Double hit today with poetry. This one I know is from my Poetry Workshop class that I took in college. I'm currently working on editing it, but this is fairly close to the original version with a few minor changes. Let me know what you think of "Crossing." Crossing Night came, and the darkness shrouded the earth. The doe looked out on the shadowed road, deciding the right time to cross. Her glass eyes reflected back the sparkling lights of coming cars and warned of the danger of that strip of black with lines of white and gold. But she went. And no thing stopped her. The buck came chasing the scent of the one who would be his tonight. But the black line came between the pair. So intent on his mate, the buck paid no heed to the blaring horn of the truck barreling down the hill. A flash, the tires screeching like an eagle call on high, then the explosion of rubber separating from metal. A shower of sparks, shattered glass, the only remains . |
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Photo Credit: Joe Juarez via sxc.hu Time for another poem. I think this was from a class, but I don't remember specifically. Please enjoy "The Violinist." The Violinist I stand and watch the man, middle-aged, slightly balding, and with a sprinkle of white in his beard, as he opens his violin case, pulls out the worn, old instrument and begins to play. You can see such sights all over. The subways are my favorite spot, the little children clinging to mothers’ arms and staring wide eyed at the man with the guitar, drum, trumpet. An easy way to make a cheap living, I suppose. I can’t help but wonder, does he have children? Little mouths to feed? A wife? Perhaps just a mangy dog lying on his master’s bed, waiting for a bone and a fresh bowl of water. He plays for hours while I sit on the park bench across the street. I can barely hear the clink of loose change falling into his open case, “Donations welcome” Opening my wallet, I pull out a handful of Franklins, he seems to need them more than I. I make my way across the lazy street, hoping to catch him before he can pack his life away. A motion from his hand, the black streak of a limousine. He looks up, smiles at me, then disappears into oblivion. Photo Credit: Zsuzsanna Kilian via sxc.hu So obviously no one is buying my book this Black Friday. It's not available on Amazon.com. There is no listing for it in the iBooks store. Barnes & Noble doesn't have it on their shelves or available for the Nook. Next year at this time, I hope all that has changed. While the initial writing of these stories is taking longer than anticipated, my hope is that by this time next year, there are at least two books available in many of these outlets when you do an author search for Jonathan Ytreberg. Lose Your Senses will be available as well as a yet to be named collection of poetry. Photo Credit: wanzhi via sxc.hu In travels around the internet recently I came across a retailer that sells "high end" jeans for prices that start around $180 a pair. I got to wondering how many families in need could be fed for the price of one of these pairs of jeans. There are millions of people who will be out at Black Thursday(?) store openings tonight instead of spending time with their families on Thanksgiving. As we enter the holiday season this year, ask yourself two questions. Am I giving the important gifts or just the expensive ones? and Can my time and money be put to better use for someone else? What gifts do you have to give, that you hold for just yourself? Make an effort to give more of yourself this holiday season and help those who might not have things as easy as you do. Photo Credit: Brehn Garcia via sxc.hu In the box of old papers that I found over the weekend, one of the poems that I found was one I had completely forgotten about but as soon as I saw it brought back so many memories of writing it. I can't remember the specific assignment that led me to write this poem, but I do remember being at a loss for anything creative when I heard a faucet dripping in the bathroom at school. And well, this is what came out. Please enjoy the poem and check out the other poems I have posted on the Poetry Page. Any comments on any of the stuff posted there are always welcome. Drip
I t st arts slowly as the water seeps through the crack in the window frame and coagulates bit by liquid bit into something more than the individual parts that make it up. It grows and morphs, bends and stretches, seeming always to push beyond the boundaries that it is supposed to obey. Then, when it can hold no more, it pulls away from that to which it holds, and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . f a l l s Photo Credit: Asif Akbar via sxc.hu It's time for a little contest. The first person who can comment on this post and tell me what the inspiration for this "essay" was when i wrote it, get's a prize. I can't tell you what the prize is because it would give away the answer. Below is a selection from my essay Riboflavin 4%. The entire piece can be found on the Essays Page. There will be more coming there as well as the Poetry Page while I continue to work on "Touch". Blue The newest born of the lot is blue, favored most highly by those the world over. What is this color? Some say it is the color of depression and despair. But I cannot help thinking of another blue. The infinite (or seemingly so) expanse of the sky on a summer evening about half an hour before the sun sets. The sight is known to all I’m sure. A look to the East shows the encroaching darkness of the night, perhaps with the beacon of our silent white neighbor. I’ve always found the moon a reassuring thing. Like the sun, it lights the earth, though not in the same way of course. I don’t need to give an astronomy or physics lesson, but the moon seems to me the greatest mirror devised. What simple genius it was to place a ball of whitish-grey dust in the orbit of the only known life-harboring planet? Not that I’m saying any one person or being put it there on purpose. Even with no god or ultimate creator, the way the universe has designed itself is absolute genius. The blue surrounding that gleaming orb in early evening is the shade I love. Some would call it purple or indigo. But to me, it’s a deep and sultry blue. But blue can be light and airy. That same moon, shining through broken clouds on freshly fallen snow, casts a bluish pall on the night. White on blue. There is something reassuring to that I feel. Just think of how bright pink stars would look on the blue field of the stars and Stripes… Green LIFE! I’m actually surprised how much green I see every day. When you think of it, there must be some naturality to the color green that invigorates a person. At intersections when driving, we anticipate the change from red to green indicating that an invisible barricade has evaporated. The great symbol of freedom standing in New York harbor is eternally known to be a pale shade of emerald, though anyone familiar with her material will know that she was once a brownish gold. Plants, the most obvious and abundant green are life itself. They create the energy that makes our own lives possible. Without green, there is death. Don't forget to check out the full text here!
I wrote here a few months back that I had found a stash of old papers from my college days and would be posting a bunch of my old stories and poems. I had been a bit hasty with that proclamation. The papers I had found were important, but not from any of my creative writing classes. That was then, this is now!
Recent reports from the Disney company indicate that the long lost son of everyone's favorite Jedi Master will make an appearance in the announced sequels to the original Star Wars saga. I hope I have everyone's attention now. While I wish that I had this kind of insider knowledge, especially about one of my favorite movie franchises of all time, I don't.
Photo Credit: kruno knezevic via sxc.hu Why am I writing this book? Barnes & Noble's website lists 2630 results for books that will be released next week. According to NewMusicTipsheet.com, there were 202 albums released on Tuesday 11/13/12. The Internet Movie Database lists only 3 movies being widely released this week. (maybe a bad example because most studios are surely saving the blockbusters a few weeks so they don't have to compete as much with Twilight) There are only an additional 4 in limited release this week.
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