My friend, Bryan, asked at his blog about views on remix. Bryan fuses remix into his Remixer Machine site, which is fun to use (and something I support via Patron). The poem above came after thinking about how to respond to him. I guess maybe it resonated with folks, since it has nearly 8,000 views on Twitter, where I first shared it. Huh.
Peace (remix it and make it better),
Kevin
Photo evaluation flickr photo by pedrosimoes7 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty Eight
My eyes are always looking
elsewhere, just beyond
the eyesight of others;
for where the world turns
west, I turn east, capturing
the faint shadows of objects
others are looking at, as if
by seeing the false, I might
find the true
Peace (beyond sight),
Kevin
PS — this poem was inspired by the daily image at the Flickr Promptr site created by John Johnston. You can write a poem there, too.
[Portrait of Sid Catlett, New York, N.Y., ca. Mar. 1947] (LOC) flickr photo by The Library of Congress shared with no copyright restriction (Flickr Commons)
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty Seven
Go on and catch it
catch it on the beat
snap it on the snare
watch with disbelief
as in the gap of the solo
in the pause of the song
the stick seems to hover
but the drummer’s
never wrong
Peace (on and off the beat),
Kevin
PS — this photo was found doing a search for “writing” in the Library of Congress photo archives on Flickr. I find it amusing that writing led to jazz drummer Sid Catlett, but I love his expression and apparently, he had just caught a stick tossed into the air.
(Note: The photo that inspired this poem is not a Creative Commons licensed photo, so I have left the photographer a note at their Flickr site, asking permission to embed the photo or for them to change the licensing for sharing. You can go to the photo itself, however. — Kevin)
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty Six
It’s only
in the moments
after the tide
when I finally see
what it is
you’ve built
and left behind
for me
Peace (in structure),
Kevin
PS — this poem was inspired using Alan Levine’s Don’t Look at My Photos random search for Flickr photographers.
Photo by: Me in ME : under a Creative Commons (BY) license https://flic.kr/p/2emUKdT
Photo by transport131 : under a Creative Commons (BY) license https://flic.kr/p/JxZpF8
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty Five
You are the nozzle
I am the brush
I pause to paint
You push to rush
I dab with the oils
You cover with the spray
You are the night and
I am the day
Peace (in the difference engine),
Kevin
PS — I used John Johnston’s Random Flickr Blendr for the inspiration for this poem
Dream flickr photo by la_febbra shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) license
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty Four
Some days wash colors
away, leaving us only with
shadows and light, in black
and white; we wander
through, not sure what to do
Peace (along the landscape),
Kevin
PS — I found this photo with the Flickr CC Stampr search tool by John Johnston. I used the keyword “sleep” to see what might emerge.
We came back yesterday from our week-long April break to Earth Day, and to a double environmental issue of Time for Kids magazine, and in the midst of our poetry unit. It seemed like a good time to bring in Blackout Poetry, for what sixth grader can resist the power of the Sharpie?
After reading some of the pieces in the Earth Day special edition of TFK, I explained the nature of Blackout Poems — remove text to reveal text, as a found poem inside the redactions. After finding words and phrases, I had them move to their writing notebooks to compose a short poem (at this point, they could re-order words and phrases and add words, if needed).
The picture above is my sample, from an article about re-using bridges and machinery to create coral reef ecosystems. Some students did get a chance to share their poems, and they were wonderful in their eccentricity, as free-style poems with an environmental theme. Perfect writing for Earth Day!
Peace (to this planet),
Kevin
via Bud Hunt https://budtheteacher.com/blog/2019/04/23/npm2019-prompt-23/
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty Three
Until further notice,
be fully aware:
there will
be no more poems
shared, inscribed, or written,
sipped, savored, or eaten,
nor poems nibbled at
with salt and pepper and
nothing playful will be left
in the margins of letters,
no couplets, no stanzas
no rhymes, no dances
with words in the air,
juggling meaning
We don’t care!
There will be nothing
no more here
under the guise
of a poem
*until there is
Peace (breaks rules),
Kevin
PS — this poem is inspired by today’s daily photograph prompt at Bud Hunt’s blog.
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty Two
It’s a problem
my reflection
won’t see —
I am pondering
my own
mortality:
the Mirror Self
never second
glances
back to see
the Other’s lost
chances
Peace (ecaceP),
Kevin
PS — this poem was inspired by today’s image at the Flickr Promptr site. You can write a poem, too.
(Note: The image I found and used as inspiration is not a Creative Commons licensed image, so I have left a note for the photographer, in hopes they will make a change that allows me to embed their lovely image — you can view the image directly with this link. UPDATE: The photographer wrote back, giving me permission to embed their photo. I am grateful for the response.– Kevin)
Random Access Poetry: Day Twenty One
All small paths
locate you into
larger spaces,
each narrowing
divide of wood or
stone or dreams
bridge the gap
between what is
possible in this
moment and what
is not
Peace (across each bridge),
Kevin
PS — I found the photo that inspired this poem via Alan Levine’s Don’t Look At My Photos tool that surfaces Flickr photos that may have escaped notice.