Squeaky clean wooden
floors that squeak when trodden on
as rapt viewers walk.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
floors that squeak when trodden on
as rapt viewers walk.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Friday, May 9, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
A good poem
Never fight a moon.
Where are the misty seas?
The moon dies like a stormy breeze.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
I must admit that I had some help writing this. The original version came from the Poem Generator. I modified it to make it even greater.
Why is this little poem good?
Because it contains some of the most important key words, images and subjects used in poetry throughout the ages. Such as moon, misty, seas, breeze and death.
Guaranteed to work each and every time!
Where are the misty seas?
The moon dies like a stormy breeze.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
I must admit that I had some help writing this. The original version came from the Poem Generator. I modified it to make it even greater.
Why is this little poem good?
Because it contains some of the most important key words, images and subjects used in poetry throughout the ages. Such as moon, misty, seas, breeze and death.
Guaranteed to work each and every time!
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
The I could haiku
I could do many
things right now. But they are not
things I have to do.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Notes
Inspired by a poem of the sort that lists things the author could do, like polish his shoes, add more sugar to his coffee, muze about friends, family and pets, muze about the mellow April weather, prune the bushes, etc. In the end he decides to do nothing but listen to the sprinklers come on and observe their “immaculate band of light over the lawns.” The immaculate has become stuck in my mind like the proverbial sore thumb. Seems to be about as debatable as the immaculate conception.
As to the things I could do, there are many, as the haiku says. But bread-winning work calls and needs to be taken care of. Sadly.
Oh, and by the way: I would call this haiku a deadpan poem. As opposed to the immaculate band of light kind.
things right now. But they are not
things I have to do.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Notes
Inspired by a poem of the sort that lists things the author could do, like polish his shoes, add more sugar to his coffee, muze about friends, family and pets, muze about the mellow April weather, prune the bushes, etc. In the end he decides to do nothing but listen to the sprinklers come on and observe their “immaculate band of light over the lawns.” The immaculate has become stuck in my mind like the proverbial sore thumb. Seems to be about as debatable as the immaculate conception.
As to the things I could do, there are many, as the haiku says. But bread-winning work calls and needs to be taken care of. Sadly.
Oh, and by the way: I would call this haiku a deadpan poem. As opposed to the immaculate band of light kind.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
The haystack haiku
Today I have to
find three bent needles in a
PC file – achoo!
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
In my work as a coordinator of translations, I have to deal with the idiosyncracies and erratic behavior of a CAT software named Star Transit. Most likely three occurrences of an apostrophe in a text file caused Transit to stumble and fall today (it stumbles and falls a lot in general). These are the bent needles I have to find in the haystack. And I do have a highly developed allergy to such problems (which are a great waste of time and nothing else), hence the achoo.
find three bent needles in a
PC file – achoo!
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
In my work as a coordinator of translations, I have to deal with the idiosyncracies and erratic behavior of a CAT software named Star Transit. Most likely three occurrences of an apostrophe in a text file caused Transit to stumble and fall today (it stumbles and falls a lot in general). These are the bent needles I have to find in the haystack. And I do have a highly developed allergy to such problems (which are a great waste of time and nothing else), hence the achoo.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
The smartphone disability haiku
For S.
My love sends me lobe,
lisses and all gibbt – please help
me decipher that!
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
Have you noticed how typing accuracy has gone down the drain with the advent of touch screen keypads? A great big cheer to the advances of technology!
Saturday, March 22, 2014
The coherent world view haiku
I do hope that a
coherent world view steps out
of these counted words.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
When a well-known poet does not have a major poem to his name (such as, for example, T. S. Eliot would have The Waste Land or Ezra Pound would have the Cantos), literary criticism focuses on the merits of the so-called coherent world view, i.e. it is good for a poet to have one (and, by implication, bad if you don't have one). I remember some article about the poetry of James Schuyler, where the critic spoke of this. Alas, I don't remember what the critic's ultimate conclusion was. I only remember that I strongly disagreed with both major notions of the article: 1. That there are no James Schuyler poems of major importance (to me, many of his poems are by far more important than anything erudite, contrived and sterile T. S. Eliot ever wrote), and 2. That it is difficult to discern a coherent world view in the body of James Schuyler's poetry. (To which I would say that there is hardly anyone else to rival the rendering of 20th century human experience I see in Schuyler's poetry with more coherence.)
coherent world view steps out
of these counted words.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
When a well-known poet does not have a major poem to his name (such as, for example, T. S. Eliot would have The Waste Land or Ezra Pound would have the Cantos), literary criticism focuses on the merits of the so-called coherent world view, i.e. it is good for a poet to have one (and, by implication, bad if you don't have one). I remember some article about the poetry of James Schuyler, where the critic spoke of this. Alas, I don't remember what the critic's ultimate conclusion was. I only remember that I strongly disagreed with both major notions of the article: 1. That there are no James Schuyler poems of major importance (to me, many of his poems are by far more important than anything erudite, contrived and sterile T. S. Eliot ever wrote), and 2. That it is difficult to discern a coherent world view in the body of James Schuyler's poetry. (To which I would say that there is hardly anyone else to rival the rendering of 20th century human experience I see in Schuyler's poetry with more coherence.)
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Failed in all three
The three-gated word check applied to a poem as it is coming into existence
I
Is it true?
No.
II
Is it necessary?
Probably not.
III
Is it kind?
Definitely not.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Written in response to a sufi saying encountered on the Internet:
Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates:
At the first gate, ask yourself:
'Is it true?'
At the second gate, ask:
'Is it necessary?'
At the third gate, ask:
'Is it kind?'
This explains why sufis don't talk a lot and why there's a lot of poetry.
I
Is it true?
No.
II
Is it necessary?
Probably not.
III
Is it kind?
Definitely not.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Written in response to a sufi saying encountered on the Internet:
Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates:
At the first gate, ask yourself:
'Is it true?'
At the second gate, ask:
'Is it necessary?'
At the third gate, ask:
'Is it kind?'
This explains why sufis don't talk a lot and why there's a lot of poetry.
Monday, March 17, 2014
The conclusive haiku
You were about to fail
the practical part. But I
was sure you’d prevail.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
The other night I had a dream about a friend. In the dream, she was trying to get her driver's license, which was probably not going to be easy, considering she's over forty and has never driven a car before. She asked me whether she was going to pass. Somehow I knew she'd fail the practical part the first time around, but I also knew that she would eventually pass. Why did I know this? Because concealed in my right hand I held a small black lacquered box, and because of something inside that box I knew. Strange. But that's how dreams are.
Posted to Poets United.
the practical part. But I
was sure you’d prevail.
– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2014)
Note
The other night I had a dream about a friend. In the dream, she was trying to get her driver's license, which was probably not going to be easy, considering she's over forty and has never driven a car before. She asked me whether she was going to pass. Somehow I knew she'd fail the practical part the first time around, but I also knew that she would eventually pass. Why did I know this? Because concealed in my right hand I held a small black lacquered box, and because of something inside that box I knew. Strange. But that's how dreams are.
Posted to Poets United.
Everything will work out
Don't lose heart and continue with your efforts - everything will work out.Those were the soothing words the Astrocenter tarot reading had for me. After advising me that today might be kind of tough going...
Let's see what happens.
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