What rhymes with “Election”? Calling all Mefite poets! March 4, 2025 8:03 PM Subscribe
In these turbulent times, we literate few (who voluntarily inhabit a non-threaded text-only 20-year-old website that doesn’t use algorithms) cry out for the solid comforts of Fine Poetry to unify us and soothe our collective fevered brow. In short, fellow Mefites, we need a Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore*).
+++This is the Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) Election Thread+++
The myriad benefits of an in-house Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) are self-evident and do not require any lily-gilding from me.
How it works: Comment in this thread to present your poetry skills, to rally your supporters, to crush your competition, or simply to bloom like a flower. You may wish to demonstrate any or all of the following skills:
-artful composition
- word choice goodness
-rhyming
-the capacity to understand and communicate beauty
-a nuanced understanding of the complexities amidst which we find ourselves
-wit
-ability to use metaphors &/or similes
-opinions on the placement of prepositions &/or commas
In a week from when this is posted**, I’ll come in and set up a vote using favorites (as previously demonstrated). Two weeks after this is posted**, I’ll come in and perform a quantitative analytical assessment*** of which aspiring poet got the most favorites and that person will be the New Metafilter Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore). Ties will be broken by coinflip.
Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) Requirements: Sufficient foolishness to participate, and a currently active Metafilter account.
Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) Duties: 100% nominal and at the complete discretion of the elected Poet. This is entirely unofficial.
Perhaps you have no poetry-related skills but you have heard or read poems that you liked? Recite them here for the enlightenment of, and encouragement to, your fellow Mefites.
*Pro Tempore, because all things are fleeting and also because Clavdivs, per his post, may install a more permanent and justifiable Poet Laureate at any time. This post was made with the express written permission of Major League Clavdivs.
**Exact times and dates depend on the queue, I’ll post exact times once this post is posted.
***Don't worry, I'm a scientist!
The myriad benefits of an in-house Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) are self-evident and do not require any lily-gilding from me.
How it works: Comment in this thread to present your poetry skills, to rally your supporters, to crush your competition, or simply to bloom like a flower. You may wish to demonstrate any or all of the following skills:
-artful composition
- word choice goodness
-rhyming
-the capacity to understand and communicate beauty
-a nuanced understanding of the complexities amidst which we find ourselves
-wit
-ability to use metaphors &/or similes
-opinions on the placement of prepositions &/or commas
In a week from when this is posted**, I’ll come in and set up a vote using favorites (as previously demonstrated). Two weeks after this is posted**, I’ll come in and perform a quantitative analytical assessment*** of which aspiring poet got the most favorites and that person will be the New Metafilter Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore). Ties will be broken by coinflip.
Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) Requirements: Sufficient foolishness to participate, and a currently active Metafilter account.
Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) Duties: 100% nominal and at the complete discretion of the elected Poet. This is entirely unofficial.
Perhaps you have no poetry-related skills but you have heard or read poems that you liked? Recite them here for the enlightenment of, and encouragement to, your fellow Mefites.
*Pro Tempore, because all things are fleeting and also because Clavdivs, per his post, may install a more permanent and justifiable Poet Laureate at any time. This post was made with the express written permission of Major League Clavdivs.
**Exact times and dates depend on the queue, I’ll post exact times once this post is posted.
***Don't worry, I'm a scientist!
vote #1 quidnunc kid
posted by axiom at 9:52 PM on March 4 [11 favorites]
posted by axiom at 9:52 PM on March 4 [11 favorites]
in popular times it is celebrated by the month. march, April I'm not sure seems rather Western to me. none the less that would be the main and only duty that I could really think of, actual action, would be perhaps create/curate a few threads on poetry perhaps ideas like a podcast put on a meta post.
I did not envision a competition because the people I had in mind have already competed and assured themselves in the world of poetry,. the idea is to have a poet, someone who is professionally paid or works in the field of poetry or language, I've seen very few things that have brought community together mostly media, music etc. when a dissuasive atmosphere is overwhelmed with many things, poetry can have a clarifying effect rather than arguing politics, religion or personal qualms, it takes over and has an edifying effect even if you fight about it.
I firmly believe the position like this should be paid and paid well. this person is going to take the time to help curate threads and or contribute. this is what they do in the real world.
.
here's the thing with something like this, when there's a competition, a professional poet might not want to participate. traditionally position appointed or elected not competed for. I can't explain this and it might not be accurate and I do hope I'm wrong. but I know this from experience.
to get poets, writers, and actors together in one bar and have a few of them to agree to submit a few projects it's like being subminister of cultural nudging. but when the product comes out to be what you envision or partially and it's good, it's its own reward.
so I will be monitoring the snark.
my timeline was a month or so but I guess today is good, we live in different times.
needless to say I would take myself out of it on two points that I don't like commas and as my English professor said when I took a John Fowles seminar, have you declared a moratorium on the apostrophe.
oddly,the lights just flickered and I can be a superstitious person.
posted by clavdivs at 9:57 PM on March 4 [6 favorites]
I did not envision a competition because the people I had in mind have already competed and assured themselves in the world of poetry,. the idea is to have a poet, someone who is professionally paid or works in the field of poetry or language, I've seen very few things that have brought community together mostly media, music etc. when a dissuasive atmosphere is overwhelmed with many things, poetry can have a clarifying effect rather than arguing politics, religion or personal qualms, it takes over and has an edifying effect even if you fight about it.
