Porthole

Septembre 23 - 24

23 septembre

47 degrees will warm to 72. No rain, just some clouds.

My parents were married today... a long time ago.

I didna cross the river to meet friends on the northside. I didna pick up a fresh baguette at 2 and now that it's 4 there's no reason to go to the cafe that closes at 6.

Tomorrow is another day.

Billy Jo and I finished off the last of the orange-chicken she made a couple days ago. The evidence has been cleaned up. We will deny it ever happened.

Food tastes better when prepared by others. I can critique restaurants and my own cooking but if YOU make it? The response is "thank you" or "takk" or "merci" or "ขอบคุณ ครับ" (for a man speaking) or "ຂອບ​ໃຈ".

Good response to a "fine whine" I posted. I'm feeling less depressed than earlier but I must find a way forward. What I'm doing isn't working.

To Brian: "The problem isn't you. There's an audience here that doesn't respond and I can't fix that. Make sure nothing is rated over 13+; E is apparently preferred by the Gatekeepers of Poetry here. I have the same problem. Fantasy is preferred over Reality. Rhyme is preferred over reason.

I don't write just for myself. I do think writing daily helps but my poems aren't mere doggeral or writing exercises. Not my poems, not my stories, not my blog."

O 25 de abril de 1974, Lisboa

Shove a carnation down my barrel
          and share your joy
          as I refuse to spill our tears
          the color of poppies
          to disgrace this day or any day
          for the next fifty years.
May time record your courage,
          recount my humble response.

© Copyright 2021 Kåre Enga, P.O. 22, [178.233] (23.septembre.2021)

A bit of energy now fading as the day fades as daylight dims these shortening days.

Meanwhile TS Dianmu is over Laos and will pass through Isan close to Maha Sarakham.

24 septembre

At least I took a shower. I have a poem to write and send to Petra. Hope to get to it today.

56 degrees at 11:30. The weather has been cancelled today. Gently going up, no wind, no rain, gently going down.

I don't care for the adnauseum birthday prompt. Next it'll be adnauseum pumpkin pies. Maybe I should write a story where they celebrate a 'birthday' every day. But would a countdown to the autumn slaughter be approprite? I mean... this place can be so cliche! Or how many birthdays does a mayfly have? How about a doll... one made of black crepe paper?

To Beholden: "Yep. The boundary between prose and poetry is an ill-defined country. I cross it all the time. Poetry serves humanity in ways that trascend any monetary reward."

To Lilli: "Whine and brie? Because "whine and cheddar" sounds too stiff-upper-lip British. Plus, it'd be a cute way to work with 'wine' and 'breeze' or the name 'Bree'. Ah, a fine whine served with Bree."

To Cubby: "Personally, I don't like 'birthday' as a prompt. It tends to bring up unpleasant memories and around here it's usually dealt with in a cliche way. So...

1. A story about how many birthdays are left instead of how many behind us. I'll be celebrating #12 as my family expiration date is coming up. Easier to blow out fewer and fewer candles each year.
2. How did Benjamin Button celebrate his birthdays?
3. What if birthdays came out of order?
4. If you were a mayfly would you be celebrating the hours?
5. How many animals celebrate the seasons? If you have a pet, how many seasons have they survived?
6. Do dolls have birthdays? Or other toys? What if the toy is an heirloom much older than you?
7. Cultural differences. Some cultures don't celebrate birthdays, using name days instead... or just not celebrating at all.
8. Not all cultures start with zero. A child turning 1 is said to be turning 2. As in... entering their second year. They were 1 the day they were born.
9. What if your day is on a taboo date or shared with an important event? I have a friend whose birthday is 9/11, and named Merry whose birthday is the 25th of you-know-what.
10. What about conception date. Anyone who grew up on a farm might be able to explain that to urban folks."

The land bleeding a river of red... just a thought about Iceland. I'll need to look at my poem "Kipuka" as it might apply to the Canarias.

"Agent Goat at YCC: "A collection of convection with no particular direction." Correction, conviction, articulate, discretion...?

Former President George W. Bush's words in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. "There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them."

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