I support any literary magazine that has the good taste to publish my work.
March 13, 2010
Keep calm
Waking up this morning from barely sleeping, a little here, a little there; the overrated nature of sleep is well known but not well appreciated.
I read in Theater Undergrounds blog (look for link to left) that my pleading to be included on their page of local sensitive artist types has worked so well that I’ve been invited to place some of my words there. Obviously a bit pink in the cheeks and thankful at this I will comply with said request. and gladly.
british war advert advising the best thing to do while the bombs are falling around your head. While this has nothing to do with the above or below I’ve been dying to post it as the advice is sound. No sense in losing your head while others are literally losing theirs all around you.
and so I sit,
in front of you with nothing else
and so I sit.
dawn.
on a bench drawn with broken pen.
tapping with my fingers through
the rain of last night.
October weather warm,
boots sole cleaned from
wet sidewalk walking.
and so I sit,
in front of you
with nothing else.
– I wrote this
hold,
have a weekend. – J.
February 2, 2010
The Platitude of Willful Resemblances
This is the title to one of my poems written in 2009 – insofar unpublished itself. Last year was a banner year for my being published and those poems will be coming out in a book this year. The tentative title of the book is – Hands on the Hips –
I’ve been writing poetry for many years – on and off since I was a depressed teenager. Mostly on. I had never taken it seriously as an art form until I was crippled in a motorcycle wreck and found that writing and playing guitar were my only solaces to go on. Playing guitar is harder as I have to hold the guitar in a way that creates pain – more pain than that already exists. My penance is chronic pain in my leg, hip and back along with 2″ of the femur gone and Steel plate holding me up. I sit in front of my IBM Selectric III and write not nearly as often as I should but it brings me a great deal of understanding and glimpses of that which we all chase. I can see now how I once treated poetry as a simple thing, one with little effort to perfect, this was incorrect as I can see that the craft of creation is intense and heartbreaking.
more on that later, I will write from time to time my opinions about poetry, Haiku, non-Haiku (which I write), books I’ve read, people and such, I don’t care for politics as I am a poet but when the mood strikes I may as well.
Feel free to contact me, it is quite likely that I will respond, if you manage to find my home address, feel free to send an old fashioned and I will respond in kind.
The insofar unpublished poem in question is as follows:
the platitudes of willful resemblances
some things have a harder time changing than others.
sleep comes hard,
now we recognize,
meds and allergy pills. a
little beer and hopefully soon to sleep
and dream along the platitudes
of willful resemblances.
– J.
Which is now officially published as the journals will only accept first run and they would consider this a first run and published. SO, my former statements were only correct when I wrote them and ceased being true when I clicked PUBLISH POST. I will do this as often as I remember to.
Hold, J. Baker
the platitudes of willful resemblance 