A Plea

So I thought I would use this space to make a plea to everyone. I may not be consistent at writing poems with people and posting them here, so I thought it would be nice to ask some/all of you to try this out! If you happen to do some collaborative poetry with anyone, please send it to me and I will post it here. I suggest you look at the types of poems I've done here, or try your own. If you are still stuck, I recommend the book Poetry Everywhere by Jack Collom. It contains a wide variety of poetry types to try, and you can just flip through it to get an idea of poems to try. For collaborative poetry, remember the following:

1. "First thought, best thought." -Allen Ginsberg (don't spent too long trying to think of the "perfect" line)

2. Never apologize for your work. (No matter how nonsensical the poem may seem, send it in! Someone reading over the blog may find something relevant in it.)

3. "You're a genius all the time." - Jack Kerouac (Anytime is a great time for writing poems)

When submitting your poems, please include the names (even if it happens to be just "lady in red hat" that helped you write a poem in the deli counter at the grocery store) of all contributors, so credit is given where credit is due.

Happy Collaborating!

Happy Holidays!

Greetings all!

During the Holiday Break, I spent some time in Somers, CT with my girlfriend Jana and some of her family and close friends. During a rousing game of 5 Crowns, a reader of Mont Busk suggested we write some poems, so we did. Contributors to some/all of these poems include the following people:

Ruth and Rachel Clark

Linda, Greg, Serena & Jana Bailey

Matt Benoit

Michael Avilés

Pennsylvania Dutch brand Eggnog

Enjoy!

Description of Exquisite Corpse Poems.

Exquisite Corpse 1:

All around the bush we

red Cardinals outside the window

memories slightly fade

a yellow dawn breaks

zero now wow

the ice cubes are clinking, and to top it all off

until death do us part

today and everyday

swiftly running through the snow

family coming together

red roses shining blink

white flowers in a vase flow to green then back again.

smother open, fold in half out the door

Friday was the best day of the week

flask full of whiskey

and true victory comes when

they all fall down.

EC2:

The second day

spent the weekend kissing

sometimes i peak

it made sense

forever now the sky is blue tonight half empty

bloody feathers furiously fly

Italian Barry's Irish family

into the wee hours

solemnly

waiting dearly alone

I was thinking of you

baskets weave scott not honey bee sting up

when crowns fall like so

many blinking, leaking eyes

silver amethyst

downward in the spiral

and thus begins the speaking-fest

EC3:

Everybody tries the

sugar plum fairies dance in my bed

we will survive

silently the snow began to fall

trees don't often breath orange candies or readily running

chicken-shit covered chickens

yellow eyes line every roa

therefore when the

we don't even know

kitties sulking

sometimes ever never but

forced air induction

I won't surrender to a child's pity

through the night they all did sleep.

One-word 1:

Ravishing

laughter

with

grey

simple

showmanship

gnomes

shovel

growing

snarling

sweetness

with

words

flowing

quickly

carbon-copy

garbage

spitting

gravel

victory

OW2:

Simultaneously

blinking

violently

drinking

shampoo

VOMIT!

sometimes

I

love

frolicking

with

book

marks

in

libraries

secluded

prairies

romp

seeds

spreading

away

OW3:

Tangled

hair

short

gasping

obnoxiously

throwing

breaths

something

altered

grief

below

zero

saves

alters

sighs

shivers

place

alone.

OW4:

Magic

lamp

in

satin

throngs

entire

countries

unite

tomorrow

the

day

stars

um...

sometimes

salvation

strengthens

our souls.

OW5:

Thoroughly

thinking

about

a

face

full

single

ladies

put

your

drinks

curls

up

down

around

theology

brains

grow

fart.

Acrostic 1:

Description of Acrostics

(With apologies, the spine word is EVAPORATE. Had trouble aligning the letters.)

silEntly sulking through

battles Victorious

voices rAttle in my head

the Popo is coming

ruin my day On christmas

oR not...

Absolutely

brighT siren lights signal

that the Eggnog saved christmas.

Ice Cubes - 7 November 2009

Jana went to get ready, as she and Ruth were going to a concert that night. However, I thought the exquisite corpses went extremely well, so Ruth helped me write some ice cubes. Enjoy:

IC1:

Thinking

strongly

about

myself

and

only

singularly

then

weakly

quietly

in

awe

of

them

I

stand.

IC2:

Invariably

waiting

apprehension

anxiety

builds

towards

freedom

of

self

mind

conscience

thoughts

but

second-guessing

only

ruins.

Exquisite Corpse - 7 November 2009

Hi again. Jana's friend Ruth (of Ruth Writes fame) came to visit this weekend. I thought it would be interesting to write with her after a 4+ hour drive, so Jana, Ruth and I started with some Exquisite Corpses. Here they are:

EC1:

Hello, friend november

an addendum to the the fairy tale

a simple melody

finish isn't an option

briskly, crisply, fondly

rummaging through the trash

smaller and smaller my steps

slowly, sweetly, fondly,

shut the door when

significance - unimportant

EC2:

Wandering through the woods

silently sulking

as we watched the leaves sink through the air

an apple whisked away

wrapped in gauze and string

the sidewalk heaved with steps and leaves

endoplasmic reticulum

wicked, wicked child

alleluia

happiness when I choose to have it.

