Chicken Debate # 1–UNFUNNY
I BELIEVE in finishing
what I start
even if it means
the finish of me.
DID it get DRY
UNFUNNY in here?
I didn’t detect the plane veering off course
Crashing?
There was that bump
a bit of turbulence
but HELL
that was yesterday?
After all chicken shit IS biodegradable!
Fowl language isn’t the cause of all of our strife.
Chicken scratch doesn’t deplete the Social Security Fund.
Swigging corn-based Ethanol does produce sassy chicks but
we won’t have to call in the Occupy Movement
or hire an attorney
or seek arbitration
to sort through it.
Perhaps
a fan waving
de-hazing of cabin atmosphere
a compromise
Let’s calm down
assure the passengers
that all is WELL
NO NEED TO press the panic button.
The Captain is still in control
that missing parachute means NOTHING!
I’ll tell you what
how about
you take your idea of funny
and open up another MacDonald’s
and I promise not to throw any shovels
of chicken scratch
on your high ARCHES.
How about you try
and notice
the many
KFC’S in your neighborhood
keep your PopEYES
on the DELIVERY?
How about
you slow down
and remark
later in the day
wait long enough to notice
the number of days
hours
minutes
it takes to boil
this hard boiled egg?
It requires
more than talent
It requires more than intelligence
it requires maintenance and
persistence
it requires
non plagiarist use of
and repeated close contact with
a wide assortment of muses
of varying degrees
of competency.
It requires INspiRATION
PersPIRATION and DURATION
and those endangered birds are either
in the Kitchen nuking up some gourmet scratch
or would rather roost in the overhead bins.
No chicken should have to travel alone
down in baggage
in the windowless land of unfunny
IT GETS COLD AT NIGHT
without a blanket of understanding
to claw and peck
blindly through
the hard packed
stubborn
callow
dim terrain.
It requires MORE
than your average ROOSTER
to fertilize these yolkless eggs
to tame
to refine
these would be cacklers.
It requires finesse
a certain gen na sais quois
joie de vi·vre
low lighting
ambience
and fore-play.
IT REQUIRES
FINISHING
WHAT YOU STARTED.
Chicken Speak–TO BE OR NOT TO BE
Chicken Speak—
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
that is the question.
Whether tis nobler to walk
on egg shells
or rather
to boldly strut
cock fierce.
To plant one foot in the hen house
and the other
at the foxes lair
exhibiting
super Gumby
flexibility
and strength.
Or to simply roost
in the nearest Mango tree
dreaming
of Iowa corn fields
sinewy stalks
crunchy kernels
liberally sprinkled
with red lipped white grubs.
Or instead to fertilize
with flair
that extra special egg
the one
that stands out from the rest.
The good egg
that breaks the mold
that breaks wind
with a certain HEN NA SAIS QUOI!
That one egg
that
exemplifies
everything
chicken.
That one egg
that the others
defer to
when things get
scrambled.
That one egg
that flies in the face of
adversity
and comes out
smelling
like a ham.
Turning Over A New Leaf
Life
brings a series of challenges
designed to
make you react
the test score
is determined
by
how well
you navigate the orange cones.
I observed this
when I learned how to ride
a motorcycle
this rubber meets the road reckoning
of a higher power.
Constant change
inspires you
to turn over
a new leaf
ready or not
my energy consciousness
continues to rise
as I open the door
as I lift my right foot
and enter yet again
into the unknown
a familiar place now,
the left foot follows as it must
leaving only a faint footprint
behind.
The air
has a new smell
it is greener.
The door closes tightly
behind me
opening up
a brand new avenue
of decision making.
Shall I turn right or left
accelerate and howl at the wind
or merely grin satisfied
taking it Eco-slow and easy?
I look around
my eyes adjusting slowly
focusing on the pink glow
behind the Koolau
as the sun silently sets behind them.
I can smell the pretty flowers
Hawaiian gardenias
carefully woven
into a stephanotis lei
freshly picked
velvet white
laced with rich ambrosia
it reeks of decadence
and yet
I have reached
a well deserved
crossroad.
I wave
at the archaic
as I pass them by
grinning at yesterday’s
gasoline pumps
with nozzles stuck inside their ears
a place I
will soon forget;
an amazing thought
for an avid
former follower.
Instead
I hunt for
shiny new sentinels
an electric station
to top off
my Cayenne-red
Leaf
world.
A world with PV.
A world without
having to feed
or paying fees at
city parking lots
with over one hundred stalls
allowed in the fast lane
during rush hour
ALL BY MYSELF
one person
free
quiet
reverent
proceeding forward
into my golden years
rocking to my own beat
tapping my left foot
left finger
at a painless pace.
