Junkyard quotes
1) Stop wiggling on the wall!
2) Squippos and Grippos
3) it smells like dead roses at the dining table
4) I’m going to brush you down the tu-lit
5) so I have some viles of human blood. Can I use that instead of feeding?
6) Charlotte is my choo-choo Charlie
7) Denim crotch patch could grasp wrong attention
8) I could have stayed up at 10am but decided to dream instead
9) Caterpillar welfare
10) Andrea Gibson poetry performance quotes: waxing and waning; Eli’s teddy bear tattoo, rocking like Daddy, save me
11) Foxes are like dogcats
12) what you shockingly (doing)
13) you’ve been hit by / you’ve been struck by / a moose genital
14) they’re calling your face interwoven – LSD patient from the 50s
15) If people wanted you to write warmly of them, they should’ve behaved better
16) smoke milkshake videos
17)My soap opera is like watching a tennis match
18) Hallucinating Zack the cat sees ghosts, a sixth sense
19) I must have a Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey
20) It’s okay I started a new sticky [note]
Improv 1: Natasha Tretheway “Blond” Photograph Prompt
“Step-cousins”
Sunflower-yellow daisies in a field on that island in west Canada,
A double exposed, disposable photograph barely the form
of the driver’s headrest in a dominating angle,
A barely audible accident captured 90+ percent transparent
Layered over the vast yellow with two younger girls
The one standing has an octopus tattoo now
Eight arms hugging the back of her hand
She calls herself Angie now, not Angela,
Grandma’s California Christmas present
Were gloves for her. She will never adopt her
As Grandma though, the same way the other girl
Who collected the yellow daisies in the
Double-exposure will never adopt her husband
As Grandfather.
Their grandparents may have signed a marriage certificate
but he doesn’t belong on her family tree.
He was more like a dead leaf that flew off a crispy crunchy projection
and blundered until unfortunatel snagged by
Grandma’s bough.
1) Stop wiggling on the wall!
2) Squippos and Grippos
3) it smells like dead roses at the dining table
4) I’m going to brush you down the tu-lit
5) so I have some viles of human blood. Can I use that instead of feeding?
6) Charlotte is my choo-choo Charlie
7) Denim crotch patch could grasp wrong attention
8) I could have stayed up at 10am but decided to dream instead
9) Caterpillar welfare
10) Andrea Gibson poetry performance quotes: waxing and waning; Eli’s teddy bear tattoo, rocking like Daddy, save me
11) Foxes are like dogcats
12) what you shockingly (doing)
13) you’ve been hit by / you’ve been struck by / a moose genital
14) they’re calling your face interwoven – LSD patient from the 50s
15) If people wanted you to write warmly of them, they should’ve behaved better
16) smoke milkshake videos
17)My soap opera is like watching a tennis match
18) Hallucinating Zack the cat sees ghosts, a sixth sense
19) I must have a Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey
20) It’s okay I started a new sticky [note]
Improv 1: Natasha Tretheway “Blond” Photograph Prompt
“Step-cousins”
Sunflower-yellow daisies in a field on that island in west Canada,
A double exposed, disposable photograph barely the form
of the driver’s headrest in a dominating angle,
A barely audible accident captured 90+ percent transparent
Layered over the vast yellow with two younger girls
The one standing has an octopus tattoo now
Eight arms hugging the back of her hand
She calls herself Angie now, not Angela,
Grandma’s California Christmas present
Were gloves for her. She will never adopt her
As Grandma though, the same way the other girl
Who collected the yellow daisies in the
Double-exposure will never adopt her husband
As Grandfather.
Their grandparents may have signed a marriage certificate
but he doesn’t belong on her family tree.
He was more like a dead leaf that flew off a crispy crunchy projection
and blundered until unfortunatel snagged by
Grandma’s bough.
Improv 2: Louise
Bogan “A Tale”
“Rosa and Banana”
My pink and yellow fishies,
Rosa and Banana,
look quite squishy
If only they could play like Santana
My pink and yellow fishies,
Rosa and Banana,
look quite squishy
If only they could play like Santana
I’ve had them for too long
they’ve lived rather prosperous
the water’s PH probably is too strong
Phosphorus?
they’ve lived rather prosperous
the water’s PH probably is too strong
Phosphorus?
They illuminate under UV light
They are called Glowfish
and kitten loves to smite
Sometimes I wish she’d give them a kiss.
Improv 3: Pimone Triplett “Comings and Goings Bangkok”
“[They] look up, then look away”
from unique controversial creativity
that scalds all logic, corrodes away the cliché
by overusing the overused
But there’s no exposed exertions
just a crass composition.
Fame will form for him from their
tittle-tattle rants after his silent critique.
He could have made his own molds though.
They are called Glowfish
and kitten loves to smite
Sometimes I wish she’d give them a kiss.
Improv 3: Pimone Triplett “Comings and Goings Bangkok”
“[They] look up, then look away”
from unique controversial creativity
that scalds all logic, corrodes away the cliché
by overusing the overused
But there’s no exposed exertions
just a crass composition.
Fame will form for him from their
tittle-tattle rants after his silent critique.
He could have made his own molds though.
Improv 4: Aimee
Nehumumatathil “Canticle with Sea Worm”
“A Horny Hymn”
Blessed be the deserted
interwoven hooves in tall greensward
openly weeping the ingredient for witch’s swill
“A Horny Hymn”
Blessed be the deserted
interwoven hooves in tall greensward
openly weeping the ingredient for witch’s swill
Blessed be the neglected
by Noah, refused aboard the last
shelter from extinction.
by Noah, refused aboard the last
shelter from extinction.
Blessed be the evolution
of dapple grey, the arctic rogues
swiping away all reflective pigment.
of dapple grey, the arctic rogues
swiping away all reflective pigment.
Blessed be the coast of Greenland
of ice melting the classic model
from steed to sword.
of ice melting the classic model
from steed to sword.
Blessed be the remained
mammal, pillager of puncture
and a spectacle of the seas.
mammal, pillager of puncture
and a spectacle of the seas.
