LA Felleman's Blog, page 3

from the prefix de- ("from") plus spondere ("to promise")

Heard this author interviewed on the New Books Network and had to write a poem to cope with the emotions.

Broken-Promise Land

an aquifer is rain and snowmelt soaked in over eons

a slowly-filtered journey through sand, shale, silt

arriving at last to rest on rock

confined by an impermeable layer

the promise of unseen water waiting to be tapped

an underground ocean that beckoned to my greats

westward in Conestogas for the chance to farm for themselves

even if what they would call home was poorly built out of sod

water swelling their Bartels farms into Winside towns into Lincoln cities

feels like straightened postures, unbowed backs

Now the dowsers’ rods remain stubbornly steady

wells pump dust, pipes stretch downward connected to tapped out

where wheat once rose– animals confined on feedlots

the kids move to town, the grandchildren to the city

the great-grands drive U-Hauls back East or farther West

it’s the one percent who get to determine what constitutes fair use

my impotency is like watching an heirloom drinking glass

knocked off a counter by a careless elbow

knowing the harm it will cause if it shatters

being unable to stop the sound of the heart-sickening crash

Promenade

My pace is the tempo of a church camp tune.     I’m okay with being overheard.   From the other side of the street, a young woman is singing fiercely. She isconscious that she is flagrant.  They won’t break hersoul.    My tune is dusty rose.    Hers is electric blue. My sound is butter cream.           Hers is salsa verde. Soothing to exciting, the morning accepts the whole

Weak Hope

"Hope" by George Frederic Watts

 

Overdue

weak god is nine months pregnant

nine months, eight days, sixty-seven hours

145 light years of Hope pressing on bladder

23 million star dates of Hope kicking kidneys

an eon on feet more water than bone

forever off-center, top-heavy, unbalanced

an eternity of the question, "When will I deliver?"

An Old-Fashioned Courtship

Credit: Dales Fuzzy PhotosHe-Cardinals clashing two beaks to one instinct
       feathered body check
       flutter back
       wary regroup
a Wide Receiver’s angle cut off by a Corner
while She-Cardinal hops out of their flight attack pattern

Let’s not romanticize this engagement

The He’s are tunneled visions of red beats bursting
She is a submissive for later inspection

The father of her egg-brood will be the one with
the cruelest aim, most likely to maim, the
deadliest peck-reflex at her options

 (Prompted by Missouri state Sen. Mike Moon’s creepy approval of children marrying at twelve years of age)

My HOA's meadow was mowed while Republicans banned drag shows and the parody of @rupublicans was launched

Churchyard Wildflower Meadow in East Meon, England

 

Thatched

The Mower clothed the Meadow in homespun

undyed, nubby fabric, naturally stiff

baggy beige culottes belted by drawstring

buttoned-to-the-top beige,   flattening curves

espadrilles cobbled in beige rope, burlap

beige headcovering knotted below chin

Meadow swelters under Mower’s stylings

longs for Spring showings. Sassy.  Fabulous.

 

Easter Poem and Podcast that Inspired it

Photo by Cheney Orr/REUTERS

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I knew the look I wanted but didn't know how to achieve it. Then I saw CAConrad's work in this month's Poetry.

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“A History of Serious Quality Issues”

Last fall, inspectors cited Parkridge Specialty Care in Pleasant Hill for a four-hour delay in assessing and treating a resident who complained of chest pain. The resident was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to a hospital emergency room. (Photo by Google Earth)

 

The meadow is in elder care

patchy stubble dots his left cheek

residue of razor that skipped

He will blame the blade

Chinese made when he’s 

biased towards U.S.

A surface scratch at a racket 

where aid to steady his tremble

is net loss to profit’s column

 

 

Title taken from Clark Kauffman, “After abuse, death and staffing issues, 

Iowa nursing homes added to federal watch list,” in Iowa Capital Dispatch, 

February 17, 2023.

Patriot

Clayton County bald eagle partial to putrid porcine/ Photo Credit Christopher Jones

 

Treacherous

"@#$%^&* Snow, January 1, 2014" by artistmac

Run over     Dragged beneath car     Frozen into ruts

The sidewalk is trench warfare 

Evidence of multiple campaigns 

Returning home late pulling into

driveway tense with low visibility 

backing out next morning to a slippery commute

The footprints punched through crust across lawn are

flanking maneuvers against unshoveled