"After the Opera," by D.H. Lawrence

"Because of You," by Nazim Hikmet

Carolina Chocolate Drops performing "Hit' Em Up Style"

"Smelt and Tasted," by W.H. Auden

"Downward Dog: A Yoga Poem," by Hans Ostrom

"Lack of Steadfastness," by Geoffrey Chaucer

Bread and Oranges

...Re-posting one from 2009....




*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
At Least I Left Bread and Oranges

At first I didn't think I'd be in
this poem, which set out to accumulate
words representing images neutrally--
blue conifer-hills, black flies pulsing
on a deer's bone, rocking red box
of a medics' truck, mineral-grin of
a Cadillac's fin. . . . The truth is

I didn't have another poem to go to,
so I visited this one. You came in
and discovered me sitting on the old
green couch. --And now there you go,
out the door, slam, and I can't
blame you, but I promise to be gone
by the time that you return, and
I did buy bread and oranges. They
are sitting on the counter.


Copyright 2009 Hans Ostrom

Data Regarding Teacher-Pay

Particularly in relation to the events in Wisconsin, these data concerning teacher-pay in the U.S. vis a vis other industrialized nations are (or may be) of interest:

chart

"Richard Cory," by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Reno

?
)
&
#


Reno


When a man holds a knife
in an alley and his aim
is to stick the knife in you,
your dispersed thoughts
reconvene for a quick
meeting. Adrenalin
floods so fast, it balloons
your heart and  almost
lifts you off the ground.
Keep that blade away
from your torso and
hurt the wielder: two tasks.
Survive somehow: one.


Copyright 2011 Hans Ostrom

"The Peasant Poet," by John Clare

I, Too

"Loving You," by Nazim Hikmet