No Means...Florida!

May as well just call it No-rida.

No diving
No liquids
No fishing
No basura
No alcohol
No parking

Tuesdays

You and I, we met on a Tuesday night.
It was just a typical day for you;
For me though, our encounter shed new light.
Amidst the crowd, found that special place
Where we hear giggles; go in without a trace.

Marie Ponsot Awarded 2013 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize

CHICAGO — The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce that poet Marie Ponsot has won the 2013 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize.

Presented annually to a living U.S. poet whose lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize is one of the most prestigious awards given to American poets. At $100,000, it is also one of the nation’s largest literary prizes.

#DancingInTheWind

Dancing in the wind...

See, every time I stayed on the path that would lead me further into people’s glances, I was dancing in the wind... left to see the way they see me for my heart was neatly stitched on my sleeve, so their stares became glares into the soul of what even they were never told. The stories of those that were left to dance within the wind, left to spiral in confusion masked as the answer to the questions, of what they should one day aspire to be in their lifelong quest for a conclusion.

Pope Francis Meet the Prayer of Saint Francis

St. Peter's Square, Vatican City

Pope Francis took his name from Saint Francis of Assisi. The Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi serves as a gentle reminder of what we hope to seek in others, if not ourselves, regardless of our affiliations.

Carousels and Candy Floss

Childhood memories cherished and remote recollections
Emerging in magnified clarity encourage renewed perceptions
Open air big screen films referred to as “Drive-Ins”
A regular Saturday night treat — family car, excitement within

March Madness and the Last Call of Jack Kerouac

Flamingo Bar in St. Petersburg, FLA.

Dylan Thomas got drunk
at the White Horse Tavern
in New York
before he famously died.

Jack Kerouac got drunk
at the Flamingo Bar
in St Petersburg
before he died.

Thomas' stagger home
was an exclamation point.
Kerouac's stagger home
was a footnote.

And Syracuse is losing again...it must be March.

It's the weekend after Kerouac's birthday and the Flamingo Bar is still reeling from the hangover. The bar has done well for itself as Jack Kerouac's last call. Not as well as the White Horse, but St. Pete's doesn't have the literary tradition of Greenwich Village. Whereas Kerouac was known to drink at the White Horse there is no evidence than Thomas ever set foot in St. Petersburg...let alone the Flamingo Bar.

Noah’s Art: Artist Noah Saterstrom on Art, Poetry and all that Jazz

Ja-Da (Ja-Da, Ja-Da, Jing, Jing, Jing)

In researching a recent story on the forgotten king of jazz – Buddy Bolden – I stumbled upon the art of Noah Saterstrom. At the time it was my objective to have that one piece of art accompany the article. It was a work of art based on the only known photograph to exist of Buddy Bolden. That didn’t come to pass…this interview did.

Invernal

Ruiseñor de la selva mexicana,
No festona esmeralda los alcores,
Es diciembre, deshójanse las flores
Y tórnase amarilla la cabaña.

Crossing the Invisible Line

Headlights aimed in the wrong direction;
a storm passes to the west,
but we don’t notice

This café’s odor is disinfectant;
secrets of patrons lay hidden
in napkins, we place our orders efficiently

Awakening

I have always feared
the silence,
the depth of the
long, black hours.

Erratic Fire, Erratic Passion

A Poem Assembled from Metta World Peace (aka Ron Artest) Quotes

I don’t shake substitutions’ hands.
I lose my feet.
I’d like to thank my psychiatrist.

I felt something,
But I didn’t know it was an actual head.
I knew somebody suffered something at that point.
There were a lot of emotions in that game.
I can’t worry about that.
I have to try to get the ball.