Friday, July 11, 2014
the little sunbonnet girl
linda parker
born in kentucky 1912
but grew up in hamond
indiana
she got expelled from
hammond high
an incorrigibl youth
for being a singer
on radio station wwae
in little saloons an nightclubs
downtown on state street
weekends were jammed
she was discovrd
by wls radio
and toured th usa
with th nationl barn dance
they had her wear
a sunbonnet on stage
strings hanging down
an a little gingham dress
in pictures she held
a banjo
but couldnt realy play
an she wasnt a real hillbilly
but sang soft and sweet
lush melodic old timey
like home
in august 1935
in elkhart indiana
her belly hurt so bad
but she sang and sang
two days later went
to the hospital and died
burst appendix
they said her last song
on the radio was
bury me beneath th willow
maybe jus to sell records
the rest of th troupe
went their separate ways
her real name was genevieve
Thursday, June 19, 2014
no one listens
in ancient times
i was a god
a mistake, really
some thought i was
Fenrir the wolf
no just a dog
whose round teeth can bite
not man or Odin
the women brought me henbane
to seduce men
bringing visions and eros
and make bellies round
one had to be careful
during visions
i warned them
not to wake the trolls
but some would take sticks
just to see the trolls snarl
for sport
once awake the troll took days to
sleep again
nobody ever listns
farming with red cross dynamite indiana 1910
james kemper
sat on his frnt porch
readng the du pont brochure
full of wonder
it promisd
'dynamite excavates th hole
loosens the ground for yards around
kills all grubs
formng a spongy resrvoir for moisture
trees plantd in dynamited holes
live and thrive
and
a whole row of tree holes
can be excavatd in one instant
wth dynamite'
he talkd about this
and his many hopes
with miss melrose
who sat upon th porch swing
her bright spirit
a complemnt to his
bringing life to
dreary and barren days
on hearing his plan
a spool of thread fell
from her lap
their hands
accidently met
'please don't do this'
she sed softly
then resumd sewing
that afternoon
in th distance
twenty 3 trees
and james
fell to the detonation
in one instant
between her stitches
her face now aflame
miss melrose
stood up
and saw an empty space
wher once was james
she sat
and sewed
not knowing what to do
next
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
the hidden history of the korean war
a little boy found me
left in an alley and took me hom
th sentry to his yard
king of all tiny things
daddy he called to the man
daddy
and grabd his huge hand
that had held a dying man
but the boy dint know
and every so oftn those hands
would fly at him so
angry
the boy grew tall and
left me there ...not a king at all
went away
promisd never to return
ten plus ten years it took
to forgive
to lern the world
its terible ways
how hands can punch cradle hammer strum
he came back
laid down his wepons
signed the armistice
the old man's hands now his
Thursday, July 7, 2011
long long ago
when i was a god
the atacameƱo people
from so. america
brought me
the spider flowr
with th ceibo
and cantuta
i likd their maize
they hoped i wuld
grant a rich harvest
but my powers are so small
just tricks, really
very few
of their peopl remain
no one still speaks
the kunza language
not since 1930 or so
but the flowr survives
and maize
and their names for villages
like calama which means
town in the midle of the water
they do not
remembr me
Thursday, February 24, 2011
this age of anxiety
this tumult
this shifting sand
abroad: revolutns
will thr new mastrs
be friend r foe
frm athens to rome
marseille to manchestr
granada to galway
overspent
bills come due
but in th jar
iou iou iou
littl lies
we'll get to this latr
kited checks
have come full circle
pensions r
mere ponzi
empty promises
as canes outnumber prams
the young afraid
the old afraid
of and for th future
faith in the prince
wavers
so here we ar
no one
left to lie to
but sam johnson saw
that whn a man knows
he'll be hangd in a week
it concentrats his mind
wonderflly
this tumult
this shifting sand
abroad: revolutns
will thr new mastrs
be friend r foe
frm athens to rome
marseille to manchestr
granada to galway
overspent
bills come due
but in th jar
iou iou iou
littl lies
we'll get to this latr
kited checks
have come full circle
pensions r
mere ponzi
empty promises
as canes outnumber prams
the young afraid
the old afraid
of and for th future
faith in the prince
wavers
so here we ar
no one
left to lie to
but sam johnson saw
that whn a man knows
he'll be hangd in a week
it concentrats his mind
wonderflly
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
a warm spring satrday
new york
march 25
1911
cecilia walker and
jennie franco, just 16
rushed up to th 11th flor
nearly late for thr job
as dressmakrs for th
triangle shirtwaist factry
they trudgd thru th day
waitng for a nite out
just th girls
almos quittng time
someone shouted fire
rags frm th cutting tables
nowhere down
exits locked cuz
they thot we were
stealing things
girls stood on windowsils
tearing their hair in handfuls
then they jumped
into
piles of dead
cecilia looked around
callng to jen
but she had alredy gone
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