Improv 5: Heather
McHugh’s “Language Lesson 1976”
“Forget-me-nots”
“Forget-me-nots”
Never hold me, but hold
the raw, red onion Daddy Robbie said I could bite like an apple
Never hold the young Heath Ledger, but hold
Batman’s Charles-Manson affect.
Never hold that Irish bar in Bayeux, but hold
Zombie Bum’s body language request for rapport sexuel.
Never hold Sunfest, but hold
the prices for liquid dinosaur fossils.
Never hold Brooke Alice, but hold
her mother, ex-stepmother’s words at Daddy Larry.
the raw, red onion Daddy Robbie said I could bite like an apple
Never hold the young Heath Ledger, but hold
Batman’s Charles-Manson affect.
Never hold that Irish bar in Bayeux, but hold
Zombie Bum’s body language request for rapport sexuel.
Never hold Sunfest, but hold
the prices for liquid dinosaur fossils.
Never hold Brooke Alice, but hold
her mother, ex-stepmother’s words at Daddy Larry.
Never hold me, but hold
my comment on your ex-fuck buddy being a heroin addict.
Never hold me, but hold
my filled Hawaiian headrest that never fit anyway.
Never hold me, but hold
the way you swing me like a yoyo in a tennis match.
Never hold me, but hold
what I’m told is I must be The One who got away,
But never hold me.
my comment on your ex-fuck buddy being a heroin addict.
Never hold me, but hold
my filled Hawaiian headrest that never fit anyway.
Never hold me, but hold
the way you swing me like a yoyo in a tennis match.
Never hold me, but hold
what I’m told is I must be The One who got away,
But never hold me.
Improv 6: Ai’s
“Respect, 1967” Persona Prompt
“The Pusillanimous, Newbie Alcoholic Lion”
I could discuss with you at the bar for half-an-hour-plus something attractive
if you can’t tolerate
my obsession with fake eyelashes about how they come out of a tube
if you don’t mind
my fascination with the unnecessary glue that holds them and I’ll continue
if you don’t notice
my curiosity for primping and pampering my curls I sometimes straighten to see
if you cared
I could describe myself as taller than you on my hind legs, faster and stronger, like that Daft Punk song
You don’t like
I won’t roar thunder or use my carnivorous canines that should be called felines
if you won’t listen
I think I’ll get another refreshment of Bud Light and hope I don’t scuff my Michael Kors
if the bartender’s prettier than me
I’ll have to go home alone
“The Pusillanimous, Newbie Alcoholic Lion”
I could discuss with you at the bar for half-an-hour-plus something attractive
if you can’t tolerate
my obsession with fake eyelashes about how they come out of a tube
if you don’t mind
my fascination with the unnecessary glue that holds them and I’ll continue
if you don’t notice
my curiosity for primping and pampering my curls I sometimes straighten to see
if you cared
I could describe myself as taller than you on my hind legs, faster and stronger, like that Daft Punk song
You don’t like
I won’t roar thunder or use my carnivorous canines that should be called felines
if you won’t listen
I think I’ll get another refreshment of Bud Light and hope I don’t scuff my Michael Kors
if the bartender’s prettier than me
I’ll have to go home alone
Improv 7: B.H.
Fairchild’s “Madonna and Child, Perryton, Texas, 1967” Cinematic with
Appositives Prompt
“Like my killing cliché engraved ceramic bricks to be built into a wall,”
“Like my killing cliché engraved ceramic bricks to be built into a wall,”
The cushions have concretized, especially in the back
and/or dead center of the cinematic inexpensive hole for
procrastinating movie goers, or the fairly financial unfortunate.
This is where I saw Titanic for only one green Washington. But nowadays
Batman, who killed my husband and his role quite literally, must be viewed
for two Washingtons. Epic depictions of fast action by moving colors, all lights
still intact and deafening blows, sonically direct from front-right, front-left,
surrounded by sound in comfort, is only for the punctual, those transported
by Range Rovers, old people with cream Cadillacs, Mercedes, and Jaguars,
and those who don’t play “Sex” on the drive to their gated home,
to too many windows, from upstate in Boringville, American Dream.
“Sex” strips your clothes if you say it last when you see a vehicle with a missing
light at night, and there are always so many fancy cars that have an extra set
of beaming bottoms, that always get you naked, like after date-night to the
dollar theater.
and/or dead center of the cinematic inexpensive hole for
procrastinating movie goers, or the fairly financial unfortunate.
This is where I saw Titanic for only one green Washington. But nowadays
Batman, who killed my husband and his role quite literally, must be viewed
for two Washingtons. Epic depictions of fast action by moving colors, all lights
still intact and deafening blows, sonically direct from front-right, front-left,
surrounded by sound in comfort, is only for the punctual, those transported
by Range Rovers, old people with cream Cadillacs, Mercedes, and Jaguars,
and those who don’t play “Sex” on the drive to their gated home,
to too many windows, from upstate in Boringville, American Dream.
“Sex” strips your clothes if you say it last when you see a vehicle with a missing
light at night, and there are always so many fancy cars that have an extra set
of beaming bottoms, that always get you naked, like after date-night to the
dollar theater.
Improv 8: Brigit
Pegeen Kelly “The Dragon”
“Bee Swarm”
“Bee Swarm”
The sardonic scene isn’t playful like Pete’s Puff.
Sharp, needle stingers crave diabetic blood sugar
in fluffy black, yellow veined fuzz Styrofoam with
doily lace wings, purged in the shape of her megaphone
upward, like praise.
I wonder what she’ll call this bust when finished.
In the Garden of Eden, Marie Antoinette’s wing
of Versailles must have been foreseen, minus the
possessed cherub that occupied the right of the fountain,
never proceeding to flow. The Rococo gold overbears inside
his wing, but hers eighteenth century modern, the outside
rich with profuse perfume from the opulent picturesque pedals
the buzzing drones refused to share.
