I grow old . . . I grow old . . . Who starts memorizing poetry at my age? If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be memorizing swaths of poetry now—on purpose—starting with a 131-line T.S. Eliot poem, I might have rolled up the bottoms of my white girlfriend jeans and […]
Commit Poetry: Ten Reasons Why To Memorize
It remains a mystery why Tweetspeak Poetry chose Prufrock for me to memorize. If they didn’t feel like I was done with Thomas E, or he with me, and they wanted me to extend my brainy pathways with something long, they could have chosen a more sing-songy piece—like maybe something from the Old Possum’s […]
Commit Poetry: Prufrock – Part 7
Continuing to complete the dare issued by Tweetspeak Poetry in the fall–to memorize T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” And would it have been worth it, after all, After the cups, the marmalade, the tea, Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me, Would it have been worth while, To […]
Commit Poetry: Prufrock – Part 6
I haven’t forgotten my old friend, J. Alfred. Have any of you joined me in this Tweetspeak Poetry dare? I’m almost there. Here’s proof that I earned barista badge #9 for this stanza: And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully! Smoothed by long fingers, Asleep … tired … or it malingers, Stretched on the floor, here […]
6 R’s of Poetry Memorization
I finally settled on six weapons to finish off Prufrock—I mean, to complete this dare—and they each begin with the letter “R.”
Committing Prufrock: Chasing Rabbits
Here I am working on only my third barista badge. I have a ways to go, but I can’t look too far ahead. If I do, I’ll panic and start muttering in the streets about having to recite all “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” at once. This is a long poem, so I […]
How in the Universe am I Going to Do This Thing?
After Tweetspeak pinned me down to memorize “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (all of it) and after I stopped hyperventilating, I decided to take a bite of the peach with a smile. I rolled up my sleeves and the bottoms of my jeans (I can do that in November in South Florida) and asked […]
When You’re Without a Dare Care
One never knows when a certain editor might start to crack a dare, so it’s good never let one’s guard down. But there I was on Saturday morning—just sitting on a bench outside our cottage, enjoying the warm breeze as it wafted through the palms. I was watching tiny geckos, snapping a few pictures, and trying […]
Dream Poem #2: Tom and I
Tom and I We sat on the edge of an operating room table, Tom and I, dangling our legs and eating peaches while juice dribbled down our chins and puddled on the oyster shell floor. A nurse was measuring the walls with a coffee spoon, and a hippopotamus brought a plate of cinnamon toast and a pot of tea. […]
One Word Less For Lent 2015 – 5
Alpha and Omega We start from an end. Word Count: 5 All the One Word Less for Lent 2015 posts are bundled here. In the stillness, Sandy I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.~Revelation 22:13 (NIV)
