Saturday 31 May 2008

might by Rob Plath

i might see spring as a charlatan
but still i plant flowers in may
chinese lanterns & morning glories
beneath the beige chipped shingles
& the gray cracked foundation
outside my tiny apartment

i might see the sun as a giant zippo
under our flimsy flesh britches

but still i walk about & light cigarettes
& flirt w/the flames by blowing smoke
back at its towering lethal tongue

i might see silence as the only real language
but still i humbly mumble these lines
to the landscape & to any creatures within ear shot
in order to gently break the lonely lull


Rob Plath, New York, USA

6 comments:

Crafty Green Poet said...

Rob Plath is a 38 year old poet
from New York. He has 5 chapbooks of poetry out. The latest is Tapping Ashes In The Dark (Lummox Press 2008). He has published a lot of poems in the small presses.
In the mid 90's he was a student of Allen Ginsberg. He is currently a contributing editor at d/e/a/d/b/e/a/t press and poetry editor at Whirligig magazine.

Mandy said...

the lonely lull
silently blowing smoke
outside many a public house
any day of the week.

I know Rob's poem has nothing to do with the smoking ban here but I couldn't help but draw comparison.

Anonymous said...

Thats a wonderful poem, playing with voices, a very articulate mumbling, precise and rolling and the smoke and voice mirror image. What wonderful taste the crafty green one has in poetry. Sometimes I think where can I go where I know I will find a poem that richly rewards the effort taken to read it and I come here and inevitably find one. Bravo!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Mandy - interesting comparison, thanks for sharing, I like how poems can spark unexpected thoughts...

Paul - thanks, I'm glad you enjoy Bolts of Silk and like my choices...

Anonymous said...

So true the torn nature, the fine line between intention and need. I appreciate the expression.

Anonymous said...

I am liking this, you. I am liking that such words conjure up clear images in my mind's eye.