Tuesday, June 24, 2008

creature

the skin cracks at the
ridges of the bones
and muscles twist and pull

tendons detach and split
open as the bones in my
back ripple and push

forward and upwards
skin becomes like lizard
hide and fingernails

blacken and teeth filed
down as bared and jagged
eviscerators of all life

chest ripped open
and sides split down
as arms reach out below

arms that existed already
like mad hindu gods
eating the world

eyes slit and quicksilver
color pupils stare into
the night around me

as the air bleeds into my veins
and the stars' greasy light
covers my mephitic sweat

as i form into something
less human than beast
and more creature

from dark and oily
origination and from where
i do not know


-kmt
©2008

Monday, June 23, 2008

beast of burden

It is time to cut the grass
each blade green
and unkempt standing
straight up
like the hair
of a great
earthen beast
upon whose back
we live
call home
parasitic like make life
and ride
a great beast of burden
living and slaving for our own good
our own purposes
we saddle it with houses
and highways
and skyscraper lined parkways
where man made concrete looks down
on the tiny
blades of grass
below.


-kmt
©2008

Sunday, June 22, 2008

thinking at night, alone

count
    twothreefour
       each
    patter of rain drops
    upon windshield
sitting in car
staring at lake
    wonder
where i end
and where i
begin


-kmt
©2008

Saturday, June 21, 2008

do not dream of me

do not dream of me
but know i will dream of you
in incandescent city skylines
and the purple misty swirl
that rises out of
sidewalks cracked.

you
with any other name i would still know you
any other face i would still see you
you
with different bricks and mortar i will still know you
with different paint i will still know you
with different sketches and scars i will still know you
and every curve, shape, and twist of skin will still be
mine

and i will cover you as a sea covers the rocks below it
and fill you with my breath
so that every piece that may come away from you
has once been touched by me

if happiness is but a dream
then i will sleep forever,
and forever search for you.


-kmt
©2008

Friday, June 20, 2008

The Beginning

SO.

I'm a writer. That's what I do, and any writer will tell you that it's more than just what you do -- it becomes who you are.

But, as a writer, and someone who thinks that it is more than just what you do and, in a way, defines you, I've not been doing much writing lately. In fact, it's been pretty dried up the last few months.

So that's what this site is. This is an exercise I'm posing for myself -- if you enjoy it, please let me know, but that's not really the point here.

The challenge to myself is this: I will post 365 poems: one a day, every day, for a year.

Ideally, this will spur me into a creative groove, one that I can transfer to whatever other writing projects I'm working on.

Now, some may be older poems I've written some time ago. I don't see this as cheating; the writing process naturally cannot happen EVERY day, but I certainly don't have enough to last me from beginning to end, and I will, with all honesty, be trying to post as many newly written pieces here as I can. I just know that there may be nights that I won't get to this, so I'll have a few back ups, just in case.


So, ground rules I'm setting for myself:
1. Post every day by 12 AM Central time (my local time - that's midnight, just to be clear).
2. No more than 2 consecutive days of prior written poetry.
3. No max or min on length: the idea is just to write, though it should certainly be poetry.
4. Some posts may be "delayed" or "timed" posts: that is, written earlier, and set to be posted later. This is OK so long as the poems were either A, written specifically for that day, or B, do not have two consecutively written older items. This is the "Vacation Clause."
5. Some will be good. Some will be bad. Some will be weird. These are not important things: what is important is that every day there is something new, and something that you may use to build upon what you've already done.

If you like this idea and would like to borrow it yourself, feel free! Modify the rules to it if you need to: I try and keep this strict for me, so I know exactly what is required of myself. Let me know, and I'll be happy to link to you!


And finally, post any comments, criticism, and anything else freely: I'd love to hear what other people think!



-Kevin (kmt)