Overread at Table 2: Notes from a National Emergency - Day 163

Day 163 San Diego, CA A 9 year girl, walking to school, is approached by CBP agents. The agents ask, “What are you doing in the USA?” “I was born here,” the girls says.
The agents say, "Likely story. Now, prove it!"

"I - I - I can't PROVE it!" she says.

The agents say, “We thought so. Come with us!” “NO!” she says, “STRANGER DANGER!” “That’s exactly how WE feel! Get in the van!”





https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Young-US-Citizen-Detained-at-Border-Gave-Inconsistent-Info-CBP-507437381.html

Overheard at Booth 3: The Male Writer and the Female Poet

Male Writer: I've challenged my students to deconstruct the patriarchy.

Female Poet: They shouldn't deconstruct the patriarchy.

MW: Why not?  I thought you would have liked to see the patriarchy deconstructed.

FP: Well, for one, it's already been deconstructed a million different ways to Sunday.  You're confusing deconstruction with demolition.  But still, I wouldn't even want that, either.

MW: SO, you're fine with the Patriarchy.

FP: No.   I just enjoy what I do.  And what I do is write poetry.  And every poem I write is a blow against the Patriarchy.

MW: And without it, you've lost your ... your muse?

FP: Something like that.

Overread at Booth 3: We All Wanted Lovers

We all wanted lovers that we could never have,
the freshman in college, the pledge, the classmate,
the intern, the co-worker in the next cubicle,
the cashier at the grocery store checkout counter,
the student in Bible study,
the banker, the lawyer, the garage shop attendant,
the White, the Black, the Asian, the Native American,
the Muslim the Jew the Buddhist the rebel
the saint the sinner the punk the sosh the dweeb the
geek the rocker the stoner the one with kind eyes or
the one with kinky hair or the one who never gave
us a second glance or the one who stared at us dreamily,

and we wonder about the lovers we never had
but with we wonder too long their images will drive us mad
and that, my friends, as you know, would be quite,
well,
sad.

Sad at the loss of wanting lovers to love us instead of
us being the lovers that other lovers need us to be for them,

because at the end of all these wretched days, we must learn,
that to be loved,
we have to be the first one to open our arms
wide,
and fall, body first,

into the waiting, anxious heart of another human being.




MR
2019-0724

Overheard at Booth 3: Housewarming party the day before Independence Day

Gene: I just can't believe it, I mean, I was supposed to meet the guy here today for coffee.

Matthew: You still don't know why?

Gene: No damn reason.  I mean, he just shot his sister four times in the head.  I mean, how can you shoot your sister four times in the head?  There's no reason for that.

Matthew: So you said it was a housewarming party.

Gene: The night before Fourth of July.   She had about six or seven friends over.  The neighbors thought it was fireworks.  I can't believe you didn't hear about it in the news.

Matthew: I've been out of town but no, I didn't hear anything.

Gene: Probably not.  These days, you gotta have at least four people killed to make the news.  This guy just killed his sister.  Shot four others but they're all gonna make it.

Matthew: You said he had a kid?

Gene: AND a wife!  A beautiful wife.  Daughter in college.   He's a goddam COO!  I mean he had everything!  I just don't get why he would do something like that.

Matthew: So is he in prison or what?

Gene: No, he shot himself.    Four bullets in his sisters head and shot up the others and then he killed himself.  And we're never gonna know why and that just kills me.

Matthew: Well, it literally DID kill them.

Gene: There's something wrong with all this.

Matthew: Definitely some sort of sickness going on with humanity, no doubt.  Like we're all going insane. 

Gene: It's almost like the rest of us have to be on the lookout and try to keep ourselves from going insane.

Matthew: Like a horror movie.

Gene: Exactly. 

Overheard at the Counter: Dualities - Ever So Lonely/Within You Without You

I was listening today to Sheila Chandra's "Ever So Lonely/Eyes/Ocean" and as she was singing, I

suddenly heard the opening strains of The Beatles "Within You Without You" in my head.

 So, I began to play both songs at the same time, and they are in the same key and they fit and there should be a montage made by someone who truly knows how to mix songs ... any one out there up to the task?

Overread at Table 3: Poem of the Day

Rain on the patrol car.
Watching the entrance.
She'll be coming out soon.
We'll get her then.
I say we use handcuffs.
My partner wants to use zipties.
We'll rock-paper-scissors for it.





MR
2019-0713

from a @realisticpoetry prompt

for Middleborough

Overread at Table 1: segment from "Like"

like,

you shouldve, like

you should’ve been there it was like

oh.my.fikkin.GAWD it was like

amazing!

I like

dropped my books all over the floor I mean im like

so frikkin clumsy and I was all down there like

picking them up like a frikkin dipshit and then like

HE like

is right there!

he is RIGHT THERE!

he had like, bent down to like

help me pick up all my books!

                                                                                      Thats frikkin awesome!

No joke! it was like

so wonderful, I mean like

my head was spinning and I like

couldnt speak and I thought I was gonna cry, like

good tears, youknow, not bad tears, and I like

wanted to say something like “U R SOOO HOT!” but like

all that came out was like

‘thanks’ and he was all like

‘itscool’ and im like

crap! my head is soooooo spinning dizzy dancing through the hallway!

                                                                                      is that like

                                                                                      all he said?

yeah!  but just that was enough to keep me giggling the rest of the frikkin day, I mean like

I couldnt concentrate in any of my classes, like

I think I even got afterschool detention,but like

I dont even know!

MR

2013-0124

Overread at Booth 1: fragment

fragment of written notes:


"Fuck the Ancient Waves/They are ringing the doorbells of your mind."

Overread at Table 4: you should not ask

you should not ask, you
should not
ask
how someone is doing
or feeling
or getting
along
or
anything vague or stilted or banal

ask what countries
they have seen,
ask what was their
favorite sunrise,
ask who they would
want to be stuck
on an
elevator
with,
ask what movies
made them fall
in love
with life,
ask what
philosopher
they would want to
meet for coffee,
ask them
what sport
makes them feel like they
could spin the world
backwards,

ask them something
that means something

but do not, for God's sake,
ask them
how they
are
doing.





MR
2019-0703