Jake Shaw's Blog, page 42

Smoke Staver

Storms clean smoke
In the bellow of breeze
And clouds it brings

In the old rain
That now purges the haze
And assaults the intrusion

With vanishing pollution
Come sure appreciation
Of the skies missed no more

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Never-Be-Memories – Journal 11/4/17

I had a dream last night that I haven’t been able to phrase at all in a poem for some reason or another. Perhaps I’m becoming more averse to writing about dreams that mean nothing. I don’t want to be one of “those” creators. Like the guy who made the LSD Dream Simulator some years back. That would be more terrifying than a sewer clown, that’s for sure.

So I’m gonna be using my journal here to describe something I dreamed about last night, throwing its interpretation to the wind for all the lo...

Cullfield

You can’t wear it
Like a coat
And not expect some
Holes to form
And stains to stay

Nor mud to cake
As you fall unto
Unbeaten paths

You can’t expect
To not stumble

Through the fields
Of the apex predator
Without damage incurred

You can’t wash it
Without losing memory

It’s clear but only
Goes so far when you
Abuse it every day

You can’t appreciate it
For what it was
And not be disappointed
When it doesn’t become
Anything it used to be

It moves and culls

The cullfield is
What was and will be

Not...

Scratched Spectacles

There is time in the eyes
Hazing what is seen
As an aspect of glass
Filters every place

Each reel of scene
Is a reflection on
Past misery and blemishes
And fogs the lens

Each scratch a virus
Where tendrils and webs
Are dregs and their threads
Reach for the iris

This infection’s intentions
Are to shroud in nostalgia
What haze is there if we
Only think of yesterday

It’s a bliss
But it lacks progress
Eyes back and pupil black
In love with before

Dialated in time
With gravity
Pulling us back
To n...

Moxie All I Need

Wildlands out there
On the horizon

Tempting to be trekked
Through

I have all I need
To go exploring

If it doesn’t fit
In my backpack

I’ve made up for it
In moxie

I’ve got maps, a compass
And two flare guns

If I get into trouble
I only need one

For the rest I have
A radio, water, and MREs

If you need a knife
Just use one of these

Serrated, a straight edge
And one that folds

If you need a broadsword
I might even have one of those

I’ve got a tent, sleeping bag
Tinder and a lighter

An axe for cho...

Future of Copper – Journal 10/31/17

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This is the set list for Lithium Autumn, the manuscript of poems I sent to Copper Canyon Press tonight. Yes, my Halloween night culminated in that. A writing of a cover letter and a $25 submission to my local poetry press.

Every submission up until this point has been a little easier. This one has been… much more nerve-wracking. Knowing there’s a $3,000 prize in the mix, and a publishing deal. This would be the first real ISBN book published, as that’s the contest. Yes, that’s also right, th...

ON 1: Revelation

I wish to be under an
Orange blanket on the couch

I want you to be
Leaning against me

Getting comfortable
In my arms

While you’re cold and
Pull me close to warm you

Outside on a bench
At midnight

There’s a slight gust
Of bloody nostalgia

You wish for warmth
I tolerate the cold

This park bench
Numbs as we talk

We left before dusk
“Just out on a walk”

Now we’re outside
On a bench at midnight

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Nailbiter

When I bite my thumb
and work hard at
a slightly overgrown nail
to tear and rip it
from the
web of nerves
holding it against my hand,
I wince.

It hurts to have a habit
that you’re drawn to nibble
like a rabbit.

A careful tugging by the incisors
and mashing by the molars ensures
a sliver of nail comes
with a kick and a scream,
wrenching free blood vessels
from your veins.

In an instant, your fingers can
become a bloody mess,
a mark of torn flesh until
the nails grow back again.

Then you get id...

How To Move On – Journal 10/27/17

Today I crossed over through the point of no return into a series of commitments that I believe are going to be worth it. In other words, I’m moving on from Year Three properly.

I’ve been prepping my manuscript for Copper Canyon Press and having a fun time of finding out new tricks about word processors that I never knew before. I seriously used to make tables of content by hand. Now look at me! I know how to format those in OpenOffice (superior to Microsoft Word because it’s free).

So my man...

Millennial Backpackers 2

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Shot with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS; f/11; 1/1000; ISO-400; 18mm. 10/21/17 3:15 PM.

At Mission and Del Rosa, you make new friends.

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