cause and effect

i threw a battery

into the fire and

it exploded

 

i ate too many prunes and

my intestines

hung down like a

garden hose

 

the dog knocked

over the Christmas tree and

the living room

went up in flames

 

i miscalculated and sent

a staple through my thumb

 

he pressed the button and

the missile began its neat

parabolic arc

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Eilis]

I see that a lot of your poems were published here a decade or more ago but there is a parallel with our exact moment that is sometimes uncanny. I guess it just shows the rut we have been stuck in for some time in modern life where this looming inevitability is such a central part of our lives. I suppose I’ve tricked myself at times that certain fires have been put out but I think that must be one of the many fairy tales we tell ourselves to get through the years. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in the urgency of things outside ourselves that actual living starts to feel too burdensome. A certain futility colors everything. Your poem feels like a fable speaking to the micro to macro progression of cause and effect. Sometimes we have a specific path to trace the “how we got here” and sometimes it’s more ambiguous or hindsight that reveals the path. We are definitely in a threshold moment but it’s surely been building for decades. And we still have our personal effects or tragedies to reckon with. I get a sense of the difficulty of reconciling the two extremes—the personal to global—and all the stops in between. It can be overwhelming but also it becomes matter of fact (sadly) when we are inundated over and over. That is what this poem says to me today in a week where being an American citizen has been overwhelming in the weight of what that means at this moment. It’s difficult to process everything and know what to do one moment to the next.

[SkinlessFrank]

I think this walking blindly into catastrophe is exactly what I had in mind when I wrote this. A dozen or so year ago, things seemed simpler, but only deceptively so. The world was a mess then as it is now. I know what you mean about the moment though. Sometimes I wonder, how could we not see this coming?

[SkinlessFrank]

serah...your own generous comments make me wonder what kind of universe is this that i inhabit in which there exists a fellow poet somewhere on the other side of the world who can read such wisdom into these little missives i post...maybe we are not so alone in all this after all...

[. serah .]

-- thanks a million for your kind words, Maestro D. ... i'm fortunate coz the universe of verse allows me to benefit from your epiphanies... and i think we're not alone at all... :)

[. serah .]

-- i reached the airport early once (which is rare because i'm a last-minute human) and was smoking a cigarette in a somewhat secluded area, threw it in the trash can without stubbing it properly and there was a minor fire... -- i was so shocked and scared... there was a terrorism red alert in the city... -- at another time, i was boiling water for tea or coffee and i vanished in my thoughts... when i emerged, the water had evaporated, the vessel was burnt and the entire kitchen was filled with smoke... -- i realised i was depressed when i couldn't read the taste of coffee while drinking coffee... and it took me years to return to 'normal'... -- i still smoke... -- we self-destruct in so many ways... we start small but we end up releasing missiles and driving drones from a distance... -- it must be some kind of a stupor... one that loves 'miscalculations'... and maybe we love the story of rip van winkle so much because at least he lived the stupor in a visible way... while we hibernate in more and more invisible ways... -- i'm forever searching for greater awareness... and this brilliant poem erases bits of my quintessential human stupor... it's a spectacular gift... -- i think you're one of the most generous poets i've ever read... ~ thank you for being so uniquely you...

-- p.s. i still don't know how to cut my nails properly... but i haven't give up on myself yet...

[OTownPete]

Hmmm, a Christmas tree with candles, how reminiscent. Your friend in words, Pete

[roarke]

sometimes the obvious is.... obvious.

It takes disciplined observation to get it down right.

just don't get around any buttons.....

nice stuff.

[clairekeown25]

reminds me of a time i spent without eyelashes...great!

[junaid altaf]

the irony of mistakes, or double minded ness.........
what should i percieve

[kmartell]

are there still these 19 year olds sitting in minute man siloes in Kansas?

[.]

sure hope someone was able to reel in that garden hose for you...
yikes!

[Emily B]

there are going to be more light-filled days in the coming year, there have to be