I firmly believe the position like this should be paid and paid well. this person is going to take the time to help curate threads and or contribute. this is what they do in the real world.
.
here's the thing with something like this, when there's a competition, a professional poet might not want to participate. traditionally position appointed or elected not competed for. I can't explain this and it might not be accurate and I do hope I'm wrong. but I know this from experience.
to get poets, writers, and actors together in one bar and have a few of them to agree to submit a few projects it's like being subminister of cultural nudging. but when the product comes out to be what you envision or partially and it's good, it's its own reward.
so I will be monitoring the snark.
my timeline was a month or so but I guess today is good, we live in different times.
needless to say I would take myself out of it on two points that I don't like commas and as my English professor said when I took a John Fowles seminar, have you declared a moratorium on the apostrophe.
oddly,the lights just flickered and I can be a superstitious person.
posted by clavdivs at 9:57 PM on March 4 [6 favorites]
What rhymes with “Election”?
Crimes of selection
Signs of infection
Times of inflection
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:12 PM on March 4
Crimes of selection
Signs of infection
Times of inflection
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:12 PM on March 4
I offer my gangsta rap on unlimited breadsticks, as spurred by a thread a little while ago.
posted by brainwane at 11:20 PM on March 4
posted by brainwane at 11:20 PM on March 4
oddly,the lights just flickered and I can be a superstitious person.
Sorry about that but yeah Clavdis has my vote 👻👻
posted by B_Ghost_User at 11:36 PM on March 4 [1 favorite]
Sorry about that but yeah Clavdis has my vote 👻👻
posted by B_Ghost_User at 11:36 PM on March 4 [1 favorite]
selection
posted by kensington314 at 12:34 AM on March 5
posted by kensington314 at 12:34 AM on March 5
I read this thread with great delection.
The answer is, of course, oranges.
posted by zaixfeep at 3:01 AM on March 5
The answer is, of course, oranges.
posted by zaixfeep at 3:01 AM on March 5
This Is Just To Say
I have written
the poem
that everyone
was thinking
and which
you were probably
planning
for yourself
Forgive me
it was inevitable
so tired
and so old
posted by automatronic at 5:36 AM on March 5 [14 favorites]
I have written
the poem
that everyone
was thinking
and which
you were probably
planning
for yourself
Forgive me
it was inevitable
so tired
and so old
posted by automatronic at 5:36 AM on March 5 [14 favorites]
I did not envision a competition
Come now clavdivs, dawn approaches and that pistol shan't load itself
posted by ginger.beef at 5:49 AM on March 5
Come now clavdivs, dawn approaches and that pistol shan't load itself
posted by ginger.beef at 5:49 AM on March 5
sad poetry
oh noetry
yeah, I'm not entering because that is the level of my "poetic ability", but this is cool and I love to see it as a thing here.
posted by pdb at 7:19 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]
oh noetry
yeah, I'm not entering because that is the level of my "poetic ability", but this is cool and I love to see it as a thing here.
posted by pdb at 7:19 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]
There once was a cranky old MeFite
Who thought that the site weren't run right
Called for resignation
Then banished, no station
A BND offered no requite
posted by phunniemee at 7:22 AM on March 5 [3 favorites]
Who thought that the site weren't run right
Called for resignation
Then banished, no station
A BND offered no requite
posted by phunniemee at 7:22 AM on March 5 [3 favorites]
There once was a man from Manhattan,
whose vileness was a pool that he sat in.
He couldn't get traction,
on leadership action,
until Vladimir fluffed up his election.
posted by CynicalKnight at 7:32 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]
whose vileness was a pool that he sat in.
He couldn't get traction,
on leadership action,
until Vladimir fluffed up his election.
posted by CynicalKnight at 7:32 AM on March 5 [1 favorite]
if drafted i will
not run
if nominated i will
not accept
if elected i will
not serve
posted by chavenet at 7:40 AM on March 5 [2 favorites]
not run
if nominated i will
not accept
if elected i will
not serve
posted by chavenet at 7:40 AM on March 5 [2 favorites]
Post, post, post,
On thy cold gray site, MeFi!
And I would that my comments could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
O, well for the MetaTalk boys,
That they shout with their brethren at play!
O, well for the moderator lad,
That is kept by the shouting at bay!
And the nervous Asks go on
'Should I eat this, is it over the hill?'
But O here is the Best Answer,
"Into the trash-can; it's swill!"
Post, post, post,
About ChatGPT, MeFi!
But the tender grace of the megathread
Will never come back to me.
posted by mittens at 7:51 AM on March 5 [2 favorites]
On thy cold gray site, MeFi!
