belly

[chicken]

270 dayears
I am jo..jo..jonah
years marked by meals of krill
and deep sea giganto squid

3’s, 9’s, and 3’s
are the mark on my head
our head…a-fla..fla..flopping when we tire
when we are on full-term tenterhooks


such Arabic magic
serves only
to point
to the point

at one time, admiring the shells
those primordial mobile homes
an oyster’s scuttle bemused.
the day I was ready
I did not know
was The Day.
and now I relish giganto squid…
such strange happenings
such strange happenings


what are you people doing up there?!
I’m certain 7’s are part of the formula
(greed, gluttony, sloth, envy, you know the routine…)
but I’ll be damned if I can fig..fig..figure it out
and I guess I am just that
left craving fresh greens, sunrise, and a shed husk.







this came roaring out after viewing Joseph Campbell's "Power of Myth" yet again.

[Noonan McKane]

I like it, Chicken. I like yer language.

Can I just politely ask, though, that you put your poems in the thread "Member's Verse"?

At the rate we're going, the index to 'Creativity Corner' will soon be 50 pages long! Everyone seems to open a new topic to air their latest work!

I wouldn't mind, but as it stands, there's only two or three of my little things in 'Member's Verse', and they're getting a right showing up; just sitting there by themselves! A few more bits and pieces of the quality of 'Belly' by the likes of yerself wouldn't half bring up it's percentages!

Will ye keep this in mind?

[chicken]

easy enough. thanks for the tip.

[Noonan McKane]

Curious, now: What is Joseph Campbell's 'Power Of Myth'? Is it a film?

[chicken]

"Power of Myth" was one of the very last things campbell did in his long career as one of the world's preeminent scholars of mythology. it's a series of interviews between him and bill moyers. campbell is sheer genius; percpetion like a razor's edge.

it'll change the way you view mythology, religion, and the future of humanity.

[Noonan McKane]

Curiouser: Who is Bill Moyers?

[chicken]

bill moyers is an american journalist--but different in that he only does public television stuff, which is fully independent and educational. he's quite top-knotch.

[chicken]

despite running the risk of a double forum faux pas (a double post and resurrecting an old thread started by myself, no less), i have to share something with you all.

i was urged to enter the contest i won by this note from the best ear i know:
"dear joel,
i don't care what you think - get ten of your poems together and send it by jan 20 to the address on the flyer i sent you. it's saline county only and i believe in your work. a lot.
just do it. don't decide, intellectualize or otherwise become embroiled.
much encouragement,
love,
lori"
(embroiled is a great word, and very apt...the woman knows me well....)

so i did exactly as she said......and did it in such an automatic mode that i didn't even keep a record of what i sent in!! <!--emo&:lol:--><!--endemo-->
last week i was finally able to speak to one of the judges on the phone to hammer out some details. in passing, she mentioned this poem specifically, saying: "i'm dying to hear how it is to be read"

i honestly did not remember i sent this silly little poem in, i don't really think it's all that great.........i've better. but she loved it and is dying to hear it.
remember, you read it here first folks.

all the numbers are about pregnancy. 30 x 9 = 270. 3's, 9's, and 3's (both the trimester model and the new model have three stages of fetal development in them).

so i'm at home practicing the voice of this poem, this silly left-handed child of mine.