Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Perhaps a stranger she could love
In an effort to get people to lookThe Quiet World by Jeffrey McDaniel
into each other's eyes more,
the government has decided to allot
each person exactly one hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.
When the phone rings, I put it
to my ear without saying hello.
In the restaurant I point
at chicken noodle soup. I am
adjusting well to the new way.
Late at night, I call my long
distance lover and proudly say
I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.
When she doesn't respond, I know
she's used up all her words
so I slowly whisper I love you,
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.
Posted by Calvin at 1:21 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Her Morning Elegance, or, What I Will Never See
And the days are not full enoughAnd the days are not full enough by Ezra Pound
And the nights are not full enough
And life slips by like a field mouse
Not shaking the grass.
Posted by Calvin at 11:58 PM 0 comments
It hurts more than you'd think
Hello and sorry.Apology by Stonepoem
We havn’t spoken lately have we?
I’ve been too busy being selfish
digging around in my own sodden mine,
not thinking about you and things
you are also looking for.
It’s very difficult you see.
Sometimes, I just have to go
into myself, burrowing through
the lumps and bumps - digging
beneath my own world.
You know what?
The very next words
will be just for
you.
Posted by Calvin at 11:48 PM 1 comments
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
let them take youDisengage by w.c. pelon
for your money
for your heart
even for
the body
part
let them have
the lion's share
of all
and hide
what's left
in iridescent dreams
and milk-white
memories
of who we are
and what
could be
Posted by Calvin at 2:26 PM 4 comments
Monday, January 26, 2009
You've got those lips that were meant to be kissed
It’s the way you look at meNoticed by Hayley Cafarella
And actually listen
Like you could understand
And comprehend
Who I am
All that I wish I could be
Watching you pay attention
I start to believe
That things could get better
You should know it makes a difference
Posted by Calvin at 5:56 PM 0 comments
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more
Sebastian's Voodoo by Joaquin Baldwin
Sunday, January 25, 2009
We must be careful about what we pretend to be.
I've watched this city burn twiceThe Riots by Charles Bukowski
in my lifetime
and the most notable thing
was the arrival of the
politicians in the
aftermath
proclaiming the wrongs of
the system
and demanding new
policies toward and for the
poor.
nothing was corrected last
time.
nothing will be corrected this
time.
the poor will remain poor.
the unemployed will remain
so.
the homeless will remain
homeless
and the politicians,
fat upon the land, will live
very well.
Posted by Calvin at 10:35 PM 1 comments
Friday, January 23, 2009
The worst of grief sets in some time after the initial shock.
Pour the unhappiness outAnother Weeping Woman by Wallace Stevens.
From your too bitter heart,
Which grieving will not sweeten.
Poison grows in this dark.
It is in the water of tears
Its black blooms rise.
The magnificent cause of being,
The imagination, the one reality
In this imagined world
Leaves you
With him for whom no phantasy moves,
And you are pierced by a death.
Posted by Calvin at 11:38 PM 3 comments
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
I wish that could be me, but it's just not possible
If you take a step, I will make you sure that you take the nextBreakfast in Bed by Dntel
If you tell a lie, I'll just nod my head, yeah, I'll let it slide
Cause you woke me up, and there's birds outside, and I still feel drunk
But I'm glad you did, cause last night you weren't making that much sense.
You said you wanna die, now you say you wanna live
You said you loved me after fourty five minutes
If this is all a game can you just say it is?
I'll do it anyway, so it makes no difference
We should order up, wash the wine out of the coffee cup
They got bread and fruit, there's probably not much else for you.
We can lay around, you can kiss me til the maids come kick us out.
It's eleven now so make every second count
But back in New York they can't ever find this out
There are things we do, that we're really not allowed
We can say anything, but we just can't say it loud.
I hope you always find someone to take you home
To put you into bed, kiss your cheek, and check your pulse
Make sure you're still breathing, with their hand up to your nose
I wish that could be me, but it's just not possible.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
"I just hope he knows where he's going." -- "He knows."
