Happiness
I asked professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me, what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile, as though I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along the Des Plaines River
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with their women and children and a keg of beer and an accordion.
Month: February 2013
Funeral Poem by Marilyn McIntyre
Funeral
somber, muted, hushed
soft sobbing the music
hellos and sadness
family to the left
bikers to the right
children screaming silently
crushed by the shere weight of the crime
a man who left too early
signing a name
leaving a mark
i was here
you weren’t
well
they’re not taking me fuckin alive
i go kicking and screaming
clawing at life
inhaling beauty
grasping armfuls of love
clasping it to my breast
howling in agony
for any opportunity missed
material, burned and scorched
by my breath
my words dangling from clouds
riding the thermals on hawk wings
no tombstone –
memories
remarks
deeds done
laughter passed
love given
arms not somberly folded
but spread wide as the smile not erased
for every moment stolen
mark These words on my life
she lived
she lived
till the last goddamned second
she infinitely lives.
Suicide
if you had to go
i understand
you hurt, i heal
questions eat my heart
coffins hold no soul
moon slivered in a cold summer sky
stars shimmer and have you now
peacefulness your song
i, empty sky
were you trying to live someone elses life
dream others’ dreams
eat too much of the good life
all around you propaganda
filling your ears with pus and gore
family, obligations
these were blessings
not a sign to die
someone has to eat the shit
and spit out flowers
stop the stones from the glass houses
why me.
You never crossed the emotional line
We were such good friends
You called
I answered the phone
You told me on Christ’s birthday
You were leaving
I closed my ears and couldn’t hear you
You never called again
I have an answering machine
Clean, clinical, messages
You’re never there.
***
YOUNG SEA poem by Carl Sandburg
YOUNG SEA
THE sea is never still.
It pounds on the shore
Restless as a young heart,
Hunting.
The sea speaks
And only the stormy hearts
Know what it says:
It is the face
of a rough mother speaking.
The sea is young.
One storm cleans all the hoar
And loosens the age of it.
I hear it laughing, reckless.
They love the sea,
Men who ride on it
And know they will die
Under the salt of it
Let only the young come,
Says the sea.
Let them kiss my face
And hear me.
I am the last word
And I tell
Where storms and stars come from.
Chasing the Dream Poem by Marilyn McIntyre
Chasing the Dream
by Marilyn McIntyre
time floating downstream
in an ancient bottle
plugged with different futures
I dash excitedly
up and down the bank
like a well trained Lassie
barking excitedly
and then wade in to stop time
the eddy pried it away
running on rapidly
burbling with life
and plunging round the bend
i wonder what the
message might have been
don’t chase me down
I’m here, I’m gone
and life is but a dream.
***
Iron poem by Janet Kuypers
Iron
Janet Kuypers
from the “ Periodic Table of Poetry” series
Grabbing the wrought Iron railing
as I walked toward the kitchen,
I first put away the Iron and Ironing board…
But the television blaring from in the den
stopped me in my tracks. As I walked,
the Japanese TV voice asked “scusah”
before the English translation started.
Going to the den I saw him and asked,
“Excuse me, scusah, Iron Chef is on?”
‘Cause although those shows are insanely old,
it’s fun to watch the Japanese food show
for vegetarian meal ideas. “Yeah,
got any ideas for dinner?” he responded,
and I walked to the stainless steel fridge
to look at our food for ideas, and saw
his Iron skillets cleaned on the stove
above the stainless steel oven. Then I
glanced at the stainless steel dish washer
and the stainless steel bowls on the counter.
Knowing that Iron forms stainless steel,
I thought of all of the iron in our home:
Makes sense, since Iron is so abundant
on this planet, from it’s outer crust
to the Earth’s rocky core. Even reactions
of high-mass stars produced Iron,
making it such a vital part of this planet.
So it makes sense I’d see it everywhere
in my own home, from my furniture to
my appliances… From lighting to lanterns,
from tables to chairs to even our wall clock.
It’s in the fireplace grating, and it’s even in
the abstract wall art. Hmmm, and how extensive
is my Iron candle holder collection…
A few of those older candle holders even
have rust, because the Iron oxidized.
The Iron Age brought historical advances
in everything from weaponry to introducing
curvilinear and flowing decoration designs.
Iron is so abundant on this planet,
and since Iron is even so needed
inside the human body,
I’ve even been taking Iron supplements
to make sure I never run low.
And from the micro to the macro,
since I love astronomy so:
with high-mass stars producing Iron,
scientists even believe that because
of the existence of Iron in the formation
of our solar system, an Iron isotope
energy release may have led to
the differentiation of asteroids
after their formation four
point six billion years ago.
So from the creation of our solar system
to the insides of our bodies,
it makes sense why we humans
have such an Iron will,
with such a metallic element
coursing through our veins.
I finally walked back to the den
with a few pumpkin seeds to snack on.
“We can have a spinach salad,
but I started cooking lentils for beans.
If you want to use the steel wok,
Let’s cook Tempeh and add artichokes,
unless you want to use broccoli.”
Since I had Iron on my mind,
I had to pick the most iron-rich
foods we had, before I added,
“And what spices are they using
on Iron Chef? We can come up
with a really good meal tonight
if we play our cards right…”