And I would that my comments could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
O, well for the MetaTalk boys,
That they shout with their brethren at play!
O, well for the moderator lad,
That is kept by the shouting at bay!
And the nervous Asks go on
'Should I eat this, is it over the hill?'
But O here is the Best Answer,
"Into the trash-can; it's swill!"
Post, post, post,
About ChatGPT, MeFi!
But the tender grace of the megathread
Will never come back to me.
posted by mittens at 7:51 AM on March 5 [2 favorites]
Czeslaw Milosz, “Gift”
A day so happy.
Fog lifted early, I worked in the garden.
Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers.
There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess.
I knew no one worth my envying him.
Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.
To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me.
In my body I felt no pain.
When straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.
posted by Lemkin at 7:54 AM on March 5 [8 favorites]
A day so happy.
Fog lifted early, I worked in the garden.
Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers.
There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess.
I knew no one worth my envying him.
Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot.
To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me.
In my body I felt no pain.
When straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.
posted by Lemkin at 7:54 AM on March 5 [8 favorites]
when I awoke this morn to find
most awful laws enacted
I realized that the time had come
to go out and [REDACTED]
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:33 AM on March 5 [5 favorites]
most awful laws enacted
I realized that the time had come
to go out and [REDACTED]
posted by grumpybear69 at 8:33 AM on March 5 [5 favorites]
While Americans debate insurrection
And comment with palpable tension
Eggs prices climb higher
LA catches fire
So it's time for a MeFite election
posted by Wordshore at 9:05 AM on March 5 [5 favorites]
And comment with palpable tension
Eggs prices climb higher
LA catches fire
So it's time for a MeFite election
posted by Wordshore at 9:05 AM on March 5 [5 favorites]
Huh!? Wha!?
Wha!? Huh!?
posted by y2karl .
fog light hit me about 2 months ago looking at an old post. not that one, another one and then I looked at a few other ones, that's not so much Poetry or poetry discussed but the art of the post itself.
you are my first pick for the interim position.
the position would have been at most some posts during some poetry month and a curation of metafilter threads that are quite poetic in their composition in and of themselves.
that's it. 250 bucks.
personally I would have laid out a criteria for project, this would have been a detailed conversation between Captain Stubing and cruise director Julie discussing the hermeneutic epistemic navity of congressman gophers poetic text of Richard Burton's performance in Hamlet and a variance of voice modulation with tonight's guest star: Ethel Merman.
all within
Codex: philosophical framework of
Paupnauty
but alas amigo, there appears to be a competition.
my vote would go for tomcat for most poetic voice or opus for the Terce compacts of Glee.
"The prologues are over. It is a question, now, of final belief. So, say that final belief must be in fiction." (or vinyl)
-Asides on the oboe.
"The lean cats of the arches of the churches, that's the old world. In the new, all men are priests."
-extracts from addresses to the academy of fine ideas.
Don't worry, I'm a scientist!
personally, these are the things that I wish for internall-external .
OP sent me a note and I sent one back.
in absence of a complete post of my own, why not go with another's idea because the space can be used to discuss ideas or riff.
it's like time in the 10-ft swell.
science and poetry and one post in some sort of collaboration without many stipulations that's not really collaboration.
for honesty and transparency sake, I didn't make that intial statement in the thread whatever thread that was, with malice aforthought and honestly I did not want to see another metafilter thread turn into the logioco train stop. I would have bent every rule and guideline and used every trick that I know to make that not happen including using the flagging system. but the mods are smarter than that, I don't have the nerve to ask if Kirk's going to install the Clavdivs ejection button that Matt put in.
it was my intention to name as few names as possible before I thought it through, like contacting them first to stav Eco's, Gelindo, but since Karl's post and his work sparked it, intially, there you have it.
so I'm probably going to memail 6, now 5 folks who I had in mind not today maybe not next week but soon, to me, metailter timeline of 30 days is soon.
everyone has an opinion everyone has a choice everyone has a discussion everyone has a presentation I think this is called communication.
this is the part where I miss qonsars flatuli comica .
I think the op give me sail.
I've always thought that the epitome of culturall success would be able to get a room full of writers, poets, musicians, artists, actors in one room and contribute one project from each field or on one. like Jack Warner or Truman Capote. maestro, diva, baka, director.
tovarishch kinozvezda. Noh. only 4 levels now. voco expository finis.
At the fifth concourse.
Durable motif in light,
flatbed in the center lane
going slow enough
pull three times
high beams
return
flash of beacon
in this dire courtesy.
posted by clavdivs at 11:11 AM on March 5 [5 favorites]
Wha!? Huh!?
posted by y2karl .
fog light hit me about 2 months ago looking at an old post. not that one, another one and then I looked at a few other ones, that's not so much Poetry or poetry discussed but the art of the post itself.
you are my first pick for the interim position.
the position would have been at most some posts during some poetry month and a curation of metafilter threads that are quite poetic in their composition in and of themselves.
that's it. 250 bucks.
personally I would have laid out a criteria for project, this would have been a detailed conversation between Captain Stubing and cruise director Julie discussing the hermeneutic epistemic navity of congressman gophers poetic text of Richard Burton's performance in Hamlet and a variance of voice modulation with tonight's guest star: Ethel Merman.
all within
Codex: philosophical framework of
Paupnauty
but alas amigo, there appears to be a competition.
my vote would go for tomcat for most poetic voice or opus for the Terce compacts of Glee.
