Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The first poem each day is by Ian Wilder, the second is by David Kirschenbaum.

-----------------------

The May Project 2014

May 1

may day

every year
seems to bring
a greater
emergency
more civil rights
violated
increased ecological
damage
another war

yes
we must have
nonviolent resistance
to rolling, roiling oppression
halting expansion
making profiteers
question the next iteration

but we must remember
the other face of
 satyagraha

we must construct
a joyous, permanent maypole
with ribbons
of home-spun cloth
"hand-grinding
hand- pounding
soap-making
paper-making
match-making"

May 1

i put my laundry in the dryer,
before late breakfast/late lunch at my parent's house,
ate a mini-bialy with light cream cheese,
and red onion, lox, cucumber, tomato, and lettuce,
with club soda and lemon on ice,
before gathering recyclables and redeemables,
and heading downstairs to fold my laundry,
setting aside my sleepy clothes
and tomorrow's outfit,
blue jeans to go with yesterday's rugby shirt

May 2

Laundry
was the nickname
of my high school
classmate
Robert Limandri

Bob was popular
among the geek set
that I orbited

and even generally
he played
Captain Von Trapp
in the senior play

Bob
arguably
is the most successful
of our graduating class

he is the Commissioner
of Buildings
for New York City

I don't remember
the exact details
but he got pulled
into an Occupy controversy

something like
the decision fell to him
if
the Occupiers could stay overnight
in the semi-public
Zuccoti/Liberty Park.

I was glad
Bob extricated himself
without having to make
a negative decision

I always liked Bob
and didn't want to
be holding a placard
outside his office

"hey, hey Laundry
how many kids
did you evict today?"

May 2

watching folks hyundai to save folks $25,
while dad's surgeon inspects his gallbladder gone wound,
they're done at about two
so i moved my new psychotherapist appointment up to three.
odds are they won't wait around until i'm done about four
so i'll head home with stewardess, computer, bike messenger, and thermal bags
on the 23rd street crosstown bus,
to ensure i make my new psychotherapist appointment at three.

May 3

apron
of our driveway
has a pothole on its edge

a low priority
in the list of defects
to be fixed
for our 80-year-old home

the majority of  the hole
fronts
contiguous driveway
of the house
rented out next door

the town
owns that section
of land

not sure who
is less likely
to fix it.

May 3

after giving up
go see the statue of liberty
at least you tried
i'm having yesterday's uneaten cream cheese bialy
still good.

May 4

Star Wars
Day
just doesn't
click for me

I grew up
reading the science fiction
classics
Heinlein
Asimov

as a boy
I attended Star Trek
conventions
and even
got to ask
Gene Roddenberry
a question

at age 11
I watched
A New Hope
in the theaters

waiting in the
long lines
that seemed
to be the hallmark
blockbuster
1970s movies

and I anxiously awaited
Empire Strikes Back
and Return of Jedi

decades later
Joseph Campbell
has informed my understanding
of how societies
use mythology

yet I don't
feel the need
to celebrate
May the Fourth

May 4

subway platforms
can be dangerous
even when you're not
intending them to be.

May 5

Cinco de Mayo
celebrated
more in the US
than Mexico

same way
St. Patrick's Day
and
Chanukah
are
commercialized
and
Americanized

(is that synonymous?)

Considering
the dearth of vacation
time
in the US
compared to the resting world
I wonder if we have traded
short spurts of
ethnic -tinged
shopping and drinking
for a real break
from work

May 5

(sing)

cancel me
cancel you
do you really
have the flu?

May 6

other
people's words
are sometimes
more important than
my own

climate change
democracy
and art
cannot
be ignored

to insist
that all
words
must sprout from me
as a mushroom
from the back
of a troll

May 6

put a dozen eggs
into my spaghetti pot
half fill it with water
add a bit of salt
cover it,
set the timer for 10 minutes
check that its boiled,
remove from flame
set the timer for 12 minutes
drain hot water,
run cold water water over the eggs,
drain cold water,
put 11 eggs back into the carton,
crack the last one on the pot's cover,
an easy peel
before salt then bite then salt then bite then salt then bite.

