Thursday, August 23, 2012

Take a Poem, Leave a Poem

Rusty Pennies

I've been inspired by the "take a penny, leave a penny" jar at the local deli.

Poems in the jar today:


Please take at least one, and please leave a story or a poem in it's place in the comments section.

Happy reading! Andrea

Friday, August 17, 2012

A Found Poem Inspired by Elvis

Yesterday marked 35 years since Elvis' untimely passing. I know I'm a day late, but what better day than a Friday to celebrate The King? Here's a found poem I wrote comprised entirely of titles from a good number of his songs:


You don’t have to say you love me
            a found poem crafted from titles of songs Elvis Presley sang

Apron strings, a pocketful of rainbows,
the grass won’t pay no mind.  Baby, let’s play
house. A boy like me, a girl like you, even the bullfighter
was a lady.  How would you like to be rubberneckin’
in blue Hawaii while little sister is shopping
around?  There ain’t nothing like a song wearin’
that loved look.  The wonder of you, your blue
suede shoes, it’s impossible to make the world
go away.  I want you, I need you, I love
you, and though it’s a sin, kiss me quick
in the Kentucky rain.  I’ve never been
to Spain, I didn’t make it on playing guitar. Write to me
from Naples, surrender until it’s time for you
to go. It’s now or never in this heartbreak hotel,
just let me make believe for a while.  Suspicious
minds, don’t be cruel, even a house that has everything
is a house of sand, and now and then
there’s a fool such as I.  


I'd love to hear your Elvis memories!






Friday, August 10, 2012

Small Talk about Heavy Petting

If you haven't read Gregory Sherl's poetry collection Heavy Petting from YesYes Books, you need to put it on your reading list. Even if you're not a huge fan of poetry. I'm enamored with it. I take baths with it. I sleep with it on my back lawn. I brush my teeth and stare at it longing for my hands to be free so I can read it some more.

When I found out I won this book thanks to the great people at YesYes Books, a friend mentioned that this book was her boyfriend for a good while. Now I know what she meant. And yesterday, I came across the poem "Opening Credits" and my lust level reached a new height. I'd fall in love with the man who wrote me a poem with lines such as these:

I'm glue residue 
on your fingers. I'm hair and you're a Bon Jovi cover band.
Let me stay in the morning and I'll read you the backs of cereal boxes.

This book is a wild ride through obsessive-compulsive disorder about the little things in life that thrill us like cereal, Crystal Light, cookies, TV, nostalgia for our youth, and the larger things in life like love, sex, and fear. It's an oxymoron that keeps you coming back for more.

Some links for you:





What have you been reading?


Friday, August 3, 2012

Imaginary Lives

I'm working through The Artist's Way a little more slowly than I would like thanks to a hectic work schedule and the travel that comes along with it. After being gone from home for a little over two weeks, it was nice to sit down for my morning pages and ponder this question: "If you had five other lives to lead, what would you do in each of them?"

My answers:

1. Travel writer
2. Novelist/Poet
3. A mom
4. A singer/songwriter with a devoted little following but not enough of one to make me "famous"
5. An anchor alongside Diane Sawyer

What five other lives do you imagine yourself living?

I'll conclude with the lovely little poem Dreams by Langston Hughes.