Glory at Sea directed by Benh Zeitlin
This short film is brilliant on so many levels. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Posted by Calvin at 5:58 PM 2 comments
I'd like to know, I'd really like to know
Just don't forget
that it's dumb luck that got you here
Don't fool yourself
misfortunes waiting for the best time to appear
to make it clear
that all the courage and the talent that you had
was just in dreams
and when you wake up
you will beg to get it back
to get it back
You interest your friends
They will betray you
with the love that's blinding
and then at the end they may admit
that you were missing something
and no one remembers even one word that left your mouth
All the melodies were stolen
from songs by someone else
You're out of time
and inspiration filled with self-pity and fear
and all the dreams that haven't dried up
are slowly drowning in your tears
in your tears
Just don't forget
that it's dumb luck that got you here
Don't fool yourself
misfortunes waiting for the best time to appear
to make it clear
that all the courage and the talent that you have
was just in dreams
and when you wake up
you will beg to get it back
to get it back
Dumb Luck by Dntel
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
In tremendous fear I secretly go on living.
Because she wants to touch him,Parable of the Four-Poster by Erica Mann Jong
she moves away.
Because she wants to talk to him,
she keeps silent.
Because she wants to kiss him,
she turns away
& kisses a man she does not want to kiss.
He watches
thinking she does not want him.
He listens
hearing her silence.
He turns away
thinking her distant
& kisses a girl he does not want to kiss.
They marry each other--
a four-way mistake.
He goes to bed with his wife
thinking of her.
She goes to bed with her husband
thinking of him.
--& all this in a real old-fashioned four-poster bed.
Do they live unhappily ever after?
Of course.
Do they undo their mistakes ever?
Never.
Who is the victim here?
Love is the victim.
Who is the villain?
Love that never dies.
Posted by Calvin at 4:31 AM 0 comments
For each age is a dream that is dying, or one that is coming to birth.
What can I say to you, darling,A Poem Without a Single Bird in It by Jack Spicer
When you ask me for help?
I do not even know the future
Or even what poetry
We are going to write.
Commit suicide. Go mad. Better people
Than either of us have tried it.
I loved you once but
I do not know the future.
I only know that I love strength in my friends
And greatness
And hate the way their bodies crack when they die
And are eaten by images.
The fun’s over. The picnic’s over.
Go mad. Commit suicide. There will be nothing left
After you die or go mad,
But the calmness of poetry.
Posted by Calvin at 4:13 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
When asking why their kisses are sorrowful, remember the howl of our first verse
Cough Syrup by The Jakes
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Danger - 19H11
I'm sorry that I'm such a coward and can'tFor it's also me lying in sorrow by Calvin
talk to you. I'm dreadfully sorry for
leaving you like you are and leaving me
how I am. I'm sorry for the thoughts you
must be thinking and the words I make you
say. And I'm sorry that I can't be there
to help you and you can't be here to help
me. For the nightmares you must be having
and for the feelings you must be sharing
alone. For the nights I've spent with her
and not with you, the promises I'm no
longer keeping, the regrets I'm piling up.
I'm sorry that it's not only you I'm letting
down; it's also me.
Posted by Calvin at 7:07 PM 1 comments
Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
I don't know who you are. I'll never see you, or speak to you, or share my life with you, but know this...
(My 1st) Big Break by Cut Chemist
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
secrets from the winds, burnt stars crying
The moment(to rot) by Calvin
the pills
took control of
your body (but left
your soul
to rot),
the remains of my
body (and
my soul)
were scattered
across the places we
had visited,
forever to rest
(and maybe
to rot).
Posted by Calvin at 1:14 PM 2 comments
Sunday, January 4, 2009
It lasts for always.
Excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery WilliamsThe strange rabbit stopped dancing, and came quite close. He came so close this time that his long whiskers brushed the Velveteen Rabbit's ear, and then he wrinkled his nose suddenly and flattened his ears and jumped backwards.
"He doesn't smell right!" he exclaimed. "He isn't a rabbit at all! He isn't real!"
"I am Real!" said the little Rabbit. "I am Real! The Boy said so!" And he nearly began to cry.
Just then there was a sound of footsteps, and the Boy ran past near them, and with a stamp of feet and a flash of white tails the two strange rabbits disappeared.
"Come back and play with me!" called the little Rabbit. "Oh, do come back! I know I am Real!"
But there was no answer, only the little ants ran to and fro, and the bracken swayed gently where the two strangers had passed. The Velveteen Rabbit was all alone.
