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Senna Jawa

Literotica Guru
Joined
May 13, 2002
Posts
3,272
I always formatted my poems, and often by others too, very carefully, I would attempt the most aesthetic composition. For Literotica archive too. A couple of years passed. Then one day Literotica changed its archive environment, and all my work on format went down the drain. So, tough luck, I was patiently adjusting my messed up format to the new Literotica environment; and I followed the new rules also for my new archive posts.

More years passed. Then it happened again!!! Thank you Literotica (so to speak). It was too much for me. I left my archived poems just as they were. Just horrible :).

Occasionally, I still check on my archived poems for this or another reason. And I am tired of this formatting mishap. Thus suddenly I decided to copy my misformatted poems to this thread here. One then another then a couple more then .... No rush.
 
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[your smile rides]--wh, 1992/04/22

--




your smile rides
on vanishing raindrops

the spring i am glad
brings the friday night
welcomed
by the tired blood

your smile i am glad
circles amidst the texan pines

a poem like a gem
should light its own aim
but for your smile
you may have it
​







wh,
1992-04-22

​
 
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[the shadow's knife]--wh, 1992/04/28

--



* * *​


the shadow's knife
has sneaked around
the summer's
semitropical
starting gate
and brushed my heart--i shiver

my shoulders missing the scarf
_-__-_of
_-__-___your full arms

look
i am a shadow
really
let your slim frame
pass through
like Moses through water

the strong Moses
____and crazy Jesus poor guy
are my ancestors
​






wh,
1992-04-28

​
 
Last edited:
[what if...]--wh, 1996/07/10-11

--





what if great Basho
who lived but 50 years
were nicer
to children and prostitutes?​








wh,
1996-07-10/11
​
 
[u slammed...]--wh, 1993/01/23-24

--



* * *​



u slammed the receiver down
a week ago
now
u talk while

a woman stretches across my bed

u talk u joke we laugh
u tease u'r so cute

she's proud
of the bold cherry color of her nightgown

u invent u'r brilliant

her eyes are bright
her smile shy
she's proud of her cherry
nightgown

but u keep me on the phone
but u keep me
on the phone
​







wh,
1993/01/23-24

​
 
[the office keys...]--wh, 1996/06/28

--






the office keys back to the office
the house key back to the owner
one key hangs from the ring
the car key
​














wh,
1996-06-28

​
 
[the crazy...]--wh, 1990-11-21/22

--






the crazy river glistens
the banks are fuzzy, in dark
a chess*board floats grace*fully
on my brain*waves of vodka

i check + mate the opposing king
and knock and myself and cold and out
​














wh,
1990-11-21/22

​
 
Senna Jawa said:
--






the crazy river glistens
the banks are fuzzy, in dark
a chess*board floats grace*fully
on my brain*waves of vodka

i check + mate the opposing king
and knock and myself and cold and out
​














wh,
1990-11-21/22

​
Click to expand...


I like this one a lot. I don't get the asterisks and the plus sign though. What do they mean? I'm guessing something to do with chess.
 
Angeline said:
I like this one a lot. I don't get the asterisks and the plus sign though. What do they mean? I'm guessing something to do with chess.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Angeline, for your kind words.

The linguistic construction +/* was invented by poet Mark D'Orazio. His sister was/is a talented poet too. She participated in the early rec.arts.poets. In those days she was on a faculty of one of the universities, where as a side activity there she was a computer administrator at her department (she was not a professional computer specialist, she was just good at it).

Her brother, Mark, somehow decided on leading life of a homeless--very seriously. In those years he used to write two kind of poems--the kind poems, so that people would pay him fifty cents per poem, and other poems (serious poems?). His poems were written exclusively in upper case. But his */+ constructs made his poems look softer (in addition to make a linguistic sense).

Thus the */+ construction was not related to chess.

I liked poems by both siblings very much. I considered Mark's poems, which were supposed to make people feel good, to be still better than his serious poems.
 
Last edited:
[the candy...]--wh, 1982/05/25

--







the candy bars from the jukebox
rythmically fill my ears
the cigarette smoke
devours my eyes...
checking upon my future past
bidding farewell
to my Music's Puppet
​













wh,
1982-05-25
​
 
poemath--wh, 1995-08-10

--



poemath




summer- we all have suntan
too much time on hands is our only shadow

these days i can only barter
learn poetry tricks from teenage whores
____she said
but they have a short attention span
and i can offer only... mathematics​











wh,
1995-08-10
 
poe tr y--wh, 1991

--




poe tr y



poetry you're a difficult lover
i know you prefer it outdoors
you desire cold shores and tall mountains
sun burning- rain camouflage- and soft snow

you like fireplay randomly cracking
ornaments moving on the wall
puffed pillows under your convex buttocks
never worried about closing your doors
​














wh,
1991
 
poems 1-9, notes.

