I Think, Therefore I'm Beat!

coffee

sometimes

coffee

is divine

sometimes

coffee

is hot and dark

sometimes

dust

accumulates

and if i leave my coffee cup

too long on the window sill

fungus grows
who told fungus

to grow there, man

who's in charge, man

divinity

infinity

it's a long note to blow

What is that clicking sound? It's the sound of snapping fingers, the appropriate response to a well received Beatnik poem! Yesterday, April 22nd, was the last in our series of National Poetry Month celebrations at the library, and we celebrated BEATNIK POETRY.

dark

can't see my hand

in front of my face

can't see your hand

in front of your face

can't see the rat

lurking in the corner

ah, edison

make the scene

man

Who is this guy?

What Do Poetry, Coffee, and Dan Fogelberg Have In Common?

"There's a heaven on earth that so few ever find.

But the map's in your soul and the road's in your mind."

Dan Fogelberg

Today we continued to celebrate poetry at our public library. I read selections from my poetry chapbook, TOKENS, with a few extras thrown in, to a packed house! The house was packed with Ms. Boone's senior English class, and a few adult poetry enthusiasts. The poem that seemed to be the hit of the day was my Love, Alabama Style, a rather lengthy poem about an ill-tempered, jealous cat.

While the teen audience, as well as the adults, were attentive and adroit during the reading, an abundance of coffee was consumed after the program, and a festive rip ensued. Robert Frost would have been proud of us!

The teens returned again and again, until the coffee pot was empty, asking pertinent questions about poetry writing, and expressing their own individual creativity in exuberant fashion.

After the students left the building and relative calm descended, I listened to a few Dan Fogelberg songs, and remembered what a great song writer he was. Many of his songs dealt with his hopes that we would all find a way to rescue and preserve the beauty of our environment. He sang about the beauty and magic in natural surroundings and what we all have at our fingertips, and could easily lose if we aren't attentive.

And here's Dan, drinking coffee, and getting kissed by a black kitty. Or, is the cat trying to get the coffee?

Cats, coffee, poetry and beautiful music ... these are a few of my favorite things.