Cat Russell's Blog, page 6
April 14, 2022
POEM: “watercolors”
“watercolors”
practice trains you
to observe everyday details
the exact blue of heaven isn’t blue
it’s cobalt, azure, gold and scarlet,
rose blooms into violet,
silver marbles the horizon
before blackest night
awash in color
Rorschachs blossom
my mind’s edges cauliflower
errors discover possibility
fill each canvas with pauses
lightening then brightening
always saving the darkest for last
nothing cannot be adapted
to something new, sometimes better
forgiveness is pigment
forgiveness is water, brush, paper
always ready to soak up excess
or spread radiant hues
ad libbing elements
an individual choice
ships may soar dew-kissed sky
clouds break like china cups
black holes rip gaping edges
in the empty vault of heaven
ready to swallow all
#
Next Friday, I’ll also post on my Patreon. If you’d like to read about my progress and plans for this year, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
March 17, 2022
POEM: “morning routine”
“morning routine”the kettle calls,
the song of steamed leaves,
sugarcane, and the warm cup
in my hands. over toast
i view the tea warmer's flame,
the hearth and heart of our happy home
Next Friday, I’ll also post on my Patreon. If you’d like to read about my progress and plans for this year, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
* image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing .
February 19, 2022
POEM: “paper journeys”
“paper journeys”Long lonely childhood days I lounged beneath the mulberry tree,just Thisbee and me, waiting for Pyramus to take us away, I'd play host to Hermes and Zeus, coast wine-dark seas devour siren song, draw Labyrinthian threads through Minotaur’s home, and soar cornflower skybeside Daedalus before my waxen wings would melt; lofty flight cut short by sun and seafoam, left alone in my room, immersed in biblichor, i buried myself beneath thin sheets,knowing only myths’ allure: my escape into fantasyi knew no other hope for awkward me,so dreamed gods and heroes fell for my charms, left heaven itselfto save me from earthly woes,protect me from thosei could not bear to face.those travels served me well,provided refuge--fiction and factsto complement the lessons of experience: wilder girls braved the unknown;Lois Lane endured without Superman;Nelly Bly broke stories, wrote and madehistory; the deaf and blind may see farther without the gift of sight; despite millennia, a woman's versesurvives in fragments of paper mache, and princesses are heroes too.the old saying rings true:the journey is more importantthan the destination, thougheach step needed to be to arrive at now. i needed to grow up to learn saviors exist outside books alone, adventures are not what we await but opportunities we create stepping outside our comfort zone: the heart of each encounterwhen we brave enoughto rescue ourselves.#
Next Friday, I’ll also post on my Patreon. If you’d like to read about my progress and plans for this year, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
* Written for Cuyahoga Library’s Read+Write+Poetry writing prompt for April 2nd, 2021 .
**The female heroes I refer to later in the poem (both fictional and real) are Laura Wilder , Lois Lane , Nelly Bly , Helen Keller , Sappho , and Wonder Woman .
**
image
courtesy of
publicdomainpictures.net
via
Creative Commons Licensing
.
January 20, 2022
CURRENT EVENTS: Books Read in 2021
photo inside of A1 Bookstore: 6067 Navarre Rd SW, Canton, OH 44706Happy New Year!
It’s that special time of year again…you know what I’m talking about: January! The month to make and break resolutions, recover from holiday hangovers, and of course that most important event of all–reviewing the books I’ve read in the past year! You know you’ve been waiting for it.
Seriously though, several years ago I started keeping a list of the books I read as part of a local library challenge to read fifty books a year. For every fifty books, the library would put your name into a raffle to win a gift card. I’d never bothered to count the books I read before, so I started keeping track to enter the raffle, and lo! a post-holiday tradition was born. One of these days I’d like to be able to enter twice!
So, I hope that by sharing the books I’ve enjoyed–and a few I didn’t–you might find your next great read! I consume books in multiple genres and formats, so I’ll indicate which ones as well as link to where you can find them: Amazon, Audible, local sources, or free/low cost downloads from other places. Since my appetite for books exceeds my ability to buy all the ones I’d like, many on my list are library holds, while others were purchased from local authors or indie presses; I try to spend my dollars where they’ll have the most impact and support content creators. Enjoy!
BOOKS READ 2021:
1 Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler (ebook via Humble Bundle)
2 Naked Toes: second edition by Sara Minges (Trade paperback)
—uplifting and personal collection of poems about inner strength
3 Jacaranda by Cherie Priest (ebook via Humble Bundle)
4 Evidence of Starving by Sandra Feen <ebook unavailable. Email author at poeteach@msn.com to buy a paperback copy for $7 (postage included)>
—moving and vulnerable poems on the theme of consumption
5 Erotica Romana by Johann Wolfgang Gothenburg (ebook via Overdrive)
6 A Little History of Poetry by John Carey (ebook via Overdrive)
7 Paradise Lost by John Milton (audiobook via Overdrive)
—this epic poem, arguably the best poem written in the English language, needs no introduction, so all I’ll say is if you haven’t read this yet, READ IT. It’s staggeringly beautiful.
8 THE GREAT COURSES: Life and Writings of John Milton (Prof. Seth Lerer) via AUDIBLE
9 City of Truth by James Morrow (ebook via Humble Bundle)
10 The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (ebook via Overdrive)
11 The Witcher: The Last Wish (short story collection) by Andrzej Sapkowski (ebook via Overdrive)
12 Black like Me by John Howard Griffin (ebook via Overdrive and The Ohio Digital Library)
13 In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan (audiobook via HOOPLA)
14 Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick (ebook via Overdrive)
15 The Prestige by Christopher Priest (ebook via Overdrive)
16 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (ebook via Overdrive)
17 Limit Theory by Ronald E. Holtman & illustrations by Amanda Vacharat (hardback via Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Main Library)
18 Lock In by John Scalzi (ebook via Overdrive)
19 Head On by John Scalzi (ebook via Overdrive)
20 Damned novel by Chuck Palahniuk (ebook via Overdrive)
21 Doomed novel by Chuck Palahniuk (ebook via Overdrive)
22 The River Styx, Ohio, and Other Poems by Mary Oliver (hardback via Library)
23 I Bring the Fire: Wolves by C. Gockel (ebook via NOOK)
24 I Bring the Fire: Monsters by C. Gockel (ebook via NOOK)
25 I Bring the Fire: Chaos by C. Gockel (ebook via NOOK)
26 I Bring the Fire: Fates by C. Gockel (ebook via NOOK)
27 Whiskey Sweet by Sara Minges (poetry collection, ebook ARC via author)
28 Iliad by Homer (audiobook, 1st part of Audible book HOMER translated by WHD Rouse, read by Anthony Heald, ILIAD AND ODYSSEY)
29 Lunch Poems by Frank O’Hara (AUDIBLE audiobook)
30 I Bring the Fire: Warriors by C. Gockel (ebook via NOOK)
31 I Bring the Fire: Ragnarok by C. Gockel (ebook via NOOK)
32 Ten Days in a Madhouse by Nellie Bly (ebook via Manybooks.net)
33 On the Bus with Rosa Parks by Rita Dove (hardback via Barberton Public Library)
34 Head to Toe of It by Rikki Santer (Trade paperback poetry collection)
35 Metamorphosis by Ovid (AUDIBLE audiobook)
36 BEASTARS VOLUME 1, story and art by Paru Itagaki (Graphic Novel via Library loan)
37 Dreaming of Babylon by Richard Brautigan (audiobook via HOOPLA)
38 The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (ebook via manybooks.net)
39 Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (ebook via manybooks.net)
40 Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster (ebook via manybooks.net)
41 BEASTARS VOLUME 2, story and art by Paru Itagaki (Graphic Novel, paper)
42 The Prince and The Pauper by Mark Twain (ebook via manybooks.net)
43 THE GREAT COURSES: English Grammar Boot Camp by Anne Curzan (AUDIBLE audiobook)
44 Ancient Greece 101: Greek History, Myth, and Civilization by Christopher M. Bellitto (AUDIBLE audiobook)
45 My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
46 300 by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
47 No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide (ebook via HOOPLA)
48 Y: The Last Man, Vol 1: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
49 Y: The Last Man, Vol 2: Cycles by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
50 Y: The Last Man, Vol 3: One Small Step by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
51 Y: The Last Man, Vol 4: Safeword by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
52 Y: The Last Man, Vol 5: Ring of Truth by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
53 Y: The Last Man, Vol 6: Girl on Girl by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
54 Y: The Last Man, Vol 7: Paper Dolls by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
55 Y: The Last Man, Vol 8: Kimono Dragons by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
56 Y: The Last Man, Vol 9: Motherland by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
57 Y: The Last Man, Vol 10: Whys and Wherefores by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra (graphic novel via HOOPLA)
58 The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country by Amanda Gorman (hardback via library checkout)
59 The Good Place and Philosophy: Get an Afterlife by Steven A. Benko (ebook via HOOPLA)
60 Feminism in Greek Literature by Frederick Adam Wright (audiobook via Librivox.org)
61 The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers (gifted paperback)
62 Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes (ebook via Overdrive)
63 BEASTARS VOLUME 3, story and art by Paru Itagaki (Graphic Novel, paper)
64 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (ebook via Overdrive)
65 Hesiod: The Works and Days/ The Theogony/ The Shield of Herakles by Hesiod (audiobook via Librivox)
66 One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (ebook via Overdrive)
67 Gawayne and The Green Knight by Anonymous/ Charlton Miner Lewis (ebook via Project Gutenberg)
68 College Hacks by Keith Bradford (paperback)
69 Evidence of Starving by Sandra Feen (paperback chapbook)
<Even though I read this in January as an ebook, I’m including it again, bc it’s a different format and therefore a different experience. Email author at poeteach@msn.com to buy a paperback copy for $7 (postage included)>
—moving and vulnerable poems on the theme of consumption
70 BEASTARS 4 by Paru Itagaki (Trade paperback)
71 Swim by Faryl and S.T. Hoover (ebook via Kindle app)
–(from my Amazon review) “This is the book I was reading when my son told me, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but stop reading and watch television with the family!” It’s absorbing, mesmerizing, and hard to put down.”
72 The Philosopher’s Apprentice by James Morrow (ebook via Overdrive)
73 Poetic Memoir Chapbook Challenge by Barbara Marie Minney (misspelled on cover as Minnie)
74 Whale Day and Other Poems by Billy Collins (hardback)
75 Storm Front: A Novel of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive)
76 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (ebook via Overdrive)
77 Dear Youngstown by Karen Schubert (paperback)
78 Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (ebook via Overdrive)
79 Working Hypothesis by Charles Malone (paperback)
80 Playlist for the Apocalypse: Poems by Rita Dove (ebook via Overdrive)
81 Woman with a Fan: On Maria Blanchard by Diane Kendig (paperback)
82 Versed in Country Things by Robert Frost (Photographs by B.A. King)
83 Miracles: The Wonder of Life by Walt Whitman
84 A Threadbare Universe by Jason Baldinger (paperback poetry collection)
85 I Will Pass Even to Acheron by Amanda Newell (chapbook via Rattle magazine subscription)
86 The Just City by Jo Walton (ebook via Overdrive)
87 Fool Moon (Dresden Files #2) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive)
88 Grave Peril (Dresden Files #3) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive)
89 Summer Knight (Dresden Files #4) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive)
90 Death Masks (Dresden Files #5) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive)
91 Stopover by Rikki Santer (perfect bound book)
92 Blood Rites (Dresden Files #6) by Jim Butcher (ebook via Overdrive)
#
CURRENTLY READING:
Dead Beat (Dresden Files #7) by Jim Butcher
As you may have noticed, I’m hooked on the urban fantasy series,the Dresden Files, which I started a month or two ago: Harry Dresden is a wizard working openly in modern Chicago while facing all sorts of supernatural threats and cracking wise. It’s packed with action, adventure, and a fair amount of silliness. Harry Dresden is a rogue that’s both action/superhero and comedian. The novels are mysteries that unpack a fantasy world that gets more complex with each novel. They’re so much fun. I love them!
Tachyon by William F. DeVault
The other book I am currently reading is Tachyon by U.S. Beat Poet Emeritus William F. DeVault. He writes romantic poetry that’s strong on form, beat, rhythm, rhyme, and imagery. Each poem is exquisitely crafted, and since I’ve loved his poetry in the past I know that I’ll love this book as well. I’m only a little bit into the book at the moment, since some poetry takes me longer to read than others. In general, I read poetry more slowly than fiction, because with poetry it’s important to savor the lines; good poems benefit from multiple readings. Fiction can be approached the same way, but poetry focuses on the form and nuance of individual lines. However, fiction is usually more concerned with plot and character. There is overlap too, which is always enjoyable!
*
Next Friday, I’ll also post a companion piece on my Patreon, listing my favorite reads in the past year–including some I didn’t list here because they were not read from start to finish. If you’d like to read it, you can subscribe to my Patreon and support my work for just $1 a month! Until next time, stay safe and well, and read often!
*photo taken by myself of A-1 Books in Massillon, Ohio. The bookstore is located inside an old gas station and shares the building with a towing company.
January 6, 2022
First Two Chapters of Pinholes as a FREE audio!
Pinholes book cover
As a New Year’s gift to you all (which has absolutely nothing to do with book promotion), I’m making the first two chapters of my latest book, Pinholes: Traveling Through the Curtain of the Night, available as a free audio! Here is the link for its Internet Archive page below. Enjoy!
FREE AUDIO LINK: https://archive.org/details/pinholes-promo-podcast-2chapters-released-january-2022
*
If, after listening to the first two chapters, you can’t wait to find out what happens next, you can buy Pinholes: Traveling Through the Curtain of the Night as a Kindle ebook for only $5.99! And if that still isn’t enough for you, I’ve included the obligatory legal information that you may want to read below. You’re welcome.
*
*The sound effects were provided by Zapsplat.com .
*The music was used via Free Music Archive : Kevin MacLeod’s Aurea Carmina and his Impact intermezzo via Creative Commons License . Both the sound effects and the music were modified for this recording, and their use does not imply endorsement by the creators.
*The book’s cover image was included purely for promotional purposes.
Cover Art: Stars Forming Like Pearls In A Clam https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=151450
Cover Artist: Nona Lohr https://nona-lohr.pixels.com/
December 10, 2021
CURRENT EVENTS: New Year’s Resolutions Past and Present
In the grand blogging tradition I’ve observed the past several years, my December post will be solely about my New Year’s Resolutions: how I did (or not) accomplish my 2021 goals, what my plans are for 2022, and reflections on what I’ve learned. Hopefully, you’ll find my experiences helpful as well!
MY 2021 RESOLUTIONS:
Finish compiling my second poetry collection.
SUCCESS. I completed this goal midway through the year, sent it out to a beta reader for feedback, then re-edited the manuscript based on feedback. It’s currently being considered by a publisher. I’ve gotten favorable indications but no definite commitments yet.
Submit my second poetry collection to a publisher.
SUCCESS. I queried several indie presses and also investigated literary agents. As I said, it’s currently being considered for publication, but I haven’t gotten a definite acceptance yet.
Regain my former schedule.
MODERATE SUCCESS: Sadly, this was not possible due to circumstances outside my control, although I did do several in-person readings. Considering the limited venues this year, I count this as a limited success.
