Friday, March 30, 2007

we were all SO young...

warning, bad words, ohhhh!

was over at shakespeare's sister and was reminded of this.

i was 17 at the time and i was against the war but supported the troops back then as well!
hell, i knew a lot of them. the lower middle and poor got drafted so there was a lot.

so i know you can hate a war, think it's wrong and still back our troops.
sunny friday.

polka band saturday.
as i said, i don't polka but i enjoy watching the old folks get all
dressed up and having a great night out.

Thursday, March 29, 2007





i've always loved this.

enjoy, goodnight.
JOKE, SILLY JOKE....






What do you get when you cross a Poodle,a Cocker Spaniel and a rooster?


A Cocka-Poodle-Doo!



( ahhh, come on, it's cute! )
just because he's bob:







POSITIVELY 4TH STREET

(Words and Music by Bob Dylan)
1965, Warner Bros. Inc
Renewed 1993 Special Rider Music

You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning

You got a lotta nerve
To say you gota helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that's winning

You say I let you down
You know it's not like that
If you're so hurt
Why then don't you show it

You say you lost your faith
But that's not where it's at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it

I know the reason
That you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd
You're in with

Do you take me for such a fool
To think I'd make contact
With the one who tries to hide
What he don't know to begin with

You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, "How are you?" "Good luck"
But you don't mean it

When you know as well as me
You'd rather see me paralyzed
Why don't you just come out once
And scream it

No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I'd rob them

And now I know you're dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don't you understand
It's not my problem

I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you

Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is
To see you

i thought is says quite a lot for times like these:










if you go out
to enjoy the coolness...
grovel and grovel!




French translator Jean Cholley explains that this haiku refers to the way that samurai forced peasants (like Issa) to grovel on roads; En village de miséreux: Choix de poèmes de Kobayashi Issa (Paris: Gallimard, 1996) 243, note 95. Shinji Ogawa adds that the phrase, shita ni shita ni ("stay low, stay low") was the warning call shouted in front of a parade of a military lord (daimyo). People were obliged to kneel on the roadside, often in the mud. Shinji writes, "In my opinion, this haiku is important to know Issa's social view. I wouldn't say that Issa was a great social critic, but he certainly excels Basho and Buson in this regard."



bob and layla enjoying the sun this morning.

they have it tough.

" I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by giving, by loving. "

Anais Nin

Wednesday, March 28, 2007




NOTE TO SELF

"Good men and bad men differ radically. Bad men never appreciate kindness shown them, but wise men appreciate and are grateful. Wise men try to express their appreciation and gratitude by some return of kindness, not only to their benefactor, but to everyone else."


buddha
got this in an e-mail:














planted some bird seed. A bird came up. Now I don't know what to feed it.



I had amnesia once -- or twice.



I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart. Now what?



Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.



All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.



If the world were a logical place, men would be the ones who ride horses sidesaddle.



What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?



They told me I was gullible and I believed them.



Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home, and when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto the freeway.



Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.



One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people.



My weight is perfect for my height--which varies.



I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.



The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.



How can there be self-help "groups"?



If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?



Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I'll show you a man who can't get his pants off.



Is it just me--or do Buffalo wings taste like chicken?


thanks denise!
nothing much this morning.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007




look at this cute little guy.
i found him hiding under some oak leaves!

the other daffodils are normal size and haven't bloomed yet,
but this little darling is all decked out for spring.





check out blue gal and the quaker agitator
and this site:




http://www.firstfreedomfirst.org/

April Come She Will


P. Simon, 1965



April come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain
May, she will stay
Resting in my arms again

June, she'll change her tune
In restless walks she'll prowl the night
July, she will fly
And give no warning to her flight

August, die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold
September I'll remember
A love once new has now grown old

Monday, March 26, 2007

Someone Is Harshly Coughing As Before



Delmore Schwartz



Someone is harshly coughing on the next floor,
Sudden excitement catching the flesh of his throat:
Who is the sick one?
Who will knock at the door,
Ask what is wrong and sweetly pay attention,
The shy withdrawal of the sensitive face
Embarrassing both, but double shame is tender
—We will mind our ignorant business, keep our place.

But it is God, who has caught cold again,
Wandering helplessly in the world once more,
Now he is phthisic, and he is, poor Keats
(Pardon, O Father, unknowable Dear, this word,
Only the cartoon is lucid, only the curse is heard),
Longing for Eden, afraid of the coming war.