Sharp, needle stingers crave diabetic blood sugar
in fluffy black, yellow veined fuzz Styrofoam with
doily lace wings, purged in the shape of her megaphone
upward, like praise.
I wonder what she’ll call this bust when finished.
In the Garden of Eden, Marie Antoinette’s wing
of Versailles must have been foreseen, minus the
possessed cherub that occupied the right of the fountain,
never proceeding to flow. The Rococo gold overbears inside
his wing, but hers eighteenth century modern, the outside
rich with profuse perfume from the opulent picturesque pedals
the buzzing drones refused to share.
Improv 9: Gwendolyn
Brooks’ “The Rites for Cousin Vit”
“Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a Heavy Metal Hero but Also Antagonist”
“Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a Heavy Metal Hero but Also Antagonist”
T.J.’s Grandma just wanted to go for a walk.
So he unshunned himself by binging,
assumed as not the first, tall-boy, local
P. Blue Ribbon then thrown across the sacred
sanctuary. His metaphoric story time
for her cherishers, expounding how he lost
his blown off left nut.
He coached her bong-smoking skills
and recited the raunchy riddle about Kermit’s
slimy, bacon finger stench.
T.J.’s Grandma just wanted to go for a walk, and that was
the end.
So he unshunned himself by binging,
assumed as not the first, tall-boy, local
P. Blue Ribbon then thrown across the sacred
sanctuary. His metaphoric story time
for her cherishers, expounding how he lost
his blown off left nut.
He coached her bong-smoking skills
and recited the raunchy riddle about Kermit’s
slimy, bacon finger stench.
T.J.’s Grandma just wanted to go for a walk, and that was
the end.
Improv 10: Lydia
Davis “A Mown Lawn”
“A Snail’s Hell is a Small Shell”
“A Snail’s Hell is a Small Shell”
Small tails on snails trail like small males who flail then
bail until they need a bail from jail because he tells her it’s like the tale
of the Wailing Whales’ Nails in small cells: all because they failed to hail
Paul Dale who veiled their skin pale. A snail should put her shell on sale to
derail her from Hell.
Prompt: Recursive Method
Backs of Benjamins: upside-down prego stripper silhouette in chrome oxide green
Chrome backs should oxidize green silhouettes
Prego strippers bend backs for Benjamins
upside silhouette down chrome
Benjamin oxidizes strips of backs
backs of green Bills, not Benjamins
Prompted to reflect obsessive trauma:
“Violence and Donuts”
Shot at Krispy Kreme because Hot & Ready sign was off
Only hot shots off Krispy Kreme signs.
Signs shot off the Hot & Ready Krispy Kreme that
Krispy shot the sign because hot was off Kreme and a
hotshot Krispy had signed Ready for hot Kreme shots.
Ready Krispy offed Kreme because the hot sign wasn’t ready for shots.
Prego strippers bend backs for Benjamins
upside silhouette down chrome
Benjamin oxidizes strips of backs
backs of green Bills, not Benjamins
Prompted to reflect obsessive trauma:
“Violence and Donuts”
Shot at Krispy Kreme because Hot & Ready sign was off
Only hot shots off Krispy Kreme signs.
Signs shot off the Hot & Ready Krispy Kreme that
Krispy shot the sign because hot was off Kreme and a
hotshot Krispy had signed Ready for hot Kreme shots.
Ready Krispy offed Kreme because the hot sign wasn’t ready for shots.
Improv 11: Anthony
Hecht “The End of the Weekend”
“Rats are Rodents”
in a group called mischief, and they brought the plague
but so did the white man to the natives.
They’re only nonaggressive mammoth mice, with longer scaled tails,
nibbling fingers and escaping to explore
where is the source of this cheese?
Furry fiends that snuggle and cuddle in pockets,
their lives tested and tried to cure your hominid diseases and cancers.
Those twitchy noses are just like your petting zoo mammals
Ratatouille, don’t knock it til you try it, unlike kitschy carnivorous pets they’re
classified omnivores like you.
Improv 12: William Matthews “Loyal”
“Jade’s Legs”
Big, black, and beastly, Jade was the best
damn dog to lead. All panting smiles,
until her eyes went darker than their usual brown
with black speckles.
She would jump and swim no problem at Lake Lanier.
Camping with us, stealing crisp, crunchy marshmallows
from our found sticks that long after resembled her legs:
a whole burnt smore atop a dirt infested dead branch.
Her favorite, Garrett, a manly boy with dreams of
being a Marine, couldn’t face her with his cry.
Not his fault she was overfed, underwalked, and
very loved. “No wonder we confuse love with longing”
Longing for her life to have been lengthened, for her
legs to lunge her back into Lake Lanier where the whole
family never ceased to show their teeth
just like Jade, no matter if some were
missing.
in a group called mischief, and they brought the plague
but so did the white man to the natives.
They’re only nonaggressive mammoth mice, with longer scaled tails,
nibbling fingers and escaping to explore
where is the source of this cheese?
Furry fiends that snuggle and cuddle in pockets,
their lives tested and tried to cure your hominid diseases and cancers.
Those twitchy noses are just like your petting zoo mammals
Ratatouille, don’t knock it til you try it, unlike kitschy carnivorous pets they’re
classified omnivores like you.
Improv 12: William Matthews “Loyal”
“Jade’s Legs”
Big, black, and beastly, Jade was the best
damn dog to lead. All panting smiles,
until her eyes went darker than their usual brown
with black speckles.
She would jump and swim no problem at Lake Lanier.
Camping with us, stealing crisp, crunchy marshmallows
from our found sticks that long after resembled her legs:
a whole burnt smore atop a dirt infested dead branch.
Her favorite, Garrett, a manly boy with dreams of
being a Marine, couldn’t face her with his cry.
Not his fault she was overfed, underwalked, and
very loved. “No wonder we confuse love with longing”
Longing for her life to have been lengthened, for her
legs to lunge her back into Lake Lanier where the whole
family never ceased to show their teeth
just like Jade, no matter if some were
missing.
