A good poem
Poetry | Posted by Jannie on 18 November 2008 @ 7:19 AM 48 Comments
A good poem is like a cocoon,
a secret hideout, a tree fort
where no one can slap you
as you’re drying dishes
or throw shoes at your back
as you’re running away.
There are never enough.
Good poems, that is.
Please gather a million
in an Easter basket
and bring me nothing but time
and coffee
and sweatpants
and chicken pot pie
and sleep to read them by.
On 18 November 2008 at 5:18 pm
Jannie said,
First, whee-hoo!
On 18 November 2008 at 5:30 pm
Mia said,
I’M NUMBER 2, I’M NUMBER 2. LOL.
Like the poem….all the things I would like too. Including the chicken pot pie…really, who wouldn’t want one of those.
Mia’s last blog post..The Wooden Bowl
On 18 November 2008 at 5:54 pm
Lynn said,
Jannie – I am in awe. It is a wonderful and poignant poem. And what good things! Easter basket especially.
Lynn’s last blog post..Postcard from Germany, favorite magazine and emails from loved ones
On 18 November 2008 at 6:09 pm
Glenn Buttkus said,
Yes, the poem is good, the images are delicious, and the humor is hefty. I guess I am number 3, and that is a first for me; which rhymes. I love the notion that when you are relaxed in your sweatpants and knoshing on chicken pot pie the creative juices flow. Still a work slave, I only get that action on weekends. I come into the office early so that I can pretend to be a blogger and get out here and sniff out the juiciest of teases and the wittiest of jibes. Thank you for putting some poetry on the posting. I am sure if we were to scour the cyberlanes and libraries we could find 1,000,000 good poems. I can send you a hundred of mine. That’s all I can spare for now.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..A Good Poem
On 18 November 2008 at 7:33 pm
Jennifer (Danifer) said,
I hope nobody hits me in the back with their shoes, OUCH!
Jennifer (Danifer)’s last blog post..Movie Review – Running Scared
On 18 November 2008 at 8:00 pm
Heather (How to be a Woman..?) said,
Awesome! I can’t believe it’s your first.
But because I’m a moron please explain the “and sleep to read them by” part to me if you’re feeling charitable.
Heather (How to be a Woman..?)’s last blog post..Women learn to expect the unexpected
On 18 November 2008 at 8:14 pm
James Bloomfield said,
Your whole Blog is poetry…. thanks
On 18 November 2008 at 8:28 pm
Momisodes said,
I’d love a basket full of those as well.
A lovely poem
Momisodes’s last blog post..If I’m Not Here, This Is Why
On 18 November 2008 at 9:04 pm
debbie said,
I don’t do dishes, so I’m in the clear for the slapping on the back. Thank goodness.
debbie’s last blog post..Why I am not allowed in some public places
On 18 November 2008 at 9:30 pm
Dot said,
I’m a survivor, too. Never enough coccons back then.
Dot’s last blog post..True Commuter Stories
On 18 November 2008 at 10:11 pm
Lane Savant said,
As long as we’re quoting famous poets;
I must go down to the garage again.
Where the lonely Volvo beds.
And all I ask is a good stout wrench,
Faith, courage, and leverage.
Sorry
Lane Savant’s last blog post..More of the murder
On 18 November 2008 at 11:07 pm
Talon said,
A good poem (like this one) is like a good friend – you want to keep visiting.
Talon
Talon’s last blog post..Snow
On 18 November 2008 at 11:48 pm
Yaya said,
I like that poem.
Yaya’s last blog post..Ten Things Tuesday
On 19 November 2008 at 12:15 am
Jannie said,
Mia: You’re always a Number One to me!
Lynn: Yes, Easter is my favorite holiday!
Glenn: I’ll take a hundred of yours any day!
Jennifer: I hope nobody does either!
Heather: Because even in sleep I crave good poems!
James: But you are too kind!
Momisodes: Yeah, never-ending supply of succulent poetry!
Debbie: I slapped my daughter on the leg once. We have forgiven each other. And I myself!