  • I can't believe that I missed the top two lines of -[your smile rides]- (old age :)). OK, now it's back (no, you don't have to read it).
  • I wrote -[the shadow's knife]- six days after -[your smile rides].- Actually, for long years, I would write poems about four times a year, each time for six to eight weeks, several poems a day. A lot. I was doing it all the way till and including the early Internet years. Actually, which today is so hard to believe, Internet in those golden r.a.p. days was stimulating me to write more. Then the silver days came. It was still ok. After that Internet was mostly stifling me. All that irresponsible stupid anonymous Internet behavior would be after all trivial, but it did affect my writing. I guess, poetry is a delicate thing after all. The last serious in effect ill moment (otherwise not serious at all) at Literotica caused me literally pain when I stopped my 30/30 series just after eight or so. Oh, well, no big deal :) (Nothing is).
  • The dates under -[your smile rides]- and -[the shadow's knife]- are spring. And indeed they are. However -[your...]- is also a nocturne, while -[the shadow's...]- reflects the heat and humidity of april around Houston (Texas).
  • About -[what if...].- Read Basho's travel diaries and sketches. On at least one occasion Basho left a child, and on another two prostitutes, to their own device when all these were helpless, could use his assistance. Basho wrote that his heart was crying. Nevertheless he just went on on his way, and let God takes care of them. I showed my poem to a Japanese friend--an engineer who himself was a good poet. He said that all this was along with the Eastern philosophy. Perhaps it leads to better poems. I respect poets, I feel that Zen is bullshit, and am not religious. But I do believe in Christian mercy, in attaching high value to human life.
  • Not much before I had written -[u slammed...]- I red a monograph -The Joy of TeX- by Michael Spivak. He is a strong mathematician and an excellent mathematical writer. He also has written about AMS TeX/LaTeX. He was one (not the first one) who promoted English neutral gender language (see wikipedia). I talked to him on the phone around that time (1992-3), and he treated this as a joke. Nevertheless the whole book was written that way. Since then, I used neutral gender English for several years, on Literotica too. Finally I got tired of it :).
  • [the office...]- is self-explanatory. No comment :).
  • [About the crazy...].- Angeline asked and I've written above D'Orazio linguistic convention. I don't remember my old analysis. Today I can say that the idea is to make you more conscious about words. When a word is seemingly a single entity but composed of two parts, D'Orazio let's you be alert to it by separating the parts by *. And when two words should combine into one entity then they are explicitly combine by D'Orazio's +. In addition to */+ D'Orazio would also modify some words. Pop singers modify words too (e.g. Michael Jackson) to make the pronunciation easier, smoother. D'Orazio was doing such things on paper too. I wish someone would do serious study of D'Orazio's language in his poems.
  • You may recognize my kennings in -[the candy...].- Indeed,
    the candy bars from the jukebox​
    stands for songs (top-40 disco hits). Then -_"my future past"-_ is...--I think you know what this is; and
    -_-_Music's Puppet​
    is my kenning for a -dancer.
  • I should mention that the prostitutes from -[poemath]- were 18-year old, of course :).
  • At the time of writing -"poe tr y",- I lived in Saratoga (California), was a guest of my brother and his family. On this occasion I left the house in my small Toyota Tercel, and within a quarter of a mile I got in my head the whole poem. Thus I was very worried in my car that I will forget this poem or would remember it only fractionally, while each word in this structured poem is important, cannot be replaced by anything else. Oooophhh, somehow I had managed.

    This was my first poem posted to my Literotica archive. Then Judo welcomed it warmly on PF&D. She was in charge of new poems on PF&D, already in those days. Thus my beginning at PF&D was very nice. (Even my first rating was 5; then it went down the drain :)).
 
Last edited:
19-th hole -- wh, 1992/07/18

--





********************
notes:
"19th hole" -- a bar
Wiltel -- a company
********************
​









i didn't know that i will go where
Mona-bringmebeer-noLisa
passes her nights with flying colors

at the thursday entering friday
in the door of the 19-th hole
i see inside,
the wiltel crowd
has invaded
Texas by Night

nonwiltel decent crowd around
watches the recent sport horrors
on the tube
Mona-bringmebeer-noLisa
cruises thru the night with flying colors
at our table i hear
oh no! shop talk, computers. that mike
one of the mikes
he won't touch beer
I drive he says --
he drives me sober

the regulars drink and talk
in groups and solo
Mona-bringmebeer-noLisa
passes the night with flying colors
our Russ, in the corner, does
a decent job on his drums
while around the green table
next to ours
guys & gals shoot pool
the blonde under her black dress
is pregnant
the regulars
drink & talk
in groups & solo
Mona-bringmebeer-noLisa
passes the night with flying colors
yes, please, i'll have one
any cold beer will do
the night is hot outside
no, i don't need no frosted glass
thankuthanku-urwelcomeurwelcome

a bob from seattle drinks with us
he can't care less for texas
but he fits!
as he would in any state
of the union -- his girlfriend,
pure joy, is all around the room
and all around her bob

they leave soon
followed by the wiltel guys
only Russ
stays attached to his drums
while Mona-bringmebeer-noLisa
passes the night with flying colors
and brings me back to life

​










wh,
1992-07-18
 
Last edited:
[the kisses...] -- wh, 1995/09/06

--



* * *​


the kisses circled thru the night
like anonymous birds
one kiss
was sweet
but only once
passed by my lips
and i felt
bittersweet
and i wish
i left
before the morning light
​








wh,
1995-09-06

​
 
Angeline said:
I like this one a lot. I don't get the asterisks and the plus sign though. What do they mean? I'm guessing something to do with chess.
Click to expand...
It's true what I said about Mark D'Orazio's convention. But in my poem [the crazy...] this is not about chess but simply about poetry. This stars made you feel almost drunk yourself. Just imagine the same poem without these stars. It wouldn't be the same.

I feel that poetry is about such quiet, unassuming moments--natural, integrated, organic. Check my poem [your smile...] above in this thread. When a spring rain is disappearing you must feel special, gentle, etc. This is conveyed by:


your smile rides
on vanishing raindrops
​


Thus poetry is not really about this or that (about love or friendship or a cancer disaster, etc.) but about such moments. If you find anything simple and original like this then let me know, and I will include it in Moonglasses.

BTW, by "quiet, unassuming" I meant not the poem (the poem can be wild too) but the author.
 
Last edited:
different live$ -- wh, 1990/10/18

--



different live$

​

a new life is made between the sheets
a life is worth a pile of money
how big a pile of money?

one crumpled handful if the sheets were in yugoslavia or russia
a lunchbox of money if in sweden or england in a 3-bedroom house
and a truck-load if uncovering the sheet
the one nearer the ceiling and gold chandelier
presents a view of an oil tycoon and a press tycooness

but if a life is made in a damp cardboard box
shared by a bunch of sleeping babies and sleepy flies
then life is worth (more or less?) but a tear

​








wh,
1990-10-18
 
day to day -- wh, 1993/06/23 (villanelle)

--




day to day​


only clouds- no birds- race across the sky
i chase my errands in circles
go on- do not stop- do not ask me why?

sad songs at funerals- when a man dies
are simple- acknowledge no miracles --
only clouds- no birds- race across the sky

i chase my errands- i sell and i buy
and birds?- they perform in a circus
go on- do not stop- do not ask me: why?

my shirt's white- i wear a colorful tie
my face shows a web of wrinkles:
only clouds- no birds- race across the sky!

you're gaping at heavens- searching for a pie
but your pie only wiggles and wiggles
go on- do not stop!- do not ask me why?

i like my fate- her humor so wry
for an ice-cream she serves me some icicles
only clouds- no birds- race across the sky
go on- do not stop- do not ask me: why?


​










wh,
1993-06-27
 
Last edited:
Senna Jawa said:
--




day to day​


only clouds- no birds- race across the sky
i chase my errands in circles
go on- do not stop- do not ask me why?

sad songs at funerals- when a man dies
are simple- acknowledge no miracles --
only clouds- no birds- race across the sky

i chase my errands- i sell and i buy
and birds?- they perform in a circus
go on- do not stop- do not ask me: why?

my shirt's white- i wear a colorful tie
my face shows a web of wrinkles:
only clouds- no birds- race across the sky!

you're gaping at heavens- searching for a pie
but your pie only wiggles and wiggles
go on- do not stop!- do not ask me why?

i like my fate- her humor so wry
for an ice-cream she serves me some icicles
only clouds- no birds- race across the sky
go on- do not stop- do not ask me: why?

​


wh,
1993-06-27
Click to expand...

Interesting. I like the pace, spacing and racing clouds. Not sure about wiggling pie (pies do not wiggle, even figuratively in my experience), but the rest is coherent and cohesive. Also I like the use of near rhyme in the poem. It keeps the poem present and surprising.
 
Last edited:
playcatch said:
Interesting. I like the pace, spacing and racing clouds. Not sure about wiggling pie (pies do not wiggle, even figuratively in my experience), but the rest is coherent and cohesive. Also I like the use of near rhyme in the poem. It keeps the poem present and surprising.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your comment.

Pie in the sky is a reward after death or simply an unrealistic promise or hope. This pie (hope, promise) is symbolized by a cloud which wiggles on a somewhat windy day.
 
monk -- wh, 1995/10/23

--



monk



marginal monk get lost!
others are handicapped
hence they exist
and for you
sunlight bends and nights
delight you too much

police sirens pierce downtown non-stop
the spittle never dries on sidewalks
the sickening energy of burritos and hamburgers
fuels the city
and you
vege-kosher-turkey-tarian
wouldn't show up on a Kodak picture
​









wh,
1995-10-23
 
jazz -- wh, 1995/10/23

--



jazz



the blowers sweep piles of leaves off the sidewalks
they humble the loud truck engines
i set the volume higher

i listen to Duke
Descartes missed by a mile
thinking is a distant
runner up to being

thinking

overtook my time
like about
the diff

between

infatuation
and being in love
and my winter approaching fast

i know the answer

the palette
from crazy
to aching for years
​
the blowers on the sidewalks don't let up
and i listen to jazz
​










wh,
1995-10-23
 
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