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Tuesday, January 2, 2018

SHOUTING DISTANCE


To kick off the new year, here's a freebie for you from my book Last Tango In Timbuktu 

The rain came before sunrise
in steady sheets
like the one I was trying
to pull over my head

I was just out of a dream

where I was whispering into the ear
of a woman who seemed to be
 my counselor
or confidante
a dream where I had speculated about
the sex of a pencil

It was long
a real woody
and it could prick you
when it's sharp
no wait...erase that

It was worn 
past the last hurrah
like a space ship
in the shape of a cigar

(And when hers was worn down to the nubbin
Sylvia Plath stuck her head in the oven)

It made so much sense to say
that I am my brother's keeper
but of course the other side had just claimed
that we'll get you to the promised land
in just a little different way

Let us fly and make our own mistakes

don't need a hand or a handout
of course that's the way where
crash and burn
 is followed in sequence by
oh shit
oh well

The rain had no intention
of letting up
as dawn's curtain lifted slowly
the new year now within shouting distance

And in the dream I was giddy
as I breathed into her ear

that I didn't know whether to laugh
or to cry

The culmination of a lifetime
of fledgling flight

Don't be concerned
if I crash and burn









28 comments:

  1. This is hilarious! Love these lines:

    "a dream where I had speculated about
    the sex of a pencil"

    "no wait...erase that"

    "Don't be concerned
    if I crash and burn" Great ending.

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  2. "... to forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace" S.Plath ... some people only need a cat's purr to forget, forgive and find ... no wait ... erase that ... hand me a cigar, will you ...

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  3. wow, all that from some rain and a little snuggle...my sex dreams always involve redwoods but if pencils...well...ahem...any crash you can walk away from...just like a dream...

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  4. Tim, this is truly wonderful. Playful. And dreamlike. Is it ok to have a favorite of yours? This is mine so far! Love.

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  5. well, i will be concerned. so don't do that. stick around and write more, we will all read and enjoy! and even be enlightened. thanks.

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  6. JASMINECALYX: Me glad you likey!
    CAT: You cut a fine figure with that cigar in your lips.
    BRIAN: Redwoods, eh? I've heard some bragging in my day, but...
    JENNY: Wow, your favorite? Now I'm glad I wrote it!
    MARIAN: Okay...for your sake if nothing else!

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  7. "The culmination of a lifetime of fledgling flight" - brilliant, Timo!!!!

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  8. THis is just brilliant. One of your best. Hope you are enjoying the Christmas season xxx

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  9. I like "oh shit, oh well." I suppose it could evoke different emotions. For me it gives me permission to take joy in my life as it flows, sometimes with debris and sometimes with shiney baubles that delight me. (Often, out of the debris, I can create shiney baubles that delight me.)

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  10. a few of my fav things in here: Plath, pencils, dreams, & that earthy shit (that never stinks of course)

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    Replies
    1. Some of my favorite things too...as in the song! (And that earthy shit is what I'm all about--lol--thanks, Angie!

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  11. "I didnt know whether to laugh or cry"....laughter, always. The whole premise of existence is prone to laughter. Smiles. Always good reading you, Tim.

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  12. Exactly, Sherry. That's why I write poems like "Cosmic Joke" (below)

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  13. I think with dreams like this a shrink would actually hesitate before grabbing a pencil to write it down...

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  14. This was fun..made me giddy with glee :)

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  15. Happy New Year, friend ... and Happy New Ear ... smiles and purrs ... Love, cat.

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  16. Hey, Tim. Happy New Year. This is a great share!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kerry! Sending you my best wishes for the New Year!

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  17. You obviously had lots of fun writing this one!

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  18. Well it seems your pencil had enough lead in it to pen a superlative poem...oh wait...you typed it right? ;)

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    Replies
    1. I put it down on paper first, so technically you are right!

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  19. __ I like my mechanical pencils; always ready, just push the eraser and fresh lead appears. _m

    reset pencil
    in pushing the button
    new words

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    Replies
    1. How nice if we all had a similar reset button :) Hope the new year has been kind to you so far, my friend.

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