“Parental Senryū” (+ an Honorable Mention earned!)

Many of my friends and former classmates have young children. I wrote the following poem while thinking about all of those young families, and I dedicate it to them as well:

Props to those who get the Pollock reference!

In other poetic news, the results are in for the Geauga Park District’s 21st Annual Nature Writing Contest, and I’ve been awarded an honorable mention for “Among The Roots” in the adult poetry category! Browse all of the honored entries at the following link, and join me in celbrating nature and the arts at the Nature Arts Festival on August 7th at Big Creek Park: http://www.geaugaparkdistrict.org/arts-in-nature.shtml

Restorative Senryū

Alas, I’ve returned, and with new writings!

I recently had a conversation with a man older and more religious than myself, who said that my honesty regarding my lack of understanding of the nature of the universe (as I worded it at the time, “I believe that anything is possible”) was “a breath of fresh air” for him amid the closed-mindedness of present-day society. The following poem is the result of my own contemplation of his statement:

Poetry à la Meme!

Good morning, everyone!

If we’re friends on Facebook, you may have noticed that I was tagged last night in a poetry meme which is currently circulating among writers. The prompt states that beginning on the day I was tagged, I am to post a poem on Facebook for 5 consecutive days. I intend to fulfill this requirement with impromptu pieces, each inspired by an aspect of the day on which it is written. I began last night with a senryū entitled “Prescription,” and I will follow up tonight with poem #2! I’ll update the list below with all five poems as they are completed:

1. “Prescription”

2. “A Gamer’s Acronym Soup”
   

3. “An Ally’s Celebratory Reflection”
   

4. Drowsy Senryū
   

5. Modern Proverb
   

Calamitous Haiku (+ Hessler Contest Video!)

The following haiku looks at a another sociopolitical political issue, violence, using a scientific metaphor:

I hope you found that worthy of contemplation. Now, in contrast, please enjoy this video clip of my comedic performance of “Error” (formerly “Cyberspace Senryū“) in this year’s Hessler Street Fair poetry competition:

See You At The Fair! (+ Hessler Competition Results)

No, I didn’t win anything, but I’m proud of my performance of my senryū, “Error” (Previously known as “Cyberspace Senryū”). Video coming soon on my YouTube channel!

That said, I’m looking forward to spending some time at the Hessler Street Fair this weekend. As I’ve said before, I’m particularly excited to participate in Ray McNiece‘s “Hessler Poetry Jam” at the Barking Spider Tavern! The event is scheduled to run from 2:00 to 5:00 PM on Saturday. If, like last year, I get a choice of position in the performance order, I’m planning to sign up for a slot toward the beginning of the show. Stop by and say “Hi!”

Oh, and if you’re at the Fair on Sunday at 2 pm, be sure to congratulate the poetry contest winners and listen to them perform their winning pieces! (You can also hear this reading on WRUW-FM 91.1 Cleveland at that time!)

The winners were:

1. Jeffrey Bowen: “for the godfather daniel thompson (1935-2004)”
2. Lori Ann Kusterbeck: “Simple Ways”
3. Sean Thomas Dougherty: “Surgery”

• Honorable Mention: Christine Howey: “The Killer Turkey of Malabar Farm”

Ready Set Senryū

Can you tell what this Senryū describes? Comment with your guesses!

Can you ID These Elements Of Euclid Beach Park? (Tanka & Senryū)

Quickly, before I venture any farther into this post: Happy National Poetry Day!

Now, to business:

Once again, I have failed to post on this blog at a reasonable frequency. As usual, the best thing I can do under these circumstances is to apologize (without making any excuses) and move on:

I apologize for my recurring unreliability in maintaining Kevin’s Journal.

Now, here is a collection of short poems (Tanka & Senryū, to be exact) which, through the use of figurative language, each describe a different element of the late Euclid Beach Park. I wrote and compiled this series as one of several additions to my Euclid Beach Park commemorative display, which I presented at the 10th annual “Remembering The Sights & Sounds of Euclid Beach Park” event this past Sunday. As you will see, these poems deliberately do not clearly state which features of EBP they describe, thus making this a quiz of sorts. Good luck!

Cyberspace Senryū

I’m back! Let’s skip the excuse-making for my absence and get straight to what’s important: Poetry! Here’s a new little piece that I just came up with this evening: