Poem read at Ghost Ranch

Well, I have now come to the poem that I read for my 'performance' at Ghost Ranch. On Friday evening, the last night of our class, we were asked to read one of our works for the rest of the Ranch. There were about 100 people present for this reading, and my class picked me to go first. So it was a bit intimidating to read something you are not sure about, whether the people there would appreciate my creative side or not? The assignment was to write a list poem, that is a poem that lists a number of characteristics of some aspect of life, we were to write as fast as we could without thinking too much, which was easy for me. Okay here it is
Voices in my Head

The voices in my head are like
an off key quartet
an angry swarm of bees
a driverless bus of senior citizens going down the mountain
golf sized hail hitting a tin roof
fingernails on a chalkboard
the screams of lobsters being boiled
poets arguing about style
presidential canidates debating the economy
a child setting off a mine
the crunch of steel against steel in a head on accident
the dried out brakes that whine at the slightest touch
the scrape of a walker without tennis balls
a cascade of water roaring over the falls
the whine of a dog who has been stepped on
buzz of a drill
the buzz of an alarm clock after a long evening
the noise of a tire rim rolling against asphalt
the cry of the poor asking for handouts
the click of a computer losing power
the complaint of a teenager who can't do Whatever they want
th sound of a punch in the gut
the break of a bone twisted the wrong way
the bursting of a pimple
fighting of two humming birds at a feeder
drone of leaf blowers before coffee
the commentary of any sportscaster for any sport
the cursing of my father
the snowplow hitting a fire hydrant
a car turning over
an ancient tree being cut for timber
a golfer throwing clubs
a temper tantrum in the empty auditorium
a life guards whistle
the scrape of trains on tracks
peeling rubber
the taking off of B52 bombers
breaking of a grandmother's glass vase
the shot that killed my cousin
the mourning cry of a mother
the rage of a mentally ill person being strapped into restraints
a surgeon having to reset a bone
the agony of being lost
the unawared friend who talks but doesn't listen
the wild colt fleeing from danger
the bite of a horse fly on the ankle
the taste of a bitter herb
the crack of a non-stick frying pan left over a gas flame too long,
the soda shaken opened
the screams of a woman in child birth.

SPM 2007

Ghost Ranch writing

Well, glad to hear you all took naps. One of the problems I encountered at Ghost Ranch was very sore feet. I found out that my hiking boots which I have worn in very well, just are not the right size anymore, my arthritis was making my toes swell up and so I have had to move up a size to 14 or 15 depending, and double wide. Then come to find out my other issue was a condition in my heel was fasciitis, which kept me from hiking as much as I would of liked. Now, after a few weeks of motrin and a RX I am feeling much better. At the time I wrote this:

My Feet

The toes were cramped
just for a day
The blisters formed
along the way
The feet squeezed in
hollering out in pain
Now my toes are
swollen just the same

I had so much in mind
this day and the next
But now I read and write
while the feet rest
Tommorow promises more
plans broken
The blisters on the bottom
have spoken!
SPM 2007

Tuesday

Well, I can't remeber any hotter labor day weekend than this, and we were just 5 miles south of the 4.7 earthquake that hit so we felt it, but no injuries! Linda is off today to help her cousin get through a back surgery for a bulging disc in Las Vegas. So she should come back on Friday if all goes well. I am tired from the heat, no air conditioning at my sister in laws house, but it was good to see her and my niece for the weekend. So napping is on my mind so here is a poem:

Napping

My eyes are closing
closing
closing
My mind is drooping
drooping
drooping
My muscles are slacking
slacking
slacking

"Huh, What?'

my ears are open
open
open

until... they are overuled in favor of
napping
napping
napping

SPM 2007