RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 08:01 AM
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The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Wed 1/2/2008) |
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For the Sake of Strangers
No matter what the grief, its weight, we are obliged to carry it. We rise and gather momentum, the dull strength that pushes us through crowds. And then the young boy gives me directions so avidly. A woman holds the glass door open, waiting patiently for my empty body to pass through. All day it continues, each kindness reaching toward another -- a stranger singing to no one as I pass on the path, trees offering their blossoms, a retarded child who lifts his almond eyes and smiles. Somehow they always find me, seem even to be waiting, determined to keep me from myself, from the thing that calls to me as it must have once called to them -- this temptation to step off the edge and fall weightless, away from the world.
Dorianne Laux
*************************
:hi:
RL
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lizziegrace
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Wed Jan-02-08 08:03 AM
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RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 08:32 AM
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lizziegrace
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Wed Jan-02-08 09:13 AM
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4. Friends and even strangers |
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keep you from falling away. :hug:
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ThomCat
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Wed Jan-02-08 09:09 AM
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I really hope you aren't feeling that kind of grief. :(
:hug:
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RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 11:24 PM
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:hug:
How are you feeling?
RL
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xchrom
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Wed Jan-02-08 10:14 AM
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Tuesday Afternoon
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Wed Jan-02-08 11:21 AM
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6. Reminds of Tennessee Williams -- |
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Blanche DuBois: Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
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Gonzo Gardener
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Wed Jan-02-08 11:53 AM
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hisownpetard
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Wed Jan-02-08 12:27 PM
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8. I love Dorianne Laux. Thanks for the poem! Did you know that she was a waitress |
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in a diner where Phillip Levine used to go, and she approached him one day and started talking about his poetry. He's the one who encouraged her to write and is given credit for 'discovering' her.
Thank again, RL. I admire your taste!
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RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 01:09 PM
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9. I found her and Kim Addonizzio's book on Poetry |
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and fell for both of them.
They are both great in their own way and styles...
:hi:
RL
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hisownpetard
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Wed Jan-02-08 02:03 PM
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10. My favorite book of hers is "What We Carry." Here's a poem from it: |
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DUST
Someone spoke to me last night, told me the truth. Just a few words, but I recognized it. I knew I should make myself get up, write it down, but it was late, and I was exhausted from working all day in the garden, moving rocks. Now, I remember only the flavor-- not like food, sweet or sharp. More like a fine powder, like dust. And I wasn't elated or frightened, but simply rapt, aware. That's how it is sometimes-- God comes to your window, all bright light and black wings, and you're just too tired to open it.
—from What We Carry
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RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 06:46 PM
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11. Have you read Kim Addonizzio's books? |
hisownpetard
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Wed Jan-02-08 07:07 PM
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15. Yeah, I like her stuff, like that it's edgy and 'out there,' but I much prefer Doriane Laux |
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(if we're comparing them).
What do you think?
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RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 07:46 PM
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18. On the whole, I prefer Laux |
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but sometimes my mood calls for Kim...
RL
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lizziegrace
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Wed Jan-02-08 06:51 PM
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12. I read that one a few days ago |
hisownpetard
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Wed Jan-02-08 07:08 PM
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lizziegrace
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Wed Jan-02-08 08:27 PM
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It's become one of my favorites. :)
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Tuesday Afternoon
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Wed Jan-02-08 06:59 PM
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14. that is fucking brilliant!! |
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sorry, I cussed. but that is the only way I know to say it.
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hisownpetard
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Wed Jan-02-08 07:09 PM
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BlueIris
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Wed Jan-02-08 07:52 PM
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19. "The Poet's Companion" is exxxxxxcellent. |
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The two of them autographed it for me once.
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RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 08:41 PM
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Autographed? So Cool!
I pickup up a signed Margaret Atwood novel and this weekend I was given an autographed Michael Chabon novel.
:D
RL
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Guava Jelly
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Wed Jan-02-08 06:54 PM
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13. This is quite a painful poem. |
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I don't know why but it made me think of a Sinatra song
Empty is.. Speaks:] Empty is the sky before the sun wakes up. Empty is the eyes of animals in cages. Empty, faces of women mourning When everything's been taken from them. Me, don't ask me about empty.
Empty is a string of dirty days Held together by some rain. And the cold winds drumming at the trees again. Empty is the color of the fear Long about September when the days Go marching in a line toward November. Empty is the hour before sleep chills you every night And pushes you to take me away from every kind of light. Empty is me. Empty is me.
..yeah
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RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 08:41 PM
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24. Yeah, that song works well with the mood of the poem. |
BlueIris
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Wed Jan-02-08 07:52 PM
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20. Spooky. (I was just going to post some Dorianne myself.) |
RetroLounge
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Wed Jan-02-08 08:28 PM
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I love her stuff...
:hi:
RL
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