Summer of 1976 – house and cat sitting

In the summer of 1976, my parents went on vacation and left me at home to house sit and cat sit. I also had lots of time to write on the Triumph Gabriele. I'd sit on the sofa and type, and the cat would jump up and sleep behind me. Occasionally I'd also grab my father's Leica M3 and take pictures.

Im Sommer 1976 machten meine Eltern Ferien und überließen mir Haus und Katze. Ich hatte viel Zeit zum Schreiben auf der Triumph Gabriele. Ich setzte mich zum Tippen auf das Sofa. Oft sprang die Katze hoch und machte hinter meinem Rücken ein Nickerchen. Manchmal griff ich mir die Leica M3 meines Vaters und machte Fotos.

The advantages of being a writer

I

You write

a house

and it’s there

You make it high

and square,

you place it

in Detroit

No, you move it

to Brooklyn

Realizing that

you have no

business there,

you move it

to Italy,

where you

currently are

You place

yourself in it,

you zoom in

one of it its

rooms

That’s

where

you are,

the creator

at work

II

You add

a desk, a screen,

a keyboard,

a computer,

a lamp,

the whirr of a

computer fan,

a rainy day

outside

and the spike

of an event –

the slamming

of a door

downstairs

III

The final act

is to erase

it all again

That’s

where

you are,

the destroyer

at work

IV

You check

the spelling

– Johannes Beilharz (© 2013)

Originally published in The Best of Mad Swirl : 06.22.13

The photo shows part of the location the poem focuses on.

Poetically offended

“The fact of my future death offends me,”
wrote poet & blogger Reginald Shepherd

Much worse: it will eventually kill him.

(More of Shepherd's musings can be read at reginaldshepherd.blogspot.com.)

Or did you write that yourself?

Was that a real poem

or did you write that yourself?

That came out of my head by itself,
with words that formed themselves,
a beginning by itself,
and an end in itself,
so yes, I wrote it myself
and it is real in itself
and in any other selves
exposed to it whether or not they themselves
realize the significance or insignificance of this or themselves.

– P. Lato

Eye opener

I
can
barely
open my
eyes at this point in
time, but time will tell whether they
shall remain open,
but try I
will, so
can
I?

A forward and reverse fibonacci, also called a diamond.

Received from one who calls himself morningworker233x5 and wishes to remain anonymous. He (or she?) was also the one to inform me of the special poetic terminology.

Thank you & copyright morningworker233x5

Brownfeld's wisdom no. 4

Why should I produce series? Doesn’t anyone like variety?

– Arthur Brownfeld

OK, now he's back to Brownfeld, as per specific instruction. Have it your way, Blumstein, Brownstein, Goldblum, whoever you are.