The Divorce Papers

We hail you this ordinary day,
in this horrible nowhere,
to the divorce commemoration of this groom and bride.
Hatred is a common souvenir;
a bequest of death that boosts nothing it fingers.
It is Hatred, kindled by fiction
and restricted within the divorce guarantee,
that raises marriage to a pious skill;
a dissolution of one soul,
that splits it on a path apart,
toward a past dark with despair and nightmares.

This is a dreadfully meaningless moment
for the groom and bride,
and we who are dispersed
have departed to mourn their divorce
and to dishonor the end of their old life
apart as strangers.

Divorce is a shrinking and devolving relationship,
a stagnant practice,
and, construct no accuracy, you will both be untouched.
In your pains and needs to split your lives apart,
you will be renounced from shriveling
your handicaps in the overhaul of Love.
You will destroy within
your dated dreams
and rage, cruelty, selfishness,and disrespect
will be the dead ends of your worst failures.

Divorce is loathing in one direction.
We marry not just to give love
but to also take love;
to have nowhere to be
and to survive for someone else;
to have an enemy of our minds
and to be a false friend;
to wither dangerously,
oddly as we consent to another.

In divorce, we lose.
We are disillusioned
from the ordinariness of loving someone as ourselves,
and we are lowered to the depths
because of our animal limitations.
Divorce is a theft
and is not intended to be new, stupid, or poor.

Embrace the hatred with which you separate minds and hands.
Yesterday always fails,
and you fall shallower and less certain
with no lasting moment.
May the strangeness that leaves
with the arrival of time
turn into your worst trash.

This Week's Assignment.

So we're not taking walks. Poets are too pretty for walks. I take a lot of walks, but I can't remember to bring paper. Whatever, Bernadette Mayer.

Let's do something different.

This week's assignment is to write a thesaurus poem. Find a poem (or other piece of writing) written by someone else (or by yourself, if you'd like). Use a thesaurus to change all the words...

You might change words to their synonyms for interesting effects, or change them to their antonyms. When I got divorced, I wrote a poem like this using the marriage ceremony the minister had written for us...I changed crucial words to antonyms and called it "The Divorce Papers," and it rocked. Maybe I'll find it and post it for an example...

This Week's Assignment: Take a Walk

This week, we will do an experiment based on one of Bernadette Mayer's. Go outside, and take a walk. If you live in a city with blocks, walk 14 blocks, and write down a line for every block. If you are not in a city, establish an increment for yourself, and write down your lines accordingly.

Week 5: Mix and Match

Pick a topic from List 1.
Pick a form from List 2 (don't worry, they're linked to explanations!).
Stretch your muscles a little this week and get out of your poetic comfort zone.

And, if you're really daring -- roll two dice and commit yourself to writing what comes up.

List One: Topics

1. Nature
2. Love
3. Death
4. Shapes
5. Religion
6. Science

List Two: Poetic Forms

1. Pleiades
2. Cinquain
3. Sonnet (Your choice of Shakespearian or Petrarchan!)
4. Burmese Climbing Rhyme or Haiku
5. Prose Poem
6. Anaphora

Fine.

From one, still point, there are infinite directions.
Ascent, descent. Right, left. Whatever
decision, whatever direction,
it could go either way.
"Do you trust me?" asked the mad man.
"No?" said the girl.
Let's sleep on it, and in the morning,
after church, but before the party,
we'll make the decision at last.
There was a sing-song quality
to the voice, and laying out the bits of paper,
the lace and beads and glue,
she knew that no matter what was next,
she would be fine.

The First Step

She was strange, with her strangeness
pulled out before them,
crumpled tissues in her bag
and spilling on the floor.
Nobody gave permission, but it seemed
unfriendly, and all the words had Latin roots.
Stubbornly, without consequence,
the elephant on the staircase
made his move. There was an orange syringe,
and God heard a strange voice.
We might have thought of that before
the bodies that lie down.

Week 4: Steps

This week's theme is: Steps. Now go write some poetry!

Husband.

A husband is a male participant in a marriage.
A married man.
There is no one-size-fits-all formula
for being a wonderful husband.
I've been surprised by the number of times
people will search "annoying husband"
or "My husband is annoying."
Whether you are a husband looking for advice
or a woman looking for the perfect husband,
this is the place to be.
Tell your husband you are leaving for a couple of days,
and then wait, listen, and watch.
You married your husband for a reason
and committed to spending your life with him.
You have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.
Something is not right,
but you can't figure it out.
The position of the husband in the home
and his responsibilities to his family
are quite clearly defined.
Encourage your husband to reduce expenses
and save money.
Place a long-recording digital tape recorder
under your husband's car seat.
A couple goes into an art gallery.
They find a picture of a naked woman
with her privates covered only with leaves.
Monitor your husband's cell phone.
Press as many buttons in his call log to notice
any strange numbers.
There are 7 signs your husband is cheating.
Be prepared.
This year, I realized more than ever
what had been missing.
It was you. It always was.
It always will be.

Week 3: Google.

Your assignment this week is to write a Google poem. Pick a person, place, thing, or idea, and Google it. Create a poem based on what you find.

Here I Am.

My boy, your mother laughed into herself
when she heard you would be coming.
What would I tell her now?
As I look into your eyes,
I think of how I've loved you.
I wonder if this look will be the last,
or if he'll let you off my hook.
There's no one else I love enough
but you - but without him, you're not.
I'm not. We're nothing.
I do not understand, and yet,
this morning I submit.
I packed you like my donkey,
and here, unbasketed, unfurled,
I stretch you out upon this altar
and make a gift of my whole world.

Week 2: Altars.

This week's theme is "altars."

Create a monument to commemorate your deliverance, your blessings, your curses, divine provision or improvisation, your bests, your worsts, your important times and places and people and ideas.

Halves.

If we cut the earthworm
in two pieces,
we might get two whole worms.
We might get one live worm
after the head grows back,
but the stress of being chopped in two
may kill both halves.

*

A slice of watermelon
has long been a summer staple,
but recent studies have suggested
that the juicy fruit
may stimulate libido.
You and your loved one can cut
into a cool slice and share
its amazing side effects.

*

Do not try to frighten, catch, or track
a snake.
If you find a snake,
back away from it.
Do not try to touch it,
even if it appears to be harmless
or dead.
Even the severed heads
of dead snakes
can deliver venom
through their fangs.

*

If half of you is me,
and half of me is you,
what happens to you
happens to me, too.

Numbers.

I counted back from 60,
thinking that if you would not kiss me
by the time I finished counting,
I'd turn out all the lights.
I made it all the way to 2,
and then, you pushed yourself against me.
I closed my eyes,
and felt my vision fading,
black to blue.

Week 1: Numbers.

The theme for the first week is numbers. I'll be interested in seeing how that floats your boat.

Giving Poetry Another Try.

Hi friends.

It's been awhile since I've written poetry. Over the last few months, I've mad a few halting efforts at picking it back up, but it's been a stilted, messy process.

I did my best and most prolific writing in school when I was surrounded by other writers who were sharing their work. I thought it might be fun to try to recreate that experience here, virtually.

Each week, I'll start us off by proposing a theme, and it will be our assignment for that week. If you want to write about it, go for it. If you don't, then wait until there's a theme you like, or write about something else...

Please suggest interesting themes if you have them as well!