Improv 13: Alison
Joseph “Salt”
“Pepper”
The grunge decade spiced by the Red Hot and Chili’d,
inspired by hollow vegetables, and or berries, where
the seeds are more distinctive to the tongue than the sides.
The black speckles most pray don’t get stuck between teeth
to burst later a flavor followed by coughs.
Red, Yellow, Green bells ring sweet and shish kabobs
lathered in olive oil, grilled and glittered with a dash of
the season’s bride in white who came all the way
from the sea to compliment and serve condiment,
marrying the mild marinade.
“Pepper”
The grunge decade spiced by the Red Hot and Chili’d,
inspired by hollow vegetables, and or berries, where
the seeds are more distinctive to the tongue than the sides.
The black speckles most pray don’t get stuck between teeth
to burst later a flavor followed by coughs.
Red, Yellow, Green bells ring sweet and shish kabobs
lathered in olive oil, grilled and glittered with a dash of
the season’s bride in white who came all the way
from the sea to compliment and serve condiment,
marrying the mild marinade.
Improv 14: C.K.
Williams “Neglect”
“Like genitalia shaved and disinfected for an operation”
“Like genitalia shaved and disinfected for an operation”
Reconstruct gender after
relinquished you cancer,
remove innards and
replace outwards
renounce your typed title
recited since birth
recurred with pinks or blues that the colorblind
refuse to translate for those who
read, assume, imagine
roles as
right.
relinquished you cancer,
remove innards and
replace outwards
renounce your typed title
recited since birth
recurred with pinks or blues that the colorblind
refuse to translate for those who
read, assume, imagine
roles as
right.
Improv 15: Jack
Gilbert “In Dispraise of Poetry”
Illegal Liquor for Elephants
Blood explodes from soft grey skins for the cost
of soft bone assigning a sell-by date for those who
remember every instance, every relationship, except when
they age and dementia devours away their ability to
retain reflections in their half-whale-sized
brains. Thirty beats a minute their hearts
average as many pounds as a British
elementary student.
Ringleaders whip and hook to entertain those
with thick and heavy jingling pockets and purses
to exploit their extravagant elegance and aesthetic obedience.
Illegal Liquor for Elephants
Blood explodes from soft grey skins for the cost
of soft bone assigning a sell-by date for those who
remember every instance, every relationship, except when
they age and dementia devours away their ability to
retain reflections in their half-whale-sized
brains. Thirty beats a minute their hearts
average as many pounds as a British
elementary student.
Ringleaders whip and hook to entertain those
with thick and heavy jingling pockets and purses
to exploit their extravagant elegance and aesthetic obedience.
Improv 16: Larry
Levis “The Poet at Seventeen”
“My Dad, Larry, at Seventeen”
“My Dad, Larry, at Seventeen”
I am told I would have never been made
had my Dad, Larry,
hadn’t had his neck sandwiched between
barbed wire spokes.
His bike brakes broke before he could
turn away from the far from safe
fence that should have fell flat,
like the Iowa that raised him.
had my Dad, Larry,
hadn’t had his neck sandwiched between
barbed wire spokes.
His bike brakes broke before he could
turn away from the far from safe
fence that should have fell flat,
like the Iowa that raised him.
Mom, Kim, said whilst intoxicated that I’m
an “intentional accident.” Dad doesn’t know
she had intended to forget one small pill. I can’t be
his worst mistake; he sold his Transam for a Stratocaster.
Improv 17: Sherman Alexie “The Powwow at the End of the World”
“She is told by many of us, she must forgive”
herself for making buckshot for bull’s-eyes from
her own wicked words, and customary mutilations.
She is told by many of us, she must forgive
her father’s slingshot triggers pulling blacks, purples, and greens
she disapproves of onto the canvas he plans to title Pollack.
She is told by many of us, she must forgive
her mother for drinking to delay the pain of
her headaches to begin with all the in-laws on their way
She is told by many of us, she must forgive
her family’s sickening freshly painted white-picket fence
She is told by many of us, she must forgive herself.
an “intentional accident.” Dad doesn’t know
she had intended to forget one small pill. I can’t be
his worst mistake; he sold his Transam for a Stratocaster.
Improv 17: Sherman Alexie “The Powwow at the End of the World”
“She is told by many of us, she must forgive”
herself for making buckshot for bull’s-eyes from
her own wicked words, and customary mutilations.
She is told by many of us, she must forgive
her father’s slingshot triggers pulling blacks, purples, and greens
she disapproves of onto the canvas he plans to title Pollack.
She is told by many of us, she must forgive
her mother for drinking to delay the pain of
her headaches to begin with all the in-laws on their way
She is told by many of us, she must forgive
her family’s sickening freshly painted white-picket fence
She is told by many of us, she must forgive herself.
Improv 18: Allen
Ginsberg’s “America” (A haiku because politics are used often and Ginsberg was
reciting a drunken rant on the reading I saw on Youtube)
“An American Haiku”
Oh, America
“Caterpillar, Albama,
Welfare,” says Caitlyn
“An American Haiku”
Oh, America
“Caterpillar, Albama,
Welfare,” says Caitlyn
Improv 19: Tony
Hoagland “America”
“Another American Haiku”
All student loans seem
materialistic. Oh,
why, America?
“Another American Haiku”
All student loans seem
materialistic. Oh,
why, America?
Improv 20: Robert
Hayden “Those Winter Sundays”
“Dressed”
Fancy clothes for interviews and such are hung
dry and left for the rare, dapper occasion. All
other items to wear, whether skimpy strings
on denim with holey knees, or limp long sleeves
that warm under trans-pajama shirts,
get piled in a sorted mass to be shoved into the
dresser that is not properly named for when
asked what to wear, it always replies with
indecisive silence.
“Dressed”
Fancy clothes for interviews and such are hung
dry and left for the rare, dapper occasion. All
other items to wear, whether skimpy strings
on denim with holey knees, or limp long sleeves
that warm under trans-pajama shirts,
get piled in a sorted mass to be shoved into the
dresser that is not properly named for when
asked what to wear, it always replies with
indecisive silence.
Improv 21: Marie
Howe “Sixth Grade”
“Summer after Sixth Grade”
I looked like a mushroom because Hawaiian
barbers thought my collar bone, shoulder region
resided with my jawline. I didn’t get complain
because I had just seen Lilo in Stitch in a theater
called the Makalapua Cinema.
“Summer after Sixth Grade”
I looked like a mushroom because Hawaiian
barbers thought my collar bone, shoulder region
resided with my jawline. I didn’t get complain
because I had just seen Lilo in Stitch in a theater
called the Makalapua Cinema.
I went to the United States’ South-est point
where a photo of me, pre-hair massacre, was shot
and shows the straight-lined implied divide of the blurred
horizon, a contour of choppy versus calm,
before and after we had come from the forests of Rainbow Falls.
Snorkeling at first was frightening: Ramen-rabid
swarms of the pretty colored but ever munching.
Then I learned how to use my body as a surfing medium,
and also learned how to cartwheel against the clarification of
the compound word, sandpaper.
where a photo of me, pre-hair massacre, was shot
and shows the straight-lined implied divide of the blurred
horizon, a contour of choppy versus calm,
before and after we had come from the forests of Rainbow Falls.
Snorkeling at first was frightening: Ramen-rabid
swarms of the pretty colored but ever munching.
Then I learned how to use my body as a surfing medium,
and also learned how to cartwheel against the clarification of
the compound word, sandpaper.
Improv 22: LeRoi
Jones (Amiri Baraka) “Preface to Twenty Volume Suicide Note”
“Praying no one hears an approximate waiting time on the national suicide hotline”
How long would it take the Wind to save someone whose suffering,
soliciting for an ear, only to be put on hold by horrible music that resurfaces
all those places that caused these drastic decisions, and only the voice
of a somehow female, monotone robot who requests you to stay on the line
for an approximate waiting time of One-hundred…. And… Two… minutes.
How many pills can two hands toss down then chase with Kool-Aid colored toxins
in a hundred minutes?
How many rope tying, chair climbing, wrapped neck, tip-toes can be stepped
in a hundred minutes?
How many ways can the most selfish act of taking away any individual’s life, from those
who are not done sharing, be listed and described in full morbid detail
in a hundred minutes?
“Praying no one hears an approximate waiting time on the national suicide hotline”
How long would it take the Wind to save someone whose suffering,
soliciting for an ear, only to be put on hold by horrible music that resurfaces
all those places that caused these drastic decisions, and only the voice
of a somehow female, monotone robot who requests you to stay on the line
for an approximate waiting time of One-hundred…. And… Two… minutes.
How many pills can two hands toss down then chase with Kool-Aid colored toxins
in a hundred minutes?
How many rope tying, chair climbing, wrapped neck, tip-toes can be stepped
in a hundred minutes?
How many ways can the most selfish act of taking away any individual’s life, from those
who are not done sharing, be listed and described in full morbid detail
in a hundred minutes?
Improv 23: Robert
Creeley’s “The Rain”
“Love if you Love me”
sounds like the swish of a tennis match,
opponents hypnotized by tournament
grunts spiked with nets that serve
a purpose opposite of safety
settling could mean comfort, but then
where’s the competition? where’s
the surprise jack-in-the-box ending?
a proclaimed winner of love and loser
of love must be declared, because
the divorce rate nowadays is 50/50
and overtime isn’t supposed to
last forever.
sounds like the swish of a tennis match,
opponents hypnotized by tournament
grunts spiked with nets that serve
a purpose opposite of safety
settling could mean comfort, but then
where’s the competition? where’s
the surprise jack-in-the-box ending?
a proclaimed winner of love and loser
of love must be declared, because
the divorce rate nowadays is 50/50
and overtime isn’t supposed to
last forever.
Improv 24: Derek
Walcott’s “Blues”
“Play rough, pummel until olive-green”
black olives are better, but whatever
I’m going to play your face like those
long nailed guitar players who strum
steadfast Spanish with no hesitation between
rapid neck clenches and fist outstretched
strikes against the body,
already hollow, like post autopsy.
black olives are better, but whatever
I’m going to play your face like those
long nailed guitar players who strum
steadfast Spanish with no hesitation between
rapid neck clenches and fist outstretched
strikes against the body,
already hollow, like post autopsy.
Improv 25: W.S.
Merwin “The River of Bees”
“He’s fallen into his eyes”
Where the swollen wrinkly ravines flow
from furrowed indifferent conflict to
chickens feet stuck in winter snow in the
northeast and northwest corners of the map
he will never see again, for “he has fallen
into his eyes”
Where the swollen wrinkly ravines flow
from furrowed indifferent conflict to
chickens feet stuck in winter snow in the
northeast and northwest corners of the map
he will never see again, for “he has fallen
into his eyes”
Improv 26: Seamus
Heaney “Digging”
“Squats and Rests: Results May Vary.”
Extreme exercising and shocking the vessels of strength
rips and tears repeatedly. A rupture needs rest to heal,
repair, and rebuild as more robust. For guaranteed results,
all isometrics should be executed mid-morning.
Diamond push-ups help to keen pectorals,
and when pushed-up against the wall
can increase the bust’s circumference. Lunges, squats, any physically
strenuous activity performed to build stamina and endurance
should be exercised with slow, concise control, as well as
frequent water breaks, to avoid purging morning coffee
all over your partner.
“Squats and Rests: Results May Vary.”
Extreme exercising and shocking the vessels of strength
rips and tears repeatedly. A rupture needs rest to heal,
repair, and rebuild as more robust. For guaranteed results,
all isometrics should be executed mid-morning.
Diamond push-ups help to keen pectorals,
and when pushed-up against the wall
can increase the bust’s circumference. Lunges, squats, any physically
strenuous activity performed to build stamina and endurance
should be exercised with slow, concise control, as well as
frequent water breaks, to avoid purging morning coffee
all over your partner.