Do things that scare me.
SUCCESS. Again, due to circumstances beyond my control, the venues I scheduled were mostly solo–which makes me more nervous than usual before a reading, as the spotlight is solely on me. I also stepped outside my comfort zone to read in costume at an unusual event, Zombiepalooza! I experimented with face paint–another new thing for me!–and went dressed as a zombie unicorn from my short story, Quietus. That and other selections are found within my short story collection An Optimist’s Journal of the End of Days and Other Stories!
Honestly, I was extremely nervous for this one, as I didn’t know what to expect. It turned out that the audience was really too young for the zombie stories I had picked for the venue, so I count this one as a learning experience.
MY 2022 RESOLUTIONS:
I actually came up with these resolutions in September, as I was planning ahead for the next few months. I’ve come to several conclusions over the past couple years. For one thing, as I’ve grown older I’ve realized the need to pace myself. I also know that if I make resolutions that are too broad, like become more organized, I’ll keep them in the most lax way possible, so this year I thought I’d try something a little different. Also, I’ve learned in the past year how to adapt my goals to changing circumstances.
The following goals for 2022 contain self-imposed deadlines throughout the year, rather than simply saying I want to accomplish them by year’s end. By breaking them into smaller and more specific target goals, I hope to pace myself in such a way that I’m not overwhelmed by the enormity of any single project.
With that in mind…
CLEAN OUT MY CRAFT ROOM/WORKSPACE BY JANUARY 31st
After completing my first draft of Hera Unchained in November, I want to give myself a month (or two) to let the manuscript sit before picking it up again. My craft room, once my pride and joy, has been sadly neglected and become a catch-all for things-that-have-no-official-spot in my home. So I aim to make this area a viable workspace once again–SO HELP ME, THOR.
WORK ON MY MANUSCRIPT IN TWO MONTH INTERVALS
By allowing myself two months for each pass, with a month-long break between each one, I hope to allow myself a strict enough personal deadline to keep my writing on track while also allowing myself enough breathing room to let the manuscript rest between revisions.
CLEAN OUT MY GARAGE BY APRIL 1st
During my month-long break from the manuscript, I plan to clean out my garage. By clean out my garage, I mean get rid of anything we don’t need, organize things we do by finding space for them, create a better system for storing our recyclables, sweep, and–last by not least–get rid of all the cobwebs! It’s a monumental task, and I fully expect to either be crushed beneath storage boxes, asphyxiate on dust-bunnies, or be found dangling from a giant spider web. However, if I accomplish my goal and somehow survive the experience, I fully intend to…
ORGANIZE BEDROOM JULY 1st
I like to write in bed, since it allows me to sit so that my back is supported. This way I can sit and work for longer periods without throwing my back out. As a consequence of this, as well as other things I store in this room, it tends to become cluttered. By organize my bedroom, I mean clean my closets, sort through my bedside (and other) storage–including my bookshelves. I’ll also dust. I promise.
SUBMIT HERA UNCHAINED TO PUBLISHER BY DECEMBER 31st
My overarching goal for the year. I will adhere to my schedule for multiple (content and grammar) edits, beta reads, formatting, and eventually submit a highly polished manuscript to my publisher.
YEAR ROUND:
PROMOTE PINHOLES: TRAVELING THROUGH THE CURTAIN OF THE NIGHT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
I will continue to try to schedule in-person events, but barring that I will do videos, podcasts, or other venues. I’d also like to include some promotion for An Optimist’s Journal of the End of Days (…), although the focus will primarily be on the newer book.
KEEP UP MY MONTHLY POSTING SCHEDULES FOR MY WRITING BLOG AND MY PATREON
I post once a month to my writing blog at www.catrussellwriter.wordpress.com as well as a separate post (usually complementary) to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/authorcatrussell.