Dot: Singing is a cocoon too, I guess!
Lane: Now you’ll have me all Googlin’ and such!
Talon: Yes, like a song or chocolate!
Wade: You’re welcome! You’re welcome!
Jannie’s last blog post..A good poem
On 19 November 2008 at 12:16 am
Glenn Buttkus said,
Lane Savant is on a roll, and that makes me want to jump in too, the words are fine:
I must go down to the darkness
where pain hides;
stand there a long time
until I can see without light,
without batteries,
without effort;
and the shadow vision reveals
a blond with one blue eye–
Jannie, is that you?
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..1979
On 19 November 2008 at 12:35 am
Patricia said,
Fabulous and funny.
I subscribe to a email service that sends me a poem every morning of the weekday set to music….I don’t drink coffee, but I do emerge out of the dark with poetry –
Thank you for sharing your first…
Patricia’s last blog post..Book Review: Hats Off to Two Wonderful, World Changing Men and the Books About Them
On 19 November 2008 at 1:59 am
Shay said,
May I add a poem to your basket, too???
Shay’s last blog post..My Window
On 19 November 2008 at 3:33 am
kingofnewyorkhacks said,
There was a farting contest coming to town
and people came from miles around
the first fart was extremely loud
the second fart pleased the crowd
the third fart, the judges cried
“He shit his pants, he’s disqualified!”
On 19 November 2008 at 4:46 am
Jannie said,
Glenn: That is wonderful, thank you so much.
Jannie lets the darkness settle
like an old cellar around her,
she can withstand a whole night of it
for morning has always broken.
And always will.
Thank you.
Shay: Yours will I use for ribbon to decorate the basket’s handle.
King: Just when I was feeling sad ’cause there are no new Billy Collin’s poems on the bookstore’s shelves, you step in with this gem and totally redeem my hope for new poets.
On 19 November 2008 at 5:17 am
Georgie B said,
Lovely poem.
And you told me that you couldn’t write?
Seems to me that you write just fine.
Keep up the good work.
Georgie B’s last blog post..Why Did You Become A Writer And What Did You Do In Order To Get Where You Are Today?
On 19 November 2008 at 5:56 am
Heather (How to be a Woman..?) said,
Thanks for explaining! That really is beautiful and poignant.
Heather (How to be a Woman..?)’s last blog post..Women love to shop on Black Friday
On 19 November 2008 at 7:39 am
Cath Lawson said,
Jannie – you are brilliant at poetry. How long does it take you to write things like that?
On 19 November 2008 at 8:27 am
Thomma Lyn said,
What a wonderful poem, Jannie. The cocoon, oh yes. I have found that through art is both inspiration for life and protection against its slings and arrows.
Beautiful poetry, books, music, etc. helps us weather difficult times — within art’s cocoon, we can transform and grow.
Thank you for sharing this. It really touched me. As did your comment above, that morning has always broken.
Thomma Lyn’s last blog post..Potpourri
On 19 November 2008 at 8:59 am
Evelyn Lim said,
Did you write the poem yourself?? Awesome!! I love it!!
Evelyn Lim’s last blog post..My Vision Board Tops Amazon’s Bestseller List?
On 18 November 2008 at 11:24 pm
wade said,
Thank you.
On 18 November 2008 at 11:24 pm
wade said,
thank you
On 19 November 2008 at 11:45 am
Pink Ink said,
You’re funny, Jannie (Hey that rhymed. Must be all the great poetry around here)commenting first.
Love this poem.
I’ve recently been into listening to country music (don’t laugh) and I am just awed by the way songwriters can put words together. You have that gift!
Pink Ink’s last blog post..8th Wonder of the World
On 19 November 2008 at 12:23 pm
SnaggleTooth said,
I don’t often blog my poems.
Sample: this one won an award
(Published in American Collegiate Poets Fall ‘91)
POET
This part of my soul,
Mine, all alone,
Not wanting to share
This with anyone.
I’m not looking for fun
To win at life’s games
For the world’s
Recognition.
