Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Miss Intensity Walks In, Poem on Video

Last week, I wrote a new poem featuring Miss Intensity, one of my recurring poetical characters.  These poems were inspired by the writings of Kate Murphy, poet and editor extraordinaire, an author I had the privilege of interviewing many years ago for Ohio Writer.  Miss Intensity spent years in my mind before I let her loose on paper.  When I wrote Miss Intensity Walks in I thought she would be a one-time inspiration.  I was wrong.  There are now three Miss Intensity poems and I see there will be more.  She is not done with me.

The most recent poem, Miss Intensity Takes A Lover, is not yet ripe enough for print.  But to lay the groundwork for its appearance on this blog, I have recorded.  Miss Intensity Walks In for your viewing, reading and listening pleasure.  Please enjoy!


Miss Intensity Walks In
by Stephanie Mesler


Miss Intensity has you from hello.  
She knows her shtick
and she knows you know she knows.  
Silver curls fall freely
down a rigid back.
Red Lips grin broadly and
Laughter cascades over the room.  

Miss Intensity will kiss you.
She will use her tongue
even when you are expecting just an air smooch.  
She does not withdraw,
not her tongue,
not her thoughts,
not even her most deeply held designs.  

Miss Intensity leaves no doubt.  
She is incapable of obfuscation.  
There was once a time when she tried to fabricate.
When that did not work, she attempted to equivocate.  
She failed; now Miss Intensity is all about wide, wild openness.  

Once, she loved a man who met her toe to toe and nose to nose.  
He faced her down in disport and  delight.
In debate, he was her consort and her complement.  
Joie de feu in open battle created after-sparks felt round the world.
She called him Daniel, though he was really named just Dan.  
She said no one deserved to be just Dan.
He submitted to the christening,
grateful his father (another just Dan) was not alive to know.  
In the end, though, it was the name that broke them.  
She ended the affair, declaring him too weak to be her mate.  
He should have insisted, she said, on retaining his name.  

So now you are one of the privileged,
chosen for her masterclass on poetry, love, and life at large.  
She will name you too and you will submit.
Miss Intensity has never been wrong.  
Well, maybe the once, but she won’t tell you just when.  


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Riff on Cummings

I will be attending the poetry reading at Progress Energy Art Gallery tomorrow night in New Port Richey.  The assignment for this week's gathering was to take the first line of a poem we like and build a new one from there.  I chose to actually make a whole new poem based on the rhythmic and syntactical structure of E. E. Cummings' i thank You God.  


Riff on Cummings
by Stephanie Mesler


I thank you god for most this amazing
time, life in space and place azure and wet
for the puddling, pounding rain over sea
ferocity carried on wind through the night.  

I who have cried wake again today
and this is my rebirth day of start starting; this is my rebirth
day of flying free wings’ purple strong power
day of free flight forward from back where I came

Now will dancing singing growing glowing
making all things new   -- ripped out of the nos
of all that was lost-- happy all my doubtful
up to living beyond hunkered hankering past?  

As the mind of my mind is awakened
the words of my song yellow sing.  

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tuesday Haiku Throw-Down

You know how this works and if you don't you can read the post from last week's haiku throw-down.  This week's topic:  Advice for young adults.  
As always, I will go first.


If you cannot shout
from rooftops your joy in love
keep it in your pants.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Reading Tonight in Second Life at 10 PM Eastern

I will be performing online tonight.  I will be reading mostly poetry, possibly selections from the novel in progress, The Ballad of Donny Granger, Part One, as well.  Readings will take place in UUtopia, the Unitarian Universalist region of Second Life.  If You are already a member of SL, IM Freda Frostbite inworld (That's me!) and I will be happy to TP you to the reading.  If you are not a member of SL and would like to attend, send me a message on this blog.  I will be happy to help you set up your free SL account.

Below is a pic of Freda Frostbite, my Second Life avatar at a previous reading.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Monday Morning Haiku ThrowDown!

This week's topic is winter!

The way this works.  I haiku.  You haiku back at me by clicking on comments below this post and posting your haiku there.  Then, when I see your post and have a little time on my hands, I will haiku back at ya.

Sun through iced window
warms me from voluptuous dream
Monday morning hoax.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Haiku ThrowDown

I think my brain has gone into some sort of winter freeze.  I need to shake off the numbness and get back in creative form.  So I am challenging all of you and myself to a Haiku ThrowDown.

The way this works:  I post a haiku.  You respond with a haiku posted to comments on this post.  Then I respond with another.  And so on and so on.  Feel free to respond in haiku form to responses as well.

For your further edification, see this definition of haiku.  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/haiku


The Throw down starts now with the following Haiku and will continue through this noon eastern standard time on Thursday.  Have fun!


Water’s glass surface
provides a magnified view
 of what lies beneath