art music poetry

Early Spring Poem

by

Early Spring was an Indian maiden
sitting by the stream
Silver Moon was as brave as the wind
and he loved Early Spring
He sat beside her
as the water flowed
and whispered in her ear
Oh be my Early Spring
Oh be my Early Spring this year

And Early Spring looked into his eyes
and saw the Silver Moon his bravery hid so well

so in this the tale I tell
this story to provide
Early Spring and Silver Moon
and the stream you walk beside

david michael jackson

Poem About Lying by Seymour Shubin

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About Lying

My mother used to say it
When I was growing up
But I never really understood it
Until I was, say, about thirteen
Or so.
And what she used to say was
“I hate liars,
A liar and a thief are the same.”
Like I say, it sounded good
Though I didn’t really understand it
For years,
That a liar and a thief are the same
Because they both steal something from you.
How true, and I try to live it
Even though it puts me
At a disadvantage.

Silicon poem by Janet Kuypers

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Silicon

Janet Kuypers

from the “ Periodic Table of Poetry” series

I knew that Silicon is good for plant metabolism,
which should make me be happy as a vegetarian
and a woman with I don’t know how many plants
potted and taking over my home.
But Silicon is barely ever needed for animal life…
In nature, Silicon seems to be better suited
for sea sponges. And although I love the sea,
the last thing I want to be called is a sponge.
And you know, if Silicon is used by anyone in the
animal kingdom, you can believe that I really dislike
breast implants made out of Silicon (or made out of
anything unnatural to the human body, for that latter).
And after my Lasik eye surgery, I even heard
they use Silicon for some contact lenses —
which makes me glad I don’t need contacts anymore.

So if Silicon doesn’t have a use organically for humans,
I guess it makes sense then that Silicon is actually
used by humans in explosives and pyroptechnics.
But really, for the abundant element, Silicon
has to have some better uses for us humans,
like in semiconductors, or even intregrated circuits…

But whenever I go out and walk on the beach,
feel the sand work it’s way between my toes,
I should remember that Silicon Dioxide
is pretty much sand.

Then again, I heard that people were suing Taco Bell
a few years back, because their “Taco Meat Filling”,
was only one third meat, plus flavorings, and a bit of
Silicon Dioxide.

So yeah, people wondered, and were asking
if Taco Bell “meat” was actually made with sand.

I know, I know, Taco Bell had to explain that Silica —
or Silicon Dioxide — is commonly used for foods,
and Taco Bell was just using the harmless oxide
to absorb water and keep the meat from clumping.

Hmmm… So if Silicon is common enough
to be under our feet on beaches around the world,
and if this vegetarian should be pleased
that Silicon is used during plant metabolism,
then I guess I’ll have to expect us humans
to use Silicon (even if we don’t need it)
to help us see better with eye contacts,
or comically exaggerate our breast size,
or even use integrated circuits
to help set off some cool fireworks,
because Silicon has to be cooler
than just the beauty of the beach at sunset.

the 7/22/12 Beach Poets chapbook
Download this poem in the free chapbook
the 7/22/12 Beach Poets chapbook,
w/ the Periodic Table of Poetry poems.
video
video
See YouTube video of Kuypers reading this poem at her Beach Poets feature 7/22/12 in Chicago (from the Canon)
video
video
See YouTube video of Kuypers reading 7 poems from her series “Periodic Table of Poetry” at her Beach Poets feature 7/22/12 in Chicago, including this poem (from the Canon)