Posted on by EAT

Burning the Flag

During a recent cross-country drive across several states, I noticed how many yahoos sported the American flag on their cars and houses, but never bothered to honor it by taking it down at night (it should never be left in the dark) or retiring it once it fades out, cracks to bits, or wastes away.

It dawned on me that this must be how these Americans actually feel about their country and the constitutional ideals upon which it is founded. They may boast and brag about how great America is, but actions speak so much louder than words. You show me exactly what you think the ideals that founded this country are worth when you let the flag that represents them waste away in plain view of the world—Something that once upon a time would win you a citation.

Burning the Flag

Cracked and faded in the sun,
        sported emblems lose their hue,
                unretired and weather-torn.

        Exposure to the elements betrays
        emotional and mental negligence
        to burning disregard for heritage.

                Bumper stickers age too soon;
        paper pride is left to wane,
cracked and faded in the sun

        on well-kept pickup trucks and long sedans
        beside some slogan spouting malcontent;
        emotional and mental negligence

                flies atop the roofs of cars—
        sooty clown-ears deeply stained,
unretired and weather-torn.

        Support is shown as mere velleity,
        a symbol posted like an afterthought
        beside some slogan spouting malcontent,

just another brittle sign
        taking on a dirty tinge,
                cracked and faded in the sun.

        What shone for Francis Key one failing night
        is treated now like any corporate logo,
        a symbol posted like an afterthought.

Freedom flails on autumn winds,
        half-remembered, growing pale,
                unretired and weather-torn.

        Abandoned to an apathy’s pollution,
        the dream Old Glory strives to represent
        is treated now like any corporate logo.

                Banners rip on plastic stands,
        unsaluted dawn to dusk,
cracked and faded in the sun,
        unretired and weather-torn.

        As mildew rots the fabric of the States,
exposure to the elements betrays
        the dream Old Glory strives to represent
                to burning disregard for heritage.

This is my 9th hybridanelle poem.

Posted on by EAT

Stardrift

Written for Mahmud Kianush, a poet from Iran who used a couple of my ghazals in part of a BBC radio series covering the history and evolution of the Persian ghazal. It was a 12 or 13 part series, broadcast in Persian, and my ghazals were included toward the end as examples of how the ghazal form had found its way into other cultures and languages.

Having my work with the ghazal recognized by an Iranian scholar in this manner meant a lot to me. Thus was I moved to write and dedicate this ghazal to him. Most of the imagery is derived from his book of poems, Of Birds and Men, published in 2004 by The Rockingham Press.

Stardrift

This poem has been published in my book an inkling hope: select poems, available in Kindle and paperback formats. Out of consideration for those who have purchased a copy, I have removed it from this post and online viewing in general.

Publication History:

Art Arena (web-based) — July 2005

The Ghazal Page (web-based) — April 2006

Posted on by EAT

The Terrible Truth

I have been marginally involved (as in marginalized) with the poetry scene in the Mendocino County area since about 2000. It’s strange how self-proclaimed anti-elitists tend to form their own little elitist circles. And their only bragging rights, really, are that they had enough money to be able to self-publish through a vanity press. Wow. Hmm. How impressive.

Several members of the anti-elitist circle of elites here in the area have tried to pin me to a particular school or discipline, which I’ve felt ambivalent about. On the one hand, this indicates that they’re at least aware of me and perhaps even respect some of my efforts. On the other hand this illustrates that they see my work as beneath theirs because it does not conform to their idea of what poetry should be.

Ah well. Reflecting on all this recently sparked this small write.

The Terrible Truth

Try not to confuse me
   with the Formalist
       the Classicist
           the Structuralist
               the Neo-something

                       I am merely an explorer
                   a piece of yourself left
               beneath the rain-soaked coals
           of a distant childhood
       campfire