A.S. Coomer's Blog

Live on Terra Firma 9/4/25

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Michael Logsdon on his radioshow Terra Firma at the beginning of September. Colin Trask engineered the show. You can stream the video of the show from the Terra Firma Facebook page. I’ve released the tracks on the A.S. Coomer Bandcamp page. The live album will be up on the other streaming platforms on Halloween.

Thanks for listening!

Live at the Art & Performance Center of West Toledo

Here’s a bootleg live recording of an acoustic performance at the Art & Performance Center of West Toledo from July of 2017. Amazing songwriter, musician, & human Vester Frey recorded the performance with his cellular telephone. It’s my birthday so I figured I’d release it. You get to hear me sing with my wife. There’s also a duet of sorts with Wauseon’s native wildman Ryan Roth, a rendition of “a miner” that they could probably hear all the way out there in Pig’s Ass, Ohio. Shoutout to Miriam Wagoner for creating an amazing space for artists. RIP APCWT.

You can stream the set wherever you do yer streaming.

Thanks for looking/listening. Hope y’all have a good’un.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6kXJhFr2vjZ6eBJ30LoNo1?si=Oj6fjlikRQ2MdvzK5dmZJA

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/live-at-the-art-performance-center-of-west-toledo-7-2-17/1829992751

—A.S. Coomer

Live at The Art & Performance Center of West Toledo

My good buddy (& incredibly talented musician/songwriter) Justin Windish unearthed a recording of a show I did at Miriam Wagoner’s Art & Performance Center of West Toledo (RIP to one of my fav. spots in the Glass City) way, way, way, way back on 7/2/17. He recorded most of my set, which included harmonies by Rachel Coomer and Ryan Roth.

The whole thing is up on Bandcamp now. I’ll upload it to the streaming services later. Maybe.

The cover photo was taken by Joshua Thomas, who I hope is resting easy somewhere where the sun can’t burn him.

Thanks for looking/listening!

-ASC

New Love Poem in International & International Goddess Festival 2025 Anthology

i’ve got a new poem in this amazing anthology honoring goddesses & promoting the annual nat’l & int’l goddess festival. i wrote this one for my wife Rachel.

this anthology is packed full of poets & goddesses. thanks to Deborah Tosun Kilday for including my poem.

Pick up a copy here: https://a.co/d/bpsUDvk

i’m writing you this from the kitchen

© 2025 a.s. coomer

because i can’t stop drooling over you

& there’s a fresh roll of paper towels here

i’m writing you this from the kitchen

where i brush my teeth & strain

out the melodies to new songs

& your harmonies goo like grilled cheese

when i get it hot enough

i’m writing you this from the kitchen

because the light is better in the mornings

&, even in exhausted umbra,

there is such radiance in you

& we’re here so often

you with the recipe

me: red-eyed

& a-grinning

cutting the butter

i’m writing you this from the kitchen

because things are getting hard—ain’t it hard?

maybe i’m mining a vein better left

to greater gods & less fragile mountains

but the smells of cooking & you

feel too good to be true

& i only feel worthy of white castle

i’m writing you this from the kitchen

where i sit at your heels

a hellbent rain dog

just a-howling

eyes a-begging,

breath a fetid pant

& you feed me

like a stray

& like a stray

i’ve found my way

into your heart

though i’ll chafe

i’ll wear any collar

you put on me

don’t bother

with the paper towels

why the waste?

i can dry my eyes

with the dishrag

*originally pub’d in National & International Goddess Festival 2025 Anthology

#ASCoomer #Poetry #LiveReading #Anthology #Poem

Live at the Ottawa Tavern

Happy Friday,

The Ottawa Tavern has been a Toledo mainstay for years. I’ve had the great pleasure of playing there many a night. Here’s the audio from my 6/7/24 performance.

You can stream my set at all the usual places: Spotify, Apple Music, iHeartRadio, YouTube, etc.

If you’re feeling generous, you can purchase the digital album from my Bandcamp page.

HyperFollow

Thank you so much for listening. I appreciate it.

The iconic urinals of the Ottawa Tavern

“hamburger” Live from Serendipity Woods

Good morning, y’all.

I figured I’d start my day reading poems to all the ticks—there’re so many out right now. This one is called “hamburger.” It was originally published in Home Planet News a couple weeks ago.

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Thanks for looking/listening.