The past, a giant shadow like the twilight,
The moving street on which the autos slide,
The buildings’ heights, like broken teeth,
Repeat necessity on every side,
The age requires death and is not denied,
He has come as a young man to be hanged once more!

Another exile bare his complex care,
(When smoke in silence curves
from every fallen side)
Pity and Peace return, padding the broken floor
With heavy feet.
Their linen hands will hide
In the stupid opiate the exhausted war.


Online text © 1998-2007 Poetry X. All rights reserved




congrats to bob and bonnie.

they were married on st. patrick's day.


i'm happy for them and their family!

beautiful day today. i've shut of the furnace and opened the windows that don't have storm windows to them.

had a scholarship meeting yesterday, looking good financially.
have our 2nd big fund raiser of the year next month.

have some good essays to judge for the 1st two scholarships and waiting on the deadline for the 2nd.two scholarships.

i sweat this out every year along with the other members of the committee.
i think it will be another good year.

cross your fingers, o.k? thanks.


been working on a poem as well. always either thinking about one or writing one or wanting to fiddle with one already done.

Sunday, March 25, 2007




this is the easter bunny at the club i belong to.
the kid's party was saturday. i wasn't there but the easter bunny showed me his picture.


it's my friend frankie.
i've mentioned him before. he is one of the nicest people i've ever met.
always willing to pitch in when needed.

it's not his bike. he doesn't ride but they couldn't resist getting him to pose
outside on the bike.

thanks bunny frank! the kid's were thrilled!



for my friends in the u.k. and beyond.
yep, when i said fog the other day i meant fog!

you've heard of the "where's waldo?" books,
here's "where's pittsburgh?"

Saturday, March 24, 2007




nighty night!
this is some of the worst fog i've ever seen!
can't see anything, wow!

i laid around like a slug last night.
just going grocery shopping and to the book store
wore me out. phooey!

but, i am getting better.
not sure what this freaking illness is but a friend of mine
said his wife has it, almost 2 weeks now and has both ears
infected from it. get better soon denise!

Friday, March 23, 2007

took 3 boxes of books to half priced books and turned them in,
picked up 5 poetry books and came home worn out!

but, the boxes are out of the way and i got some pretty nice books and so it's o.k.

Thursday, March 22, 2007




friday's joke (just in case i can't make it to my computer)





What did one book of maps say to the other book of maps?


Atlas we're together!
" always laugh when you can. it is cheap medicine."

lord byron


laughter heals!






hooray.
i did make it out of the house to get my haircut.
god, i feel better!

i must be on the mend.
still using my eyedrops. the left eye was still a bit
icky this morning but i am not contagious anymore and
that's a good thing.

the cough isn't as bad, the snorkiness is going
and some color is coming back to my face.
i'm one of those people that get vampire white
with the slightest little cold so whatever it was that knocked me flat this time really made me look like i was ready to hang upside down by my toes in some cave!

i'm not pushing it tho. i'm not going out tonight
and may not tomorrow.

unless it's to fly and catch bugs or bite a neck or two! ; )

Wednesday, March 21, 2007




a note to the "food police"

me, i NEVER thought of general tso's chicken as "health food"
so just be quiet about the sodium and calories would ya??!!

it's a favorite of mine and i don't eat it that often so don't bother
knocking down my door and confiscating it for my own good!

i look up the nutritional facts on most food on my computer anyway, big brother, i don't need!

my rant. ; )




calvert deforrest aka larry "bud" melman

goodbye.

i just loved it when you would show up.


NF WALK IN PITTSBURGH

SAT. MAY 19TH!



check it out





http://www.nfpittsburgh.org/nfwalk.html

a bright, bright sun outside.i've been inside with the blinds shut.
i think i might be on the mend.
not pushing it this time, as i usually do.

i'll be thrilled if i can go get a haircut tomorrow.
i need one and besides,i haven't been outside in a week!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

i'm really getting into halls honey lemon cough drops!