"The prologues are over. It is a question, now, of final belief. So, say that final belief must be in fiction." (or vinyl)
-Asides on the oboe.
"The lean cats of the arches of the churches, that's the old world. In the new, all men are priests."
-extracts from addresses to the academy of fine ideas.
Don't worry, I'm a scientist!
personally, these are the things that I wish for internall-external .
OP sent me a note and I sent one back.
in absence of a complete post of my own, why not go with another's idea because the space can be used to discuss ideas or riff.
it's like time in the 10-ft swell.
science and poetry and one post in some sort of collaboration without many stipulations that's not really collaboration.
for honesty and transparency sake, I didn't make that intial statement in the thread whatever thread that was, with malice aforthought and honestly I did not want to see another metafilter thread turn into the logioco train stop. I would have bent every rule and guideline and used every trick that I know to make that not happen including using the flagging system. but the mods are smarter than that, I don't have the nerve to ask if Kirk's going to install the Clavdivs ejection button that Matt put in.
it was my intention to name as few names as possible before I thought it through, like contacting them first to stav Eco's, Gelindo, but since Karl's post and his work sparked it, intially, there you have it.
so I'm probably going to memail 6, now 5 folks who I had in mind not today maybe not next week but soon, to me, metailter timeline of 30 days is soon.
everyone has an opinion everyone has a choice everyone has a discussion everyone has a presentation I think this is called communication.
this is the part where I miss qonsars flatuli comica .
I think the op give me sail.
I've always thought that the epitome of culturall success would be able to get a room full of writers, poets, musicians, artists, actors in one room and contribute one project from each field or on one. like Jack Warner or Truman Capote. maestro, diva, baka, director.
tovarishch kinozvezda. Noh. only 4 levels now. voco expository finis.
At the fifth concourse.
Durable motif in light,
flatbed in the center lane
going slow enough
pull three times
high beams
return
flash of beacon
in this dire courtesy.
posted by clavdivs at 11:11 AM on March 5 [5 favorites]
The blue, the green, the purple, and the grey
Draw sides of me to comment and to post
In different measures. I can have my say!
But what approach will suit my taste the most?
Sometimes I share a science fiction tale
For which the front page makes a ready home.
My history on Ask is quite a trail:
Some careful questions, some right off the dome.
The taste for drama leads to film, it's true.
So FanFare is a place I share that taste.
But so much conflict plainly sits in view
On MeTa that to miss it is a waste.
Draw sides of me to comment and to post
In different measures. I can have my say!
But what approach will suit my taste the most?
Sometimes I share a science fiction tale
For which the front page makes a ready home.
My history on Ask is quite a trail:
Some careful questions, some right off the dome.
The taste for drama leads to film, it's true.
So FanFare is a place I share that taste.
But so much conflict plainly sits in view
On MeTa that to miss it is a waste.
In moderation, then, across the site;posted by brainwane at 11:23 AM on March 5 [7 favorites]
Even without a background "clean" and "white".
I read the title, having no context for any previous discussion of Poets Laureate, and thought "we've already got a poet laureate and it's clavdivs" before I clicked through, so I'm glad clavdivs is deeply involved in all this. Carry on
posted by potrzebie at 11:50 AM on March 5 [2 favorites]
posted by potrzebie at 11:50 AM on March 5 [2 favorites]
Anna Akhmatova, 1915
Forgive me that I ignored the sun
And that I lived in sorrow
Forgive, forgive that I
Mistook too many others for you.
posted by Lemkin at 12:49 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]
Forgive me that I ignored the sun
And that I lived in sorrow
Forgive, forgive that I
Mistook too many others for you.
posted by Lemkin at 12:49 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]
cladivs is our poet lariat
roping stray singularities
herding unruly similes
corralling the odd mixed metaphor
he grazes language
in verdant fields of waking dreams
solar-powered and rain-fed
noumenal pastures
when the words are fat on hallucination
he ties them up for us to ponder
but they escape back into the wild
the moment he lets go of the rope
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:59 PM on March 5 [4 favorites]
roping stray singularities
herding unruly similes
corralling the odd mixed metaphor
he grazes language
in verdant fields of waking dreams
solar-powered and rain-fed
noumenal pastures
when the words are fat on hallucination
he ties them up for us to ponder
but they escape back into the wild
the moment he lets go of the rope
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:59 PM on March 5 [4 favorites]
sylvanshine, that was beautiful.
posted by brainwane at 4:28 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 4:28 PM on March 5 [1 favorite]
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██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▌
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████████████████████ing████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
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posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 9:17 PM on March 5 [6 favorites]
█████████████████ we ████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
██████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ do not ███████████████████████
█████████▌ Comment █████████▌ to █████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ demonstrate ██▌ or █████████████████▌
█████████████
████████████████▌
██████▌
███████████ understand █████████████████▌
█▌ nuance███████████████████████████████████████████████▌
███
███████████████████████████▌
████████████████████████████████████████▌
I██████████████▌ t███████████’ll ███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ be ██████████████████████████████████████████████████████
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███████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████ en██████████████████rage████████████████████▌
████████████████████ing████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████████
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posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 9:17 PM on March 5 [6 favorites]
Is this a poem no question mark
--
It probably isn't
a poem.
