Our second hard frost of this season
has kicked in fall’s teeth. We put on
heavier jackets and dig our scrapers
out of our trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
pulling into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
about their politics, where
newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia, where fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo,
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think that
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat so we
can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll just
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
Dark Matter 
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 10th, 2004 at 11:14 am
i needed to read this right now.
Thank you, Tony. You just helped me more than I can (currently) explain.
love
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:39 pm
Cool! I was thinking that you are probably aware of your choices. I would probably make different choices, but I do not know mine would be better. (Except for “just” — just are never good, never… well, 99.9% of times they are not good.)
If it’s a matter of performance, you may want to have to versions. One on page one on stage.
By the way,
“so, I guess, I’ll turn up my collar”
I think it could end up on this line. Then, I also see some need for the other three lines. I think you may be able to discover a stronger ending.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:30 pm
Thanks, Stefan.
Honestly? I deliberately put the line breaks in odd places in almost every poem. It reflects the old Black Mountain School theories, with some twists of my own. Nothing random about those choices.
Ditto on the doubled words; it’s a deliberate choice. I try to use parallel constructions a lot for oral performance’s sake. Fits my voice, and the sense of ritual space I’m after.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 12:08 pm
This one is great. Still, it seems to me you can work a bit on breaks and redundancies.
“We put on [no need for break] heavier jackets and dig our [try to eliminate double “our”] scrapers
out of [our] trunks.
Pulling out of Moody Street
before my back window defrosts,
[pulling–no need to repeat it] into this world where
radio stations chatter endlessly
[about their politics — do you need it?], [break]
[where] newspapers draw conclusions
from trivia,
[where] fanatics come and go
splintering Michaelangelo, [check the spelling]
where (if I opt for silence)
there are always bumper stickers
to deal with,
I’m starting to think [ that ]
we should delete “the”
from our vocabulary.
We’re too frozen.
It’s an icy world out there now.
When I look into its eyes,
my head slows down, my breath
turns sluggish, all I see is
a mass of bergs
with nothing below.
[I think the previous stanza needs some work. I think you have a bunch of things going on — freezing, “the,” definite, particulars. I think ‘the” goes well with particulars and you want to have them (in the next stanza). So, is it really about deleting “the”?]
and
I don’t want things
to be so definite.
I don’t want to know
everything for certain.
I want a world of particulars
where we need to get close enough
to feel each other’s heat []
so we [] can understand ourselves
and keep warm.
But tomorrow is supposed to be
colder, and colder still
next week and next month;
so I guess I’ll [just — no need for this, it only slows the momentum ]
turn up my collar,
speak only when spoken to,
think for myself
until spring.
…
Good luck with it.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 9:59 am
nice stuff tony
i definitely get the feel of winter with this one. or at least the on set of winter both inside and out. “the winter of our discontent…” i suppose.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:40 am
Awww…that’s too much pressure!
Thanks, Ms. K. I am humbled.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.
November 9th, 2004 at 7:38 am
I think you are currently my favorite poet. God, I wish I could tap into the wordflow the way you do. Keep ’em coming.