Poets’ Mime

David L Harrison and Ken Slesarik

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rhythm, meter, rhyme

footwork balanced on the mat

sparring in the ring

What does fox play?

illustrator: Nicolaj

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fox doesn’t play fear

but courage, risks, rhythm , jazz

strings that rock her soul!

Famous

integral
ear to ear
noted
lyrics
rhythm
symbols
traditions
rituals
miracles
acclaimed

Two Bears

 

Once
After a hard day’s forage
Two bears sat together in silence
On a beautiful vista
Watching the sun go down
And feeling deeply grateful
For life.

Though, after a while
A thought-provoking conversation began
Which turned to the topic of
Fame.

The one bear said,
“Did you hear about Rustam?
He has become famous
And travels from city to city
In a golden cage;

He performs to hundreds of people
Who laugh and applaud
His carnival
Stunts.”
 
The other bear thought for
A few seconds
Then started
Weeping.

Hafiz/Ladinsky

Music in the Mountains

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence.
Its common elements are pitch (which governs melody and harmony),
rhythm (and its associated concepts tempo, meter, and articulation),
dynamics,
and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture.
The word derives from Greek μουσική mousike; “art of the Muses”.

Fugi
beats a bass drum.

Hawaii
strums calypso.

Catskills
sound the violins.

The Rockies
trumpet horns.

The Smokies
shush their castinettes:
an Appalachian song.

The timbre of the sounds resounds:
redwoods’ bass,
driftwood’s chant.

How Can a Poet Tell A Man’s Been In the Kitchen?

Messy Kitchen Sink

(sing to the tune of The Happy Wanderer)

When oft’ I go a wandering,
My nap sack on my back,
I know my man leaves odd footprints:
The kitchen floor has tracks!

I can hear, I can see,
I can hear
I can see ee ee ee ee ee
I can see
The kitchen floor has tracks!

The cabinets are open wide,
The sugar’s sprinkled high,
The dirt’s pressed down upon its side,
Like bird poo dropped from nigh!

I pull out pen and quickly write
As far as I can see;
While scrubbing clean the stains to right
And ordering cleanly!

I whisk the broom; collect the crumbs,
The meters in my step
The pots and pans, the prunes and plums
Are shining bright, yep, yep!

It’s time for rhyme and rhythm now,
The counters neat; food stacked.
The order’s back, you smell the chow:
“Come down and interact!”

Maracas Night @the Barn

Harrison plays the calabash
Michelle the maracas
Photo by Jeanne

Who shakes his gourd? by
fireside? shakes his shells, hips, jaw?
rocks stones with his rhythm?

maracas
a pair of hollow club like gourd or gourd-shaped containers filled with beans, pebbles, or similar objects, shaken as a percussion instrument.

ma·ri·a·chi
denoting a type of traditional Mexican folk music, typically performed by a small group of strolling musicians dressed in native costume.

calabash
an evergreen tropical American tree that bears fruit in the form of large woody gourds.

A villanelle: My Treasure’s in the Cloud!

My Treasure’s in the Cloud!

My treasure’s in the Cloud!
My i-Mac stored it there!
Its debut leaves me proud.

Six poets found it: “wow’d”
My writing in the air!
My treasure’s in the Cloud!

Its rhythm’s hot and loud
My pleasure’s theirs to share
Its debut leaves me proud!

Kerplunk! kerplutz! kerpow!
The beat’s a rock-jazz pair
My treasure’s in the Cloud!

It shakes your rhyme, I vow
Castanets to flair
Its debut leaves me proud!

So jump ‘n sway ‘n clap
‘N snap hands hard on lap
My treasure’s in the Cloud!
Its debut leaves me proud!

Go see:
http://reowr.wordpress.com

Calligraphy Polyphony

Calligraphy Polyphony

In
Chiseled strokes
Worldwide folks
Press and lift
Sway their gift.

In
Complex rhythms
Swiftly, thumbs
Swash and point
Exult, anoint.

In
Cursive Script
From Arabic
And Chinese sets
Come lacy, scrolling nets.

In
Syncopation,
Counter points and melodies
Wave and meet
Rhythm’s beat.

by Jeanne Poland