I'm out of practice.
The metrics of meter and
all of that
exited my head
quite
some
time
ago.
I never was much
of a performer.
As for rhyme you may as well shoot me:
You're not getting
any of that.
Frankly
I'm almost certainly
wasting
your
time
again.
But who gets to say
what a poem is?
What my poem is?
This one plays out a question.
The question is for me.
The question is private.
The question is
just
through
here.
Just through this door
of language
this door
of thought
this door of my very own flesh.
A poem is a thinking thing.
It brings its own self
to life.
A poem is a little scalpel.
It cuts a hole
in the
whole
world.
A tiny slicing thing.
"I'm here,"
says the poem,
"I cut you.
You won't ever
be
the same
again."
posted by prismatic7 at 3:50 AM on March 6 [6 favorites]
--
It probably isn't
a poem.
I'm out of practice.
The metrics of meter and
all of that
exited my head
quite
some
time
ago.
I never was much
of a performer.
As for rhyme you may as well shoot me:
You're not getting
any of that.
Frankly
I'm almost certainly
wasting
your
time
again.
But who gets to say
what a poem is?
What my poem is?
This one plays out a question.
The question is for me.
The question is private.
The question is
just
through
here.
Just through this door
of language
this door
of thought
this door of my very own flesh.
A poem is a thinking thing.
It brings its own self
to life.
A poem is a little scalpel.
It cuts a hole
in the
whole
world.
A tiny slicing thing.
"I'm here,"
says the poem,
"I cut you.
You won't ever
be
the same
again."
posted by prismatic7 at 3:50 AM on March 6 [6 favorites]
This thread inspired me to write something about the subway ride home last night.
The train is calm, and what a balm that is.
A sanctuary, ordinary din
That pulses, washes, pauses, falls to fizz
Along my bones. It crackles through my shin
Like sound through cities. Like the stereo
Of, elsewhere in this carriage, jokes I can't
Make out. The strangers share, and go
Where I won't follow. No one is a plant
With perky ears tonight; we're all so tired,
Us sitting on the bench (thank God it's clean).
That poem in that tunnel - "late, get fired" -
Is for the morning mood. Our current scene
The train is calm, and what a balm that is.
A sanctuary, ordinary din
That pulses, washes, pauses, falls to fizz
Along my bones. It crackles through my shin
Like sound through cities. Like the stereo
Of, elsewhere in this carriage, jokes I can't
Make out. The strangers share, and go
Where I won't follow. No one is a plant
With perky ears tonight; we're all so tired,
Us sitting on the bench (thank God it's clean).
That poem in that tunnel - "late, get fired" -
Is for the morning mood. Our current scene
Massages tension, rolls the aches away,posted by brainwane at 5:54 AM on March 6 [4 favorites]
Cradles us in transitory sway.
Mod note: Pretty words added to the sidebar
And the Best Of blog
So you don't have to click far
or even be in analog
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:09 AM on March 6 [2 favorites]
And the Best Of blog
So you don't have to click far
or even be in analog
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:09 AM on March 6 [2 favorites]
Mildly entertained that this seems to be 'the post where we tell clavdius (who I'm sure is a great person but who I genuinely can't recall ever having seen a comment from) what a great poet they are'.
Election or foregone conclusion?
posted by ngaiotonga at 3:17 AM on March 7
Election or foregone conclusion?
posted by ngaiotonga at 3:17 AM on March 7
Gently and respectfully, ngaiotonga, clavdivs has been around here a very long time. An Elder Mefite, a name to conjure with. And as with all elder things, their attention is not lightly taken... or called upon... [dramatic chords]
posted by prismatic7 at 3:46 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
posted by prismatic7 at 3:46 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
but who I genuinely can't recall ever having seen a comment from
keep looking.. a clavdiv comment is like a Toronto raccoon, it's there but it may want to remain concealed while it dines on the chickenbone comments of others
posted by ginger.beef at 6:13 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]
keep looking.. a clavdiv comment is like a Toronto raccoon, it's there but it may want to remain concealed while it dines on the chickenbone comments of others
posted by ginger.beef at 6:13 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]
Okey-dokey. Thanks for the hint.
posted by ngaiotonga at 8:07 AM on March 7
posted by ngaiotonga at 8:07 AM on March 7
Our labors make meanings across moments.