May 7

serendipity
of internet meanderings
happened upon
Melissa Etheridge's
pean
to love equality

reminding me
of her debut

a cassette tape
buried
in the bottom
of a packed box

resurrected
by my local library's
portal
to a county
of CDs

shared for a
fortnight

May 7

napping isn't working anymore
daylight waking
no shades awakened
for awhile

May 8

"who'll walk through fire for you"

yesterday
a large skin tag
turned purple

as they are
wont to do
when blocked
by a blood clot

i expected
it to turn black
shrivel up
and fall off

as is the normal course
according to internet medicine
and the RN I conferred with today
on the telephone
when the proceedings went awry
(but more on that later)

more than expected

hoped

the tag
had been an annoyance
on my chest for decades

besides the expense
i probably never got it
removed
since it was
a genetic tie
to my mother

unlike my mother
this skin tag
got ill-tempered

it stayed purple
blew up like a grape
and finally started
oozing

of course
this was on
my doctor's day off

and my dermatologist
couldn't see me
any time soon
and even his associates
couldn't for another
fortnight

when it started
oozing
i went to my
local
urgent care

took a look
cleaned
bandaged
prescribed antibiotic
(gotta remember to eat yogurt)
and smoothed a way
for a different local dermatologist
to remove it
(hopefully) tomorrow

May 8

sleeping isn't working anymore
can't outrace the maylight

May 9

two different
stories
co-exist
as to why
Newton's
explanation
of planetary motion
languished in a drawer
an unfinished poem
until Edmond Halley
begged

Newton had fled
London
when the plague hit
doing calculations
in the countryside
and at least once
in an orchard without his books


inserting
from memory
the mass of planets
into his equations

he found
his equations
didn't quite work
he drawered them

until Halley arrived
to point out
Newton
had misremembered
the mass

and with the correct mass
the numbers worked

yet

Newton
was bullied
by the Royal Society's
Robert Hooke
on a previous optics
discovery
Hooke claimed credit

Newton feared
proclaiming
his planetary equations
would again
invite
Hooke's
sharp elbows

over a cup of coffee
with Halley
Hooke claimed to have solved
planetary motion
yet could not provide
the mathematical proof

surprisingly
Hooke
suggested
Halley visit
Newton who might
be able to make
the calculations

Newton proclaimed
to Halley
he already had
promised to copy them over
and send them along

no mention of Hooke
in the first
no mention of the
misremembered mass
in the second

is either correct
or a combination?

May 9

four alarms set
for bloodwork
for pick up meds
for psych hello
up to pee just before first alarm
cancel psych and the rest
pee
grab quart of water from the fridge
find jug of lithium i'd forgotten about in my mets meds bag,
pull sleepy bandanna over eyes.

May 10

unresolved physical
problems
and
an exhausting work week

leave me
needing to take it
down a notch

no yardwork

but still
library board prep
and a checkbook to balance

May 10

from the railroad
to arthur treacher's
i like my parents

May 11

Mother's Day
at
my in-laws

my parents
have passed

the day will be enjoyable

but still
miss my parents
too much

to rant
about Mother's Day
originally
being about peace

May 11

my sweatpants,
all sweatpants,
need velcro in their pockets
so everything stays where i want it to.
i keep my phone and my pills
in my shirt's left-breast pocket
so they stay where i want them to.

May 12

chilly Spring
finally
breaks

yellow pollen
blankets my car

my eyes itch

May 12

i taped the tonight show
because the info said
musicians neil young and jack black
which didn't make much sense to me.

May 13

Some days
I'd rather not
drive

stuck
in a seat
leg muscles
back muscles
cramping

the monotony
of the road

the noises
of the engine

the cost
of gas

gas fumes
exhaust fumes

the worry of repairs

May 13

i watched the tonight show
because the info said
musicians neil young and jack black
which didn't make much sense to me
but i wanted to hear neil young.
playing the show
jimmy fallon says
"we'll be right back with neil young and jack white."