All the best,

A.S. Coomer

hamburger

© A.S. Coomer

i’m a harmony at best

a leaky faucet

dripping a bastard’s backbeat

some flesh for my bones to carry like a tune

my bones that click & clink like cheap wooden wind-chimes

my teeth that scrape like rusted spoons

& the heart in my brain breaks

the heart in my chest skips

& i’m left singing these

hard-hearted blues

–

james brown said

never miss the one

you can do whatever you want

but you come with it on the one

& i wonder how much he would’ve fined me

if i had the good fortune of being in his band

they would’ve nicknamed me “hamburger”

from all the ass-chewings i’d’ve gotten

–

i’m not saying i can’t keep time

i’m saying life’s too short to be in a cover band

–

for this solo i’m the whispering breeze

kissing the sweaty crooks behind your knees

september’s last breath inhaled & held

like the best smoke you’ve ever had

–

does the whip-poor-will savor these songs?

would the woodpecker understand the rhythm?

only the hummingbird can rewind the tape

only the owl understands the weight of night

–

we’re an old house still settling

squeaking to ourselves like stairs

reverberating like musicians

getting to know each other

the shifting of the melody

between instruments

how many instruments we all carry

& forget we know how to play

& forget we love

& though our foundation will crack

may the crumble be the rumble of the kick drum

may the echo of our song move others to sing along

a morning in montpelier — Live from Freeman Lake Park

it was sorta nice out. i decided to read this poem, a morning in montpelier, to some ducks & ticks at freeman lake park. a morning in montpelier 

2025 © A.S. Coomer

i slept in the bed of my truck
between two cornfields
woke to ducks & chickens
geese & mite bite rounds pocking
my ankles / ringing my wrists
making mounds as they burrow
in / i peel the layers of skin
with my cheese grater fingernails
i blink back the crusting mucous
feel it scratch my raw eyes
unzip my sleeping bag & my dreams
let in what cool air the corn
sweat allows / before the day
boils over / i sneak in a cloud
lift above the corn before the sun does
feel myself purple with the dawn
open like a peony in this late
summer haze / sway with the frayed
flags & tired tulips / see me waylaid
a magnolia petal plashed down
onto the page you were just getting
ready to cry on / a point in time
when the screaming was in tune
when the drinking was in company
when the drugging wasn’t dangerous
& everything was beautiful, beautiful
the old hurt muted by all the new

This poem was originally pub’d by Home Planet News. 

Issue 19 coomer morning in montpelier

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#ASCoomer #Poetry #LiveReading #LivePoetry #PoetryInTheWoods #HomePlanetNews 

Poetry Speaks Reading

I had the great privilege of performing a set of my new poems yesterday at Jonathan S. Baker’s POETRY SPEAKS reading series at Bokeh Lounge in Evansville, Indiana. Jonathan & Arizona are the best & their reading series is so much fun. Bree, the other featured poet, is an amazingly creative force & I was delighted to share the stage with her again. The open mic portion was fire—but I didn’t record it.

Most of my set consisted of all new, unpublished poems, with the exception of the first poem, “a morning in montpelier,” which was published recently in Home Planet News. I made a limited edition chapbook of the poem (only 12 exist) & some of them found homes after the reading. I still have a few left so hit me up if you want one ($5 in-person; $10 if shipped—US only).

FULL VIDEO ON FACEBOOK—https://www.facebook.com/ascoomer/videos/1638615603510819/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

partial video on Instagram

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Two New Poems in Home Planet News

Issue 19 of the Home Planet News is out today and includes two of my poems: “hamburger” & “a morning in montpelier.” You can read those poems here:

https://homeplanetnews.com/issue-19-coomer-hamburger/

https://homeplanetnews.com/issue-19-coomer-morning-in-montpelier/

Make sure to check out the rest of Issue 19, which includes more poetry as well as fiction, song, & visual art.

Thanks for reading & sharing, y’all!

May’s Poetry Reading & All Poetry Open Mic

Another banger afternoon of #Poetry at Flywheel Brewing yesterday. I love hosting this reading & all poetry open mic. Our featured #Poets were Michael Duckwall & FroggCorpse. Their performances were dynamic and emotional. Here’s the vidyuh of Michael Duckwall & FroggCorpse kicking the reading off.

Facebook Vidyuh Leenk

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Shoutouts to Flywheel, Charis, & my mom (Sherry Coomer) for making all the poets the best chocolate chip cookies in all of hardin county (I said what I said). Much love to the brave poets who shared their moving work. The All-Poetry #OpenMic was as usual!

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Next month’s reading will take place on June 8th at 3:45pm EST. Chris Dean & Wendy Cartwright will be our featured poets.

See y’all soon!