: )
i made a change in the 2nd poem. took out a few "thens"
thanks gary. i do like it better(now rather than "then")







2 poems of mine with a variation of a theme.
the 1st has more of a normal view
in the 2nd i aimed for a more "what if..." sort of a
metaphysical/theoretical yet understandable feeling.



the first was published in "caught in the net"
years ago and was posted here in the 2nd month i think of my blog.

the second i just finished and had some pk'rs c&c.
they, as always came thru. thanks.









stoney fields


oh christ,
i can not stand this, this nothingness
it feels as if you don't exist for me anymore, as if you
never did
a few days of silence and the eternity of my imagination runs
riot, barefoot and bleeding
through the stoney field of my insecurities
what and with who, and
was she better, better than
me? did you ever care? the
lies told, needing to be believed in those heated moments come
back now, sharp and shiny with the cold
my heart and the nearness of your smile not warming them into
comfortable whiteness
they stand dark, demanding to be asked about, picked apart
word by word and you
nowhere to answer, for you never existed after all, perhaps a
good thing, a
blessing, for what could you say but another lie or
worse,
the truth, and then?








if there is only now



there is only the thin rain on melting snow
making cold mist that blocks the view from this window.
if all we have is this moment in time
there is no you,
for you, are not here.
there is no me wherever you are.
i wonder if there is a cold mist rising
where you are
and if there is

i am not.









any thoughts from anyone??
it is coming!


SPRING!


hooray.







http://www.religioustolerance.org/spring_equinox.htm
still sick, been a little over a week now. my other eye is infected now!

PHOOEY!

i really need to get my haircut and so i will obsess on this little thing.
keeps my mind off of how really crummy i look all over, not to mention, feel!

just a little survival technique, find a small insignificant thing to bitch about.



got this over at quaker dave's place.http://thequakeragitator.blogspot.com/


http://iraqmemorial.org/

Monday, March 19, 2007

Make Up


we make up our faces
for lots of reasons
to go to the movies
or some junior prom
to see ice hockey
or watch the Dodgers come home again
defeated

going to the grocery store
only requires lipstick
while a bridge game
can mean a quick trip
to the hairdresser for a touch up

i clean my makeup
before going to bed
alone
and if my mood is foul
i spray the sheets
with Ultra Ban

most faces are made up
before the public is faced
whether male female or child
it's always so appropriate
doncha know
to put a little mascara
around the eyes

we make up fantasies to face life
we need to believe
we are good on the job
or at least in the bed

we make up lies
to impress people
who are making up lies
to impress us
and if either took all
the make up off
life would not be
worth living

we make up excuses
to say i'm sorry –that-
forgive me –because-
and after all didn't i tell you
-why-

and i make up with you
because you aren't strong
enough to reach out
to say
come home i need you


NIKKI GIOVANNI


she is a treasure. read some of her poems. you'll think so too.

'Of all things upon earth that bleed and grow, a herb most bruised is woman."


Euripides (BC 480-BC 406) Greek tragic poet.

another cummings.








if i love You
if i love You
(thickness means
worlds inhabited by roamingly
stern bright faeries

if you love
me) distance is mind carefully
luminous with innumerable gnomes
Of complete dream

if we love each (shyly)
other, what clouds do or Silently
Flowers resembles beauty
less than our breathing

update:

the snorking has settled into a cough but the eye is getting much better.

i hate the "creeping miseries!"



FOUR YEARS

bless our troops

and stop this war.

Sunday, March 18, 2007




LOVE this man!



because it's a sunday night!


doesn't get much better than this song.

a sunny sunday, but cold!

my eye looks much better and the nurse-practitioner that saw me in the er yesterday just called a bit ago to check up on me. i liked that.

as to whatever "creeping misery" that i have with the sore throat and snorkiness, cough and a severe case of the, "i have the uglies, i feel crappy and ugly and disgustingly cranky!"

well, i still have that but it's going away too(i hope!)

yeah, i know, boo freaking hoo for me! ; )

Saturday, March 17, 2007



ENJOY, ENJOY!

i love this!!!!!!

some e.e. cummings ( for me to smile at)






may i feel said he


may i feel said he
(i'll squeal said she
just once said he)
it's fun said she


(may i touch said he
how much said she
a lot said he)
why not said she


(let's go said he
not too far said she
what's too far said he
where you are said she)


may i stay said he
(which way said she
like this said he
if you kiss said she


may i move said he
is it love said she)
if you're willing said he
(but you're killing said she


but it's life said he
but your wife said she
now said he)
ow said she


(tiptop said he
don't stop said she
oh no said he)
go slow said she


(cccome?said he
ummm said she)
you're divine!said he
(you are Mine said she)


oh, by the way. the reason i have antibiotic drops is because it's a bacterial pink eye NOT the viral. antibiotics do nothing for viruses.
just got back from the er, bless em they are nice down there.
st. margaret's that is.

happy st. pat's day to me. i have pink eye!

i feel like ringing a bell as i walk thru the house yelling "unclean, unclean!!!"