May 14

cognac
and soy sauce
in vegetable broth
taste of beef

May 14

no wifi at the doctors' office
the 10 doctors in the practice doctors' office
o the humanity.

May 15

Ides of May
1856
L. Frank Baum
was born

no one
saw
divinity
of Lewis' lion
in Oz

but for several recent decades
the uncowardly
Bryan
was nailed
to silver slippers
and the golden road

May 15

when my supplies run low
i drink ice water throughout the day
and one two-liter soda bottle at bed time.
tonight i have a 2014 Diet Dr Pepper cued up.

May 16

Ginger
I found out
recently
is not only
good for
digestion
but also
breathing

But to persons
of a certain age
it only reminds them
of
Mary Ann

May 16

no more searching
or replying
one weight off me
one weight off me
no matter

May 17

mismatched
socks

the oft asked
where did
the partner
go

does everyone have
a drawer full

how often
does one
lay them out
for
reunification

how often to
turn
long term
stragglers
into
rags

or just
wear
an ill-sorted
pair
for weekend
chores

May 17

everything including some pennies
on a sicilian pie with mushrooms
and orange crush and diet pepsi two liters.
pie'll last me three days,
might have some money by then.

May 18

13
year old
nephew's
birthday

and my deceased
father

his grandfather

13 years ago
Kimberly and I
were at
the 56th Fighter Squadron
with my parents
for my father's birthday

of the 4 of us
my father was the only one
with a cellphone

the call came
announcing
my nephew's
imminent arrival

Kimberly and I
left in the middle
of dinner
to care
for his 2 and 6 year old
brothers

my parents
didn't
mind

May 18

two slices yesterday
two slices today
five to go
later a gala apple,
a baked potato with deli mustard,
or mini bialies with american cheese.

May 19

Archibald
MacLeish
read
a selection
of Emerson's poetry
gently
respectfully
lyrically

a poor
choice

May 19

i'm checking in on you
don't know what else to do
it's really easy to
reply

May 20

my cursory
college reading
of Emerson
left me
with the impression
that he was
the passive tense
of the
woodlands living
Mexican War Tax protesting
simply simplify
different drummer
Thoreau

revisiting
their work
a quarter century
later
clarifies

Emerson
was the
theoretical
structural
financial
underpinning
of the
Transcendentalists

and
even more
the inheritance
from his new bride's
death
at age 20
provided
the opportunity
for all

May 20

it's over a decade
and every day i'm watching the gilmore girls
more often than i b rush my teeth

May 21

Certain days
of the year
seem
to have
their own
seasonal moon

tides of similar
occurrences
swell
and crash
against
the conscious shore

relationships
thought gone
return
as problems
of increasing
magnitude

May 21

look for me
repeat
look for me
repeat
eventually look for me
repeat

May 22

eating
at Friendly's
with
my brother's family
to celebrate
my 13 year old nephew's
birthday

the 15 year old
looks up
"that's the song
we played at my concert"

signed
sealed
delivered
i'm yours

May 22

wendy's french fries
are fried in a separate fryer
so i can eat them
wendy's french fries suck
even though they're fried in a separate fryer

May 23

some days
seem to be
overflowing

quickly moving from
one
to the next

until the next day
has arrived

an interlude
of cake
helps relive
the exhaustion

May 23

soda at cvs
chicken wrap and baked potato at wendy's
fish and chips and onion rings at arthur treacher's
chocolate and vanilla haagen dazs pops at the former dairy barn
back to folks,
still in slippers and sleepy shorts.

