StarPoet Newsletter Vol. XII, No. XXV

Saturday, 18 June 2011 22:00 Last Updated on Saturday, 18 June 2011 22:16

The StarPoet Newsletter
Vol. XII, No. XXV (June 19, 2011 C.E.)

The Solstice arrives to start our slow journey back to darkness.

Solstices

Sunrise, Sunset,
Half the year has fled,
The earth is in its circle,
The sun is overhead:

Except in the other hemisphere
Where winter has its grip,
The sun is low, the air is chill,
The day is short and crisp.

Lisa Jain Thompson c. 2011 C.E.


the last spring storms move through Northern Virginia -- a respite from the growing heat

poet observing her work
The Melody Goes On Forever
I only know half the melody, I need to work the rest of it out; You'd think that all these years, I'd know the whole thing by now, Including the harmonies and counterpoints And a thousand variations; It doesn't seem to work that way, There are always twists and new hooks That will surprise you and draw you in, Clever phrasing you've never heard, Lyrics that amaze you outright: The melody goes on forever and I Have only time to learn so much Passing by.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

In the Northern Hemisphere, summer solstice begins on Jun 21 2011 at 1:16 P.M. EDT; In the UK June 21, 2011 at 17:16 UTC.

adventures in the sexual binary
Primates in Love
A woman in movement Will always look sexual, She doesn't need to be showing off; A man will always be watching, His brain has little choice. I presume this is the same for fishes, Although I lack first hand knowledge, Perhaps it's characteristic of us primates; I know the Bonobos would tell tell me so But I only know their body language And they don't seem interested In learning much English As they go about their business Of eating and playing and making love. So it goes, we are what we are, God's imperfect creation, The earth's best hope, The pinnacle of terrestial evolution Who spends a large part of his brief life Looking for the next good fuck.
Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

calendaring life
Declining Without Comment
If there were a meeting here tonight, The odds are good I wouldn't attend, If the world were to end at midnight, I would take a pass and find Somewhere else I must be. Should someone's Jesus decide to return, He'd better send out a calendar request If he expects to be taken seriously; Even then, for myself, I would decline Without comment, assuming, of course, His request didn't end up in the junk mail Alongside the latest Nigerian bank scam.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

Summer afternoon--summer afternoon... the two most beautiful words in the English language. -- Henry James

when we were
Laurel Canyon
Up in Laurel Canyon, Jimi Hendrix is jamming With Buddy Miles in the poolhouse While the blonde girl Plays drums butt-naked And Jack Nicholson takes notes For a screenplay: Hoodwinked, bamboozled, Chased and assaulted, Trapped in a black box With Schrödinger outside, Gone evermore With our innocence.
Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

In Maine they have not a summer but a thaw.	-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

too much and not enough
Neo's Song
Whoa. Déjà vu, A black cat went past us, Then another that looked Just like it, I thought it wasn't real; I don't like the idea That I'm Not in control of my life. Whoa. Why do my eyes hurt? Jesus.
Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

a dog's life
The Channel Outside
Door open wide, Dog watching television, Hot bitch down the block Passes by on her walk, Dog alerts, goofy-eyed, Yearning softly sounding, Bitch passes by, Dog closes eye, Waiting for a sniff Of mailman.
-- Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

There came a Day at Summer's full, Entirely for me-- I thought that such were for the Saints, Where Resurrections--be-- Emily Dickinson, There came a Day at Summer's full

the men don't know but the girls they understand
Facing the Shower
Facing the shower come early morning, Arms crossed protecting my breasts, Hot water flows across my flesh, Washing away night's lingering grasp. Outside my window as I dress, The birds outshout the unrisen sun, Earrings, bracelet, make-up, badge, The new day's ritual overcomes inertia.
Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

in moments of silence I sing
The Music in Me
I have decades of musical hooks Bouncing around in my brain, Bach, Beethoven and GaGa, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Gershwin; I've got the music in me Struggling to get back out, Quite often the words I sing are mine, And the choruses are someone else's, But I'm not adverse to melodic improvisation Or suggesting a more harmonic arrangement.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

Inebriate of Air--am I-- And Debauchee of Dew-- Reeling--thro endless summer days-- From inns of Molten Blue Emily Dickinson, I taste a liquor never brewed

what she said
Advances in Knowledge Discovery
A tuple of variables Instantiating the metaqueries, Transivity relations As two part specification. Inductive, deductive, Probablistic rule construction, A Bayesian data cluster with a Logical Data Language. A gun, a bullet, Feet on the ground, Blood, bone and eye, Bin Laden's gone.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)

this might sound familiar but then again ...
Rick (Playing It Again) What makes you think I haven't? I got well paid for it on both occasions -- I remember every detail. Tell me, who was it you left me for, Or aren't you the kind that tells -- I was on a station platform in the rain With a comical look on my face Because my insides had been kicked out. I heard a story once - as a matter of fact, I've heard a lot of stories in my time -- Don't you sometimes wonder If it's worth all this? Why I should find you waiting for me Nobody ever loved me that much and I Wouldn't advise you to try to invade, I'm the only cause I'm interested in; Who are you really, and what were you before, What did you do and what did you think, How could you close me up? -- It's pretty bad timing, after all. Last night we said a great many things, Well, I guess that's the way it goes, Inside of us, we both know -- it all adds up, Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, But soon and for the rest of your life.
— Lisa Jain Thompson (June 2011)
Once I sat upon a promontory, And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin's back, Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath, That the rude sea grew civil at her song; And certain stars shot madly from their spheres, To hear the sea-maid’s music. Wm Shakespeare, Oberon, sc i, A Midsummer's Night's Dream


Copyright © Lisa Jain Thompson 1948-2011. Back issues are in the Newsletter Section of the StarPoet website. Visit my contact page and get in touch.