Poetikat's Invisible Keepsakes

And We're Back! (Kat eulogizes some family pets.)

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Poetikat's Blasts From the Past: Reigning cats and dogs (and birds, and fish and rodents) - Part One.

Hey folks! Don't be afraid to post your comments over on the Blasts blog! (And I'd just love it if you decided to sign on and follow me over there too.)

Theme Thursday: “castle”

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:31:00 +0000

Fairy Tale

A long, long time ago,

You, were the tall, dark and handsome Prince,

to my Fairy-Princess.

Ruling with an Irish fist,

you fed me on coconut-cakes

and cherry-almond tarts.

You dressed me in frilly finery

and shiny shoes.

We lived in the castle on the crescent

and watched the moons wane

through Palladio’s panes.

Time and again,

I incurred your ire

for my fool-hardiness.

Always, you granted

your pardon—

deluged me

with adornments

and adoration.

Many years had passed,

then Darkness cast its sleepy charm.

Pulled you down

under

Lethe’s deeps, to do you harm.

You lay, in sweet oblivion

under a casket of glass.

I touched you,

but your eyes would not open;

I kissed your hand,

but I could not break

the spell.

*Please visit the Theme Thursday link in my sidebar to see other participants’ offerings.

Reflections on a gloomy day.

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:27:00 +0000

Click picture for original source.

Hope

November embers—

ashes from my father’s grave.

No. Wait!

He was buried.

It’s merely dust,

fusting up my head.

Clouds (or were they

clods?)

of earth

chucked in

behind him,

but we weren’t there

for that

(neither was he

if you believe

in All Souls).

November first—

I thirst for life,

yet fear the worst.

My own gets closer

to its end

with every leaf

that drops

and every

feather on the ground

signifying…

November exposes

last summer’s roses—

strips them and they’re

g o n e.

I saw a robin

fence-sitting.

It gave me hope

for Spring.

Fire burn and cauldron bubble…some animated treats.

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:50:00 +0000

A few cartoon memories from my childhood:

Everybody’s favourite witch: “Witch Hazel”, has Bugs Bunny for dinner.

I don't recall ever hearing my father laugh as hard as he did at the headless horseman scene in this one.

Happy Halloween folks!

Theme Thursday: “Halloween”

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:57:00 +0000

Click pic for Flickr source.

Great Expectations

Kat Morten's Podcast

Great Expectations

All Hallow’s Eve, she was naive,

and he had charm.

Doe-eyed and tall, he held in thrall—

proffered his arm.

She walked beside him, like a bride

in wedding gown,

And when he smirked her strings all jerked—

his puppet-clown.

For party night, she looked a fright,

at her own hand.

Mom’s marriage-dress, her hair a mess—

talc through each strand.

The faded rose of drooping hose

and ragged frill,

she looked the part—the broken heart

from Dickens quill.

He wore no rig, to match the gig—

mask set in place.

Drawing her near, he nipped her ear

and licked her face.

As in those tales of ingenues

who meet their fate,

he knew that now the time had come

for his check-mate.

They stole away, shut out the fray

and found a room.

The steel-trap door, an icy floor

she, with her groom.

There Havisham, for swift wham-bam,

gave up the ghost.

Her nuptial gown, rode up and down—

her virtue lost.

Bus-riders: A missing page of notes! Insert between these lines…

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:43:00 +0000

See previous post: An Acid Trip on the Poetry Bus.

I’m drowning.

I’m …

I am at the bottom.

Shh!!!

Ceolacanth rising

those tiny eyes

spy me—

little teeth like a clavichord

Violins! The Violins!

Nails on a blackboard.

The Dead float by

their hollow

sockets seeking

me. Come they say.

Who are you?

Come, they say…

Wake me up.

An Acid Trip on the Poetry Bus.

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:43:00 +0000

Let it be known that I responded to this piece without being aware of the last two words in the title. Thus, I make no apologies for a lack of reference to anything to do with the event implied.

Impressions of Threnody For the Victims (of Hiroshima)

She’s coming for me,

the ghost of myself.

