Catch a Fly, Feed a Spider

There is a spider in my bathroom

She picked an awful spot
at the corner 
where the shower meets the floor
and the wall

Location location location

There really is nothing
prey-wise
that goes near there
now that the ant traps are set

still, she has located herself there

built a web
and hangs
waiting for the tremor in the line
that will never come

or will it?

This morning I caught a fly
which is really quite easy
once you realize that they leap up
straight away from whatever they are perched on

just grab the air above their head

Once the fly was in my hand
I looked at the spider
she looked hungry
and since the fly was doomed anyway

I bounced it off the floor into her web

Then, watching the care
and finesse she had
preparing her meal,
I named her Julia

A Human Mind

The human mind is an interesting thing
Mine is very
As it tends to wander
I mean
Explore

I have been told by an authority
My wife
That she's never seen one like it
Although how she can see a mind
I don't know

She has seen a lot in her life
Both with and before me
She was a Tavel Agent
She's been to Turkey
I like turkey

I made an interesting stuffing for turkey once
It was during my time in the seafood retail business
In a fish market
It, the stuffing I mean, had shrimp, scallops and crayfish in it
My wife didn't like it much, she's of Irish heritage

She's been to Ireland too
Twice
Once in college and once with her family
Ireland is where Delorian made his cars in the 1980s
Before he was arrested for trafficking in cocaine

I have not been to Ireland
I have been to France, Belgium and England
I stayed in Waterloo Belgium for two weeks
In the 80's
When I was 25

Waterloo is where Napoleon was finally vanquished
Beaten by an Englishman
They have a monument, the lion, on top of a big hill there
I had to climb it twice
The first time I forgot my camera

I got a new camera recently
A Pentax
I have had several since Waterloo
The camera hasn't been anywhere interesting
Just my back yard

I use it to take pictures of birds
At our feeder
In the big maple tree
On the ground
There is even a turkey that comes in our yard

My wife's been to Turkey
She was a Travel Agent


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Los Alamitos

Los Alamitos
is where I learned
where kittens come from
babies too
I also learned that ivy
when used as a groundcover
is an excellent place to hide
when playing army
until the old lady
whose ivy you are hiding in
comes out and chases you off

 Los Alamitos
is where I found I could play
The Professor
from Gilligan's Island
with just my dad's white shirt
sleeves rolled up
tucked in to my khakis
my friend
a boy
always wanted to play Ginger

Los Alamitos
gave me a picture
of my brother on his new bike
free and happy
and gave me a sister
a love of enchiladas
the word Smorgasbord
and two cats
Smokey and Signal
Those were the cats
My sister we named Wendy

Mayonaise

I was listening to Al Filreis from The Writer's House at UPENN lead a discussion of Flarf poems (you can Google that) and that led to a discovery of Googlism. A site where you type in a word, decide whether you want a who, what, where or when answer, it spits out random Google results. I made a found poem of sorts, from that output.

mayonaise is not an instrument
it
is gorgeous
is better
is nothing but oil
is on sale right now for $1
is so easy to prepare that one often wonders why
is made with lemon juice instead of vinegar
is on Facebook, sign up for Facebook to connect with I hate mayonaise
is in your extended network
is just fat
and yet
is my favorite Smashing Pumpkins song

The Trouble With Poetry

With apologies to Billy Collins

The trouble with poetry is
that sometimes, often
it likes to hear itself talk too much
with words no one understands
with metaphors about beaches and rockets
and how they relate to love and loss
just to make the poet
feel superior
to the reader
and the reader
to hate poetry

Stretcher

A stretcher by a roadside
some place hot
as long as the person on it
isn’t completely covered
there is hope

Sonar

Sound through liquid
Sound through air
To find things
To avoid
To eat
Doesn’t matter
Works either way


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Decorations

Another OneWord.com created 60 second poem.


In April it is said
that decorations for Christmas
Have no business
not being in boxes
in the basement
but still
why not leave them up?

Crew

I used Stumbleupon and found Oneword.com. The word was "Crew" and this is what I was able to create in 60 seconds.

My crew are scattered
but together virtually
but scattered still
in other states
in other countries
but we meet
and we fight
as one
virtually

Think of these things

If there be any virtue, then think of these things

The touch of your mother's hand to yours
The last words spoken to to your sister
A recent thought shared with your brothers

If there be any truth, then think of these things

The final touch of your mother's hand
The last words spoken to your sister
The most recent call to your brothers

Words of virtue and truth become subjective
When lost is the touch of your mother's hand

Between Sheep

Three nights in bed
between sheep
I crossed you out
Then put you back
only to be crossed out
again

The Landlord

The landlord knew everything
He, they said it was a he, saw everything
He knew what was in our thoughts
He knew what was in our hearts
We could hide nothing
Our lives were an open book

The landlord allowed my mom to suffer and die in pain
He watched my father die and my mother-in-law too
He saw the sadness in our thoughts
He saw the sorrow in our hearts
We could hide nothing
Our misery was an open book

The landlord ruined our garden
We had no food
He saw the hunger that fogged our thoughts
He saw the desperation in our hearts
He did nothing
Our suffering was an open book

The landlord had friends
They said we could not question him
He was there, at the top of the stairs
That he had a plan for me, for us
We wouldn't know what is was until we saw him face to face
But the door was locked
and he never answered the phone