When written words our written works rewrite,
when what we've read is more than what we write,
whose labor gives the words their worth and weight?
Whose consum'd words our surplus works requite?
Their added worth, the value they transport
beyond that time to provision given,
becomes black-ink'd profit in pages read
for differences of valuation slight
or great depending upon how closely
we come to seeming—ah, let's keep it light.
We readers toil, we write and annotate,
and MeFites' circulated words become
both wealth and coin by which measures
we compare the value of our time spent
consuming and rewriting them anew,
reproducing words we know may not be
seen, and their labor's value unseen too.
The surplus value taken from my words
and work must serve as more than metaphor:
my labor's worth but weighs my bodied time.
Is not my labor mine and so a part
of me? How much of that labor I gave
freely, yet more was took than ere I saw,
for my labors are my liv'd words living:
I'll not divorce my writing's work from me.
Yet in me those others' voices too sound,
or more their texts I've in submissions to
writers' circulating conversations
cited capital from which, I suppose,
someone else's profits flow. My present
pages work and rework theirs: so I hope
to be in still others' works cited found,
bound with my dark lines by strange hands lighted,
and thereby render'd fair my labor.
posted by vitia at 2:03 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]
When written words our written works rewrite,
when what we've read is more than what we write,
whose labor gives the words their worth and weight?
Whose consum'd words our surplus works requite?
Their added worth, the value they transport
beyond that time to provision given,
becomes black-ink'd profit in pages read
for differences of valuation slight
or great depending upon how closely
we come to seeming—ah, let's keep it light.
We readers toil, we write and annotate,
and MeFites' circulated words become
both wealth and coin by which measures
we compare the value of our time spent
consuming and rewriting them anew,
reproducing words we know may not be
seen, and their labor's value unseen too.
The surplus value taken from my words
and work must serve as more than metaphor:
my labor's worth but weighs my bodied time.
Is not my labor mine and so a part
of me? How much of that labor I gave
freely, yet more was took than ere I saw,
for my labors are my liv'd words living:
I'll not divorce my writing's work from me.
Yet in me those others' voices too sound,
or more their texts I've in submissions to
writers' circulating conversations
cited capital from which, I suppose,
someone else's profits flow. My present
pages work and rework theirs: so I hope
to be in still others' works cited found,
bound with my dark lines by strange hands lighted,
and thereby render'd fair my labor.
posted by vitia at 2:03 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]
(one character's dramatic monologue, excerpted from a longer in-process play about intellectual property and influence; I subbed "MeFites" and "writers" for "scholars" a couple times)
posted by vitia at 2:08 PM on March 7
posted by vitia at 2:08 PM on March 7
(On reflection I should have asked everyone to indicate if their posting indicated an interest in being the PLPT, or whether you are just bringing flowers to the party, as it were. Hmmmm. I encourage people to add such clarifications as they feel are necessary.)
posted by Vatnesine at 5:16 PM on March 7
posted by Vatnesine at 5:16 PM on March 7
If an epic poem composed entirely in armpit farts isn't the clear winner, you don't deserve me
posted by ginger.beef at 6:53 PM on March 7
posted by ginger.beef at 6:53 PM on March 7
the edified Qounsar would suggest
smock comica perplexia, vol.II. addenim. emojis.
The Fah, Art, ffuuu, fllattt. and so forth could all be arranged into a sea shanty.
posted by clavdivs at 7:03 PM on March 7
smock comica perplexia, vol.II. addenim. emojis.
The Fah, Art, ffuuu, fllattt. and so forth could all be arranged into a sea shanty.
posted by clavdivs at 7:03 PM on March 7
all comments are flowers.
Endmere.
I.
Flower
block press
on a beveled sill.
says
thorn rips your skin by
trellis called remnant.
she whispers,
no more minor underworld
there, water the rocks
with whirlish allusions.
desire,
fresh out of dancehall silver
asks where went the sound
were went the light.
II.
plane amazement
stuck
reading Hoover watch
Emperor Harry
pass by with
Shirley Temple and her new
tear gas fountain pen.
(pan left)
yoo-hoos,
heart into
a man bent in the stacks, furious
notes, Band-Aid handwriting.
(2002.10 parts, 2 draft.)
posted by clavdivs at 7:03 PM on March 7
Endmere.
Flower
block press
on a beveled sill.
says
thorn rips your skin by
trellis called remnant.
she whispers,
there, water the rocks
with whirlish allusions.
desire,
fresh out of dancehall silver
asks where went the sound
were went the light.
plane amazement
stuck
reading Hoover watch
Emperor Harry
pass by with
Shirley Temple and her new
tear gas fountain pen.
(pan left)
yoo-hoos,
heart into
a man bent in the stacks, furious
notes, Band-Aid handwriting.
