Biopoem

This was an assignment for class and I kinda like the results

Mary Quince

Forgiving. Open. Analytical. Clever

Sister of five brothers.

Lover of rain puddles, thrift stores, bracelets, and homecoming.

Who feels better at home, more sane in the winter, and safer with pets.

Who needs family, lake water, and satin pillowcases.

Who fears the power of words, waking up unloved, and moving away from home.

Who gives birthday parties, many hugs, and elbow grease.

Who would like to see her cats soon, her friends happy, and a guy with his head on straight.

Native of Scottsboro.

Douglas

after we text

i'm really mad at you...
because i liked you a lot
and you had to go and
get violent one night
"for emphasis" and then
never apologize for scaring me
and partly because you
start bein all nice to me right
when i want to ask if we can
give each other the cd's back
and also i want to go to the
show downtown and because
i want to know what your status means
and also because of all the stuff
we said last night about
each other being good company
even though i said it first
but what makes me the most mad
is that i've learned how
not to like you anymore
or think of you that much and
what makes me really angry
is that all of this makes me sad

The White Bear

Everything in the box on your doorstep
and all the small things swollen with words in the envelope,
the pictures pulled from my wall and
your toothbrush thrown away;
it’s all cleared from my sight
except for the damn bear and his stupid stuffed soul
sitting next to Rallie and Muttsee on my pillow.
I come home and see the bear,
you sit down for a chat at the library,
that couple we set up falls apart,
I get pix messages of your look-a-like spotted on campus,
David attempts to take me home,
there’s an A&E special on Tallulah Bankhead,
I date a skinny boy who wants to be an accountant,
he switches to finance then breaks up with me,
I put on my dress from our first date,
a 64 tag rolls past on the interstate,
the new guy did another sweet thing that reminds me of you—
it must be the third time this week,
while looking for an old memento, I find
the letters, the cards, the pictures and
there sits the bear—
always sad and always scared, and
I can’t help but feel a relief settle in
as he slowly loses his soul.

Tennessee River

Hold your breath and fall in,
digging toes into the gross algae-
mud seven feet deep and stay
still enough for the minnows
to nibble at your warm skin.
Pull yourself along by the dock
posts that are rotting so slowly,
but come up for air sometimes.
Or the posts will bar you in,
the catfish will become your friend,
and the mud, your bed at night.
The dirty river makes no judgments,
expects so little, and cares so much
it’s too comfortable not to stay.

National Grammar Day

In honor of National Grammar Day, I'd like to post a poem that I wrote a while back that reminds us all of a time when our high school English teachers (bless their hearts) were teaching us how to write essays.



My First Essay

I write a thesis, or

is that a theme? Not like
the paper but like the

string of words pulled out of a text

in order to make sense of the work.

Ok, so thesis-writing,

theme-reading is what I’m doing.

I wrench a theme from the story.

No, that is an observation, so

I try to write a thesis instead,

but it turns out to be a summarizing sentence.

Which I thought was right.

So I finally find the theme

and form from it, an idea,

until I have created:

a thesis.

I raise my hand, ready for my words

to be checked against the

the incredible intellect of my

beloved

(well not so much now)

teacher.

“That’s a good start.”

Start?

“But it is too wordy,

so pull out the most important part,

the one that gathers the focus

of your paper and state it.

Then put these introductory words here,

wrap it around an interesting fact,

glue this here, clip this out,

summarize, tack it with a dot

at the end, and there you have it.”

No I don’t.

"Some pictures"

For my first photojournalism assignment, we were told to just take "some pictures"

Tag

The "laundry room" part of our dorm room



Samford Hall in the snow

At Night

At night after the crickets grind
before the heat of the morning reaches us
and somewhere in the middle
when the train drones past

you look at me; stop and face me
with eyes that push past mine
and see through me while soaking in
everything--slowly, at the same time.

When I look back, stare, all I find
is your steadfast trap. No mirror, no
window through your thoughts,
just those earth eyes of yours that

can take away a piece of me
and never leave a drop behind.
That give and take at night with you
makes me drop my curtain every time.

Daddy

Behind a steering wheel
snaking safely on mountain roads
with two of his best friends belted tight
in the backseat.

Stretched out on the couch
of a different friend's house
just so he has time to see everyone
from his hometown.

Leaned back in a chair
tall at the bar he's always at
with the guys, calling and crying
for those not there.

Hugging his kids
the minute he sees them
always smiling, glad they're there
with him, wherever.

Leroy

Leroy 1

He’s a cripple you know; 2

he fell off the leaning tower of Pisa

(that’s in Fwance)3

and now he’s thirsty and

needs a beer4

“lemme borrow three dollars”5

never four and for just one more

and at the end (maybe middle)

of the day 6

when we’ve all come out

of the woodwork to play

crapaoke 7 will start,

he will shout “WHISKEY”8

as “roll tides9” always hang in the air

we might dance, play darts10,

cuss and tell jokes11

but we’ll not cry.

“for there’s fewer tears

and more beers12” when

Leroy is here.13

1 Butchy Hughes

2 a “nursery” rhyme (said with a lisp)

3 no it’s not

4 for Jimmy, thank you Matt

5 Tik (John Houston Berry)

6 you know who you are

7 karaoke in Melisa’s case

8 Sonny Beach and KB

9 War Eagle!

10 Rick, Jesse, and Jen, Kiki, Jim, Nora, and Nicki

11 “Do you like seafood? Eat me, I’ve got crabs.”

"Horse walks into a bar, and the bartender says 'Hey buddy, why the long face?' "

12 credit to Matt Miller

13 In loving memory of Roseberry Pub ‘n Grill and the man behind it all.