Improv 27: Ted
Hughes “View of A Pig”
“Scald and scour it like a doorstep”
Our solar systems center star may scorch millions of
doorsteps each day, but someone would have to hold
a magnifying glass if there was any real intention
of tangible damage to the place of beginning exits
and ending entrances. Opening and closing is a privilege
taken for granted by those who under no
circumstance pass around pity like a bottle of rum
on the beach deserves, shared back and forth,
back and forth. Turning knobs can only be done with thumbs,
And what will become of the milk that’s to be delivered?
Scalded, scoured, curdled, and soured on the doorstep.
“Scald and scour it like a doorstep”
Our solar systems center star may scorch millions of
doorsteps each day, but someone would have to hold
a magnifying glass if there was any real intention
of tangible damage to the place of beginning exits
and ending entrances. Opening and closing is a privilege
taken for granted by those who under no
circumstance pass around pity like a bottle of rum
on the beach deserves, shared back and forth,
back and forth. Turning knobs can only be done with thumbs,
And what will become of the milk that’s to be delivered?
Scalded, scoured, curdled, and soured on the doorstep.
Improv 28: Mark
Strand “Man & Camel”
Camel Blues
were called Camel Lights back in his day. But today
is his fortieth birthday. His first birthday lacks presents after
or before the cake that will never arrive with a wink and
a smile, yellowed by the spot-on combination of nicotine and
black coffee. He pulls the carton out of the freezer
removes a pack and packs them with slaps louder than they
had ever made love, then he sits in the chair she built last year
that embraces his leaning and reflexes quaint squeaks
in a rhythm that matches his earlier snoring. He ponders why
they had never decided to get a dog, and name it Camel.
Camel Blues
were called Camel Lights back in his day. But today
is his fortieth birthday. His first birthday lacks presents after
or before the cake that will never arrive with a wink and
a smile, yellowed by the spot-on combination of nicotine and
black coffee. He pulls the carton out of the freezer
removes a pack and packs them with slaps louder than they
had ever made love, then he sits in the chair she built last year
that embraces his leaning and reflexes quaint squeaks
in a rhythm that matches his earlier snoring. He ponders why
they had never decided to get a dog, and name it Camel.
Improv 29: Thylias
Moss “Tornados”
“I Envy”
Those with concise craftsmanship
That which electrocutes all five senses
Purified and crystalized concepts
Declared significant with
The perfect answer to What’s at stake?
Those praised with any monetary prize
The line that sits fierce on the resumé
The proclaimed winner of critique
But loser of sleep, nutrition, and sanity.
“I Envy”
Those with concise craftsmanship
That which electrocutes all five senses
Purified and crystalized concepts
Declared significant with
The perfect answer to What’s at stake?
Those praised with any monetary prize
The line that sits fierce on the resumé
The proclaimed winner of critique
But loser of sleep, nutrition, and sanity.
Improv 30: Gary
Soto “Mission Tire Factory, 1969”
“A tattoo, rubber lungs, and a crotch”
My mission to draft my dreams was a success during Smoke-Break
The lime green sticky note documents three types of airplanes models
to transport people by road, by water, and cities in air; The nose less
villain from the Harry Potter I haven’t seen played a sick matching game
with my family involving a wooden board with worded doors who was
guarded by a dog who had people on leashes who attacked a giant bag
of food until it ripped open, approving trespass; I had three monumental
works in a gallery; and Nancy had a glamour shot where she looked like
a young John Lennon.
This recording occurred after the discussion regarding
denim crotch patches,
and before listening to Andrea Gibson’s performed poem about Eli and war and
soldiers that made me cry for my brother who will hopefully never
get a teddy bear tattoo, or rock in my parents’ lap, “Rocking like Daddy save me”
“A tattoo, rubber lungs, and a crotch”
My mission to draft my dreams was a success during Smoke-Break
The lime green sticky note documents three types of airplanes models
to transport people by road, by water, and cities in air; The nose less
villain from the Harry Potter I haven’t seen played a sick matching game
with my family involving a wooden board with worded doors who was
guarded by a dog who had people on leashes who attacked a giant bag
of food until it ripped open, approving trespass; I had three monumental
works in a gallery; and Nancy had a glamour shot where she looked like
a young John Lennon.
This recording occurred after the discussion regarding
denim crotch patches,
and before listening to Andrea Gibson’s performed poem about Eli and war and
soldiers that made me cry for my brother who will hopefully never
get a teddy bear tattoo, or rock in my parents’ lap, “Rocking like Daddy save me”
Improv 31: Robert Pinsky “Shirt”
“Skirts”
Long and hippie-like covers shameful ankles
bruised knees, or the plaque kind of psoriasis.
Knee-length enables flexible sitting patterns but
criss-cross-applesauce still requires shorts.
Cheeks that peek reveal cottage cheese dimples
and there’s never fun with a cheating hide-and-seeker.
“Skirts”
Long and hippie-like covers shameful ankles
bruised knees, or the plaque kind of psoriasis.
Knee-length enables flexible sitting patterns but
criss-cross-applesauce still requires shorts.
Cheeks that peek reveal cottage cheese dimples
and there’s never fun with a cheating hide-and-seeker.
Improv 32: Kevin
Young “Ode to Boudin”
“Maybe Jambalayas Baby Mama was”
the sister to some rice and green vegetables,
an in-law to the shrimp captain’s,
a cousin to the tabasco of the bayou.
the daughter of a sax’s jazzy blues,
an aunt to victims of the voodoo,
the sister to some rice and green vegetables,
an in-law to the shrimp captain’s,
a cousin to the tabasco of the bayou.
the daughter of a sax’s jazzy blues,
an aunt to victims of the voodoo,
Or maybe she was just a French Rosemary.
Improv 33: Lyn
Hejinian “Elegy”
“Flesh and Imagination”
Tissue paper is the right half of reason
software downloaded to view and edit
Canon RAW files in the shop saved as pegs
named Jay thousands of inches in dimension
resized orienation to be printed on semi luster
paper previews first so transferred
inks bleed hours to clot allowing sooner
the expensive cartridge transfusion
the organ’s left side logic will
flesh out the forgotten finances of the
imagination.
