
An interview with old friend and cofounder of Albany Poets Mr. Thom Francis about the Albany poetry scene, new projects and something about a new book :
Listen Here:
Poet Writer Albany NY
I want you to know
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.
So
You want to be a poet?
Then stand in line
Because just like every other damn poet
That ever came before you
You’ll have to write
And Twitter, Tumblr, Fumblr
Whatever, will never save
Your sorry ass
And the Pushcart Prize?
They won’t reward you
For writing a Facebook
Status that’s poetic
And just like
Emily, no one no
Publisher will ever
Come knocking
At your door
Looking for your poems
So listen;
Because there is no new
Jack Kerouac, no new Bukowski
And no new Poe
And Shakespeare?
He threw down his pencil
A longtime ago after Marlowe
Bought the farm
So just like all of the most
Famous poets of old expect
No compliments, no fortune
And no dough and learn how
To live on noodles
And believe me
When I say that
When you tell Mom & Dad
That you want to be
A poet someday?
Don’t expect them to
Embrace you or let you
Ever move back home again
Because remember
That this is the life that you chose
And if you ever finally find
Finally write that one piece
That one amazing epiphany
That says it all and that says
Everything and that has the
Power to knock the world
On its ass?
Then maybe one day
You’ll be able to look
In the mirror and say
It was all worth it.
_____________
R.M. ENGELHARDT
“there is a loneliness in this world so great
that you can see it in the slow movement of
the hands of a clock.
people so tired
mutilated
either by love or no love.
people just are not good to each other
one on one.
the rich are not good to the rich
the poor are not good to the poor.
we are afraid.
our educational system tells us
that we can all be
big-ass winners.
it hasn’t told us
about the gutters
or the suicides.
or the terror of one person
aching in one place
alone
untouched
unspoken to
watering a plant.”
~ Charles Bukowski, Love is a Dog from Hell
A Mature, Respectfully Artistic Poem Written for Kanye West Or
(Kanye Is A Douchebag)
So just the other day I
Was writing a poem
About Beck
Then Kanye tried to steal it,
What the heck?
And then I was writing a poem
For Beyoncé too, but
Kanye told me I wasn’t
Good enough to
So now let’s face it
Perhaps Kanye was right,
Perhaps it’s because
Beck & Taylor are white
But masterfully I being
Quite artistic too
Say “Kanye you’re a douchebag”
So here’s a poem for you
(I just hope that you respect my artistry)
~ R.M.
“You dream in syllabus, questions. And see the lines that others cannot.
And you waltz across the dance floor of the world with verses and wit.
For this moment
Is honest, simple.
But does not truly exist, or last forever”
~ R.M. ENGELHARDT