I’m the only one
Who can see what’s here:
My way to find
The truth about me.
SnaggleTooth’s last blog post..Filed Pilings
On 19 November 2008 at 2:42 pm
Michael Lee said,
And to think most of my poems are about Nantucket (any opportunity)…
Michael Lee’s last blog post..Lunchtime (1 pm Eternal)
On 19 November 2008 at 4:38 pm
Joy Leftow said,
Sounds like a well needed vacation. I’ll have some of that chicken pot pie too please.
On 19 November 2008 at 4:55 pm
Jannie said,
Georgie: Once in a hwile I get lucky with a poem, and as I think I mentioned elsewhere I wrote bad ones exclusively for quite a long time. Perhaps it has more to do with my maturity now, than with “talent.”
Heather: A little explaining goes a long way sometimes, doesn’t it, with these newfangled poems?
Cath: Brilliant is an awfully strong statement but I gladly take it. I used to fancy myself a poet 20 or so years ago, all rhymey stuff, exceedingly bad rhymey stuff. Now if a poem comes up I let it. And they write very very fast, the flow for me is the key, going with the mood.
Thomma Lynn: Thank you. Morning has broken like the first morning. Blackbird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing. Praise for the morning… I like to sing that one sometimes. And I hear that wonderful piano as I do so.
Evelyn: I actually have 3 small elves fashioned by Renee of Ragtree People who help me with the more challenging bits.
Pink: I would never laugh at country music (unless it were a funny song.) I too admire how those songsters weave a story. You Pink, have your wonderful gifts too, of light and love and words too – don’t forget that!
Snag: Humbled you would share your work. I can see why this one was chosen. I think when I reached that point of no longer seeking recognition, my poems started taking on a realness too. Thank you!
Michael: Ah, beneath that Nantucket exterior (which is actually kinda funny because the comment right above yours is from Snag who lives in Cape Cod. Nantucket is right there too, isn’t it? But what do I know without Googling?) Anyway, beneath hib glib limericks, Ladies and Gents, lies a most commanding presence rambling, but always back on point kind of prose from Michael.
Joy: A million poem vacation will do any day. ‘fraid I put a wee bit too much salt in the last pie batch. Will you try it anyway?
On 19 November 2008 at 6:18 pm
Glenn Buttkus said,
#32 coming at ya! For a young blogsite, this site is gang busters. It just seems to grab peeps by the bushel. As to your poetry, Jannie, keep after it. You have a nice touch with free verse. Let go of even trying to be a Formalist. It’s just not your style. I am finding other poems by your friends and acquaintances here and there in your archives, so obviously you have a yen for the genre. If your were a guy you would have a Jones, I assume. I am disappointed in you because you have not mentioned your bra for a whole day or two. Bra-talk is essential in this world; that is a given. I took Lane Savant’s poem, mine, and yours, and titled them THE THREE WAY, and put your mug on top of all it like a dollop of whip cream over on FFTR. Thanks for your stopping by there, and loved your comments.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..The Three Way
On 19 November 2008 at 7:04 pm
Jannie said,
Glenn: I did blog anonymously as Bob the welding contortionist for over 2 years and was able to bring my 15 fans over to this new site. And if you know any more Really Weird People like Lane and us send them over. Okay, “bra.” Satisfied?? I will be posting again at midnight, actually 12:01 in the morrow.
My mug, eh? I do have to put up more jpegs of my likeness. And a couple of Andy Divine.
On 19 November 2008 at 7:45 pm
Glenn Buttkus said,
Thanks for the prompt response. Oh-oh, I feel another one coming on:
I move through my mantled morning
like a bat, blissful
in the darkness,
the pre-dawn, the hour
of the wolfen;
travelling fast on the long concrete
midst a squirming school of wet
tail lights,
always tingling with alacrity,
bleary eyes peeled for the sharks,
the highway cruisers, the fuzz,
the joy muggers who appear from
the shadows hungry
for victims.
I arrive at my office, my portal
for the perky delights
of Cyberland,
and immediately I click on
Jannie,
to start my heart
and start my day.
