Poetical Elizabeth

Meditations on body, mind and spirit - the interchange of illness, self-examination, and Divine Love - the call to compassion - the need to create - "Because I have been athirst, I will dig a well that others may drink" -Arabian proverb

Name:
Location: The Midwest, United States

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I had to laugh when I read this poem, which I received from the Academy of American Poets one day in April. The Academy was emailing one poem a day to anyone who wished to receive one during National Poetry Month:

Compulsively Allergic to the Truth
by Jeffrey McDaniel

I'm sorry I was late.
I was pulled over by a cop
for driving blindfolded
with a raspberry-scented candle
flickering in my mouth.
I'm sorry I was late.
I was on my way
when I felt a plot
thickening in my arm.
I have a fear of heights.
Luckily the Earth
is on the second floor
of the universe.
I am not the egg man.
I am the owl
who just witnessed
another tree fall over
in the forest of your life.
I am your father
shaking his head
at the thought of you.
I am his words dissolving
in your mind like footprints
in a rainstorm.
I am a long-legged martini.
I am feeding olives
to the bull inside you.
I am decorating
your labyrinth,
tacking up snapshots
of all the people
who've gotten lost
in your corridors.


From The Endarkenment, just published by University of Pittsburgh Press.

Here it is - My medallion showing that I completed the Poetic Asides (Writer's Digest) Poem-A-Day Challenge! I wrote 30 poems in 30 days, some of which are keepers. This took place during April, which is National Poetry Month. I am thrilled - the timing was perfect. I was looking for ways to get writing again after a long dry spell. Special thanks to Robert Lee Brewer, who presided over the entire event.