Sunday, February 16, 2014

Durham Needs Cleaning

Today is trash pick-up day.
Meet on Sunday, February 16, 2014
11:00am
SOLITE PARK, Durham, North Carolina,  4704 Fayetteville Rd, Durham, NC 27713

GLOVES AND TRASH BAGS PROVIDED.
2013-01-12_12-32-19_768 edit

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Is Coldplay not cool anymore...as if I cared

This Youtube link has the top 21 most listened to Coldplay songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2PakaClWaE

And it does not even include my favorite:

Warning Sign


I wrote a poem, that was partially inspired by this Coldplay song and the poem is called, "Lament to Sunshine," published in Border Ways. If you need a copy of the book it is available from me, or at Regulator in Durham, or Quail Ridge in Raleigh, Barnes and Noble, Amazon. It's available a lot of places, a lot of ways.

The book hasn't sold much and the truth is...I couldn't care in the least. Seriously. That's not why I wrote a book of poetry.

I wrote a book of poetry so I could keep rolling things forward as pastor of the tobacco trail church.
Plain and simple. That's why I wrote the book. I wrote a book of poetry so that I could keep living my life. Some of the time that I was writing I was going through some tough stuff. Some of the time I was going through some pretty amazing stuff. All the while, I needed to write and publish so I could keep living.

If it sells, it sells, but that's not really very important.

I've been thinking about my mentor, David Whyte. He is a great poet. But his first poems are not as good as his more recent ones. You know what that means? I will get better too.

Here is the one from me inspired by Warning Sign, or at least the song by Coldplay gave the poem a rhythm. Truthfully, it was running and Slane, Ireland that made this poem come to life:

LAMENT TO SUNSHINE

In my ear
is a Warning Sign
from Coldplay

Come on in
I’ve gotta tell you what a state I’m in…

…when the truth is
I miss you

a hillside for hunting
off to the left

Today, I run the road from Drogheda
wet from a hard rain, but not anymore
now sun is over the horizon at my left
and I sink to 6:30s
why not, for I’m tired but Coldplay works
plays
sings
through the fatigue
I’d do well to do just the same.
I envision them playing at Slane Castle.
It is nearby, but I am not going that way.
Touristy things are not on my list
I have been to Open Farm and down to Duleek Quarry
stopped at the bridge
over the railroad tracks
watched the tractors
churn the earth
while birds seek the afterbirth
of the newly delivered
soil
turned over
I’ve seen the way these people live—mostly farmers.

It is what I came for.

Check out: http://www.rossnaree.ie/ 
I wrote from the second story of this building looking out over the River Boyne and her lush green pastures.