Sunday, December 22, 2013

Rodak's Writings: Angst

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Angst



existence reduced

by some kenotic pathology

to a small waiting room



the light is too bright

most of the sad seats

are empty



but just over there

fear that no train comes

fidgets in conspicuous dread

next to fear that it comes

much too soon



silent they sit

each a stranger

far from home
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Saturday, December 21, 2013

Rants: Against the Dying of the Light



Below are a few random realizations, perhaps brought on by the winter solstice:


War:

It is only the atrocities that get the job done.

Witnessed:

A cult of closeted sodomites (and worse), publicly denouncing sodomy.

Thicker Than Water: 

The idea that I legitimately need, or am in any way entitled to, a modicum of emotional support is exposed as delusional by the annoyed indifference of those who are best positioned to know.

New Year's Resolution:

While I am pants-down-ankle-grabbing I will bravely whistle "God Bless America," no matter what happens...


Thursday, December 19, 2013

Rodak's Writings: Into the Archives

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This poem provided the title of a collection of poems, written in the 1970s, that was put together in an unsuccessful attempt to win a prize:



Mythic Passions


Did I come onto the scene
decently clothed and smiling?
That was my little lie.
I was really a sleep-shagged beast,
down from the mountains,
sniffing for springtime.

I dreamt the history of the race
in my rock-bound slumber.

And if I play the game,
speaking of well-trimmed lawns
and sunlit, blossomy gardens,
know that my true keep is the forest maze.
My boundaries run from this tree
to that rock
to the sea.
Enter
and the way out is yours
to find.

Would you like to test
my nature?
Feel the beard of my face.
Measure its rasp against that of my cunning.

When I dream I plot.
Call me Snare-Beauty, Crush-Lovely:
by sinew and fang,
I’ve got you now, my Sweet.
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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Rodak's Writings: Muted by Beauty - a poem

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muted by beauty

she demands to be heard



his eyes are deaf

her knee is martial



the gentle pets had fled the room

before his fingers started howling
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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Rodak's Writings: an Old Poem

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Here is a poem that is at least 40 years old:




maya, my love


before the wind arose
the grasses had no voice.

before the clouds rolled in
the pond played with the moon.

before the rains came
the mountain sloped just so.

turn down the sheets--
we meet again, my love.
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Readings: Oh, my...

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Below is another selection, #54, from Jim Harrison's AFTER IKKYU:


This morning I felt strong and jaunty in my mail order
Israeli commando trousers. Up at Hard Luck Ranch I spoke
to the ravens in baritone, fed the cats with manly gestures.
Acacia thorns can't penetrate these mighty pants.
Then out by the corral the infant pup began to weep, abandoned.
In an instant I became another of earth's billion sad mothers.
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Monday, December 16, 2013

Rodak's Writings: a New Poem

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Fullness



I lick the tip

of my index finger

and press it

to the interior surface

of the emptied

ziploc bag

to capture

the eight or ten

fat grains of salt

that have fallen from

the devoured pretzels –

not even these

shall be wasted --

oh, how they please

my grateful tongue
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