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Fresh Catch in Hawaii
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D.F. Sanders-Poet
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting D. F. Sanders at the Windward Writing Retreat at University of Hawaii’s Windward campus, six years ago. She is an accomplished author, writer and poet. I am proud to call her a friend and to share a couple of her award winning poems with you today.
D. F. Sanders has published poetry and articles in anthologies and periodicals since 1976 and is known for her science fiction and fantasy song lyrics. She is the author of “A Hawai`i Book of Days,” which has been published in a Japanese language edition since July, 2006. She received the Kolekolea Award for poetry from Windward Community College in 2007 and 2010, as well as an Honorable Mention for poetry from our local branch of the N.L.A.P.W.(National League Of American Pen Women in Honolulu) in the 2012 Lorrin Tarr Gill competition, for her poem Texting. She also won the distinguished 2012 Golden Plover from The Windward Arts Council for her poem, Bookmarks. (not shown)
Texting
By D. F. Sanders, 1/21/12
They sit
in silent reverie,
heads bent, as if in prayer.
Fingers move swiftly, urgently
upon miniature rosaries.
They are rapt,
drawn into deep communion
with a vast, all-knowing
Source.
Intent upon the Word,
the faithful mark the hours
seeking wisdom,
searching for understanding,
wanting … something, anything, everything.
Their eyes seem distant,
as if entranced,
and their faces give no hint
of what lies beneath.
Members of a community of Devotion,
each is alone in a crowd,
separated from all others,
lost within.
And the Journey that each must take,
that has no ending,
begins with a single
Touch.
Raining Up
By D. F. Sanders, 1/21/12
The clouds are raining up,
their glistening drops flung skyward
to hang suspended against
a patchwork quilt of slate and blue.
So delicate those drops seem, so lovely,
as they touch a brief moment,
now lost in time.
Until a restless wind arrives
to stir the heavens,
teasing loose shimmering ribbons of light
that spill down from above
and dance upon the sparkling air.
While we below,
to quench our parched and aching souls,
gaze up with yearning eyes
and open wide our hearts
to drink the sky.
For more info: http://www.indigenouspeople.net/hawaii1.htm
email:sandersdfs@hawaii.rr.com
or friend her on Face Book: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001046709054
Mother
Mother
M is for molding a young heart and mind.
O is for only me, our special time spent together.
T is for tough love, teaching me the value of a hard day’s work.
H is for healing words and for being there.
E is for ears always ready to listen.
R is for respect, and refuge from life’s storm.
Happy Mother's Day!
Katsu, Rain Bird’s Mascot visits Connie D.; They’re cooking up a POULTRY SLAM at HABILITAT this June
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Rapunzel
It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism, while the wolf remains of a different opinion.
Rapunzel
Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!
Come on dearie
don’t be so Grimmthere’s nothing left to fear.
The big bad wolf
evil prick
is out fooling with some
naïve Red Riding Hood
on Facebook
and the wicked enchantress
has roared off
on her broom
to see the fall colors.It’s okay to come out.
Olly Olly Oxen Free!The bogey woman has left the building
went out for a Mocha Frappuccino.
She got bored
went off
to scare up a new Prince.
All the evil turds are gone
Rapunzel
and let’s face ityou’re old, and have netted a pink slip.
I’ll explain later.
Wake-up sweetie
it’s going to be okay
it was just a nightmare
yeah you got banged up a bit
but you made it.Seriously, you are among friends.
You are a survivor.
It’s over!Rapunzel –it’s time to escape
from your ivory tower
maybe go for a makeover
color those roots
get out of that frumpy dress
invest in a pedicure.
So Rapunzel,join the group
get analyzed
and who knows
in a few years or twenty
you too can live in debt and possibly
Happily Ever After!©Cornelia DeDona
3-30-12
** Earlier version also published in 2012 Rain Bird Press, L’MAO issue (that’s French for: Laughing My Ass Off) an art and literary journal of Windward Community College, Kaneohe Hawaii
Congratulations to all the Authors and Artists published in this year’s Rain Bird. Particularly to D.F. Sanders for winning the Golden Plover for her poem, Bookmarks and to `Ilima Stern, the Kolekolea for her poem, Nekid Mom–You both Rock! Also to the following Writing Retreat Authors and Artists, Kenneth Burtness, Judy Hatch, Donald Powers, Peggy Ann Barnhardt, and Sherrill J. P. Sturm.
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