e.e. cummings - i sing of Olaf glad and big... (XXX
i sing of Olaf glad and big
whose warmest heart recoiled at war:
a conscientious object-or
his wellbeloved colonel (trig
westpointer most succinctly bred)
took erring Olaf soon in hand;
but-though an host of overjoyed
noncoms (first knocking on the head
him) do through icy waters roll
that helplessness which others stroke
with brushes recently employed
anent this muddy toiletbowl,
while kindred intellects evoke
allegiance per blunt instruments-
Olaf (being to all intents
a corpse and wanting any rag
upon what God unto him gave)
responds, without getting annoyed
"I will not kiss your fucking flag"
straightaway the silver bird looked grave
(departing hurriedly to shave)
but-though all kinds of officers
(a yearning nation's blueeyed pride)
their passive prey did kick and curse
until for wear their clarion
voices and boots were much the worse,
and egged the firstclassprivates on
his rectum wickedly to tease
by means of skillfully applied
bayonets roasted hot with heat-
Olaf (upon what were once knees)
does almost ceaselessly repeat
"there is some shit I will not eat"
our president,being of which
assertions duly notified
threw the yellowsonofabitch
into a dungeon,where he died
Christ (of His mercy infinite)
i pray to see;and Olaf,too
preponderatingly because
unless statistics lie he was
more brave than me:more blond than you
My brain feels kind of like Olaf, and then I take the steroid to counteract the brain swelling and can’t sleep. I keep waking up at 4:30 or 5 am. Sheesh.
I do have these nifty photos of the new improved White Hat, check ‘em out!
The cranial irradiation is going OK, no major sunburns, some minor headaches, as I said, nothing else. As I emptied the dishwasher this am,two glasses fell victim to the numbmeup in my fingers, quite spectacularly too, as I crushed one between my arm and ribs as I dropped the other! Lucky not to get hurt there!
I played 11 holes on Friday afternoon, badly. It’s a funny thing in golf and some other skill games that you play good after a long layoff, then all the old mistakes creep right back in, all those old bad habits sneak right in.
I am getting really sick of watching the devastation on my body too. I have traded 20 pounds of muscle for thirty pounds of fat, weaker than Lara Flynn Boyle and looking like Nicholson. Whenever it gets to me and I vow to do something, I get tired thinking about it, then I go lie down. It seems to me that I am going to hit a long stretch of higher energy after the irradiation is done, and I better get my act together to have Life After Leukemia.
I got a card from Robert DeNiro this week, pretty cool. It said "Best, Robert DeNiro". I also received an invitation to have dinner with President and Mrs. Bush. Unfortunately they misspelled my name Flore, and it cost $2500 per person for the dinner. Dang.
Finally got this post fixed, sheesh.
john, good to see your recent post and appreciate the song of olaf...on this memorial day weekend...i guess it's part of needing and enemy to solidify your position... us vs. them. you know things went south as we say in the northeast when the russians became our friends and the walls came tumbling down... rather fortutious , you could say that 9/11 thing like supperbowl kind of stuff lets go kick some ass...we're back in the game ,let's woop em... make some popcorn coin a catchy battle cheer, "Rolling Thunder" oh wait a minute... that was Dylan, right? come ye masters of war...shock me and awe me, yeh that's it.. shock and awe...go team go...
ReplyDeletewell in my own case... i have tried not to think of it as a battle raging on in my body even though i have gotten use to the ones that rise and fall like the tide in my mind. thinking rather , of my body as an eco system, i seek balance, homestasis, peace... against all odds. your continued courage under fire and the valor that you display, make it both an honor and a pleasure to serve with you.
mo
hey, ditto Mo's sentiment........an honor to be in this company
ReplyDelete...and masters of war, still the most powerful protest song written by a 17 year old.....or around there for bob.
8 more nuke dates for my body and i will get my body back and DANCE !
jeanne
1963!
ReplyDeleteMasters of War by Bob Dylan
Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks
You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly
Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain
You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud
You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins
How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul
And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead
Copyright © 1963; renewed 1991 Special Rider Music
Dear Flore,
ReplyDeletedo you know where I could get a cheap laptop? I never get to use my computer anymore since Mo became a commentor.
why don't you ask him some time about the time he jammed with Bobby...
nah, don't bother, he is having a lot more fun jamming witch you.
what memorial day means to me: our backyard is filling up with boats ready to row, sail, kayak or canoe over the diluted remains of the passengers from the Titanic--
Vinny's quote of the week:
if it's not one dingy it's another.
i know somewhere last year in protest of the war, "masters of war" got censored at an event...i forget where and they thought it was a new song........the right wing thought it should be banned, not knwoing it had been out on vinyl for over 30 years.
