The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Sun 1/27/2008)

Request Denied

At the end, no one showed but us:

distant daughter, twice-disowned son
and Wife #6, cracking gum, practicing
your signature on the back of your last
withdrawal slip. Who else did you think
would come? From what source
a guest list drawn, a crowd to rally

as you sank, yacht-sails dragged through
water you fouled? Perhaps a priest to anoint
you, proud atheist, on your way down? Perhaps
Wife #4, bearing a basket of fruit and the knife
she tried to stab you with? Or would you
prefer to take the 5th?

Which of your siblings, long deleted from
your mailing list, did you expect to make the trip,
to cough up six bucks for gas, plus tolls? And which
of us (your two children, known) owed you so much
as an hour of our grown-up time, you who never
held a hand or gave a dime?

Hard to admit — country-club Communist
short-tipping your caddy, sweet-timing
saccharine sugar daddy, buttering your way
in and out of wedding rings (more than
enough for one entire hand). In the end,
even you wanted tears and a 6-piece band.

How poorly you planned.

Susan Berlin

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Susan Berlin lives in MA. Her poems have been published in the following publications: Alaska Quarterly Review. Asheville Poetry Review, Atlanta Review, Cincinnati Poetry Review, Controlled Burn, Eye Dialect, Harvard Review, Mudfish, Oberon, Ploughshares and South Road, among others. Five-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, she was selected as a Finalist for the National Poetry Series in 2001 and again in 2003 and has been a Finalist for the Akron Poetry Prize, Alice James 2004 New England/New York Poetry Competition, CSU Poetry Center Prize, River Styx Poetry Prize, Ploughshares Emerging Writers Contest, Tupelo Press First Book Award and many other national competitions. She was recently awarded First Prize by the Rhode Island Council on the Arts in the Galway Kinnell 16th Poetry Competition and was named International Publication Prize Winner in the Atlanta Review 2006 International Poetry Competition.

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:hi:

RL

the revenge served with those buttered fingers! she's really good. really, really good. I saw her spit on his grave.

but a good read

:hi:

in a minute check your pm. :hi:

:bounce: :hi: :pals:

Live the way you want to be remembered and honored.

:)

:shrug: ...

Check your mail.

:silly: :dunce: :silly:

;)


:pals:

:rofl:

Great writing!

tricky, tricky, tricky. (not the poem, btw) -or maybe it's the word order? or those things unsaid in the course of the poem, or the post, even.

hmmm, what could I mean by that???

not only is that writer an excellent poet, with the honors to prove other poets' acknowledgment of her work, she's a beautiful woman who would probably be a great person to have as a friend, seeing that smile.

I'd like to see more work from this poet...

Beautiful...

Stiletto-ready...

Hope you stop by the poem threads more often!

:hi:

RL

if they like poetry or not. His poems are famously 'accessible,' and they work on many levels. He's also very funny,
with a dry wit which is even more obvious if you hear him in person.

He is a phenomenon in the poetry world for the fact that his book, "Picnic, Lightning," became such a tremendous seller that it's now
in it's 20th printing (or more, by now). This is unheard of for poetry books! It broke all kinds of records and made millions of new readers into
poetry fans. And this happened not that long ago, and after he'd spent years and years teaching at Lehman College in NY. And then he was chosen
as Poet Laureate of the United States, following his book's tremendous success.

I should add that Billy Collins is hilariously funny and all the grad. students at Sarah Lawrence (including me) loved hanging out with him, especially
after he's had a few beers. Which is often.

the link is to Salon.com. they have Collins in a video reading poems.

He's not my big favorite or anything, but he's definitely helped to make poetry visible.. same with maya angelou. She's not my favorite, but I'm so glad she's kept poetry visible.

Puts me in mind of the term "Poor Bastard". :thumbsup:

Wow, Suze.
This is one hell of a poem. Every line is essence... I don't know h0ow else to say it. Superb!
And congratulations on all your well-deserved honors, especially that first=-place by the Rhode Island Council. Wonderful. I'm so proud that your my sister. Terrific.
Love,
Bob, yer brudder.

:kick: