Friday, February 25, 2022

SAFE DISTANCE EDITION - Stone Soup Croutons, 2-23-22: Survival Guide


Stone Soup Croutons is a weekly poem I write using lines and impressions picked from Stone Soup Poetry's open mic readers and features. I figure out a title (and sometimes the rest of the poem) later. You can read the other ones I've done since 2015 here.
 
I also have a book collecting the best of my first year of poems. Click here to purchase it.

Part open mic, part musical on Wednesday. It was fun. I was actually able to keep up with the readers and write this week's poem before the night ended. I didn't have to go back and review the video the way I've had to since the Zoom sessions started. Any time in the video when my head is down after a poet reads, it's because I'm finishing up my lines. I enjoy going back through the poets (skipping my speaking parts), but it's time consuming when I'm trying to post a poem every Friday morning. It's nice to know I can write faster when I put my mind to it. 

That's right. I wrote this week's poem as an endurance test. Enjoy it while we count down to Dexter Garcia's feature next Wednesday. Thanks for reading.


Survival Guide

Apathy's a deadly element,
doesn't bother with symbols.
Don't mix it in your water.

With complacency cones
desire to read anything 
in hope that it's poison.
 
No prescription glasses
strong enough that they 
care to read the truth. 
 
They play by laughing
at anyone with ideas
about anything.

Predatory birds, they
circle sincerity on foot,
too lazy to fly.
 
Throw them off. Wear 
air like Halloween mask,
strap cutting at ears. 
 
Fame for thinking has 
a way of tipping off those
who've never heard of you.
 
Beware what you let 
them dictate. You can't sing
and talk of World War 3.
 
They still believe this
country can win, drink
up death with bone straws.

Hair of dog with real hound,
sick puppies passed back
and forth in brown bags
 
while they sing along 
to lyrics they would mock
if ever spoken slowly.
 
Cool critters skin on sight,
early birds plan to fly 
planes into each other.

A container of ink makes
everyone jump back like
cats from a cactus.

 
Hope you're all back next week.


Special thanks to Karen Sklany, Jan Rowe, Rita Rose, Ed Gault, Nancy Dodson, Chris Fitzgerald, Patricia Carragon, Lee Varon, John Sturm, Carol Weston, Ethan Macker and James Van Looy. 

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