Glenn
PS: If this seems like a flirtacious gesture, it was because you mentioned bra so early, catching me off guard.
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..The Three Way
On 19 November 2008 at 3:00 pm
Jannie said,
Glenn: Have you ever been car-jacked? Or should I say, caught in a bat net and held for observation? And found to be quite weird for your species?
On 19 November 2008 at 3:25 pm
Jennifer Susannah Devore said,
A Haiku For You
Weird, odd dude at post office
Waits to mail package
Forgot to address boxes
I know, it’s stupid. But, he kept the line waiting for so long, I felt the best way to deal with the irritation was to write a haiku. Happy Wednesday, Jannie. Sorry about the election.
Jennifer Susannah Devore’s last blog post..Happy, Pappy? Confessions of a Happy Media Whore
On 19 November 2008 at 3:48 pm
Jannie said,
Jennifer!! How did you slip your comment in there without me seeing it until just now?
My friend Mardi and I went to a Haiku slam last year and I ended up dancing on benches. I think it may now be safe to darken those doors again. Hey, girl, Obama was not your or my pick but I fully expect the world to keep turning on Jan. 22nd and beyond. Maybe even change in wonderful ways you and I and a few others do not even realize as yet could happen. It’s still a pretty darn good country to live in and I’m thinking of looking into Big Sisters or Raise Up A Child. Might be an amazing thing to get involved in, and if it works the way I’d like to, Kelly can get to know a new friend and whole way of living and loving. I thought of working with the humane society but I cry too much when I see animals hurting, I guess that’s a dumb reason to stay away. But even when I read blog posts about people having to put their pets down and I just sit and BAWL. Well, we’ll see how it goes. Bottom line, to quote Michael Jackson, “I’m starting with the Jan in the mirror.”
On 19 November 2008 at 5:15 pm
Sheila said,
Awwwww, that was sad. I got good visuals in my head as I read it. That’s how you know a good poem.
Sheila’s last blog post..My gift to men of all ages. Happy Holidays!
On 19 November 2008 at 5:30 pm
Heff said,
I don’t think it counts if you leave the first comment on your own blog, lol !
Heff’s last blog post..Something Wicked This Way Goes…
On 19 November 2008 at 5:36 pm
Kimberly Suta said,
I would love for your blog to be a part of blog4reel.com – the world’s first blog-to-film competition. It’s free! All u do is link this blog to blog4reel.com for a chance to win 2,000!
– Kimberly (co-creator)
On 19 November 2008 at 5:57 pm
Jannie said,
Hey, Sheila, I guess part of a poem’s definition is it ellicits an emotional response. Guess I’m a poet now.
Heff: Okay, whatever I end up with on this, take one off.
Kimberley: You seem so polite thus I did not Spam you. Are you spam, tho? A Polite Spammer. Nah, just a girl with a dream, I can relate to that.
On 19 November 2008 at 8:43 pm
justagirl said,
Swappy Swap Time!
On 19 November 2008 at 9:30 pm
Renee said,
Oh Jannie, that poem makes me sad! I want to give you a million poems in an easter basket but all I have is one full of old jelly beans and dried up marshmallow chickens
Renee’s last blog post..Maude and her Husband Elf Sculpture in Progress
On 20 November 2008 at 4:34 pm
Jannie said,
Justa: Cool!! Looking forward to it a lot.
Renee: I actually love old jelly beans, the older the better. I like when they get all hard and chewy. Any candy canes left over from previous years? I’m your Jan on those!!
On 21 November 2008 at 4:43 pm
Jo said,
This is beautiful. Thanks.
Jo’s last blog post..Post-natal
On 24 November 2008 at 11:03 pm
Jannie said,
Jo: Thank you. Your poems are as good as I’ve read so I am indeed humbled by your compliment.
Jannie’s last blog post..Why do you blog?
On 28 February 2009 at 12:27 pm
stadtplan berlin said,
Gut!
On 2 March 2009 at 6:28 pm
fussball said,
Gute Arbeit hier! Gute Inhalte.