“Flesh and Imagination”
Tissue paper is the right half of reason
software downloaded to view and edit
Canon RAW files in the shop saved as pegs
named Jay thousands of inches in dimension
resized orienation to be printed on semi luster
paper previews first so transferred
inks bleed hours to clot allowing sooner
the expensive cartridge transfusion
the organ’s left side logic will
flesh out the forgotten finances of the
imagination.
Improv 34: Philip
Levine “Growth”
“Penepole the Pope”
cleans Catholics with soap
to help them cope
with their scoped
hope
so they won’t mope
smoke dope
or lope down slopes without
rope
she tropes to say
nope to gropes
“Penepole the Pope”
cleans Catholics with soap
to help them cope
with their scoped
hope
so they won’t mope
smoke dope
or lope down slopes without
rope
she tropes to say
nope to gropes
Improv 35: Ilya
Kaminsky “We Lived Happily During the War”
“Forgive us for our streets of money and cities of money, in our country of money”
The gold-bricked roads spiral
between curbs of silver coins,
because copper can be sold for quick cash
at the pawn shop to the gold toothed
prospector who never suspects the wire
was stolen from the air conditioning units
of the church on the top of the hill,
where the moral worshippers will now sing softer,
shorter hymns, to avoid blacking out from
the lack of circulation and the temptation to
dance, coupled with praise, will be cut short
by strokes summoned by Satan himself,
who starves for shiny objects
like crooked coins and tainted taxes.
Improv 36: Alice Notley “I the People”
“Gold that is,”
I am dull shimmering L and M wavelength for retina cones
you are openly optimistic to the classy cooing canaries
she was regarded as VIP a bright, pricey posh
we were the easiest shade to see, even for the colorblind
we were exclusive
he was affluent
you are spiffy
I am luxury
“Forgive us for our streets of money and cities of money, in our country of money”
The gold-bricked roads spiral
between curbs of silver coins,
because copper can be sold for quick cash
at the pawn shop to the gold toothed
prospector who never suspects the wire
was stolen from the air conditioning units
of the church on the top of the hill,
where the moral worshippers will now sing softer,
shorter hymns, to avoid blacking out from
the lack of circulation and the temptation to
dance, coupled with praise, will be cut short
by strokes summoned by Satan himself,
who starves for shiny objects
like crooked coins and tainted taxes.
Improv 36: Alice Notley “I the People”
“Gold that is,”
I am dull shimmering L and M wavelength for retina cones
you are openly optimistic to the classy cooing canaries
she was regarded as VIP a bright, pricey posh
we were the easiest shade to see, even for the colorblind
we were exclusive
he was affluent
you are spiffy
I am luxury
Improv 37: Camille
T. Dungy “The Preachers Eat Out”
“Where do you want to eat?”
“Where do you want to eat?”
No, that doesn’t sound
good.
No, that’s too expensive.
No, that’s far away
No, I just want something fast
No, it made me sick last time
No, it’s your turn to pick.
No, that’s too expensive.
No, that’s far away
No, I just want something fast
No, it made me sick last time
No, it’s your turn to pick.
Let’s just grab ice
cream and make sandwiches at home.
Improv 38: May
Swenson “Strawberrying”
“Strawberry Seeds are Spawns of Satan ”
“Strawberry Seeds are Spawns of Satan ”
The texture of strawberry seeds makes
a bite into a sensual fruit similar to biting
into a saccharine sand bomb, an overwhelming
crop dust of pellets or pebbles, grains
too small to spit that must be digested
despite the displeasing departure from teeth
to tongue. Sugar shields the grit a bit
an indifferent consistency that smacks toward candy
but
chocolate is always the best disguise
a bite into a sensual fruit similar to biting
into a saccharine sand bomb, an overwhelming
crop dust of pellets or pebbles, grains
too small to spit that must be digested
despite the displeasing departure from teeth
to tongue. Sugar shields the grit a bit
an indifferent consistency that smacks toward candy
but
chocolate is always the best disguise
Improv 39: Toi
Derricotte “In Knowledge of Young Boys”
“i knew you when”
you climbed the front of your dresser
and hung there screaming for downward assistance
i knew you when
you couldn’t sleep unless we watched Lion King seven times in a row
and that was during the VHS days, no repeat option
i knew you when
you had jumped on the trampoline and I would pin you down
and tickle you, letting you catch air every once in a while
i knew you when
you would stay up and wait for Santa to fill our stockings with candy
and you played marbles with me while Uncle Leo snored.
i knew you when
you would refuse to put on pants and run around mad
and you were always wearing super-hero tighty whities
i knew you when
the consequences of
your decisions only mocked you.
“i knew you when”
you climbed the front of your dresser
and hung there screaming for downward assistance
i knew you when
you couldn’t sleep unless we watched Lion King seven times in a row
and that was during the VHS days, no repeat option
i knew you when
you had jumped on the trampoline and I would pin you down
and tickle you, letting you catch air every once in a while
i knew you when
you would stay up and wait for Santa to fill our stockings with candy
and you played marbles with me while Uncle Leo snored.
i knew you when
you would refuse to put on pants and run around mad
and you were always wearing super-hero tighty whities
i knew you when
the consequences of
your decisions only mocked you.
Improv 40: Elizabeth
Alexander “Haircut”
“Snowflake Mushroom in Paradise”
“Snowflake Mushroom in Paradise”
A twelve year old, whiter than white mushroom stalk with an
almost black bob for a top happened after I pointed to my shoulder, then my
collar bone, for length of which to snip. Jawline must be Hawaiian for shorter,
and she might have forgot her glasses that morning, or left them at Kua Bay, or
they flew out the window on the bumpiest dirt road every car will need an
alignment after trekking on her way to Makalawenas. My mid puberty self-esteem
that suffered that risk returned with the school year. Luckily I got a hair
splitting, frying, straightener for my birthday that year and my oldest cousin
showed me how to do a half-do ponytail.
