“Lines”
reading the frowns
in one person’s face
against the laughter
in another’s
lives skate across palms
like trees waving
at nothing
bordering nothing
there are no limits
no lines drawn except those
we impose
on ourselves
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Thank you for visiting my blog. Until next time, have a lovely couple of weeks!
**image courtesy of BigFoto.com
“Operation Babylift”
Flight plan from Agent Orange
and unfriendly fire, the war torn
to new homes stateside
its first flight
airlifting from Vietnam
the orphaned ones
their parents lost too soon
too soon
too soon to see them grow up
instead strapped in carriers
on airplane seats,
the innocent ones witness
not new homes in a new land
but fuselage
breaking
burning
the rice paddy skid
the soft meets hard
flesh and metal and pliant plant life burning
burning
burning
the dam breaking
drowning waters and unfurling flames
the damn breaking apart
the smoking metal skeleton
the smoking
the
the fragile lives lost
their legacy
their memory
their deaths
fading
fading
fading
lost to time
who remembers the orphans now?
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Thank you for visiting my blog. If you would like to read more about the inspiration (as well as the construction) of this poem, this week’s Patreon post may be of interest to you! For as little as $1 a month–less than a cup of tea–you get more of my work: fiction, non fiction, product reviews, and other goodies as well. Until next time, have a lovely week!
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Universal License.
“Bread and Circuses”
Today Washingtonian elephants Trumpet
away to the tweet tweet of distraction
for days on end while blue jackasses bray
away abuse, abused and abusing
the general multitude.
Meanwhile, the Ringmaster serves as clown supreme
serving double purpose: distracts us all
from our bread-full bellies as he erodes
our way of life, keeps us laughing
so we don’t notice
the price we paid to get here.
the price we still pay.
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Thank you for visiting my blog. If you would like to read more of my work, I’ll be posting fiction, non fiction, product reviews, and other goodies at my new Patreon in addition to this blog’s content. Until next time, have a lovely week!
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Universal License.
“Unfinished”
*inspired by Douglas Adams’s intro to P.G. Wodehouse’s Sunset at Blandings
An intro written to the unfinished
novel of his literary idol,
included in the collection published
posthumously of his own unfinished
work.
An author’s work is never done
Too soon it’s never finished
always .
#
Although I wrote it for a different reason, this poem seemed appropriate today, because tonight is the memorial open mic for local poet and awesome person, Vertigo Xi’an Xavier. He was a fixture in the Northeast Ohio poetry community and will be sorely missed.
I hope you enjoyed the poem, and please come back next Friday for (hopefully) some big news! In the meantime, have a lovely week.
**Image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Universal License.
“Trump’s Greenland”
Trump’s Greenland
wouldn’t be dwarfed
by a golden Trump tower’s
glittering phallus
not compensating for anything at all.
Trump’s Greenland
would be a dream
capitalist utopia
except that everyone
would know he’s the best, they all would love him, all!
if only Greenland was Denmark’s to sell,
he could trade Puerto Rico for it.
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Since this is more specifically political than I normally post, here is my common sense disclaimer: This is a joke, based on the President’s own tweets and words. One of his tweets that I based this joke on was a joke tweet he made about Greenland. The others were apparently completely serious. I’ve also included links, because I realize it’s hard to believe.
This post is in addition to my scheduled Friday post this week, because I frankly couldn’t resist. I hope you enjoyed the poem and come back tomorrow for my normally scheduled post: same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Universal License.
**additional source links
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-once-joked-trading-puerto-rico-greenland-1455689
https://www.ft.com/content/da9e8170-c3fe-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9
https://theweek.com/speedreads/860462/trump-reportedly-joked-about-trading-puerto-rico-greenland
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“A Few of My Favorite Things”
the smell of oncoming rain
as my hair is carried
by the wind rushing through
the car’s open window
at 45 mph
the ceramic and cloth
sculpture of a sandwich
no one will consume with anything
other than their eyes
the trade paperback of
Sylvia Plath poems
beckoning from a library’s
mid-level shelf
my husband’s smile
touching his eyes
caught off-guard
sipping from a frosted glass
the scent of jasmine
and fresh dark earth
as my sneakers squeak
on the way to a store
brimming with books,
pens and pencils and
bookmarks with optical illusions and
papers lined with flowing letters
the last of the
Mother’s Day chocolate
melting on my tongue
for breakfast
Announcement:
Tonight, if you haven’t already viewed my prominently displayed promo video, I will compete in Writing Knights sWord Fight against fantastic poet Adam Spells tonight!
