L'aura del Campo

Summer: 10 Kalimat 162 (July 22)

TREASURE OF THE DAY

Accidia (Sloth)

Open the curtains!
For me, I'll have the poached eggs
don't forget my tea.

Invidia (Envy)

Thats a nice new car,
and your wife is pretty cute.
I think you should share

from: "Invalid Item"   [] by A Guest Visitor

2005-07-22
afternoon, 99 degrees with a humidex of 112. 82 in Buffalo, NY.

Yep, dangerously steamy here.

         The reports about Supreme Court Justice nominee, John Roberts, indicate he was born in Buffalo, but moved to a nice wealthy suburb in Indiana as a child and went to private all-boys Catholic school. Heaven help us!
         I grew up around this type of person, went to school with 'them', was beaten up by 'them', have been treated like an outsider by 'them' all my life. Heaven help us all!
         I would ask him how many non-white, non-wealthy, non-Catholic (therefore 'heathen') friends he had growing up, at Harvard, in Law School. Buffalo is a blue-collar city, but his Dad was an executive at Bethlehem Steel. Believe me, he didn't grow up around poverty!
         The First Ward Irish (very insular themselves) would talk about the "Lace curtain" Irish who could afford nice drapes in a city that spewed forth charcoal dirt like vomit from the steel industry that his family made their money off of. The roofs were grey, the houses grey, the curtains covering the windows grey and dusty. The city stank for decades under a polluted cloud that gave a legacy of cancer and metallic poisoning.
         So ... Mr. Roberts ... do you have a clue about the American dream for the thousands put out of work when Bethlehem Steel closed? Have you ever lived outside of the Catholic bubble? Does your wife understand the pluralistic nature of American society, or is the abortion issue her Catholic calling card? Have you ever heard the words "Human Rights", as applied to any other group than the priviledged circle you spawned from? Have you thought about diversity, lived in another country, spoken another language?
         Because America, Mr. Roberts is no longer White, is not defined by the Catholic church, is not a Christian Republic, yet, and will only submit to being the toy of the wealthy priviledged Ivy Leaguers for so long.

2005-07-22
late morning, 93 degrees with a humidex of 101. It is 91 in Pryor, OK.

Thought of Donna Robbins when I checked how my poems were being reviewed and rated. I wrote "Fine wine"  for her last year. So far it leads the list of "crowd pleasers".

For my friends: There is a place here where I can check on statistics, what type of person (by gender, marital status, age, education, etc.) is reading my stuff and who is rating it highly. This will help me decide which I send off for rejection slips from publishers! The best will eventually find a home. The reviews will help me edit to improve some of them. Some, alas, will be beyond help. Others, to be quite frank, will be hard pressed to find the right audience. It's out there, just not here at Writing.com. Not too many people write hockey poems, for instance.

But, I sift through the ratings and reviews. I'm amazed when a poem I thought silly or light or that was written to make one person happy, reaches out and touches others. Sometimes I push the right button.

I wrote in my journal [Yellowbook, page 667]:
A: publishable,
B: probably publishable if the right niche is found.
C: probably not.
Less: don't admit I wrote it.

As of today (minimum of 5 ratings):

A+

98 "Fine wine" 

A

96 "Speak soft my name" 
94 "At two" 
94 "'we are like trees'" 

A-

92 "Boise City" 
90 "First drum set" 
90 "Starbeams on Tulsa" 

So, if you don't have alot of time, these are the seven best according to other writers who have rated my poems. Only two have been rated/reviewed over 10 times so I won't worry one way or the other until there are 15 to 20 ratings. I am learning how to draw attention to my work, but it is a slow process.

2005-07-22
morning, 81 degrees. 84 in Tulsa and 82 in Tahlequah, OK.

It is already steamy on this Tenth day of Words. It will be close to 100 today. The Heartland simmers.

Some people have friends in high places. Me? Well ... let's just say that they come from bizarre spaces and not worry about which planet they were born on .

Gary Glenn of Tulsa sent me an eye-witness account of a drunk motorcyclist who rode the highway divider. Ended up breaking his leg backwards and ground three fingers off his left hand.

Kelly Anquoe of Tahlequah emailed me a hilarious satire about 'staying the course', in a country cowboy culture. Very wicked commentary on the present administration in Washington. I'm with Kelly, most of the time, but not as warped as he is.

It is good to have interesting friends, as long as I don't ask about their birth planet ...

SENSED YESTERDAY:

Dayflower, clear blue and delicate, climbing a leaning tree trunk; inch long bumblebee; music blaring from the roofers atop ECM; shadow from spots on the skylight; the sweat on Ryan's back; the chirp of birds from a telephone.