Some delicious snark from Elder Olson from his book, "Last Poems."
Undelivered Lecture on a Stabile
This is a stabile, numskulls -- reasonably so called
Because it is stationary, as opposed to a mobile,
Also reasonably so called because it moves.
And do not ask me what it represents:
Would you be happier if you knew that it depicts,
Say, a rooster on crutches,
A flamingo struggling to open an umbrella,
A jackass floundering on stilts?
Must a cloud look like a camel or a whale,
A field resemble a quilt, a mountain a coffee-pot
Before you find it beautiful?
Listen, dim-wits,
A line can hang slack as a slung rope in rain,
Be tense as a fiddle-string,
Be a snail's crawl, a locust's leap, an arrow's flight:
Colors can rush out, or stealthily withdraw,
Motionless mass can seethe with violent motion,
Silent metal may cry out or sing;
Until you know this,
Look, look, and look: but you will never see.
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Calhoun's Can(n)ons was originally published in 1990 in the (now defunct) Morro Bay, CA, Sun Bulletin, and since 1992 has continued in the various resurrections of the Los Osos, CA. Bay News, Bay Breeze, Bay News, Bay News-Tolosa Press. A few years ago, the Can(n)on was added to the Central Coast NewsMission blogsite. Ann Calhoun lives in Los Osos. You can email her at Churadogs at gmail dot com
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The Little Prince
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It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; the essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Little Prince
No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the misfortune is to do it solemnly.
Montaigne
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4 comments:
Thanks Anne, great pick!
Almost the 10 year anniversary of when Elder stopped being a crotchety old man.
I submit the haiku;
The stab ill static noun
I do not see a flustered folding flamingo, or the chrimson crippled crowing cock-a-doodle.
I over-wound the baby’s mobile and broke the spring, so now it is a static stabile.
The toyless tot crawls on the floor and draws in drool the google doodle.
Happy Mother’s Day, all you mothers out there.
And do visit google at least once today, it is a really cute animation.
Let’s get this right. State tax revenue is said to be down $3.5 Billion according to Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. This means that our state legislatures approved a “balanced State Budget” for 2012 containing $12.5 Billion more in expenditures than revenue ($16.0 Billion less $3.5 Billion).
When will California’s legislature stop lying to its citizens about adopting a balanced budget when they know that isn’t true? The State needs to cut spending by $12.5 Billion, plug tax loopholes, go after those who aren’t paying taxes, reduce entitlements, etc.. Our “elected Representatives” can then talk about raising taxes to support specific programs, e.g. public schools and Public Safety; and finally adopt an honest “balanced budget.”
Happy Mother's Day Jerr. Time to quit pipe dreams and get real! NO NEW TAXES!!!
LOVE Alon's haiku version of the poem. Brilliant. Love the folding flamingo.
Hilarious! Thanks Ann!
Great response Alon - I hope you do a poetry book one day - or how about a poetry blog?
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