Thursday, September 17, 2009

Trumpets and Shouts


Trumpets and shouts go before parades.
Trumpets and shouts announce celebrations.
Trumpets and shouts raise alarms.
Trumpets and shouts usher in rebellions.

Something exciting.
Something new.
Something to be wary of.
Something to pay attention to.

And all powered by human breath.

1 comment:

Dr. Mike said...

Spaces

The spaces in these poems
Are there because you need

To take a breath and slow
Down. Even laundresses

Of Xi’an, China, out behind
The university dorm,

Who scrubbed by hand,
Beat and hung to dry

Foreigners’ underwear,
Knew to take a rest

And gossip with each other
About what they’d just

Cleaned. The real pace
Of human life is like that,

Requiring you to pause
Every now and then

And think about the spaces
Within the heavy lifting

That insights and worries
Cause. It’s hard enough

To work for a living;
You also need to stop,

Rest, and share a little
Joke with your friends

About what each day has
Cleaned from your mind.

[Disposable Poem September 17, 2009]
Dr. Mike