Michael Simms: Hands
Every man who works with his hands
Has seen that look. Maybe we showed up
To patch the roof, service the furnace,
Or unclog the sewer…
Michael Simms: Dogsbody to the Muse
Sometimes it’s painful to watch a group of poets trying to work a room as if they were politicians. The AWP conference, as the wag put it, is comprised of 15,000 introverts pretending to be extroverts.
Michael Simms: On the Spectrum with Garrison Keillor
Many of the issues people have had with Keillor’s behavior through the years may have been caused by his autism.
Pablo Neruda: I’m explaining a few things
Treacherous
generals:
see my dead house,
look at broken Spain
Michael Simms: Our Father who art in flowers
Our Father who art in me
You are the One I love
The One who hurt me
The One who seeks the truth
Michael Simms: The Parliament of Trees
The next morning I rode my bicycle to Wolf Corner where coyotes and dogs were
Hung on a wooden rack to discourage coyotes
Bill Traylor: Sidewalk Genius
Born into slavery, Traylor spent the majority of his life after emancipation as a sharecropper. It was only after 1939, following his move to Montgomery, Alabama that Traylor began to draw. At the age of 85, he took up a pencil and a scrap of cardboard to document his recollections and observations. From 1939 to 1942, while working on the sidewalks of Montgomery, Traylor produced nearly 1,500 pieces of art.
Michael Simms: Blurbing Jose
Jose Padua’s poems are the twitch of the tail of the cat stalking the mouse of your unconscious.
Climate of North American cities will shift hundreds of miles in one generation
In one generation, the climate experienced in many North American cities is projected to change to that of locations hundreds of miles away—or to a new climate unlike any found … Continue reading
Tales of the Holy Man
Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain. A man from the village decided to make the long and … Continue reading
Michael Simms: Six poems tracing an arc of forgiveness with real world examples
. My brother who is dying of cancer My brother who is dying of cancer Tells me the time has come To forgive our father because It’s not about … Continue reading
Banksy: Don’t Forget To Eat Your Lunch And Make Some Trouble
“We can’t do anything to change the world until capitalism crumbles. In the meantime, we should all go shopping to console ourselves.” — Banksy
Michael Simms: The Happiness of Animals
When the soul-sickness takes me And my mind is in an ugly place And I resent other writers their success, I retire to my attic room To look out the … Continue reading
Michael Simms: The Garden and the Drone
We come to the garden because it is beautiful. Arborvitae, hydrangea, anemone— Even the names are beautiful. . The men who call themselves our leaders Seem far away. We feel … Continue reading
