SNOW by Jake Cramer

Snow was...
DRIFTING
Down,
Getting packed,
Screaming,
Getting eaten,
Even getting tossed around,


Wind was...
Having fun,
Tossing around snow,
Howling in tiny faces,
And pushing birds backwards,


People were...
Building snowmen,
Having snow ball fights,
Building humongous igloos


SNOW, WIND and PEOPLE were
Having...
FUN!!!!!!!!

Two Eastside Poets Talking

Intro

Even though we live, generally speaking, on the same side of town, the reader may think the title presumptuous to include myself with one of the 'great ones.' But aren't we all great in the eyes of God? With that in mind, I approached the author of Thermonucleardynamicpoetics, introduced myself and proceeded to tape the following interview without his permission.

-Who?
-It doesn't matter. I'd just like to ask you few questions.
-Ah, you want to have a dialogue!
-Yes, like in the famous poem of your, "It Takes Two To Tango."
-I remember it well. Won the Abracadabra Award for being the best poem ever written while in a state of alcohol-induced intoxication.
-I didn't know that.
-O yes! You see, I had been living in Algeria at the time, just before the war, and it struck me that it made no sense being sober.
-I see. But your later work strikes me as being incredibly dry and arid.
-Well, that's the thing, you see. After the war, I switched to diet-coke.
-That would explain why some critics have complained that you have sold out.
-Not necessarily.
-Care to expound on that?
-Let's just say that a sober poet is resented is some quarters.
-I personally prefer your "dry" period as there seems to be too much excitement in the world today. Let's face it, people are going crazy--especially the young. They need an older wiser and even, if you don't mind me saying so, a boring influence.
-Well, let's not overdo it, but I know what you mean--or should I say: where you're coming from? Ha, ha, ha. 

(At this point of the interview, I forced myself to laugh).

-I can't catch my breath! Now, certain critics have said that you're basically just on a big ego trip. I don't see it that way. I just think that greatness is conferred upon some of us by the gods. How do you see it? By the way, that was funny.
-What did you say your name was? O, it doesn't matter, I suppose. Well that's a difficult question to answer as I'm sure you appreciate the intricacies involved in not wanting to sound conceited on the one hand and not wanting to break my fans' hearts on the other. Basically, I'm one of the biggest phonies who ever lived--but notice, it takes a great man to say that! Hey, what's that humming noise? What is this, Candid Camera? Hey, come back here! What are you afraid of? We can edit it together. Don't destroy the illusion that has taken me years to build up! Young man, image is everything!

(So is the truth, Mr. Great Man!)
Published by The Iconoclast, issue number 21, issn 1064-1777, Editor/Publisher/Lackey--Phil Wagner, Technical Assistence--Maryann Sherry Wagner, 1675 Amazon Road, Mohegan Lake, NY 10547 

Juliet of the Windows

the red sock
no doubt attached to her toe
somewhat dangling
as if suspended in mid-air
in the middle of the snowstorm
at 3 a.m., the only light
the white
of her red foot

Published by Wide Open Magazine, Spring 1990, Vol. VI, No. IV, Editor: Cliff Simms
Copyright 1990 WIDE OPEN MAGAZINE

First Avenue

Canyon of rock:
spires spear the skied circumference
hung with clouds
gray as lava;
kited wings
flirt with freedom
over the myopic depths
or jet-propelled
where we rush pas those breaking petunias
where slowly death has come
to that body burdened with feathers. 

Published by Nedge, # 3, Winter 1996 Copyright © 1996 The Poetry Mission.

The Poet is Met by God

I'v seen the river glowing
that would quench all thirst-
and clouds pushed by an invisible brush;
I've seen the red sun of dawn
about to burst
and planes like so many toys among the clouds,
and I've heard the foghorn of the Atlantic
and the wind moaning at my window

Published by Conservative Review, Volume 8, Number 6, November/December 1997

Untitled

There in the omnivorous space
where the old winter leaves
lie pelted with rain
and an empty chaise-lounge
has been left-out
(along with the kid's doll)
from some kinder weather…
(who will pick up this song of beauty
and fill up the summer?).

Published by Omnific © 1994 WEEMS CONCEPTS, Editor: Kay Weems, April 1994, Volume V, Number 1

Newyorkese

And the pigeonshit. And a loose feather,
rain-pasted to the concrete…before the
bookstore opens at 11. How do you like that!
Okay, I'll write my own books. I'm sure the
guy sleeping in the next doorway won't mind…
rough night, huh? And so I'm sitting on a dry 
step that is part of the world's most famous 
skyline…and the drizzle in the puddled light… 
and a busload of clear, wax passengers…and
the gong from a nearby church releasing an
entirely different pigeon, ballet-like, into
the air… 
Published by SEEMS 33 © 1999 Karl Elder. Editor: Karl Elder. Assistant Editors: Catherine Butler, Myra Dunwoody, Amy Hinz, Kris Schultz, and April Short.All mss. (include a S.A.S.E.) and subscriptions to Lakeland College, PO Box 359, Sheboygan, WI 53082-0359. SEEMS is an irregular publication. $16/4 issues. Issn: 9905-1730