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Jim Babwe Poem
How to Write Poetry
Wear dark clothes.
Be troubled.
Maintain a mysterious gaze into the unknown.
Tell others you stare into the future,
but it looks so much like the past and present,
you worry about repeating yourself.
Slump at the desk.
Stand slowly. Walk tentatively.
Reveal secrets.
Wreck your eyes, lose your glasses,
then write about injustice.
Maintain a mysterious gaze into the unknown.
Tell others you stare into the future,
but it looks so much like the past and present,
you worry about repeating yourself.
Squint—even when you do not need to squint.
Project weakness, illness, and strength—simultaneously.
Strap a broken watch to your thinner wrist.
Hide shoes in thick bushes
near the liquor store and deny, deny, deny.
Confess. Apologize. Rant.
Change your mind freely.
Issue quiet cryptic warnings—in writing.
Carry signs which display incoherent messages.
Speak to inanimate objects.
Be dramatic.
Here is an example:
Beware, dreary midnight bird.
Foreboding darkness fills the abyss
like darkness fills an abyss.
Foolish shadows hide as love sinks
into the foreboding personification
of suffering hibiscus—
stunted, drooping from toxic fumes
spewed from the disappointment factory
where hopelessness, itself,
loses hope and flops face first
into the inevitable soup of tragic disaster.
Copyright © Jim Babwe | Year Posted 2022
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Jim Babwe Poem
Zenith University
I am a proud graduate
of Zenith University,
where the quality stays on
until the little dot
shrinks and goes away.
I attended that fine institution
with Tom and Jerry,
Heckl, Jeckl, Mickey, Minnie,
Da?y, Donald, Daisy,
Huey, Dewey, Louie,
Speedy, Wile E., Gumby, Pokey,
Yogi, Boo Boo, Dino, Chucko,
Hobo Kelley, Lassie, Bozo,
Betty, Barney, Bam Bam Rubble,
Wilma, Pebbles, Fred,
Casper, Felix, Sheri? John,
Gentle Ben, and Mr. Ed.
Astro, Elroy,
Judy, George, and Jane--
Eddie Haskell, Wally Cleaver,
Mom and Dad and Little Beaver.
Favorite Martian--Flying Nun,
James Arness--smoking gun,
Spanky and Alfalfa,
Larry, Moe, and Curly.
Tests consisted
of posted patterns.
To see those,
you had to get up early
like Jack LaLanne and Buns of Steel,
Captain Kangaroo.
Mid-morning classes included
Monte Hall (quite a deal),
Bob the Barker (not the builder).
Allen Ludden passed the words,
Henson brought a yellow bird.
After dinner,
after sunset
we did our homework
with Maxwell Smart and 99,
Gomez and Morticia,
Uncle Fester, Lerch,
and Flipper.
We saw The Rifleman get Branded.
We saw The Fugitive get framed.
We saw The Guppy blown off-course.
We saw Gilligan get blamed.
Hogan’s Heroes, Lost in Space,
Dr. Casey, Marcus Welby,
Adam 12, Ponch and John.
Cecil and his buddy, Beanie,
Major Nelson and his Jeannie.
Brought to us by
PF Flyers, US Keds,
Irish Spring, Mr. Clean,
Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines,
Orange Crush, Good and Plenty,
Pepto Bismol, Alka Seltzer,
Instant Breakfast, Ford.
Lucky Charms and Cocoa Pu?s,
Captain Crunch and Frosted Flakes,
Hostess Twinkies, Snoballs--
shredded coconut on smallish
dome-shaped chocolate cakes.
Double Mint and Pontiac.
Wonder Bread and Cadillac.
Mighty Dog and Coppertone.
Outer Limits, Twilight Zone.
Brinkley, Huntley,
Putnam, Dunphy,
Disney once a week.
Sunday polka bubbles
courtesy of Lawrence Welk,
who counted all the way
to three or four
before he used his accordion
to speak.
Zenith University provided
glowing lessons--
many of these presented
in convenient, 30-minute sessions.
By the way,
I completely disagree with anyone
and everyone who claims Z.U.
fried our brains or wasted them away.
I express my gratitude
by picking flowers, presenting them
directly to the screen
on every Mother’s Day.
Copyright © Jim Babwe | Year Posted 2024
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