Also, I’ve been making some practical (as well as cosmetic) changes to this site. While my Author Cat Russell site acts as my online resume, this site is my primary blog. I’m expanding my blogroll with additional links to markets where my work can be found, and I’ve added an additional page at the top (beneath the blog title) for Upcoming Appearances. So now my posts will simply be poems, flash stories, or non fiction.
Last month at the INKubator Writers Con, one of the workshops talked about Patreon being a possible source of revenue for content creators, so I’ve been researching how to create a successful Patreon account. I would still keep up my normal output for my blog (every two weeks), instagram, twitter, and FaceBook, but I would need to add incentives for supporters to pay a monthly fee for additional content or perks.
I am looking at incentives for different monthly tiers ($1, $5, $10) such as exclusive video or audio content, additional members only events and posts. I am open to suggestions; what type of monthly incentive/content would want to become a monthly Patreon supporter?
Currently, I’m working on a prose novel (or novelette, depending on length) of Greek mythology from Hera’s point of view, as well as writing poems and short stories. Soon I should have enough poems for another book. I’d also like to publish a collection of my short stories.
In my personal life, aside from poetry events and author fairs, I’ve been reading a lot. I’m currently reading Rikki Santer’s In Pearl Broth: Poems New and Selected, Wonder Woman volume 6: Children of the Gods, Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist, and Watchmen and Philosophy;** that last one I’ve been dipping into every so often, as the material requires more time to digest. I recently finished reading Desiree in Paris: Priestess of Magdalene, Shazam! volume 1, Laura Grace Weldon’s Blackbird (poetry anthology), and Before Watchmen: Comedian/Rorschach.
Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope you enjoyed the post, and remember–polite feedback is always appreciated! Have a lovely week, and please come back. 🙂
#
*promo video created with the help of my son, Christopher Russell, using CyberLink’s PowerDirector.
**This post was written early, so I have since finished a couple of those books and moved on to Wonder Woman volume 7: Amazons Attacked and an ARC of S.T. Hoover’s Hail to the King.
“Ode for a Dog”
You became a cosmonaut,
the Moscow stray taken away
from those frozen city streets–
your unlooked-for honor: to make history,
to reach the heavens.
.
I wondered if they gave you a view,
one last look at the world you left behind,
or was that denied you along with escape,
buried in darkness before you ran out of breath
among those distant lonely stars?
.
A window might have stopped your heart:
Earth’s cobalt blue oceans, pale frosted poles,
rust-colored deserts receding framed in fire as you hurtled
hurled into that azure vault, afraid and alone.
You survived that long.
.
Where is your constellation? My heart breaks
for you, dear sweet dog, your three short years
had not prepared you for such betrayal.
A statue honors you as hero, Laika.
You made history,
.
yet I can’t help these thoughts
creeping unwanted into my dreams:
you would have rather shivered on Earth,
lived on scraps, unnoticed and unknown,
than burned through the heavens alone.
.
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*Since this month marks the 50th Anniversary of a man walking on the moon, I wanted to share a poem I wrote in honor of another astronaut. I wrote the poem after reading of Laika’s flight, and yes, she did have a view. The video is available, if you don’t mind crying.
*
Upcoming Events
Saturday, July 27th
Literary Cleveland’s INKubator Writers’ Conference:
This all day conference is FREE and takes place at the Cleveland Main Library. It’s an incredible opportunity to take workshops, support local writers, and take part in Cleveland’s vibrant literary community!
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Saturday, August 3rd @ 1pm
Author Talk and Poetry Reading at Snowball Bookshop in Barberton. I will be giving a short talk about my journey to becoming a published writer, followed by a poetry reading from my book, Soul Picked Clean.
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Friday, August 9th @ 7pm – 9pm
Writing Knights sWord Fight: This time I will be competing against motivational speaker and all-time awesome poet Adam Spells!
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Saturday, August 10th @ 10am – 1pm
Local Author’s Fair at Dorrie’s Booktique in Canton. I will be there with copies of my book, along with several other local authors from the North Canton The Write Stuff writing group.
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Saturday, August 10th @730pm
Poetry Reading at Visible Voice bookstore! I’m thrilled to be reading alongside the fantastic Sara Minges and Juliet Cook. It’s going to be a great poetry event!
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Wednesday, August 21st @7pm – 9pm
Latitudes Poetry Night at Compass Coffee in Akron. There is a featured reader, followed by an Open Mic.
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Thank you for visiting my blog. I’ll post again in two weeks, but, in the meantime, I hope you have a lovely time enjoying books and poetry!
*Image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Universal License.
