Michael Simms: Ten things I should have figured out before now
Love is complicated. Courtesy is simple. Start with courtesy.
Elinor Wylie: Castilian
He washed his face in water cold,
His hands in turpentine;
He squeezed out colour like coins of gold
And colour like drops of wine.
David Huddle: Parable of My Family’s Artistic Impulses
My father, affectionately known
by his sons as Doodles, took up painting-by-the-numbers.
His vision of blue jays hung over the toilet to be
reckoned with by any urinating male.
Jose Padua: Days of Being Wild
in the late middle
of my mortal days on earth
I am still wild in the heart
Michael Simms: A True Story of How I Almost Became a Rock and Roll God (with special appearance by Iron Butterfly)
So there I was, jumping up and down on a king-sized bed in an expensive hotel in Miami Beach, drinking rum straight from the bottle. And right beside me, jumping up and down, playing the air-guitar and blasting out his famous song In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, was Doug Ingle.
Michael Simms: A Story About My Daughter's Kindness
The woman took a small knife out of her apron pocket and held the blade to the goat’s throat. Do you want to be responsible? What’s twenty pulas to you? You are a rich American and this is just a poor Botswana goat. Have you no heart?
Stephen Dobyns: Laugh
What he wished was to have his ashes flushed
down the ladies’ room toilet of Syracuse City Hall,
which would so clog the pipes that the resulting
blast of glutinous broth would douse the place clean
Abby Zimet: What would Jesus do? (Not this)
Leading as ever by invaluable example, Mike Pence declined to wear a mask Tuesday as he toured Minnesota’s renowned Mayo Clinic. He did this though the CDC’s guidelines urge Americans to wear a mask in public to minimize the spread of COVID-19…
Dawn Potter: Concord Street Hymn
Yes, there will be
daffodils in every stanza of this poem
because it is spring in Maine
Michael Simms: Bored in quarantine? Here are 43 things to do to keep yourself entertained
Re-arrange your sock drawer in a way that pleases your socks. Remember, it’s not always about you!
Caty Borum Chattoo: Take it from Pluto the Schnauzer — Comedy will help us through the coronavirus crisis
Comedy serves crucial cultural functions as we deal with tough challenges: sharing and amplifying messages, addressing taboo topics in accessible ways, and inspiring us to feel emotions of hope and optimism…
Michael Simms: Ten things to do before I start writing today
Read what I wrote yesterday — hate it. Read what Sam wrote yesterday — love it. Hate Sam. Think about 45-year friendship with Sam. Remember him stealing my girlfriend in college. No, wait that was me — I married her….
Leslie Anne Mcilroy: Zoosk | The Pandemic
We stay put, apart,
constant in longing. And that is all
fine, my friends, except the dying
part. Death all around love’s
little sprouting head.
Deena November: Social Distance Pro
I create ambitious color coded schedules for
my hyper children during a pandemic but they are jumping in puddles, tracking mud all over the house and eating popcorn off the living room rug.
