A Day of Poetics (16 March 1996)

(1)

A day
Writing and sitting and writing and sitting and writing and sitting
And so on.
With others
Read the same poems but hear them differently
Read my poems and hear them differently.

(2)

Write
White
Lies
On a page
What is truth?
Where does it reside?
In a full bladder?
In a sleeping foot?
In a crystal Buddha?
Breathe in the smell of ink
Hear the sounds of pens
See people gathered around
A flower
A pile of bones
A towering vase filled with tears
Gaze raised to the silent eager faces
Intent on capturing the moment.

(3)

Be still
Feel the tension
Settle
Relax
Open slowly.

(4)

The sharp edge of sadness
Rubs against the grain
Slices through formal logic
And opens up my heart.

(5)

The edge of the seat
Holds my butt
Suspended
Balls dangle against fabric
Cock trapped in the folds
Held back lest it spring forth with sensation
Crying for attention
Ignored
Shut down
The flow blocked
Drowning in silence

Make room for quiet rage.

-- Larry Wolf (1996)

[Posted 2025]

Second Thoughts (1 March 1996)

3 x 3

Jim

Jim

Jim

7 + 7

In the darkness, light

In the light, tears

In tears, open heart

In open heart, life

In life, awareness

In awareness, death

In death, the cycle begins again

In openness, a flame flickers

In the fire, a heart melts

In love, a life is born

In birth, a seed unfolds

In growth, change and change and change again

In chaos, stillness

In death, the cycle continues

Reprise

James Lee McJimpsey, Jr.

James Lee McJimpsey, Jr.

James Lee McJimpsey, Jr.

May your spirit find peace and joy

May your spirit bring peace and joy

May the unrestricted flow of life rush through you

-- Larry Wolf (1996)

[Posted 2025]