NEW POEM, Please read and respond to dosmith@comcast.net
This poem started as a simple exercise in stucture and then became my allegorical trip into the mind of a bread truck driver (I was working as a driver in an old Italian bakery and have to admit the poem also served as therapy, something cerebral to do after a day of physical labor).
Immediate, collage poetry collection :
This is a cleaning poetics, one that polishes the soul and lets you get involved with all parts of the self in reference to the cosmos and the earth. 20 days to clean the spirit. I am approaching my 4 year mark without drinking alcohol and this is becoming my celebration of that, but much more. If you would like more information on this therapeutic literary shaman exercise and how to implement into a lesson plan for any post-literate age group, please email me.
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Response to the movie JARHEAD :
This is a very hard poem to read if you are not a vet. I was talking to my friend who served in Afghanistan about the movie and my poem. He said,"No matter how many poems you write or movies you show civilians about how horrible war is, they will never get it until they have to walk a mile in our shoes." Hopefully he is partially wrong; in that, you might see my poem as boots spit shined and ready for you to be me, be a veteran through me, and know how it feels to fight and die behind blind words and the ignorance of those who prophet from this bloodletting.
Collage poetry with avian themes:
I am offering a new collection of linked bird poems. The reason for this project being, on onset, to explore the way birds and birding has touched my life and exposed me to the natural truths found in detail and awesome flight. Later, I found that these poems told even deeper secrets about this avian-human connection and why it has effected my life so deeply.
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Poetry about Alcoholism and Entheogens :
I am starting this collage poetry collection after quiting drinking after being a functional alcoholic for a majority of my short life: I am 33 on August 15th 2005. The first poem, Monster Sitting at the Local VFW, was written prior to my quit-date: 07-06-05, but I feel it represents the voice of my transition into sobriety, approaching a clear-headed day. A must read for anyone suffering from alcoholism.
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