Because we all want to write more poems.
Check's in the mail
A check in today's mail
paper symbol of wealth, wherewithal;
that, in turn, standing in for real things
things used, eaten, touched, seen
Money: distracting fear-born intermediary
O, for payment in the things themselves!
carrots and beans for hours of garden toil
a roof, walls, for house-building labor!
I want direct exchange, closer to the sources,
the meanings of things revealed—
the produce of work with the hands,
breath and muscles' heat made tangible
Barter a thousand flexes of the elbows
and 400 breaths for a bowl of apples
or a sturdy mug and a plate;
how many steps, how many liftings for a chair?
- Benjamin Gorman's Shared Poems
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Comments
Clayton Medeiros
March 10, 2012
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The desire and search for
The desire and search for tangible, palpable meaning in a world of images and unhinged language. Being becomes lost in the substitutions to make things simpler and more complex like money. Value is no longer in the thing itself but in some market for it that strangers bid against each other to control. The dollar is ultimately not edible and cannot be successfully kissed.
Jennifer Dixey
March 10, 2012
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great rhythms
This is humorous but serious & strikes the perfect tone in between. I think this one will resonate with a lot of 'hamsters. Does Sustainable Connections ever sponsor poetry readings?