Headline Poem 1/7/14 -- Pass the Cheese!

(Photo credit kihm.wordpress.com)

For today's poem I wanted to find something a bit funny, weird, and out of the ordinary. After all, this is the day that completes my first full week of writing a poem-a-day-based-on-a-headline. (I feel like there should be a hashtag there somewhere #atruereflectionof2014). I wanted something that really caught my eye, you know like, "Clown Leaves Circus, Claims Costumes are Too Restricting!" Or "Landlord Evicts Tenant After She Posts Signs for Missing Fleas." I found this -- a Velveeta shortage! I hope it's not too cheesy. :) 

Pass the Cheese!

This just in...
We are experiencing a shortage
Caused by high demand
Sorry for the timing, but
Our advice is to load up on our brand

Advertising Age, the trade publication,
Started all this mess
Since when is Velveeta seasonal?
I call BS!

C'mon!
In the weeks leading up to the Superbowl
We have "factors" "contributing" to a "shortage"
Of cheesy, liquid gold!?

Creamy
Milky
Water
Milkfat
Milk protein concentrate
Whey protein concentrate
Sodium phosphate
Less than 2% of salt

Someone must be feeling nostalgic
Up in mighty Cheeseville-land
In the 1930's
Velveeta gained the upper hand
American Medical Association's seal of approval
For all those gooey curds and whey

Surely someone can cut enough  
So that these hungry dippers can dig in and play

The timing seems perfectly set up
Staged just right you see
Encourage
Busy
Working
Folk
To
Go
Out
And
Get more cheese!

Headline Poem 1/6/14 -- how did he get there?

(Photo credit Jacquelyn Martin AP) 

Today's poem came to me while reading an article in the Los Angeles Times. A man, Nicholas Simmons, went missing on New Year's Day from New York. His family had been frantically searching for him, only to find him by seeing his picture in the newspaper. An AP photographer, Jacquelyn Martin, was assigned to the White House for the weekend, but with President Obama being out of town, decided to look for the perfect shot to show the cold weather in Washington D.C. She introduced herself to the young man, and took his picture. He was with other homeless men near the U.S. Capitol, huddled up against a grate attempting to keep warm. How he got there, and why, is unknown.

how did he get there?

hands frozen from the cold
dirty blanket
far from home
was it purchased from a store,
     bought before?
or did someone share it with him knowing he needed warmth?

nails dirty,
     but not as dirty as theirs
they've been there for months
him, only a few days
   
     days of haze
clouds of confusion
swirling like flakes of snow
glittering light
spinning darkness
landing
moving
     still

a cat in a window
pressed up against the glass
curious
scared
longing to be out in the world
longing to go back

     how did he get there?

safety is an afterthought
safe from you?
safe from them?
     safe from him?

cold air brings relief
alive
able to feel
limbs numb
     does he feel?

memories hot from sunshine
head there
body here
streets of nothingness
surreal
     his face pressed up against the grate

that's him
in the picture
"my baby looks so lost and
i will be spending the rest of my life making him well"

     pictures speak to strangers, are you listening? 

Headline Poem 1/5/14 -- Inheriting a Marriage

(Photo credit Yahoo.com)

Today's poem is based on the news in Italy regarding Pope Francis and gay marriage. The Vatican is denying that Pope Francis directly supports gay marriage, and claims his recent statements reveal that he is sensitive to the fact that domestic situations are changing. Not all children go home to two married parents, and if they do, it's not necessarily a man and a woman.

Regardless of where the Pope, or anyone, stands on this topic, today's poem is for all of us. Whether you grew up in a home with a happy marriage, a broken marriage, or no marriage at all, you inherited one. We all did. 

Inheriting a Marriage 

The knobs of knees 

Worn from prayer

Do not go gentle into that altered night

Like fins in an algae covered net, you will be trapped 

Inheriting a marriage 

Decades later 

Different jewels 

Remember not the jaded rules

Lacking smiles 

Palms smooth from running the hands of the devil across the soul

Jagged edges no more

Inheriting a marriage 

That's not my name 

The mirror belongs to no one

The soap, the winter chill

Frozen water is not ice 

It is melted love 

Cold, but not hard

Do not freeze 

Inheriting a marriage

Two together walking side by side

Compassionate strangers in life

Cradle full of the makings of one

Hide while you can

This one will run

Inheriting a marriage

Stand not in my shadows

Make your own

Four working hands

Skip, create, love

Messy smiles 

Sloppy floors 

Hilarious togetherness

A partnership of understanding 

Not always in like, but always in love

Inheriting a marriage 

Voices don't match, but the words are the same 

Wood rotten from the inside

The house is standing 

No one can figure out how 

Inheriting a marriage

The fish swim upstream

They die together

Brown, black, yellow, orange, cream

Inheriting a marriage

Respect your partner

Nurture their soul and your own

Touch their skin

Listen to them dream

Laugh

Be kind 

Remember that when they hurt, you hurt

The greatest gift you can give is your heart 

That's the madness, that's the art

Headline Poem 1/4/14 -- Hercules out, Ion in

(Photo credit Frank Franklin II/AP)

