Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry
Poetry of the People
This summer I will be replacing the Marginalia exhibit in the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry with one on Poetry in Autograph Books. I think finding poetry-worthy marginalia in old books was kind of a singular phenomenon, meaning, I am crazier about such a thing than most people. It may be that I am crazier about old autograph books than most people, too, but . . . here goes! Continue reading “Forget Me Not: Autograph Book Exhibit”
Talk to me. But better yet,
Talk to yourself. Listen
To the words your body
Resists and just wait,
Let the syllables rest
In your armpits and nostrils
And in the webby secrets
Between your fingers. Wait Continue reading “Pulling Away”
for Lea, 9-9-1962 to 8-30-2012
It is late October, and a red rose bush
Is blooming on the south side of her house,
In that best place for the light. I remember
How she could draw a flower
When we were in high school, a few
Simple strokes and strange beauty appeared. Continue reading “Strange Beauty”
Between the dams, I get off my bicycle
At the orange splotches alongside the road.
Their fruit print pattern an indication of this . . .
It is autumn and time to taste the smoky
Sweet juice, the fruit darkened almost to brown
And hard to get at, the seeds so large, Continue reading “Persimmons”
One of my occasional gigs is taking my Montgomery Ward typewriter to a festival or conference and setting up to write poems in a minute. You give me three words, and I will make a poem for you with them in it. Today, I am snowed in and could use some practice. If you put your name (or a fake name) in the comments box along with three words, I will write you a custom poem and post it on this page. You can see samples of the poems I’ve written in the past. It’s what I do. Continue reading “Poem in a Minute”
Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry 