Don Yorty

In my words, February 11 – 17

… I’ve opened my living room windows letting in refreshing air and the songs of birds rising out of La Plaza. I can recognize three distinct calls, but have no idea to whom they belong. I don’t see the birds … Continue reading →

In my words, February 4 – 10

10 Feb ’13

My friend Tony came home from work, unlocked his door and saw his cat sitting by the refrigerator, not paying any attention to him as it usually did meeowing its greeting when he came in, but like an Egyptian statue, … Continue reading →

In my words, January 28 – February 3

3 Feb ’13

… I made a New Year’s resolution to start swimming. Here it is February the third and I finally am. The pool at the Chinatown Y is quite decent. It wasn’t crowded this afternoon and I got a lane of … Continue reading →

Les Bijoux par Charles Baudelaire

2 Feb ’13

… … Your girlfriend gets naked. She puts on all of the jewelry you’ve ever bought her. Then she dances only for you. Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Yet in Les Bijoux the poetry excites and entices all of the … Continue reading →

In my words, January 21 – 27

27 Jan ’13

… Roman augurs … The word inauguration comes from Latin. An augur was a Roman priest who studied the flights of birds to predict the future in their patterns. The prefix in can mean no or not: immeasurable, incomplete, immoral. … Continue reading →

In my words, January 14 – 20

20 Jan ’13

… It’s Monday afternoon around two. My morning class is over. I’m home, but leave at five-thirty to teach again till eight. I’m interviewing students Tuesday and Thursday from two PM to seven. I usually have afternoons off. Monday and … Continue reading →

Fucking V: I’ve smoked a thousand cigarettes and watched you sleep

19 Jan ’13

Fucking, poetry, Don Yorty, Janis Joplin, John Keats, Life Cafe

… Fucking for Janis V I’ve smoked a thousand cigarettes and watched you sleep. Your Raphael angel curls Your bee stung lips Dare I touch you where the sun hasn’t? Dare I say wake? There is the smell of pepper … Continue reading →

In my words, January 7 – 13

13 Jan ’13

This morning things return to normal; break is over: time to teach. It’s early now; well not so early, a little after seven. I just woke Akram up with a cup of coffee, black with sugar, which he’s drinking leaning … Continue reading →

In my words, January 1 – 6

6 Jan ’13

Over the holidays, a friend was using a new paring knife while making dinner and cut three of her fingers and a thumb. Merry Christmas. Once, when I was a cook, I almost sliced off the top of my left … Continue reading →

5 Poems by Robert Frost

15 Dec ’12

Here is a PDF with all five poems by Robert Frost included in this post: 5 Poems by Robert Frost The Tuft of Flowers Acquainted with the Night The Road Not Taken Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Dust … Continue reading →

A Short Walk From My Door

8 Dec ’12

What follows are a dozen short films, most around a minute or two, the record of a year, November 2011 to November 2012, travelogues I made during walks in the neighborhood and further out into the city. Sometimes I saw … Continue reading →

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6 Dec ’12

… Like the dried up dead wasp with its venom gone rolled up on the windowsill like a ball of dust my mother slumbers with her head bent near a bowl of fruit Pat Maples sent listening to Ella Fitzgerald … Continue reading →