Today's poem is inspired by the departing winter storm 'Hercules,' and the incoming storm 'Ion.' I'm watching the weather channel, and although I am amazed, it is hard to relate. I've been in snow, in cold temperatures, but I've never shoveled my car out of it, and I've never been stuck inside more than a few days. Snow Days? We don't have those in Southern California. What a wimp huh?! 

Hercules out, Ion in

Arctic freeze

Frostbite lingers

Frigid, frosty, swathing air

Stay home people, stay home

Connecticut Govenor warns, "Do not put your tongue on a pole..." Har, har, har

Hercules departs, Ion begins 

Green Bay vs 49er forecast is 1 degree

1 degree!

Ion is a massive system

Negative temps looming

Snow in Denver

Slick roads

Detroit 8-12 inches

A lot to deal with

Energy with two combined forces

Wind blowing in all directions

Dangerously cold

Windchill

Frozen tundra 

Coldest in 20 years

13 dead

Second winter blast coming

Be safe, take advantage of the break

It's right around the corner...

Respond and prepare!

Holiday travelers stopped in tracks

Plans snarled

Grounded for days

Forecast at home is 72 degrees

Headline Poem 1/3/14 -- Unwed & Shamed

(Photo credit npr)

Today's poem is based on a story I read/listened to on NPR this morning about two pregnant teenagers, who, in 1968, were sent to a home for unwed mothers. They gave birth, left their babies for adoption, and were forced to never talk about it again. 

Unwed & Shamed 

Just eight years before my own birth

Pregnant

These things happen

To girls

To girls

To girls

Their mothers sent them away 

Go to Massachusettes to live in a home 

Change your name

Do not discuss this

Sad at night, she cried herself to sleep, feeling the baby move inside

Arms strapped to a bed

They were told nothing about giving birth

How many said 'yes' when the doctor asked if the young mothers wanted to see their new babies?

How many said 'no'?

Did the fathers know?

The babies were adopted

The mothers, er, girls went home

Alone

Never speak of this again

Lie

Lie

Lie

Questions avoided

Stress accumulated

Loads of heavy shame bundled up and carried

Everything changed

Nothing changed

Do you hear me? 

Nothing changed

You no longer have to lie 

Headline Poem 1/2/14 -- Farmersonly.com

(Photo credit farmersonly.com)

This poem is written about an article found in the San Francisco Chronicle about a website that helps farmers find love...

Farermsonly.com

Farmersonly.com -- "Save a horse, try a cowboy"
Sun up, sun down life does not leave much time for love
City folk don't understand
I can't meet for a nighttime coffee, I have to get up to feed the animals at 5 a.m.!
The rural lifestyle leaves some stuck in a routine lacking love
Must drive for hours to meet someone you are not related to
Only one tavern in town
30 single men and one waitress
All these boys are like my brothers... we've been friends since we were kids
At first this site didn't really take off
Tricky with no internet access
Now, there are farmers checking dates with their Smartphones while tending to their crops and chores
Hard to find the one when you are a fourth generation rancher who does not leave home
Life revolves around the sun and seasons
Farmer man meets farmer woman
A family of four now -- every day they eat lunch together and pray
A 100-year-old almond farm in Glenn County has found love

Headline Poem 1/1/14 -- Homage to a priest

Happy 2014! I am going to attempt to write a poem each day based on a headline in the news. I have no clue where this will lead, and if this starts to become a chore, I will stop, because the last thing I want is for writing and staying informed to be something I "have to do." The first day of 2014 was great on a personal level. I spent the day relaxing with my beautiful family on the Northcoast of California; however, the New Year's Day headline that caught my eye was a sad one. Here is my first poem of 2014, based on a story in the Eureka Times Standard about a local priest's murder. Total downer, I know... BUT, in spite of the horrible crime, I am writing my first poem to pay tribute to this man of God, a stranger, and to start the process of documenting this year of news, in my words. May 2014 bring adventures, health, and love!

(Photo credit Eureka Times Standards)

Homage to a priest

A popular priest found dead in the church rectory
January 1st, 9 a.m.
He did not show for morning mass
Something is wrong with Rev. Freed -- please pray
The ambulance is called off
This is a homicide instead
The killer is at large
Church littered with yellow caution tape
On the first day of the new year
Yellow is the color of sunshine and flowers and love
Today it is of endings and crime and danger
The investigation is ongoing
Be aware