8-word poem

It takes
A tender man
To ruin
Shit.

Slipshod Sonnet #6

There goes that name that damned
name the name that reminds you of
retirement from eyes like a startled
kitten making unpopular speeches
in unpopular places next time wear
a hat quit antagonizing the vendors
no I will not move even if sat next
to and will not run generous is as
generous does make with the confetti
already o happy day I hate a parade
in your case i'll make a reception I
saw something and said nothing the
best part of waking up is having to
turn down the room I can’t hear it.

8-word poem

I almost thought
We were going
To dip.

8-word poem

To become
A saint:
Try to
Be one.

8-word poem

Base your speculations
On premises
That are revealed.

8-word poem

Because what else
Would there be
To think?

* * *

By Jake Duffy

CLOUDED MOMENTARILY, THE WAY NOW CLEAR

the truth elusive
with each passing year
demands a box to put it in
a guard to stand over it
knowing and respectful
glances no longer furtive
lines no longer coy

the right ear
called to sit nearby
offered secrets
no one else knew
shy to hear them
anxious to hold them

beneath weeping moonlight
sketch a map of Eden
learn the way home
seek out the fastest route

I found the key
in your shoe
next to your soul

Remembering Liam Rector

8-word poem

A dead man
Made me feel
Even deader.

8-word poem

Stunning realization:
You can't spell
Quiet
Without
Quit.

8-word poem

Paradigm and
Diaspora—
Two words
That irk me.

8-word poem

An executive decision:
No more
Indecision!
I think.

iTuneage - recent baker's dozen

1. "Saturday Night" - Bay City Rollers
2. "Baby, I Love You" - Tommy Roe
3. "Year of the Cat" - Al Stewart
4. "Everybody Plays the Fool" - The Main Ingredient
5. "If Not For You" - George Harrison
6. "Monday Morning" - Fleetwood Mac
7. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" - The Beatles
8. "Honky Tonk Women" - The Rolling Stones
9. "Smoke Detector" - Rilo Kiley
10. "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" - Okkervil River
11. "Rehab" - Amy Winehouse
12. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" - Elton John
13. "Seahorse" - Devendra Banhart

8-word poem

Boy,
This is
A complete
Waste of time.

8-word poem

The best
Slow news day
Cure?
O.J. Simpson!

8-word poem

Most of us
Think
We are gods,
Anyway.

Slipshod Sonnet #5

Everything looks gay
to you dressed wrong
for a street fight I
just can't dance no
more of the same bull
the instructions say
here lies a faith
this works that works
good works bad works
and anyway she don't
come around no more
and as it should be
these eyes those bars
green turns me blue.

8-word poem

It happens.
It's just
One of those
Things.

What would life be like if it never changed? Installment 8

More thoughts on my Top Ten Life-Changing Albums. Thanks to Eek for beginning the thread that led me to this list.

(Note: Italics indicate my initial response to Eek's challenge; the rest constitutes my further thoughts on the subject).

8. Black and Blue, The Rolling Stones. Largely considered one of the worst Stones albums out there, I know, but it spoke to me much more so than the acknowledged classics. Features not only the hits “Memory Motel” and “Fool to Cry,” but also “Hand of Fate,” the greatest Stones song you’ve never heard.

Recorded during a mid-70s period of transition wherein the Rolling Stones were seeking to replace the considerable chops of the departed Mick Taylor, Black and Blue served as an audition album; no less than three lead guitarists participated - including soon-to-be Stone Ron Wood.

If the album sounds somewhat slapped together, that's because it is, relying on jams such as the opener "Hot Stuff" and "Hey Negrita" to fill it out. The former is actually quite good and points to the disco influences that would be further explored on Some Girls. The cover "Cherry Oh Baby" clearly inspired UB40 to try it out a few years later, demonstrating that the Stones not only borrowed but also inspired, even when they were interpreting others' material.

The production of Black and Blue is top-notch, and this is particularly true in the case of Charlie Watts' drums. Each piece is recorded separately, foregoing the Exile on Main Street method, which had the entire kit placed into the mix on a single microphone. With a drummer of Watts' feel and subtlety, the results here are sublime. Instrument separation is very clean and as a bonus visual aid, the track mix is reproduced on the record sleeve, indicating who played what instruments on which songs, and how the 16 tracks were subsequently apportioned. I find this sort of thing thoroughly intriguing.

The playing of guest guitarists Harvey Mandel and Wayne Perkins is spectacular throughout. Perkins, though an American, should have been given the full-time job as the newest Stone, solely on the strength of his work on the criminally unknown "Hand of Fate." As noted above, this is the greatest Stones song you've never heard, completely archetypal and still fresh-sounding today.

Never has Mick Jagger sounded so convincing as a rough-throated badass, inhabiting the role of a man on the run for gunning down his rival in a love triangle: "He shot me once, but I shot him twice." Nicely played! Keith Richards provides the bedrock, playing another of his endless variations of the "Brown Sugar" riff on Telecaster through overdriven tube amp. When Perkins' guitar kicks in, especially on his two nonchalantly brilliant solos, it is vintage Stones all the way. Keep "Start Me Up," I'll take this over it any day.

Ultimately, despite its shortcomings (or perhaps because of them) the looseness of this disc is actually its own reward. While there aren't numerous memorable moments, there is more attitude in the moments that work than in other bands' entire discographies. This disc might be incontrovertible proof that the Stones perfected the art of rock and roll swagger.

Life-changing indeed: Black and Blue works as a perfect metaphor for life: off-center, askew, bent, beat up, broken, with just those passing delirious moments of joy that keep you going through it all.

8-word poem

A life lived
Waiting
For the
Other shoe.

8-word poem

Looky yonder!
Here comes one
Useless blunder!
Hooray!

The Dr. Was In!

In New York, that is.

Yes, brilliance struck last Thursday in the form of one Dr. Chingasa - who made his first-ever visit to the Big Apple.

I was able to cancel all of my usual extra-curriculars to meet with the good Dr. for dinner and a whirlwind tour of midtown.

The train bearing Dr. Chingasa into New York City arrived at Penn Station, affording me the opportunity to point out Madison Square Garden (the world's most famous arena). I reminisced about the many rock concerts I have attended there over the years, realizing as I did that having seen The Who with Keith Moon and Led Zeppelin with John Bonham qualifies me as pretty fucking old.

A tasty dinner at Brother Jimmy's for barbecue (North Carolina style) was followed by a jaunt uptown on 8th Avenue toward Times Square. On the way we were able to enjoy that uniquely New York experience of nearly being mowed down by a cab driver (who should have been on strike) while crossing against the light.

Landmarks noted en route include: the new home of The New York Times, an impressive building that is nearing completion; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, former home to countless Midwestern teenage runaways (and generally considered to be the asshole of the Universe - though not necessarily because of the Midwestern teenage runaways).

At 42nd Street, a.k.a. the "Deuce," we hung a right and sauntered down this infamous block. I pointed out where all the triple-X porn and kung fu marathon theaters used to be (they're now various souvenir shops, a McDonald's, Madame Tussaud's, etc.), and regaled the Dr. with my old story of going to a 2 a.m. screening of James Toback's Fingers, starring Harvey Keitel as a concert pianist/Mafia bagman (the audience was peopled with every variety of creep and weirdo, characters openly selling and ingesting pot, fistfights, etc.).

Finally, at 7th Avenue, we turned left and entered the maw of Times Square proper and the bright lights, the wall of sound and the unending sea of humanity washed over us. We took a few furtive steps into the vortex of it all where a few pictures were snapped. After lingering amid the unwashed masses for a bit, we headed back down to Penn Station via the friendly 1 Train.

Thankfully, the brief subway ride was without incident - but also without any real NYC ambiance (i.e. urine-soaked degenerates, screaming Jesus freaks, creepy panhandlers, etc.).

Oh well! The Dr. says he will be coming back to the city later in the month - perhaps then we will experience a grittier brand of New Yawk.

8-word poem

Would
Charlemagne
Like it
If I
Blamed him?

8-word poem

I don't know.
Really don't know.
No idea.

8-word poem

Pavarotti is dead!
Help!
I need
Beard-dying
Tips!

8-word poem

The man
Of few words
Is seldom
Understood.

8-word poem

Was I just
Taken
With her
Black eye?

8-word poem

The end
Is the middle
Is the beginning.

BROKEN BACKROOM RELATIONS

so this prison
thing i should
keep quiet
more listen
less watch
better tell
nothing it's
a bigger better
world than they
gave it credit
sometimes i
mean who knew
really? not
me just doing
my sidewalk act
here compounded
daily very
conservatively
and your sister
she should have
known better.

8-word poem

Take
What you want
And leave
The rest.