ReplyDeletejeanne
i am ready for the boatyard at Pat's...maybe i could paddle on way with the tide.
Jeanne what's keeping you, you know the camp is open and your membership is current--
ReplyDeletesongs, poemry are good ways to protest...reach a lot of people.
but today I find myself daydreaming about the things can be done with money.
be nice to see all you golfers out there run some kind of fund-raising tournament, send John to that dinner he got invited to--
pretty sure you could earn the money back selling tickets to a betting pool based on how long it would take Ashcrofts goons to haul him away.
would it be a federal offense if he vomits on the way out?
or do a lot of people do that?
I gotta get out of here, I am starting to think screwy even for me.
Pics did not come through on my end. Might just be a southern thing.
ReplyDeleteMan, after reading these comments my hands took on a life a their own - just started typing a bunch of poemry about war an killin an shit. Yeah, good that I hit the delete key. It coulda taken Dana to a new and even higher level of educational counseling. Not to mention that she'da been hiden the chilen from gettin access to this site.
Memorial Day? To me, it means a lot. Freedom is not derived from just the big wars. It's maintained by millions of large and small accomplishments around the world on an ongoing basis. Unfortunately, there's always some wakko (read: Kim Jong-il or Sadam Hussein) lurking behind a tree, for whatever reason, ready to strip someone, or everyone, of freedom, liberty, even life, for their own selfish purposes. When we finally design a way to stop those actions through negotiation or bargaining - that would be the greatest day of all and it's anniversary will shadow Memorial Day. Until that time arrives, it looks like we're stuck with good old fashioned ass-kicken. I continue to thank and mourn for those who paid the ultimate price for me sit here and write what I want to without the fear that my friends or family may be in harms way because of what I say or how I say it.
John, sorry you won't be having dinner with the Blush family. The White Hat in the White House. Now that woulda been way cool. Coulda drove the press crazy with you an Dubya toolin around the White House lawn in a Beemer an Heppa Masks. Hey, think about it. All of a sudden $2,500 don't sound like a bad deal. Besides, I have it on good authority (as can be such for government employees) that Dubya has a stash of Ho-Spice.
An speakin of things political, does anyone ever see Susan Estrich doing commentary on the news? Is she the Runaway Bride's mother? Is Susan Estrich related to Carol Channing?
Whatyagunnado?
Mac
ps
ReplyDeletewe can't get the pictures, either--I thought it was because I am a Mac user.
no offense, Mac
pat
The pics come, they go, I find them, weird stuff, Yahoo changing pic ids.
ReplyDeleteI ain't saying there aren't wackos needing taking care of, always was in my 'hood too, it's just we oughta prioritize a little, toss aside the toothless old lions we go after for oil money, who's kidding whom, focus on some of the genocide mongers without oil. The oil is ALL GONE IN 50 years, and won't that be a nice tidy little war to finish the reserves.
John Da Man,
ReplyDeleteI agree on the oil money issue. Oh geez, don't get me started.
One must wonder how we would position ourselves in this world if we did not have to build in protectionism for our future petrochemical indulgences. For some reason we just can't seem to get on the right track with this. I'll give you a great example. As I'm in the planning stage of designing the retirement home for The Little Woman and the skinny, golf-poor kitties, I am hoping to install a horizontal, closed-loop, geothermal (in ground)heat pump system. This is one of the most "green" things one can do to divert, or reduce, the need for future, traditional power resources. Unfortunately, there's a complete lack of federal, state or local rebates to help incur the significantly increased cost for such a system. Thus, the only folks who are installing them are those whose discretionary income give them the opportunity to spend the additional funds, perhaps with the exception of someone who's building early enough in life that they can count on a payback from lower heating/coolling costs over a period of time. In my case, I won't see that cause I'm building in a moderate climate and will lilely be worm food by the time the payback makes the turn.
This is the kind of thing that can make a huge difference, but no one is doing anything about it. How about a Wake Up To Geothermal blog to help our politicians see the light, seize the power, get turned on, get fired up (all puns intended)???
I'm sorry. Did not mean to go off on such a tangent but it's a topic that just pushes some sensitive buttons for me.
Pat Mac User, I couldn't think of a better person to be used by.
Mac