The popular photographer and poet Cindy Knoke wrote us a poem in response to our ongoing flash fiction contest (which ends at midnight tonight so go vote for your favorite story!). Unfortunately, per the fine print of the contest rules, only flash fiction responses meeting the stated criteria will be accepted. All other responses are to be deleted. Yeah, I get down like that. However, reading Cindy’s poem felt to me like listening to a Tom Waits song and if anyone knows me they know I have a huge man crush on Tom. No way I could abandon her poem to a trash can death. So instead I share it here with you where it can shimmy and shake for all eternity as a special supplement to our weekly Sunday Song to Spark the Spirit and Summon the Moves of the Dance…
poetry
When Winds Turn Afoul
when winds turn afoul
when clouds amass in anger
when gloom turns the day
veer not from thy righteous path
lift thy chin and stay the way
#notetoself
Image courtesy of JOSHUA RYAN OF UNSPLASH.COM
Seize Hard the Moment
Seize hard the moment
Right now before it passes by
Seize it with all your might
With all your purpose
And don’t question why
Or wonder where it’s been
Or wonder where it’s going
Or wonder anything at all
Just hold on to it
And don’t let go
As it forever evolves
And leads you astray
To the exact where you need to be
To the exact why you need to be
#notetoself
FEATURED IMAGE COURTESY JAVIER ALLEGUE ON UNSPLASH
FACTOTUM — The Worst of America At Its Best
BOOK | FICTION | LITERARY
FACTOTUM
BY CHARLES BUKOWSKI
RATING: ★ ★ ★ ★
I’ve never been much of a Charles Bukowski fan…
Not because I don’t like him…
But just because I never got around to reading that much of his work.
However, I’ve always liked the idea of Charles Bukowski…
The legend of Charles Bukowski.
Of him being someone who just did not give one single fuck care about society and its oppressive norms.
Bukowski, or the idea I have of him, appeals to me because he is so opposite of who I am…
Rememborizing*
I have whined a lot here in the past, and I mean a lot… no, really… a lot, about how screwy my brain has become ever since I caught the leukemia bug nearly a decade ago and was deluged with excessive amounts of chemo.
Not to mention I still take a daily dose of the stuff as a prophylactic so I don’t come down with that nasty little bug ever again.
Anyway, long story short — I have developed some pretty heavy duty vestibular issues and other funky brain-related stuff as a result, so for the past little while I’ve been working on various techniques and exercises to try to strengthen the ol’ noggin up a bit.
Seek Not the Enchantment
seek not the horned beast
for it will e’er elude thee
seek instead what’s true—
that of which it means to thee
for that is within thy grasp
Redemption
There’s nothing Fixed that can’t be Broken
Praise Jove, for without them, the Broken
And all the Hope and Possibilities for which they allow
There is nothing Redeemed
There is nothing made New Again