Improv 41: Eavan
Boland “The Pomegranate”
“A fruity Haiku”
Fruit should never be
cut. Flying seeds and juices
never worked for Eve.
“A fruity Haiku”
Fruit should never be
cut. Flying seeds and juices
never worked for Eve.
Improv 42: Audre
Lorde “Power”
“Racists and Rapists”
Weakness, strips control through
sovereign violence because
the self-sustained dominance lacks
function. Possessed by the passion
to look down from pretend pedestals
on trustees who share too quickly
and confident with those who will only
serve and protect their selfish egos.
“Racists and Rapists”
Weakness, strips control through
sovereign violence because
the self-sustained dominance lacks
function. Possessed by the passion
to look down from pretend pedestals
on trustees who share too quickly
and confident with those who will only
serve and protect their selfish egos.
Improv 43: Dylan
Thomas “Fern Hill”
“I sang in my chains like the sea…”
… that wanes and swells,
I wine and sell sea shells
for pieces of wood and iron
to break the curse of the octopus lady
who chained me to coral
calcium chalking my ankles
seventy thousand five hundred and fifty-two
slivers of anchor and deck left to pay
back my debt for trespassing above her
lawns of skulls,
I sing to the sailors, whose scalped heads
are worth twice that of a Navy anchor.
I wine and sell sea shells
for pieces of wood and iron
to break the curse of the octopus lady
who chained me to coral
calcium chalking my ankles
seventy thousand five hundred and fifty-two
slivers of anchor and deck left to pay
back my debt for trespassing above her
lawns of skulls,
I sing to the sailors, whose scalped heads
are worth twice that of a Navy anchor.
Improv 44: Yusef
Komunyakaa “My Father’s Love Letters”
“Jack’s don’t come in cans”
They arrive in mesh bags, like the kind that hold oranges,
with bouncy balls. Since Jacks have spikes, a can would
have been safer for the unfortunate, urgent parent,
who would explain after cursing
Jacks don’t come in cans
because it wouldn’t be cost efficient. Don’t worry
what that means just yet, it’s not a
friendly phrase, and we’re throwing these away
anyway.
“Jack’s don’t come in cans”
They arrive in mesh bags, like the kind that hold oranges,
with bouncy balls. Since Jacks have spikes, a can would
have been safer for the unfortunate, urgent parent,
who would explain after cursing
Jacks don’t come in cans
because it wouldn’t be cost efficient. Don’t worry
what that means just yet, it’s not a
friendly phrase, and we’re throwing these away
anyway.
Improv 45: “Eating
Alone” Li-Young Lee
“A hornet stung Father”
in between his eyes, right on the unibrow.
I was peeling an orange when I saw
him brutally declare a duel
with just one, but then the wasps family
had his back, and Father was outnumbered.
He lost the west facing corner of the gutter
but was able to keep his eyeballs.
in between his eyes, right on the unibrow.
I was peeling an orange when I saw
him brutally declare a duel
with just one, but then the wasps family
had his back, and Father was outnumbered.
He lost the west facing corner of the gutter
but was able to keep his eyeballs.
Improv 46: Philip
Larkin “High Windows”
“The Slide from the High Window”
Rollercoaster Tycoon style wet and wild
water slide from the highest window
in the tallest tower that would startle
even Rapunzel’s illegally adoptive mother.
Corkscrews and S Bends what could
be hundreds of thousands of feet
only to freely cascade
down
into
consciousness.
Rollercoaster Tycoon style wet and wild
water slide from the highest window
in the tallest tower that would startle
even Rapunzel’s illegally adoptive mother.
Corkscrews and S Bends what could
be hundreds of thousands of feet
only to freely cascade
down
into
consciousness.
Improv 47: John
Ashbery “Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a Landscape”
“Popeye’s dishes”
“Popeye’s dishes”
Crusted with spinach and too bad
Olive Oil won’t offer her dressing
to lubricate his lips because they
just bought a full palate of cans of collards
from Costco, but Popeye’s
nerves need Olive Oil to stop
flailing and wailing
Woe is Me! Woe is Me!
and Popeye’s Adam’s Apple
needs name brand leaves.
Olive Oil won’t offer her dressing
to lubricate his lips because they
just bought a full palate of cans of collards
from Costco, but Popeye’s
nerves need Olive Oil to stop
flailing and wailing
Woe is Me! Woe is Me!
and Popeye’s Adam’s Apple
needs name brand leaves.
Improv 48: Albert
Goldbarth “20,000 Miles”
“Wingspans”
“Wingspans”
Streets lined with cranes
measured by wingspan, not miles
fingertips raped by paper
sliced, stained crimson from creating
wingspans unfold, scatter and tear
venturing with age
and wingspans grow wider
as their paper dissolves
in ill advised weather
measured by wingspan, not miles
fingertips raped by paper
sliced, stained crimson from creating
wingspans unfold, scatter and tear
venturing with age
and wingspans grow wider
as their paper dissolves
in ill advised weather
Improv 49: Martin
Espada “Niggerlips”
“Copperskins”
sucked by white with hunger snakes
eager to ferment food for noxious nectar
and contagions no medicine invented
quite yet could ail. The bleached serpents
drained their copper colors from their
tears on a trail that succeeded at
exterminating most of the innate and organic.
“Copperskins”
sucked by white with hunger snakes
eager to ferment food for noxious nectar
and contagions no medicine invented
quite yet could ail. The bleached serpents
drained their copper colors from their
tears on a trail that succeeded at
exterminating most of the innate and organic.
“Roller skate proper apparel”
The proper way to wear pants while roller skating, not roller blading mind you, is to wear slightly sun bleached denim, with a super flare that cyclones barely above the wheels and closes at the knees. The tighter around the thighs the more efficient your skating skills are because the element of danger has increased dramatically. You must always attempt the disco, rocker sideways split and spin without gaining distance as fast as a human hurricane could. Those who are judging will flock for an autograph, give you straight 10s, or show you their tits. You may break a few bones, but popularity like a cool cast, does not come for free.
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