Excerpt from "Coming Out"

In their proper place,

miniature nick-knacks

adorning shelves.

Space assigned to them

so providential,

standing among their own.

Delighting onlookers

on command

Twirling in whirly-skirts

Till taken down,

played with

and returned.

from Coming Out by Michael A. Wells

Post Card Tuesday #4

It's Post Card Poetry Tuesday again for me. Today I'll script another poem on post card and drop it in the mail (yes snail mail) to Ivy who is across the Atlantic in Wales.

This experience (writing a post card poem and exchanging it with another poet on a weekly basis) has been a good one for several reasons. It provides a incentive to set down on a specific day and create a new work under a bit of pressure. By mailing it that day, you don't have the ability to tinker with it a lot. I certainly believe in rewrites. And rewrites and rewrites... (you get the point) but there is something to be said as well for letting your creativity work in this sententious period of time and become what it will and nothing more. Sometimes you can overthink something and that can actually kill the creative process.

There is not illusion here. I don't believe I am writing a defining opus on these postcards, but I was quite pleased for example with the second Tuesday's work. In fact it was the center of a lot of attention when I shared it at one of my writing groups after the fact.

It is also exciting to see the work in the poets own script. Admittedly Ivy can write quite small and it at times has taken on an experience not unlike translation. [chuckle] I have had on one occasion to actually rewrite one of Ivy's in my own longhand and work a bit to finally determine two words. I suspect my own writing is perhaps just as challenging to read. At any rate, we are each getting a poem in the poet's own handwriting. Which is kind of cool.

This is the fourth and final Tuesday of the month... which is kind of sad I guess. I am hoping as I put my mind to work on this later today that I will indeed come up with something I am satisfied with as it falls into the mail box out of my reach. For when that happens, there are no take-backs.

There is this international factor as well. Of course two people in the same city could be exchanging poems but in this instance, the exchange is truly international.

Weekend Mailbag...

Saturday I received the newest Poets & Writers magazine. A variety of irritating campaign mail. Irritating because much of it was "stock crap" put out by the Missouri State Republican party that they are mailing against most Democratic candidates and it has a vary unsavory message that evidently they believe the majority of the public is dumb enough to by into.

Friday, another poetry postcard from Ivy. I'm so confused. We are doing Tuesday's and this was the third such poem this month from her. She's ahead of me! She evidently is writing in the future and sending them back in time. I do well enough to do them on time. Yikes! More on the postcard poetry later this week.

No rejections.... no acceptance letters.



Tomorrow night is Open Mic @ Writers Place.

Writer's Place
8:00pm
3607 Pennsylvania
Kansas City MO 64111

Profound Escapes Me

I was thinking about writing something very profound tonight... but I guess I haven't thought hard enough. Actually there are several topics I have wanted to get into lately and perhaps this weekend I will.

So glad it is Friday. First half of the day went so quick and the rest seemed to drag on and on. Planned to watch Jag tonight with wife. It wasn't on. Instead, I watched First Night with my daughter. I've seen it before and Meg has too - but for her, it was only recently at school. I'm quite found of Arthurian literature and this movie is pretty decent for a updated version of Camelot. By the way... for those that might be interested there is an excellent Arthurian resource site on the net. [click here]

That's the extent of my functional dialogue for now... Hope everyone has a great weekend. I promise to do better tomorrow.

Zeitgeist Poetry

No halloween pumpkins
were harmed in this creation.
So, who are the victim here?
Katelyn Faber,
Andrea Mackris,
or the Yankees?
You think the Red Sox
are Team America?
The Cardinals may
have something
to say about that.
This Ramadan
who is hotter,
Angelia Jolie
or Tupac?


Hey, I did it for the hits! :)

Stick Poet Superhero

Stick Poet Superhero
Originally uploaded by stickpoet.

Able to leap tall verbs with a single noun... It's Stick Poet Superhero. Defending your poetic rights!
Check out Stick Poet Superhero Gear

A Little Bragging About the Little Woman

My wife (Cathy) has just finished a bead project that is so kick ass! This is not by any stroke of the imagination her only masterful piece - but it is so striking that I am hoping to get a good photo of it to post on here soon. There is another one that.... well, you'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully my daughter can help me get a couple of pictures this weekend that might be able to do them justice...

Anyway... just a little bragging on my bead artist wife. :) If I could be as masterful with words as she is with beads... *sigh