Saturday, July 21, 2012

summer plants


Oh how they grow these beautiful sprouts in the summer air!

Friday, July 6, 2012

There are poems meant to be written for this
and they are all melancholy and what not.
I only think of the tree with the big nub
And the firefly ring encircling us.
They chanted it all
in silent voices.
No need to pen it on paper
when it just dissipates in thin air
mixing with the still night.
Yes many words can lick the wounds dry
but the poem has been already written
so no more needs to be said.

A Poem Without a Single Bird in It

BY JACK SPICER
What can I say to you, darling,
When you ask me for help?
I do not even know the future
Or even what poetry
We are going to write.
Commit suicide. Go mad. Better people
Than either of us have tried it.
I loved you once but
I do not know the future.
I only know that I love strength in my friends
And greatness
And hate the way their bodies crack when they die
And are eaten by images.
The fun’s over. The picnic’s over.
Go mad. Commit suicide. There will be nothing left
After you die or go mad,
But the calmness of poetry.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012


“Any fool can get into an ocean . . .”

BY JACK SPICER
Any fool can get into an ocean   
But it takes a Goddess   
To get out of one.
What’s true of oceans is true, of course,
Of labyrinths and poems. When you start swimming   
Through riptide of rhythms and the metaphor’s seaweed
You need to be a good swimmer or a born Goddess
To get back out of them
Look at the sea otters bobbing wildly
Out in the middle of the poem
They look so eager and peaceful playing out there where the
    water hardly moves
You might get out through all the waves and rocks
Into the middle of the poem to touch them
But when you’ve tried the blessed water long
Enough to want to start backward
That’s when the fun starts
Unless you’re a poet or an otter or something supernatural
You’ll drown, dear. You’ll drown
Any Greek can get you into a labyrinth
But it takes a hero to get out of one
What’s true of labyrinths is true of course
Of love and memory. When you start remembering.

summer salad



persian cucumbers
watermelon
fresh feta
dash of sea salt
lime
olive oil
shredded mint
toss!


Monday, July 2, 2012



inspiring



"It is as true today as it ever was. He who seeks beauty will find it"