"Oh, dear!" he thought. "Why did they run away like that? Why couldn't they stop and talk to me?"
For a long time he lay very still, watching the bracken, and hoping that they would come back. But they never returned, and presently the sun sank lower and the little white moths fluttered out.
Posted by Calvin at 9:13 PM 0 comments
Friday, January 2, 2009
The trash-filled streets made me wish we were headed home
Children,Broadripple Is Burning by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's
Broadripple is burning
And the girls are getting sick
Off huffing glue up in the bathroom
While their boyfriends pick up chicks
And darling, I'm lost
I heard you whispering that night in Fountain Square
The trash-filled streets made me wish we were headed home
And there was love inside the basement
Where that woman used to lie
In a sleeping bag we shared upon
The floor most every night
And darling, I'm drunk
And everything that I have loved has turned to stone
So pack your bags
And come back home
And I'm wasted
You can taste it
Don't look at me that way
'Cause I'll be hanging from a rope
I will haunt you like a ghost
And if my woman was a fire
She'd burn out before I wake
And be replaced by pints of whiskey
Cigarettes and outer space
Then somebody moves
And everything you thought you had has gone to shit
But we've got a lot
Don't ever forget that
And I wrote this on an airplane
Where the people looked like ants
And when a woman that you loved is gone
She's bombing east Japan
Don't fucking move
'Cause everything you think you have will go to shit
But we've got a lot
Don't you dare forget that
And I'm wasted
You can taste it
Don't look at me that way
'Cause I'll be hanging from a rope
I will haunt you like a ghost
And I'm wasted
You can taste it
Don't look at me that way
'Cause I'll be hanging from a rope
I'll be hanging from a rope
I will haunt you like a ghost
Thursday, January 1, 2009
I'm mostly just shy.
I can still get nervousTurning Red by Dntel
when I talk to you
even though we've dated
for a year or two
every time I stare
I notice something new
and abandon all hopes
of impressing you
I struggle with words
that I've always known
I get self-conscious of my voice
on the telephone
you tell me how you love me
every night before bed
and I turn out the lights
as my face turns red
sometimes it's hard to stay still
when you're moving close to me
my eyes they open wider
more color in my cheeks
I'm usually so pale
until you mess with my heartbeat
you turn me red
turning red
I'm turning red
my hands still get sweaty
when you're holding them
my clothes feel kind of tight
although I'm sure they fit
when we go out at night
sometimes I wish we'd stayed in
I feel like everyone is thinking
what's she doing with him?
every date feels like
the first one
and I can't wait 'til we meet
kick my feet under the table
when we sit down to eat
I don't know how to ask you
will you come home with me?
I'm turning red
turning red
I'm turning red
sometimes it's hard to stay still
when you're moving close to me
my eyes they open wider
more color in my cheeks
I'm usually so pale
until you mess with my heartbeat
I'm turning red
turning red
I'm turning red
I love it when you're playful
you tease me constantly
you're surprisingly insightful
when you embarrass me
and you can feel safe
in my arms
but safe's not what I need
you turn me red
turning red
I'm turning red
The universe and a pulse
You can feel it quakeWhat the Night Does to Me by Calvin
the very bones of you
if you breathe the cold
air carefully
enough.
Something born, stuttering
and rattling
inside of you,
wanting the night --
breathe
harder.
The stars will shine brighter
through the clouds of the sky,
but the moon will
still
thrive.
The sounds traveling by wind
will slowly whisper away,
leaving only silence
the world
has never heard.
Posted by Calvin at 5:54 PM 1 comments
What have I become, my sweetest friend?
As the phone clicks,Forever by Calvin
our conversation and our relationship
ended. Her final words raced laps
through my head.
Why did she say that?
I asked myself, but
I could think of no answer. I
collapsed, sobbing.
"For ever,"
I heard her say,
over and over again,
forever.
Posted by Calvin at 2:23 AM 1 comments
Stranger, do you feel cold?
"It was just a New Year's kiss.The Difference by Calvin
And it was only for the day. The holiday.
Just a kiss.
It was some boy; there were no feelings -- there was no emotion tied with it.
Why don't you fucking understand that?
Not everything has to have meaning to it,"
she
tells
me.
And that, my dear, is why
you will
never
understand.
Posted by Calvin at 1:11 AM 0 comments