Am I paranoid?

What? What?

What do you want?

Why me?

The birds are shrieking

or is it violins?

or is it violence?

Now! The bees, buzzing

and the gulls, insisting

quieter,

quieter

Oh Africa!

Stomping on those drums

Jungle insects,

birds in a frenzy,

the lions are pouncing

elephants lurking,

they’re so quiet!

What can it mean?

Where have they gone?

Was it my dream?

Was it my dream?

My heart is rising

with the sirens

in the distance.

Floating—

a dead thing

beside the limp

jellyfish,

as little glitterfish

sparkle

then the whale comes

to swallow me whole.

I am in the belly;

call me Ishmael!

call me Job

call me Pinocchio—

I am a liar!

On Shakespeare’s stage

we begin

the fencing match!

I am pierced!

It is the end!

My blood runs

so cold!

Silence deafens me

and then the waves begin

to sweep in…

Tidal!

Over my head!

I’m drowning!

I’m…

Wake me up.

Wake me up now!

My head is pounding,

about to burst;

my temples throb.

Seabirds en masse—

a mountain of terns

calling my name.

Rise from the depths!

I’m floating now,

floating to the surface.

Calmed. Calmed.

I am breaking

the waterline.

You are invited to taste…

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:11:00 +0000

Click pic for source.

… a bit of Haiku.

Dear Friends of Poetikat’s Invisible Keepsakes,

I invite you to visit my new satellite-site devoted exclusively to the Japanese, poetic art of Haiku.

The Kigo of the Kat blog aims to explore each of the seasons as they unfold with observations of the natural world.

These enjoyable daily poetic exercises are my sudoku with words.

Here’s a sample of some recent entries:

Haiku #6 - Autumn

Black knights joust with winds
Wings tilt against grungy sky—
Errant paper kites.

Haiku #3 - Autumn

October winds rail
Over boneyard stones yonder—
August's widow grieves.

Please join me at Kigo of the Kat, for some swift seasonal impressions that may remain in mind for a long time to come.

Thank you!

Friday Feast of the Week #9

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:29:00 +0000

Click for source

Kat’s Ratatouille Linguine

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant (aubergine)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped (courgette)

1 green pepper, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

10 cremini mushrooms, chopped

1 can unsalted, diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 jar organic pasta sauce (your choice)

1 tsp. each, dried oregano and basil

(or use fresh if it is available)

1/2 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground

salt to taste

goat’s cheese to top

Packaged linguine (I use spelt - about a quarter-size diameter per person)

1 Tbsp. olive oil for cooking

Method:

Puncture eggplant all over with fork. Bake at 375degrees for 40 mins+.

Section eggplant, peel skin off and discard. Chop pulp into cubes. Heat oil in pan and saute eggplant, mushrooms, onions, zucchini and green pepper until soft. Add garlic and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add tomatoes, herbs, pepper and salt to taste. Add pasta sauce. Stir to heat through. Turn saucepan down to low and cover. Cook linguine until just tender (al dente). Drain. Spoon 1/4 of sauce over pasta and toss. Serve on plates 0r in shallow bowls. Add more sauce and top with crumbled goat cheese.

Theme Thursday: “traffic”

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:59:00 +0000

Click pic for source.

All green-light nightmare
Confused crossroads crushed with cars—
Mind-traffic gridlock.

Kat Mortensen©2009

To read more participants’ offerings, or to sign up, please see the link in my sidebar.

I invite you also to visit my new blog devoted exclusively to haiku here:

Kigo of the Kat

Announcing Poetikat’s New Zone: The Den of Zen

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Poetikat humbly invites you to visit her new blog exclusively for the poetic art of haiku.

Please assemble at Kigo of the Kat and share your thoughts. (Don’t forget to sign up to follow as the Kat unveils the seasons.)

Arigato! ありがとう!

kat

OSI: “conquer”

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:58:00 +0000

Click for source.

Temporary Insanity

i have conquered my day

with cups of coffee;

my mind’s a gerbil-spiral

spinning with imaginings

of self-importance.

i rise to the bait—

keen to get the ramblings

on the page;

this rush, this influx

of crushed bean’s-juice

sluicing through my veins,

boosting my ego

to unseen heights.

too soon it fades.

my tired limbs invade

the heady buoyancy—

my rat-round slowing

down

the ride,

i find a place

once more

to hide.

Got my ticket on the Poetry Bus. (I unearth a little Plath).

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:36:00 +0000

Click picture for Flickr source.

Reactance (Surviving Sylvia)

Hark! To the

     gravelly voice,

         the war-reel patriot

            from a grainy screen--

grating…prating on.

Do you feel your time is come?

Does it pull you

under--

that deep, lull, calling up

that urge, to purge

your sins

in one, fell swoop?

Nay! Contrary,

to the mood,

are you not re-birthed

by the bloody-mindedness

of it?

Want your life--

all the more?

Want to go on…

forever?

Say you feel like

dancing!

(on someone’s

grave).

N.B. This piece evolved from watching and listening to a Youtube video of Plath reading “Lady Lazarus”.

For more participants (or to get a ticket) on TFE’s magical Poetry Bus ride, see my sidebar under “Sick Transit”.

To listen to a reading of "Reactance (Surviving Sylvia), check out this podcast:

Reactance

Kat Morten's Podcast

More Breaking News in the Backyard:

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:22:00 +0000

Photos by Kat

Sunday Headlines at the Hyggehus

Downy woodpecker

Brooks no limbed interference--

Secures seedy feast.

Grey-coats launch assault

On wire-wrapped vault of goodies--

Fan-tails, quick-flicking.

Crimson crusader

Sounds shrill signal of alarm--

Fur-clad foe scurry.

Ever-wary, Chip

Keeps his head, steering well clear

Of frontline action.

Stay tuned for more breaking news as the seasons unfold!

*Please note: Downy Woodpecker did not wish to appear on camera.

Solitude on a Saturday Night

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:18:00 +0000

Click pic for Flickr Source.

Time On My Hands

In solitude, I sit

Looking at my hands,

Palms, scarred skating ponds

Carved with creases;

Timelines, criss-cross;

Lifelines, cut;

Love-lines … persist,

Like the laugh-lines on my face;

Fingerprints, sit indistinct

At fingertips--

My identity fades

With age.

A Gift For the Grand Hostess, Willow – Ouija, anyone?

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:57:00 +0000

In thanks for a most splendid time at the Willow Manor Ball on Tuesday, October 13, Kitty Mangleword and Bertram Wooster wish to present this original Charles Kennard 1891 Ouija board to the lovely lady Willow, herself. (Don’t ask where we found it. Let’s just say, poor Jeeves is now very familiar with the mystic voodoo culture of old N’Orleans, and leave it at that.) Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain Jeeves’s sanction – something about “curses”. Sorry Jeeves, Darling, but we don’t believe that tommyrot!

Also known as a “spirit board” or “talking board”, the Ouija uses a planchette (a small indicator in the shape of a heart) to allow spirits to indicate what they wish to communicate.
Incidentally, according to Wikipedia, the origin of the word, "Ouija" may come from one of three sources: the French word "oui" for yes, coupled with the German yes-word, "ja". Alternatively, Wikipedia suggests that there is some story about Kennard, having had the word revealed to him during a Ouija seance, claiming it to be Ancient Egyptian for "Good Luck". The third possibility is that the word was inspired by the Moroccan city of "Oudja"

Bertie and I just know that Willow and her family will have a marvellous time getting through to the Willow Manor ghosts (see her sidebar for links to WM Ghost stories).

Willow, you’ll love this: Apparently, in the early 1900s Pearl Curran, a housewife from St. Louis, who fancied herself a poet used the board to “channel” her poetry through a spirit called Patience Worth. Willow Dear, give it a go with the board and see if it works for you. If not, I’ll take a crack at it and see if it improves my work! If all else fails, it’ll be fun to channel something for TFE’s Poetry Bus (see MY sidebar for details).

Getting back to the history: In 1917 another woman claimed to have channelled a book from Mark Twain through her Ouija board! The Twain family sued, I believe.

Ooh! It gets better and better! (Kitty’s getting shivers now!) Sylvia Plath, (are you listening TFE?) has a poem called “Ouija” (you probably knew that, didn’t you, you Plathophile!) which came about as a result of Sylvia and Ted Hughes working with the board. Ooh! Very scary!

G.K. Chesterton, around 1893, consulted the Ouija board during a period of skepticism and depression and subsequently, became temporarily fascinated with the Occult.

American Poet, James Ingram Merrill also claimed to have used the powers of the Ouija board to create in the latter half of his writing career.***

Wow! Willow, I think this is the start of something! Keep us apprized of the results, won’t you?

Love,

Kitty, Bertie and (Jeeves, reluctantly)

Original Kennard Ouija Board (1891) (identifiable by the two arrowheads around the trademark name)

According to website, Museum of Talking Boards, Charles Kennard's first planchette was not heart-shaped, but paddle-shaped and perched on 1/2 inch legs. It was quite large, being eight inches long. Directions beneath the planchette require that the board be kept on the knees of two persons – a lady and gentleman ideally, and the planchette kept on the board. Using a light touch, the fingers were placed on the planchette to enable it to move freely.

Here’s a good link to get you primed and ready to give it a whirl:
How to use a Ouija.

Ouija by Sylvia Plath
Ouija

It is a chilly god, a god of shades,
Rises to the glass from his black fathoms.
At the window, those unborn, those undone
Assemble with the frail paleness of moths,
An envious phosphorescence in their wings.
Vermillions, bronzes, colors of the sun
In the coal fire will not wholly console them.
Imagine their deep hunger, deep as the dark
For the blood-heat that would ruddle or reclaim.
The glass mouth sucks blooh-heat from my forefinger.
The old god dribbles, in return, his words.

The old god, too, write aureate poetry
In tarnished modes, maundering among the wastes,
Fair chronicler of every foul declension.
Age, and ages of prose, have uncoiled
His talking whirlwind, abated his excessive temper
When words, like locusts, drummed the darkening air
And left the cobs to rattle, bitten clean.
Skies once wearing a blue, divine hauteur
Ravel above us, mistily descend,
Thickening with motes, to a marriage with the mire.

He hymns the rotten queen with saffron hair
Who has saltier aphrodisiacs
Than virgins' tears. That bawdy queen of death,
Her wormy couriers aer at his bones.
Still he hymns juice of her, hot nectarine.
I see him, horny-skinned and tough, construe
What flinty pebbles and ploughable upturns
As ponderable tokens of her love.
He, godly, doddering, spells
No succinct Gabriel from the letters here
But floridly, his amorous nostalgias.

*Note: in the Faber edition of Plath's poems, notes provided by Ted Hughes include a few pages of a poem based on the dialogue between two participants at a Ouija board: Sibyl and Leroy. This is the basis for the above poem. Chilling, isn't it?

Some films that incorporate the element of a "Ouija” board:

What Lies Beneath (2000)
Long Time Dead (2002)
Only You (1994)
Awakenings (1990)
Witchboard (1986)
The Exorcist (1971)

***Information extracted from Wikipedia. Some details may be questionable, but still fun!

Friday Feast of the Week #8

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Photo courtesy of Flickr. Click for source.

Here’s the ideal dish to warm you up on an October day!

Kat’s “Kind-of-Mexican” Chili

Ingredients:

2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (28 oz.) organic tomatoes,

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onion

1-2 cloves garlic (or to taste), minced

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1-2 jalapeñoes, minced

1/2 cup canned or frozen corn kernels

1 square bittersweet chocolate (baking will do)

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. marjoram

1 lb. ground soy or use ground beef if you wish.

Fresh cilantro or parsley if preferred, for garnish.

Method:

Sauté the onion with the ground soy and garlic in a large pan. Scrape mixture from pan into bottom of oiled crockpot. Combine remaining ingredients with meat mixture, breaking up the tomatoes with a metal spoon.

Cook on low 8-10 hours or high for four hours. Remove bay leaf and stir before serving. If chili is too wet, blend a Tbsp. of liquid from pot with a tsp. of cornstarch and mix into the chili. Put the crockpot lid back on and cook for 15 minutes. Stir again.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with a good grain bread or tortilla chips and a salad.

This dish will serve approximately 8-10 people.

I can do no better on “Climate Change” day than to draw your attention to this:

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Click photo for Flickr source.

Today is Sign On (see image in my sidebar) day in New Zealand and Australia. Theme Thursday has selected “Climate Change” (see image in sidebar for participants) as its prompt for today. Rather than write a poem, I feel it imperative to share this notice from the organization Avaaz today. Please read and heed. Thank you!

P.S. For a sardonic take on the situation, please see the video in the post below.

10 weeks from now, the final talks begin in Copenhagen on the next United Nations treaty to end the climate crisis. Three outcomes are possible: the talks could collapse; governments could agree a toothless deal -- or, just maybe, we could achieve a global treaty that shifts the world away from climate catastrophe.
The UN's top climate scientist told reporters yesterday that the outcome won't be known until "the last minute." The outlook is swinging wildly, day by day, between hope and despair.
It's in times like this -- when anything could happen -- that people power makes the greatest difference.
So we’re planning the largest global climate mobilisation in history -- a wave of actions, building on the energy of the Sept 21 Global Wake-Up Call, to run right through the end of the Copenhagen summit. Over the next 10 weeks, we’re preparing rapid-response ads to support heroes and shame blockers, working with the TckTckTck coalition to unite public voices as never before, and developing tools to unleash a massive global day of climate action on December 12th that world leaders won't be able to ignore.
It could help tip the balance. But it will take resources. If thousands of us chip in even a small donation, can we deliver a world-changing crescendo of people-powered pressure -- click below to join the effort:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/climate_needs_us
Just a month ago, the outlook for a global climate deal was grim. But in September, amidst floods of phone calls from Avaaz members and partners urging action on climate change, governments began at last to make real commitments -- with huge steps forward from Japan to Norway. The UK's Gordon Brown and Brazil's Lula committed to personally attending the Copenhagen talks. A deal seemed possible once again.
But as hope has grown, the opposition has become more determined. Fossil fuel lobbyists are working overtime to stall a critical climate bill in the U.S. Senate. Germany's new conservative government has come under industry pressure to pull back. And with continuing obstinacy from countries such as Canada and Russia, and delicate talks to close the gap between rich and poor nations, the progress of recent weeks is fragile at best.
Let's make sure we don't fall short when we're needed most. Let's fund the most sophisticated, boldest, biggest global climate campaign in history. Click the link below and contribute €10, $10, or whatever you can afford to fuel the critical campaigning from now through Copenhagen:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/climate_needs_us
In these ten weeks, we will write our planet's history. We can't always control what our governments decide on our behalf, but we know we can affect it. Future generations will be affected by decisions made right now, but only we have the power to change them. There is no time for silence. Let's rise to this moment -- together.
With hope and determination,
Ben, Taren, Alice, Paul, Ricken, Iain, and the whole Avaaz team
PS: The first phase of the Kyoto Protocol -- the world's first binding climate treaty -- is set to expire in 2012. This December's talks in Copenhagen will decide what happens next. These talks have been underway for three packed years -- and if they collapse, it will take years to reach this point again. It's time. Donate now to fund Avaaz's 10-week Copenhagen campaign:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/climate_needs_us
-------------------------------
PPS - The next big mobilization is around the corner: on Saturday, 24 October, Avaaz's friends at 350 have led the organizing of a 155-country day of climate action to demand that governments support a treaty strong enough to bring greenhouse gas levels to 350 parts per million in the atmosphere -- the level climate scientists say would safely avoid catastrophic climate change. Mark your calendar now, and watch for an alert next week about how to get involved!
PPS - Here are some recent news articles on progress towards Copenhagen:
"Climate talks may go to last minute" - Reuters, 14 Oct
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43162120091014
"Norway Offers 40% Emissions Cut, Biggest Among Developed World" - Bloomberg, 8 Oct http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=ayL1rRL3Sjoo "EU's Barroso: "Very worried" about climate talks" - Reuters, 9 Oct
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59859I20091009?virtualBrandChannel=11621
"Climate negotiators warn time is running out," Financial Times, 28 Sep
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/23504a4c-ac19-11de-950b-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=728a07a0-53bc-11db-8a2a-0000779e2340.html
"Bangkok climate talks end in recrimination," The Guardian, 9 Oct
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/09/bangkok-climate-talks-end
-------------------------------

Something Fun For Climate Change Day

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:05:00 +0000

Canadian funnyman, Rick Mercer, spoofs what we love to talk about the most: the weather! It wouldn't be as funny, if it weren't so true.

Sitting Room Only (at the Willow Manor Ball)

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Evangeline Elliot, of the highly-reknowned fashion-house, The House of Elliot, has very generously agreed to let me have the loan of this gorgeous number for the now-famous Annual Willow Manor Ball.(Please see my sidebar for the "King and I" image and link.)

Thanks to Evie (we’re such good friends), I will be ideally attired to be on the arm of the ever-dapper and most congenial (if a bit dim) gentleman, Mr. Bertram Wooster (Bertie to all his friends).

Here he is, getting ready for our big date:

(You see what I mean about the “dim” bit.) He does look quite spiffy in his monkey-suit, doesn’t he? Ah, here’s a shot of him in a much better disposish:

The snag however, is that sadly, I will not be able to dance at all. (I know! And my dance card was really filling up with Subby and Skip etc.) I had a rather nasty encounter with a chunk of curb that was placed inconveniently in my path up in old Gravenhurst and I did manage to contort my metarsal in a rather unnatural way that has left me quite at odds with any sort of perambulation.

Fortunately, Jeeves (that inimitable godsend of Bertie’s) has agreed to bring a divan for me to lounge on in a corner where I can have a good view of the dance floor. He will be giving my good foot a massage and plying me with expert hand-mixed martinis (strictly for medicinal purposes, you understand).

By the way chums, please refer to me only as Kitty Mangleword for the duration. I don’t want Bertie to feel out of his depth, so I thought a name more in keeping with his usual coterie would be helpful.

Oh, and Willow Darling, Bertie had the most divine idea! He thinks you should hold a seance so we can see if we can conjure up some of your Willow Manor ghosts for a bit of a spooky natter. Jeeves thinks it’s inadvisable, but you really can’t blame the poor man for his failure to see the immensely fun possibilities. He doesn’t touch a drop of drink and his own revelry is really impaired as a result.

Bertie is hoping we can channel his Great-Great-Godfather, once-removed (on his mother’s side), Colonel Ricketts Adelaide Plimsole. Apparently, he was some sort of naturalist explorer in search of a rare desert lizard in North Africa when he was swallowed up by a desert storm, never to be seen again! They did however, find his pith helmet. You might wonder how anyone knew it was his, but it seems he always kept a note secreted away in the crown, in the event of his demise. It read: “C.R.A.P. was here”. The Bedouin boy who found the helmet was hard-pressed to give it up since his camel looked quite dashing in it, but a few baubles soon turned his head.

Well, I must dash! (Not really, but you know what I mean.) Jeeves is just cranking up the car and Bertie is putting the finishing touches on a new composish at the Steinway.

We’ll see you all very soon!

Love,

“Kitty”

P.S. Be a love. If you happen to see any of the following fellows floating around the dance floor, send them over to my chaise, will you?

Jason O’Mara, Robert Carlyle, Nathan Filion, Bradley Walsh, Michael Kitchen

I DO like Mondays when I get on da bus! (The Poetry Bus, that is.)

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:33:00 +0000

Photo by TFE (Please see sidebar for participants)

The Bash

We were wrecked,

and wrecked everything

in sight.

It was mad! A lark!

A spree!

On the tear,

and tearing everything

in sight.

We crossed that line

in our minds,

the one that says,

“You would never

do that! Would you?”

And then you do.

Damage. Destroy. Decimate.

That was our goal

and we accomplished it--

made each other proud,

knocking ourselves over

with the laughing

and the gagging

and the spewing--

up and out with venom

disguised as fun.

It was fun. Right?

Did we leave the door

on its hinges?

Don’t remember.

Don’t care.

Glad it wasn’t

my house.

Poem for Mother (poem of loss)

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:49:00 +0000

Click image for Flickr source.

Flip-flop

I wasn’t really paying

attention

when all this transpired.

Were you?

Somehow, your arms

are no longer

the comforting embrace

I remember.

How can they be?

You need me

more than I do you.

I can see things

more clearly,

reason better,

make sense of things

you cannot.

(You don’t like

to admit that.)

It's not that

you’re a fool.

No! Never that.

It’s just

some of the facts

get lost…

I’m the one

who finds them--

It’s me,

who now knows

best.

How did it happen?

Where did those years

disappear?

You rinsed my hair

in the kitchen sink

and buckled

my Buster Browns.

I look in the mirror

and still see

your little girl,

but the world sees

I’m all grown up.

Now you’re my

concern,

though you still think

the shoe

is on the other

foot.

Reactionary State

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:27:00 +0000

Southern Comfort

Jesus, hangin’ on the wall

Could not defend them all

From the hot hate

Fired up from decades

Long before.

Those good ole boys

With their apple-pie smiles,

Pig-pink faces and crew-cuts,

Smirking,

As the loathing oozed

From every pore.

Soo-eee! They treated you

Like livestock, or worse;

Fenced you out, and in;

Strung you up like

Sunday dinner

In the window

Of the butcher-store.

But surely,

Jesus knew the score:

Hangin’ there

On his own cross

For all to see,

The blood dripping

From his head and side.

I hope one day

You found your reward,

And all those dough-faced,

Cotton-cloaked,

Blue-eyed boys

Got served

Their just desserts.

TFE’s Poetry Bus…

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Untitled (Subject to Change)

Take yourself away

From the fray

To the place

Where wild is

Out your door;

The floor is bare.

Throw the windows

Open, and the air

Will pass through--

Not stale, nor dead;

Your head, not filled

With good intent,

All too-soon spent

Before the day is

Done.

Let the grass grow

Tall,

Against the wall;

Let the light

Leak through

The crannies and

The cracks.

Let there be

That uninviting place:

You can’t be found;

No one knows

Your name.

Retreat.

To that little

Room,

Unhindered

By the gloom

Of empty promises

To yourself.

Find solitude

In your little spot

Of isolation.

Visit often—

If only in your mind.

Unplug.

Please note: The photo is courtesy of TFE. I doctored it a bit and made it sepia-toned. You can “get on da bus” yourself, or just visit the other riders here, at TFE’s blog.

The Return of Friday Feast of the Week (#7)

poetikat46@yahoo.ca (Poetikat) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:42:00 +0000

(Click pic for Flickr source)

Brunkalsuppe (Danish Cabbage Soup)

(To take the chill off.)

Ingredients:

1 head of green cabbage

1/3 cup butter (or margarine)

1 large white onion, chopped

1Tbsp. packed brown sugar

4 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. carraway seeds

Fresh parsley to garnish.

Method:

Chop cabbage finely. Chop onion. Heat butter in a dutch oven. Add onion and

saute until soft. Add cabbage bit by bit and stir to coat with butter. Stir constantly

until cabbage starts to brown. Add sugar and spices and stir to mix. Gradually add

stock and stir to blend with cabbage and spices.

Simmer on stove for a few hours, or place in crockpot and heat on low for 5 hours.

Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with rye bread and Danish Havarti cheese.

*Please note: my earlier posting this morning was missing the addition of the stock. Sorry about that. It was very early.