The Back of Alex

The potential energy of a spring. The dip of a lower-case m, flushed and tight and ready. A collection of bolts, strung together one/two/three/four/. The abstract curve of a parabola. Full of intent and yet still, intense but without motivation; toy ships caught in a frozen bird bath.

Cherry Bombs

"In a Station of the Metro"

The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

--Ezra Pound

The cherry blossoms are amazing. All the streets on the way to work are lined with them. My favorites are the white ones--it's a little like snow bursting out of the wood.

Then I hear from a friend that Koreans are starting to question their cherry blossom festivals, because the cherry tree was introduced during the Japanese occupation.

Interesting how something so beautiful can have such a history.

Poet Busted with a Giant Coffee

Feeling down? Need a quick pick me up? Try the fabulous, world-famous taste sensation, COFFEE. Wonderful feelings will course through your veins soon after imbibing of this sweet energy nectar. Just one sip will have you licking your lips. Just one cup will have you...heading for the bathroom?

Sorry, I was searching for a rhyme there and I failed miserably.

I'm back on the coffee, though. That's right, "on" "the" coffee. It's a drug, and I'm making no bones about it.

I didn't drink it for a while, but then I decided that I love it and there's no good reason to stop drinking it. I'm great at rationalizing things like that. It's how I always finish abstaining.

Feeling down emotionally? Need a quick eye-opener? Maybe a better perspective? Check out Brian Andreas' website, or better yet, one of his books. He reminds me of Damian Webber, that famous Buffalo poet who wrote such classics as:

The Microwave

How does that thing not give you cancer?

and:

Look Down

You're not going
to talk to
any of them,
anyway.

I do like short poems like that. Easier than a long poem to understand, easier than a long poem to subject your friends to.

One more thing I wanted to mention in this random collection of thoughs for the day: I'm a huge fan of facebook's new bookshelf application. Normally I think facebook is mostly stupid, but I love books and I love knowing what my friends are reading.

I also love the sticker application, which I suppose ties in with loving short, easy-to-understand poems. Check out bustedtees.com to a bunch of funny t-shirts, akin to the funny stickers.