have drops to put in, lots of hand washing(which i do anyway!)
and after 24 hours i won't be contagious anymore but things i may have touched might be so i'll be disinfecting a lot of things round here.

all from a silly cold! : (

Friday, March 16, 2007




what a rough life they have! ; )



21 turkeys walking across the road in front of my place.



i'm sending myself flowers cause i am a sickie, snorky crabby baby today!

http://www.pittsburghirish.org/parade/Blizzard/index.htm


this is for my aunt betty in fla.
the irish lass of the family!
i was over at shakespeare's sister reading and i came upon this beautiful apache blessing. i asked the poster if i could share it and he was so gracious as to not only agree but to write me and share more with me. he even sent a sound clip that i wish i knew how to post. the sound of the language is a poem in itself. another big thank you for him!




this is his blog...


http://www.mistrelboy.blogspot.com

i've started reading it. check it out.





ch'inaldildloh bee ihi'adahi

(they laugh all the time and live long)

shi'il na'ash

we go together as friends

yexaidela go deya tc'indii

having been prepared, he walks, they say

from the way of blessing, an old apache ceremony, given to warriors before they leave to do battle.




this is the e-mail that he sent me. i'm reprinting it here:





the prayer comes from a part of a long "sing" or ceremony. when apaches go to war they try to be in a spiritual position of beauty. it is a long process that readies the warrior and his comrades for what lies ahead. it has been around as long as anyone can remember. the way of blessing is done before leaving to fight. upon returning the way of the enemy is performed. both of those are long (like 3 days) ceremonies and would not excerpt all that well. there are also problems with translation. apache is a very specific language. often it conveys a tremendous amount of information in very few words. there are levels of nuance and meaning that can take whole paragraphs to explain a single word. some of it simply can't be said.

In Apache we use the vowels thusly:
A as in father
E as in red
I as in police
O as in go
U as in under
Y is a dipthong, a quick I (as in police) then A like in father

Vowel length is determined by the number of vowels. Most of the consonants are used the same as in English. There is one that doesn’t exist in English called a glottal stop. It is indicated by an apostrophe and pronounced by closing the throat creating a brief pause like saying “uh oh”. When a double consonant is used it indicates both ending the first syllable and beginning the next with a more pronounced consonant sound. Rather than saying the sound twice the sound is emphasized. I can’t think of an English example of this one.

Consonant clusters are as follows:
dl like the final syllable of paddling
dz as in adds
g as in get never gentle
gh is a hard g farther back in the throat like a guttural w
hw as in what
kw as in quick
tl as in Tlingit
ts like pots
x may be sh like shoot when followed by a vowel or used like x-ray when ending a word
or standing alone
zh as in azure


here is a shorter prayer.

The Friendship Prayer - - from Silas John

Si' Zi' bìyì' éd yùd di" di' is-Za'ni' tc' ìndíi*
I stand inside a circle of men and women they say
'ìs' à' nà yái éd yùd 'á lzà tc' ìndí
Long life in a circle, it is made, they say
bìyì' éd yùd híljìj 'ìs' à' nà yái tc' ìndí
Inside in a circle, dances, long life they say
yèxáidèlà gò dè yà k' è' gò józee** tsá lit' tc' ìndí
Having been prepared he walks like beauty, friends they say
Á bì tc'ìd bìt ' á' ná ná ni sì tsò
Underneath a blanket Mother Earth rests
nùgùsts' án biìká' dé ' ì tc'òdàsdjà í'
On top of Earth, people scattered about,
bìyá tì' jò ní bìnàtsé kè s jò ní' bìdlùk jò ní
Their talk good, their thoughts, good, their laughter good
bínà lzé' 'í t' à' dá' jò dí dò bé' ó ltà' gò'
Their property of all kinds, good, uncountable
yèxáidèlà gò dè yà tc' ìndí
Having been prepared he walks they say
'ìs' à' nà yái k' è' gòjó gò' nànt' à' dòxá yò' bì ' ágòdo dí ì'
Long life he has, good, chief, never has he trouble
yèxáidèlà gò dè yà tc' ìndí
Having been prepared he walks they say

An offering of prayer and protection from evil. This ceremony performed in the presence of a sacred fire and smudge to ensure the spirits will hear the prayer. The rite takes about ten minutes each night, repeated for four nights under a clear night sky.
*the “they” word used implies that the “they” is our people, if it were others the word would have been “tc’ iindaa”
** the word “joni” or “jodi” or “jozee” means both “good” and “beautiful” depending on context and implication. it's that whole nuance thing.
3 to 4 inches of snow coming today! CRAP!!!!

more in the areas around us.
why should i be surprised?!!

one of the WORST snowstorms we ever had in pgh was on a st. patrick's day weekend.
pgh made the national news that nigh because nothing stops pittsburgers from marching in a parade or drinking! it was a freaking blizzard but the parade went on .
you could barely see the green thru the snow.

i called my aunt in fla. to tease her.(she is irish)bless her, she has a great sense of humor.

Thursday, March 15, 2007



silly joke:






Why are Grandfather's teeth like stars?


Because they come out at night!



ME, with a mug of tea!

aaahchoo!
PHOOEY!

pouring rain and i have a cold.
thought maybe it was just a sore throat
because i have GERD, but nope, this a.m. woke up and yep,
a crappy pre-spring cold.i know, bitch and moan. : (

Wednesday, March 14, 2007


a big THANK YOU to BLUEGAL

http://bgalrstate.blogspot.com


you ROCK!

she has gone above and beyond to help me straighten out a mistake
on haloscan that had me mistaken with someone else.

now, she has never met me, my blog is a lit blog, her's political
but she has e-mailed and phoned and all for the sake of fairness and kindness.

good karma is headed her way!

thanks again, sherry
"ANGEL OF BATAAN"

there's an obit in today's PG that i think is a
must read. page e-6


Joan Kennedy Schmidt
she was 88. one of the nurses liberated in 1945 from
the camp when a tank crashed thru the prison gate.

their story was told in a book" WE BAND OF ANGELS"
by E.M.Norman 1999.

me, i want to know why few knew of these women.
i know a man that was in the group that liberated that camp.
he has photos and medals and tons of stories but he has NEVER said anything about any women.

i'd ask him but he's in fla. for the winter.

anyway, i think it's a must read obit.
stop and think about her and all the other unsung heros from every war and in everyday life.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007


72 and sunny!
whoo hooo!

i just closed the windows.
had 'em open all day.

oh god, it smelled GOOD!
march winds


the crackle of last year
oak leaves skitter
down the long cinder drive.

bright green reaches thru black.
the scent of life
smooths my skin as if new as well.

well, for good or bad, i sent in my recording of one of my poems.
i sent the one that i had been using for practice, thinking that at least i was familiar with speaking the words. plus, it's short!


the sun is brilliant today. going up to 70! i plan on turning the furnace off and opening the windows later to air out the place.

then, by friday, cold and rain with a bit of snow mixed.the electric blankie stays on the bed. phooey!

Monday, March 12, 2007


there is an annoying little hiss in my recording of myself.
or maybe there's an annoying little me in my recording of a hiss?


snakes on a poet anyone?????? ; )

i am finding out just how many freaking ways there are to read 15 lines, FIFTEEN!
GEEEEEEZZZZZ, it's a miracle that i haven't caused my computer to scream and throw itself out of my window.

i'm still practicing recording a poem of mine.
trying to get the reading , the inflection, the breaths right
while getting used to how i really sound.

my friend philip has helped a lot. (thanks philip)

he is in charge of putting together a cd of some PK poets.
i know he'll do a great job.

me, i'm not too sure of!
MONDAY!!!!!

Sunday, March 11, 2007




i caught bob trying to blog again.
if he starts writing poems i'm going to make him buy his own damn computer!


my favorite beatles song!

the sun is bright and the pittsburgh sky is blue. a rare thing.
my mood is brighter as well. ; )
changing all the clocks etc!

Saturday, March 10, 2007


RITA DOVE

i think she is magnificent









Rita Dove


Rita Dove was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1952. Her books of poetry include American Smooth (W. W. Norton, 2004)





Adolescence II
by Rita Dove


Although it is night, I sit in the bathroom, waiting.
Sweat prickles behind my knees, the baby-breasts are alert.
Venetian blinds slice up the moon; the tiles quiver in pale strips.

Then they come, the three seal men with eyes as round
As dinner plates and eyelashes like sharpened tines.
They bring the scent of licorice. One sits in the washbowl,

One on the bathtub edge; one leans against the door.
"Can you feel it yet?" they whisper.
I don't know what to say, again. They chuckle,

Patting their sleek bodies with their hands.
"Well, maybe next time." And they rise,
Glittering like pools of ink under moonlight,

And vanish. I clutch at the ragged holes
They leave behind, here at the edge of darkness.


happy 10th anniversary to rhino and sadie!