2021 REFLECTIONS:
This year was better than last, although 2020 did set the bar pretty low. The absence of murder-hornets alone made that an easy accomplishment! All kidding aside, I’m proud of what I’ve learned and accomplished this past year.
Thank you for visiting my blog, and I hope you’ll return in January. I’ll start 2022 with a post about the books I read in 2021, so maybe you’ll find your next great read! In the meantime, stay safe and well, and Happy New Year!
#
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing.
November 4, 2021
WRITING PROMPTS aka Switching It Up In Honor of NaNoWriMo!
November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo for short! If you are one of the thousands participating in the insane writing challenge to write a 50k rough draft novel within the thirty days of November, may God have mercy on your soul. JUST KIDDING! What I mean is, good luck! I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for NaNoWriMo, I never would have started writing. It gave me permission to write badly, which then turned into practice and workshops and feedback which led to getting MUCH better (despite this run on sentence, TRUST ME) to the point that I have two published books, one more to be published this month, one awaiting a publisher, and one currently in the works as my November Nano novel!
So, if you are a fellow wrimo (NaNoWriMo writer), at the time this posts you are reaching the end of week one and entering the dreaded “Sophomore Slump”–aka week two. So here are three visual writing prompts to give you a little inspiration. See you at the finish line!
* image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing .
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing.
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing.
October 14, 2021
POEM: “Siren Song”
“Siren Song” you've been warnedknow where they live across open sea
know which sharp craggy rocks they perch upon
snaring sailors on their deadly shore
cracking the bones of sea-faring men
cleaning their flesh from teeth stained
by a thousand extinctions, they sing
music of the spheres to lure and leech
the lives of enamored audiophiles
choose another route
sail from those soul-sucking succubi
their heavenly voices and sanguine incisors
stuff your ears with wax
or blast Bach through headphones
to cancel out their carrion call
better to cast eardrums into the Western sea
than drown yourself in black oblivion
who would not be tempted
by them, to hear the complementary notes
of creation and destruction?
the voice of god vibrates in the music
of spheres spinning through the void
as well as the whisper of autumn breezes
each shimmering fish in the sea.
no need to risk all when
beauty’s before you.
resist the temptation
danger loses its allure
when you’re a corpse: dead is dead.
sex and danger cancel each other
when sunk within
deep ocean
graves
and yet
some things are worth dying for,
but
for some
a simple mutilation will suffice,
or
maybe something less
like--a pounding head,
--an eardrum busted
by noise-canceling BOSE,
and an enormous credit card bill
#* inspired by the following tweet by @sentantiq at 6:59am May 13, 2021 “Someone might escape the beautiful bewitchment of Homer’s Sirens by not starting at all, by stuffing wax in his ears, or by turning in some other direction.” #Eustathius
*common sense disclaimer: I am not disparaging BOSE earpieces, just commenting in the poem that blasting music too loud (to cancel out outside noise) through any earpiece could damage your ears.
*note: I am no longer using twitter for ethical reasons ( link ), but this prompt was written earlier, before I left the platform.
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing.
September 16, 2021
POEM: “shield”
“shield”
during months or years of peace
his wife has been polishing--the shield
blackened as it hung in the chimney corner
respond to the call to fight
plain duty admits no hesitation.
a hard interruption of their happy lives,
the risk of passing
from the warm company of men
to the chill shades of death. they knew bravery
is not an everyday possession.
highly as they prized it
to warm their hearts for the clash
most Greek armies
as they charged,
shouted,
that each might borrow from the general stock
courage.
what best suits the citizen-soldier
battle
in which one short effort carries him forward,
in which a man’s duty to his immediate comrade
best spurs his intent.
during months or years of peace
the shield blackened as it hung in the chimney corner
his wife has been polishing
*
--found poem taken from The Greek and Macedonian Art of War by F.E. Adcock. If you are unfamiliar with this type of poetry, it’s a way of collaging the work of another author into a unique poem by clipping, altering, and rearranging pieces into something new.
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons Licensing.
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