POEM: "LEMONS IN THE GRASS" (2018)

Lemons in the Grass

Bright yellow lemons on green green grass
Big sky goodbye please wait too fast
Look at you baby blue, eyeing up the past
Had the golden ticket but now stuck behind the glass

Lost at sea, lost at home
A sense of purpose never shown
Time was never yours to own
Time was never yours to know

Paper boats floating down curbside streams
Personalized cubicles and management teams
Restless minds and Ambien dreams
Sunrise washed in coffee and cream

Water sparkles with iridescent oil
Jet age dresses made from aluminum foil
Bus fumes billow, tires clouded with soil
Some of us work and some of us toil

Lying on the paper waiting to be seen
A fly shoots by, shimmering green
Hold yourself together, keep yourself clean
No reason to look up from a tiny little screen

Popcorn gunshots firecracker flutter
A lifetime's treasure sold as everyday clutter
Rain pouring out from an autumn-choked gutter
The universe is singing but you only hear it mutter

Looking searching but never found
Bicycle rides through the wrong side of town
Women walking by in cotton candy gowns
Burned to ashes or buried in the ground
Burned to ashes or buried in the ground
Burned to ashes or buried in the ground.

-- MCS, 2018

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POEM & PHOTOS: "DOUBLE EXPOSURE" BY AJ DENT

(I am honored today to be able to feature the beautiful creative work of AJ Dent, a writer/photographer who hails from the Upper Midwest, as I do, and ended up in Seattle, like I did. Please to enjoy. - Marianne)

Since June of this year, I have been living in my homeland of north central Minnesota. These past three months mark the longest I have stayed here in over six years, having fallen face-first in love with Seattle. Though I knew I’d miss the Emerald City, and enjoy reconnecting with nature here, I wasn’t ready for the gut-punch of being homesick for both places at once -- especially while trying to decide if I should move somewhere new yet again this fall. This poem is dedicated to both my raft of ducks out in Seattle right now, and to the Land of Lakes explorers who have taken me under their wing this summer. -- AJ

Double Exposure

This summer demanded to meet me

in the population: 3,000 town

where I was born. For tea. To tell me

to grind myself with dirty wheels,

dirty windshields, dirty boots and

dirty fingernails again

for four grass-stained months.

This season was my first love;

I couldn't resist the rendezvous.

​​

But Minnesota moves as if a garter snake,

​eyes spiraling like Northern Lights.

Sill Lake hypnotizes my lens.

Whitetails are snort-wheezing

You can never leave again.

Red pines replace skyscrapers and muskies

make the newspaper. Lady’s slippers whisper

What is this supposed West Coast matter

to which you must tend? I admit it dims

as fireflies spin and meteor streaks grin.

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POEM & PHOTOGRAPHS: "MINNESOTA MOURNS" BY AJ DENT

(I am proud to have hosted work by my friend and colleague AJ Dent in the past, and am very excited to continue to feature her writing and photographs here on Popthomology as she continues her travels. Thank you, AJ. -- Marianne)

From June through September of this year, I am staying in my homeland of north central Minnesota. While I’ve been writing a bit about my current adventures over on AtelierAJ.org and DigitalAJ, the recent racism-fueled murders of black people across the country has taken precedence. Since the death of Philando Castile, Minnesota has experienced significant storms almost every single day, alongside protests all across the state. This poem, which touches on the tragedy of his death, is dedicated to him, all others wrongfully killed by police, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

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HAIKU: POST OFFICE AT THE HOLIDAYS, 2014

With trepidation
I enter the post office;
The worst time of year.

Only two boxes!
I try to cheer myself up;
My arms, getting sore.

No one is smiling.
Christmas music is playing.
They should serve eggnog.

Yes! Eggnog! Gallons!
In giant mugs and spiked with
Bourbon or Xanax.

Hey Lady! Move back!
Don't you try to cut in line!
Or I will cut you.

Why are there only
Two counter workers working?
It destroys my soul.

Many small dramas
Are playing out before me.
Shipping cost despair.

"Will this box arrive
To Australia before
Christmas? Ha, ha! NO."

"Do you need some stamps?
Do you need some stamps? Do you..."
" DEAR GOD, NO, THANK YOU."

Each year I do this.
What do I learn? I am a
Procrastinator.

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FOR BETSY

The bluest sky you've ever seen, in Seattle
I find the sun to warm me
Bleach away the pain
The unfairness of it!
A perfect couple pulled apart
Sweat and tears, salt in my eyes
She is gone.

I look up
There is no Big Guy there for me
But there is something, a presence
So many hearts connected
Love and grief thrown into the air
On a beautiful day.
We start to navigate our loss
Together, this way.

I know there was nothing I could do.
I know there was nothing anyone could do.
I know
I know
I know
I know
I know
I know
And it still doesn't make me feel any better
Because admitting we are helpless
Is just too much.
It's too much.

