Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry
Poetry of the People
I’ve recently been thinking about the place of poetry in storytelling. I belong to a storytelling organization, and we’ve had some discussion about whether poetry should be a part of our storytelling festival. My immediate reaction: Yes, of course, it should. And then I think about it and the main objection—that it would take away from the storytelling focus. And so my reaction is, still, Yes, yes it should be a part of the festival.
Some want to swim
To the horizon.
Some want to float
Near the shore.
Waves carry, caress,
Batter, prolong,
Nourish, destroy. Continue reading “Sea Lesson #4”
The downed pines
Heavy and mute
In their destruction
Are the path now,
No stretch of sand,
No line of seaweed
Even. Continue reading “Sea Lesson #3”
I found Pluto on the beach.
It nestled in seaweed clumps,
Its loneliness revealed
In its austere singularity
Amidst the surf, Continue reading “Sea Lesson #2”
There you are
deep inside,
curved legs
against shell,
visible life in death
brought to shore. Continue reading “Sea Lesson #1”
What a dick!
Pug a beast*
You’re on the wrong channel.
I think I can. I think I can.
. . . new set of handcuffs
That’s what her name was.
I think I just dropped 2 tickets
Down the hole.
Dispatch? . . . Dispatch? . . . Dispatch?
Need to pick up some riff-raff*
Down in the hole
You’re just psycho with a capital ‘S.’
Don’t aggravate the pug!*
–Shaun Perkins
Note: Most popular rock at the quarry is called “pugged aggregate base.” Another item that trucks frequently come in for is “rip-rap,” 12”-24” boulders like you see under bridges or close to waterways.
Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry 