your gold

Oh, I can draw the fastest
Call thunder to my hand
Don’t bother with your challenge
‘Les you like eating sand

It’s true I fled my home, but
The Sheriff chose to die
They branded me an outlaw
…Mostly I miss the pie

So, I’ll just keep on riding
My partner by my side
She’s wicked fast and clever
My darling blushing bride

The Marshalls best forget us
And Rangers do likewise
We don’t like being hunted
It’s really just unwise.

So…I promised to write a poem for a certain friend’s birthday (which is tomorrow). This is not that poem. It’s what happens when you’re trying to work on a poem and your brain is being cantankerous. Call it the proto-birthday poem if you like. (I don’t even know…) Right. Now I’ll go back to that other one…

Outlaw Haiku

thunderclap echoes
pistol spun and resettled
weary hoof strikes stone

This is just a quick reading of “Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep a Gun in the House” by Billy Collins. (So…I hope that you enjoy it…)

Billy Collins Poem 1 by themusecalliope

Well, I can answer that for you:

1) Here is the audio version of “This is not a proper poem.”
This is not a proper poem by themusecalliope

2) Ian McKellen Reenacts The Bridge of Khazad-Dum (…sort of)

3) And a comment on the Huck Finn controversy by Tom the Dancing Bug.

Okay…there I was, minding my own business, working on another poem, and I took a break to brush my teeth before bed…and this poem attacked me. As they say in modern parlance, I don’t even know. I hope that it gives you a giggle. (As per usual, this poem is by me, all rights reserved, do not steal, etc.)

This is not a proper poem

For starters
It doesn’t rhyme.
Couplets do not march
In sounding symmetry.
In fact
You will find neither stanza
Nor verse
Lurking here
Amidst the stark
Black letters.
Strict rules of poetic form
Scrabble for purchase
On the edge of a line
Fingertips slipping
And then give up in disgust and pop down the street to get a latte. (They have good croissants at this place, you know?)
Shallow pools
Trump deep imagery
Here
Tender emotion and profound meaning
Thrown over
For a brief meditation
On the purr of a perfectly tuned
V8 engine.
And really
Proper poems
Tend to avoid mentions
Of muscle cars,
More’s the pity.
So if someday
Somewhere
Some student
Finds they must
Dissect these words
Seeking the vitality within
For essay alchemy
Remember this warning:
A poem is what you make of it…
And that may include
A paper airplane.

I’ve written another poem. This one actually attacked me as I was getting into the shower. Good thing I got Aqua Notes for Christmas. (Yes, they actually work.)

As per usual, this poem went somewhere I wasn’t expecting. So…I hope that y’all like it.

Unfinished

Life is full
Of business
Left
Unfinished
Things you’ll get to
    Someday

Thoughts unwritten
Sentiments unexpressed

And all the while
Part of you
Knows full well
That life often ends

Abruptly

A background truth
Something we choose
To ignore
Day to day

I’ll worry about this
Tomorrow
I’ll apologize
Later
I’ve always wanted to
See that
I’m too tired
To deal
With this
Now

True
Life is
Jarring
Sharp
Overwhelming
And sometimes
Far, far
Too much to endure

Yet
A legacy
Is what you decide
To leave
Behind

Go

And when
The Long Sleep
Finds you

Rest.

Another poem, but this time with notes after the cut. I finished it about an hour ago. (As usual, please don’t steal, etc.) Hoping it works for you.

Melancholy

I once stood
In a river of song,
Notes blending
Pure and rushing and right
A mighty torrent
A wild thing
Challenging its banks
Roaring a vision
A day of wrath to come
    Improbably
Touching the divine.

One flawless moment
In a hall of strangers.
An incandescent memory
Casting long shadows.

Read the rest of this entry »