May 24

my honors
college course
reading
left me
with the impression
that Emerson
was the passive
tense of Thoreau

my then
professor's admonition
not to delve
too deeply
into the transcendentalism's
Hindu roots
because it was
a religion founded
in poverty
did not encourage
further exploration

i remember him
being more entranced
by Buddenbrooks
Germanic discounting
of the disabled

a quarter century
later
my explorations
have unearthed
Emerson's
personal
theoretical
structural
financial
toils
to build the
superstructure
of transcendentalism

without Emerson
failed author Thoreau
and many others
would not
have had
an education
a livelihood
the land to squat on
or the borrowed money
to buy a shed

May 24

at the end of million dollar arm
the tale of discovering
two baseball pitchers
in a country, india, devoid of baseball,
we watch the two pitchers get signed to minor league contracts,
and as type scrawls across the screen,
updating us to some of the real-life characters in the film,
they forget to tell us how
one of the pitchers just didn't cut it and retired,
while the other is on his last leg,
having just had tommy john surgery on his pitching arm

May 25

saturday afternoon
nap
with
one you
love

luxury
no amount
of wealth
can match

May 25

no more good wife
until september

May 26

#yesallwomen
You are right to be outraged. It is a huge problem that is not being dealt with. Even the military refuses to acknowledge it. We will not have a just society until the attitude which supports violence against women is dealt with

being a
truth teller
can be
lonely
and bruising

those who
are almost
ready
to hear
will struggle
the most
like a child
resisting
sleep

May 26

folks back late from the track
mom talks a big dinner
after a while
i reheat three mushroom slices
cook three ears of corn.

May 27

About 16 years ago
I had lunch
with my father
at a Chinese restaurant
in Babylon village
that is no longer there
(but neither is he)

My mother
was out of town
at the time
either
at a community activist
meeting
or
visiting relatives

I asked him
if I could use
his mother’s
engagement ring
to propose.

“You have
to ask
your mother.
I gave it
to her.”

May 27

forgot my niece's 21st birthday
until facebook reminded me,
emailed her anyhow

May 28

today
was going to be
about
the confluence
of listening to
Claire Danes
read
The Handmaiden's Tale
and its reference
arising
in a discussion
of #YesAllWomen

a different sadness interupted
a memory surfaced

early 1990's
living in DC
somewhere the Oprah show
was on
I liked Oprah
but generally
did not watch television

her guest
was a woman
I had never heard of
(it was before the Clinton Inauguration)
she was introduced
as a poet

Maya Angelou

entranced
she spoke
of not allowing
prejudice in her home
politely but firmly
telling a guest
the behavior
is inappropriate

May 28

kinda wishing for a
car accident
that kills my parents and me,
easier that way

May 29

relief
at the
business magazine
wrap-around
announcing
the end
of the subscription treadmill
started
from minimal
frequent flyer miles
earned
on a business trip
to San Diego
on my higher
credit limit
card

will always
carry
memory
of waving
to my wife
babysitting
in Cape Cod
through
the San Diego
zoo
panda
cam

May 29

thought of calling my sister
to get together for my dad's birthday tomorrow
then thought of the aggravation
over almost every part of it

May 30

interview questions

heavy client contact
high stakes decision
juggling files

why did you leave

May 30

it's some sorta wrong
to wanna be dead
on your father's 84th birthday

May 31

for years
we celebrated
Walt Whitman's
birthday
by going to his
state park
birthplace
house

and
our own
private ceremony
of a
moment
of silence
  to hear
the waves
from any point
on Paumanok
as he claimed
you could
in his time

in 2009
we didn't notice

the day before
after weeks of trying
we placed
my mother
in a hospice facility
from home hospice

we all knew
that she
was holding on
past what
medical science
could understand
and she was past
being able to express

but we all knew
she didn't
want to die
at home

the opposite
of my father

after one
night's sleep
in the hotel
inspired hospice
she died
on the day
of Whitman's birth

we now light
a yahrzeit candle
on that day
every year

May 31

back home
to greet new roommate
clean his room before he arrives
roberta left a pair of high heels
they're sitting in my front hall now,
waiting for a match