EC3:

Bagged up leaves that line the streets

the story rolls

a jail of gold and green

she told him, "shhh"

forever tomorrow, seldom yesterday

wearing a sheet

it came unannounced

invariably, involuntarily fighting fires

chrynacrodom magenta

she smiled, and turned

Lies - 1 November 2009

The final type of poem Melanie and Sean helped me write were Lies. These poems are exactly as the name implies - line after line of lies, ranging from the painfully overused to the absurdly hilarious. Enjoy!

Lies 1:

I kissed Richard Gere last night

he tried to get to second base, but I wouldn't let him

water is disgusting

please, I don't want you to leave

I climbed everest in 4-inch heels

I wish I was taller

I'm in love with your dog and we're running away together

You can find us in Alaska

It's warm there this time of year

It is highly overrated

Lies 2:

I mean it when I say "Excuse me"

God cares when you sneeze

I hate when you touch me

No, man, THIS is the best weed ever

I don't get high when I smoke

no, you don't look fat in that dress

but your sister looks fat in hers

Guiness, the dog, can keep his balls

I gave a dollar to a bum once, and I hope the food he bought with it tasted great.

Lies 3:

Helen Keller thinks I'm cute

she told me all about it with her lovely voice

I put quarters in the take a penny tray

I'm gay

I shot the sheriff

Go on, I'm listening

I don't feel rushed

This is my favorite food

I feel bad when I see commercials about Darfur

I don't care when I see commercials about abused animals.

Ice Cubes - 1 November 2009

Mel and Sean helped me write these Ice Cubes. Enjoy!

IC1:

If

sequestered,

answer

I

never

saw

even

tiles

ceiling

blocks

wisdom

honesty.

IC2:

Sometimes

always

hate

freedom

although

anarchy

seems

but

submarines

travel

planes

die.

IC3:

Peas

taste

oranges

fight

seldom

barely

faint

together

forever

young

and

old.

Theme Poems - 1 November 2009

These poems were begun with a theme, and limited to 4 words per line. Enjoy:

Theme 1: Getting Shot

I'm a bird now

going to fly to

this open space that

makes me remember when

I wasn't yet shot.

Having no holes is

such an exhilarated feeling

(not quite like flying)

flying without a ceiling

yet with those holes

I can almost see

right through my body

damn, i got shot.

Theme 2: People Falling:

Yo, watch your step

look! a banana peel!

why is everyone laughing

I lie in puke

I hope it's mine

that dude looks sick

it is definitely his

maybe something he ate.

I need a shower

or just a bath

should I stand up?

Nah, I'm too embarrassed.

Exquisite Corpse - 1 November 2009

Hi again! The day after Halloween, my friends Melanie and Sean helped me write some poems. We started with some Exquisite Corpse, an exercise I've found to be a good way to ease into collaborative poetry. Here they are:

EC1:

The ache of erythrocytes

three dead hookers in my trunk

the glowing light

freeze and burn

47 segway pile up

and in the shadow it casts

which I like

when time is short

I'm so slow

I had none

there goes the neighborhood.

EC2:

Once upon a time

fall down my skin

"Hark!" says I

without sight or sound

strings on your shoe

cranberries, strawberries, avocados

how did this happen

the free hookers

tomorrow comes today

asleep by now

nonsense.

EC3:

Gazing into some abyss

through the darkness

nothing is held by cups

cherry-flavored acid trip

time stood still

holes are evident

sometimes I'm right, but

I tried a few times

pillows on high

happiness through the eye of the beholder

put it to the side

it never was, but I remember.

Ice Cubes - 24 October 2009

Here are some more poems written with my dad. These are called ice cubes, and are one-word, four-line stanza poems. Each participant writes a word, and passes onto the next person.

IC 1:

Hesitation,

procrastination,

ambivalence,

decision.

Pathway

through

pupil

vision

exhaled

into

thoughts

unshared.

IC 2:

Universally

sharing

words

rhythmically

why

wondering

is

deadly

when

timeless

hours

converge.

Exquisite Corpse - 24 October 2009

Here are some more Exquisite Corpse poems for you all. These were written at Nadia's in Lansdale, with my Dad.

EC 1:

Toddlers in chairs,

noisy crowd saying nothing.

I've....no, nevermind

in the loneliness of the desert:

cranberries, grapefruits,

the rain stopped and so did the story.

EC 2:

Leaves falling from a tree

rainbows can't see.

Jumped out without warning

revolutions of a society:

she didn't leave.

Exquisite Corpse - 22 October 2009

Here is an exquisite corpse Jana helped me write while we were out to lunch today. For an explanation of how this type of poem works, click here.

Eureka!

Blue walls surround -

Oh, look at that man,

my imaginary friend.

colors, light, sound and vision

little black circles kissing.

Faded shoes and puddles,

dizzy with pride -

Shark!

Long shadows permeate

yellow lacy octopus,

the bane of my existence.

Greetings!

Welcome to the blog!

As part of a graduate course in Education at Arcadia University, I had the opportunity to write poetry with people at the Montgomeryville Mall in North Wales. Often, I would sit in the mall with a sign inviting people to write with me. If things were going slow, I would go find people. Here you will find the poems we wrote together. Please check back often, and see the amazing works of poetry created!

Cheers for now,

Michael