(2002.10 parts, 2 draft.)
posted by clavdivs at 7:03 PM on March 7
In case he lurks here under any assumed name.. Astro Zombie
THE BALLAD OF STEVEN SLATER
Ain't we all had a day
When we just had enough
Ain't it true each one of us
Has been battered, worn, and rough
Ain't you never felt irate
And won'tcha get irater
Well, my friends, we have a hero now
I speak of Steven Slater
It ain't that easy to ride the skies
Laboring for JetBlue
A man's got to keep widened eyes
For terrorists or shampoo
And worser still are the passengers
They turn a kind man to a hater
Won't nobody stand up to this?
One man: Steven Slater
There was a particular day
And a particular customer
Who grew abusive to Steven
when he instructed her
She was endangering herself
And he didn't care to debate her
And all at once she struck his head
She struck at Steven Slater
Some will say he made a scene
Or it was a crime
But Steven he had had enough
And if he has to, he'll do time
Perhaps it's great to keep your cool
But sometimes it is greater
To bid one final fuck you too
As did Steven Slater
He cursed her on the intercom
So that everyone could hear
And he then bid his adieu
And he grabbed himself a beer
And threw open the JetBlue door
With an escape slide and its inflater
And he slid down, drinking, shouting fuck you
Our hero, Steven Slater
The police they went after him
They caught him in his bed
He was supposed to finish work but he was
In flagrante delicto instead
A hero and a lover now, not a
Circumnavigater
Say what you will, but tip your hat
To a man who had enough
A man named Steven Slater.
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:06 AM on August 11, 2010 [289 favorites −] [⚑]
posted by chmmr at 7:48 PM on March 7 [4 favorites]
THE BALLAD OF STEVEN SLATER
Ain't we all had a day
When we just had enough
Ain't it true each one of us
Has been battered, worn, and rough
Ain't you never felt irate
And won'tcha get irater
Well, my friends, we have a hero now
I speak of Steven Slater
It ain't that easy to ride the skies
Laboring for JetBlue
A man's got to keep widened eyes
For terrorists or shampoo
And worser still are the passengers
They turn a kind man to a hater
Won't nobody stand up to this?
One man: Steven Slater
There was a particular day
And a particular customer
Who grew abusive to Steven
when he instructed her
She was endangering herself
And he didn't care to debate her
And all at once she struck his head
She struck at Steven Slater
Some will say he made a scene
Or it was a crime
But Steven he had had enough
And if he has to, he'll do time
Perhaps it's great to keep your cool
But sometimes it is greater
To bid one final fuck you too
As did Steven Slater
He cursed her on the intercom
So that everyone could hear
And he then bid his adieu
And he grabbed himself a beer
And threw open the JetBlue door
With an escape slide and its inflater
And he slid down, drinking, shouting fuck you
Our hero, Steven Slater
The police they went after him
They caught him in his bed
He was supposed to finish work but he was
In flagrante delicto instead
A hero and a lover now, not a
Circumnavigater
Say what you will, but tip your hat
To a man who had enough
A man named Steven Slater.
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:06 AM on August 11, 2010 [289 favorites −] [⚑]
posted by chmmr at 7:48 PM on March 7 [4 favorites]
(A link to Astro Zombie's "THE BALLAD OF STEVEN SLATER" comment.)
posted by brainwane at 10:20 AM on March 8 [1 favorite]
posted by brainwane at 10:20 AM on March 8 [1 favorite]
vitia, that excerpt was really cool. When you finish the play I hope you post it to Projects.
Vatnesine: sure, I'll throw my hat in the ring for Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore). The trickle of faves I've garnered can go into your calculations. :-) If there's going to be a more permanent one then I'm a bad fit for what clavdivs envisions; I'm not professionally working in poetry or a related field, and if I ever won a poetry competition it was among children.
posted by brainwane at 10:29 AM on March 8 [1 favorite]
Vatnesine: sure, I'll throw my hat in the ring for Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore). The trickle of faves I've garnered can go into your calculations. :-) If there's going to be a more permanent one then I'm a bad fit for what clavdivs envisions; I'm not professionally working in poetry or a related field, and if I ever won a poetry competition it was among children.
posted by brainwane at 10:29 AM on March 8 [1 favorite]
Charles Bukowski - "Roll the Dice"
if you’re going to try, go all the
way.
otherwise, don’t even start.
if you’re going to try, go all the
way. this could mean losing girlfriends,
wives, relatives, jobs and
maybe your mind.
go all the way.
it could mean not eating for 3 or
4 days.
it could mean freezing on a
park bench.
it could mean jail,
it could mean derision,
mockery,
isolation.
isolation is the gift,
all the others are a test of your
endurance, of
how much you really want to
do it.
and you’ll do it
despite rejection and the
worst odds
and it will be better than
anything else
you can imagine.
if you’re going to try,
go all the way.
there is no other feeling like
that.
you will be alone with the
gods
and the nights will flame with
fire.
do it, do it, do it.
do it.
all the way
all the way.
you will ride life straight to
perfect laughter,
it’s the only good fight
there is.
posted by Lemkin at 12:22 PM on March 8
if you’re going to try, go all the
way.
otherwise, don’t even start.
