Chicago Musings on the L

I do not fear you, brother bee.
We are the same, you and I:
We have in us one good sting
To deal before we die.

Heroism, Apart

The most eccentric characters may be
sleepwalkers through the digital experience
(a quick spiritual, physical fix
a bitter pill
the music of machine dreams)

A life spent on the external world
feels metallic

Imagine what it must be like without words

Reawaken something heroic:
begin a new story
take your dreams.

-

THE END of my Collage Journal, MOONBEAM DREAMS.

Facing the World

I can be a dreamer, but today I
face the things I dread:
the heart
and
the fist.

We are travelers in search of
starry nights,
some great adventure
in the lamplight.

Lost Lures: A Disillusionment in Three Parts

Only three collage poems remain from my Moonbeam Dreams journal! Enjoy this one:


The world is full of magical places:
mist-veiled
sacred ground
caught between good and evil.
-
If I could retreat
and be alone
but not isolated
And be alone
without sacrificing,
I would.
-
I've lost the magic lure
of the kingdoms
of my imagination.

Childhood Wonders and Lifelong Quests

You've always wanted to find
aliens that are centuries old
and invented it all-
from battleships to bistros.

It's a love of adventure,
a great detective story,
and the search for immortality...

It does beautiful things.

Go forth and conquer!


-


Also, a big thanks to Abigail Wyatt at poetry24 for the well-captured review of my poem. Her words certainly struck a chord!

Cheers.

Robots.

Sometimes nothing is more human.

Nomads

We're nomads in this life.

Sanctuary of Outcasts

Reincarnation may be dead,
but the in-between lives here.

Enter an era
of pain, passion, and obsessions,
when the power to think
is thicker than blood.

Even the vaguest memories
are drawn to us.

Ancient scars remain
with these young souls,
enthralling the
undertakings of our time.

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts,
no one's abandoned.

Ongoing

When it comes to your understanding of happiness,
where you want to be shapes your world.



Enjoy insomnia, traffic jams, and creativity
on the outskirts of the city.
The beautiful countryside is dark and cozy.



The destination is an ongoing record of that voyage.

Now start packing.


[Almost spring break time... Yay! This collage poem was well-timed; I have been posting my collage poems in order, and I did not plan for this happy cohesiveness. As an additional side note, my Moonbeam Dreams collage journal is winding down... Only a few more pages! Luckily, this year I've been working on another one, one I like even better, with a cohesive theme and sort-of storyline.]

Sunsets on the Beach

"Passing Time"

Hidden surprises can still be cloistered.

It's time for the web of reinventing.

Spirited arrangements that
bewitch you the most.

There is a reason
the smoky shadow
grows skyward.

Carbonite Compressions

My life is a compressed can of whoop-ass: I reel among graduate class readings and papers, teaching, student government, conferences, writing my dissertation, preparing for prelims, pets, partner, and family. Some things fall by the wayside, like cleaning, friends, and reading and writing for fun. I don’t write much that isn’t research-based these days.

So what you see here, on this blog, are the remnants of the last few years – the bulk of what little me-time I justified taking. This isn’t my core, it isn’t all the important stuff, but it is what lets me keep chugging along. It gives me enough peace to focus on academia.

With any luck, a year from now I will have less to juggle. I will have three little letters after my name. I will be on the job market. Life will be better. I will be better.

Something’s been nagging at me, though.

One of my graduate friends once told his advisor that he was looking forward to starting his career and his life. His advisor leaned back and cut straight to the point: “You’ve already started your career and this is your life.”

I guess this blog is a small step toward reclaiming a part of myself that’s been sealed away for far too long.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

(image by Seung Mo Park, found at http://sploid.gizmodo.com/these-wire-sculptures-actually-look-like-people-frozen-1458551798)

A Tea Party

What time has come
upon this place
that calls for champions
to fall from grace
and delve into the
renegades?

Alleys, gutters, metal bins:
these are our labyrinths.

My hope is pinned
upon your chest,
my breath is neon
carving space
through chiaroscuro
seams.

You’re dressed in white;
I’m draped in black.

Your arm in mine,
the good, the bad –
a swirl, a twirl, a bend…

A dip, a nod across a room
a dainty sip,
a cuppa.

Sage and Honey

I heard her voice
like sage and honey
so powerful it wakes my
dark metabolism.

I am the moon's child.

I know the power of
Creation lies
in discovery
and transformation.

I know how to cast a spell:
it's about reading the tea leaves
and seeing a state of wonder.

It's time.

I will watch
the moon rise
and I will
never be
the same.

David and Goliath

"Clever Ways"

Caged by hills,
from mountains
a reproduction of something
that already existed.

How to engage David to Goliath?

Grass Roots: A Do-It-Yourself Transformation

Do More, Be More.

Like oil-slicked gears, we are urged to do more, create more, buy more, work more efficiently, work faster, more like machines...

And like synthetic organs, machines are tweaked to be more, to be more resilient, more encompassing, more user friendly, intelligent and flexible, more like man.

We are all of us caught in the storm.

Your Energy Inspires

Restless

That place of brain tickling, where itches begin and sneezes burst out.

Collage Musings: A New Journey

Where did those three years go? They may have gone by without a post, but so much has happened. I've experimented more with artwork and poetry. This is a book of collage musings I made last year - no Photoshop or anything, just my own two hands, scissors, paper, and magazines. Each post for the next few months will be a page or pages from this book, Moonbeam Dreams. The creative force behind them has kept me going through some of the toughest years of my life. Enjoy these works, and give me credit where credit is due if you choose to share. Be safe and warm and just a little bit wildly adventurous.