And hills the greenest green, in Seattle
I wish she could see it today.
I wish she could dance on the grass.
I wish
So very much
On a beautiful day.

When you find your own true love, you will know it
She did!
They did!
And that love bought her time
And made her fearless
And there wasn't a heart that they didn't touch
So many beautiful days!

She is gone
And she is not!
And if you knew her, you would know
She is a part of us, a gift.
We are better and stronger
Because she was better and stronger
And that will be passed on and on
Seeds in the air, wildflowers blooming in an endless spring
And that is so damn beautiful
That I have to smile.

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HAIKU TIME: AIRPLANE

O, Silver Bullet!
You smell of stale air, fuel,
Burnt coffee, always.

Floor lighting! Air mask!
Floatation device! In that
Event, we are toast.

Captain! Turn off the
Seatbelt sign NOW! Or I shall
Pee my pants in shame.

O, Peanuts! Pretzels!
You salty time-wasters, you.
Now I need water.

BAM! In getting up
To let child go pee, I bruise
My leg on seat arm.

The in-flight mag is
Always greasy-feeling and
Creeps me out a lot.

I drop my earbud
Case, and drop to the floor to
Retrieve; I look nuts.

Clueless passenger!
Your carry-on won't fit and
Never, ever would.

A newborn baby
Behind me the one time I
Fly first class...of course.

"Cruising Altitude?"
A misnomer. Better phrase:
"Really eff-ing high."

Almost home, green and
Water; if my bags made it,
We are good to go.

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SPAM POEMS 23

For this unprecedented event,

we offer 

our deeper prayers of condolence 

and 

invite to you to be well present 

at the celebration 

of your friends name life service 

on Monday, February 3, 2014 

that will take place at 

Eubank Funeral Home 

at 11:00 a.m.

Please find invitation and more detailed information 

about the farewell ceremony here. (ed. - LINK REMOVED)

Best wishes and prayers,
Funeral home receptionist,
Justin Weiss

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HAIKUS FOR "MY POWER IS OUT AND I BAILED TO A HOTEL" NIGHT

Electricity
Is not in any way at
All, overrated.

To lose it at the
Seahawks kickoff made people
Very unhappy.

We went bowling and
Then went out for pizza and
Bought some batteries.

The firefighter
Blocking our street said, "Yeah, don't
Hold your breath, ha ha."

We watched "The Simpsons"
With the last bit of power
On my laptop, cold.

My daughter's nose is
Starting to run and she feels
Lousy, as do I.

Mid-priced hotel here!
We are coming for you now!
A warm sleep, TV.

After turning off
The a/c, a warm sleep, yes
With roaring traffic.

With the people next
Door slamming their door maybe
Thirty times, all night.

With my daughter, sad
Snotty nose, wanting Mom to
Make it all better.

A warm rest -- not sleep--
Was more accurate, but at
Least there was TV.

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SPAM POEMS 22

Good day

 

Consequent to the AUTHORITY TO REMIT ORDER 

given to please find attached correspondence 

for your attention.

 

All the best!

 

Kind regards,

Dr Ameer

Recommended by the Legal 2013

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SPAM POEMS 21

When you own a hot tub to be any different? 
Many kinds regarding bath tubs are available 
in the hot hot tubs 
bacteria tub 
we want 
to buy a spa product 
at home 
and enjoy spa everyday.

Even for only a few 
offer truly discounted tubs and spas 
are made 
with a patented energy efficiency 
system.

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POST-HALLOWEEN HAIKU TIME

What is cute: Toddlers
In costume grabbing candy
What is not: Teens, same.

Leftover candy
Tells you much, like that no one
Likes Almond Joy bars.

Hey! Preteen boys that
All dress like ninjas! Kick my
Pumpkin, I kill you.

Nice parents taking
Kids door-to-door for treats; I
Think most may be drunk.

Boy Dressed As Bubble
Wrap! Cool costume! I so hope
You don't suffocate!

The dog looks at the
Candy bowl, then at me, then
Back at candy, lol.

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SPAM POEMS 20

Whhat is a Ζero Gravity Chаіr
helps гelease prisοners musculаг streѕs 
and tensіon 
and alsο givеs otheг heаlth bеnefits to 
those thаt used it. 

Mastopeхy wіll raisе 
anԁ reshаρe brеast
ѕlowing the effeсts of gravіtу 
and weіght. 
ӏts style-over-substance 
first trailer аnd ροѕt-Labor Daay releaѕe dаte, 
hοwever, 
prisoners somethіng еlse ωas making іtself known hіs loω riԁing pantѕ, 
and it has awаrded, 
for it's first editіon tο NINE peoplе,.

They ѕeem tо function at thе ѕpеed of lіght hаs nο merit. 

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