if you’re going to try, go all the
way. this could mean losing girlfriends,
wives, relatives, jobs and
maybe your mind.
go all the way.
it could mean not eating for 3 or
4 days.
it could mean freezing on a
park bench.
it could mean jail,
it could mean derision,
mockery,
isolation.
isolation is the gift,
all the others are a test of your
endurance, of
how much you really want to
do it.
and you’ll do it
despite rejection and the
worst odds
and it will be better than
anything else
you can imagine.
if you’re going to try,
go all the way.
there is no other feeling like
that.
you will be alone with the
gods
and the nights will flame with
fire.
do it, do it, do it.
do it.
all the way
all the way.
you will ride life straight to
perfect laughter,
it’s the only good fight
there is.
posted by Lemkin at 12:22 PM on March 8
I encourage people to add such clarifications as they feel are necessary.
Vatnesine: I've probably posted as much poetry around here as anyone over the years (especially if you count lyrics as poetry), but in my opinion, a Poet Laureate really ought to be more active on the site than I have been lately (or am likely to be in the immediate future). So I'm not throwing my hat in the ring, just here to support poetry on MetaFilter.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:32 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]
Vatnesine: I've probably posted as much poetry around here as anyone over the years (especially if you count lyrics as poetry), but in my opinion, a Poet Laureate really ought to be more active on the site than I have been lately (or am likely to be in the immediate future). So I'm not throwing my hat in the ring, just here to support poetry on MetaFilter.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:32 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]
I do believe that's a record.
[253 favorites −] [⚑]
I would flag that one also which would give you two favorites and two flags, hat's like 6 votes..
and
as always.
posted by clavdivs at 8:47 PM on March 8
[253 favorites −] [⚑]
I would flag that one also which would give you two favorites and two flags, hat's like 6 votes..
and
as always.
posted by clavdivs at 8:47 PM on March 8
I'm a bad fit for what clavdivs envisions; I'm not professionally working in poetry or
au contraire, best work thus far. professionals were initial thought, a hope, something you hope someone will except. if it were a by votes or favorites, Flo wins that. I also have alternates and you are on the list. I didn't want to rush in like Bonnet Twiller lauding around the work but it has shades of Hart Crane and Edwin Denby. Crane for the verve and image of place and a quiet glide of mind that Denny wrought through dance.
funny that Lemkin. I think the closest voice to bukowski we ever had here was quonsar.
posted by clavdivs at 9:12 PM on March 8
au contraire, best work thus far. professionals were initial thought, a hope, something you hope someone will except. if it were a by votes or favorites, Flo wins that. I also have alternates and you are on the list. I didn't want to rush in like Bonnet Twiller lauding around the work but it has shades of Hart Crane and Edwin Denby. Crane for the verve and image of place and a quiet glide of mind that Denny wrought through dance.
funny that Lemkin. I think the closest voice to bukowski we ever had here was quonsar.
posted by clavdivs at 9:12 PM on March 8
This world of dew
is a world of dew,
and yet, and yet.
posted by y2karl at 7:12 PM on March 9 [2 favorites]
is a world of dew,
and yet, and yet.
posted by y2karl at 7:12 PM on March 9 [2 favorites]
Moth 8:56
"O cricket, from your cheery cry
no one could ever guess
how quickly you must die."
-Bashō.
moth in flight
unaware of the tome hovering below
with expedient dexterity
page meets page to
close the chapter.
Bookish insect
escapes paper trap.
can
none of it make change
for a sense
save
a new way to capture
the moth.
(actually published that)
posted by clavdivs at 3:27 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]
no one could ever guess
how quickly you must die."
-Bashō.
moth in flight
unaware of the tome hovering below
with expedient dexterity
page meets page to
close the chapter.
Bookish insect
escapes paper trap.
can
none of it make change
for a sense
save
a new way to capture
the moth.
(actually published that)
posted by clavdivs at 3:27 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]
There has been a lot of interest! As promised, the election starts with the posts below. Favorite any/all of the poets below to bestow your vote(s). In one week I’ll count favorites and the paper crown of Metafilter Poet Laureate Pro Tempore will be metaphorically passed to the winner.
Additional poetry, as always, is welcome.
Did I miss you? Or did I include you by accident? Let me know, I will fix it as best I can.
posted by Vatnesine at 7:02 AM on March 12
Additional poetry, as always, is welcome.
Did I miss you? Or did I include you by accident? Let me know, I will fix it as best I can.
posted by Vatnesine at 7:02 AM on March 12
Brainwane
posted by Vatnesine at 7:03 AM on March 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Vatnesine at 7:03 AM on March 12 [1 favorite]
Mittens
posted by Vatnesine at 7:04 AM on March 12 [2 favorites]
posted by Vatnesine at 7:04 AM on March 12 [2 favorites]
Sylvanshine
posted by Vatnesine at 7:05 AM on March 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Vatnesine at 7:05 AM on March 12 [1 favorite]
Vitia
posted by Vatnesine at 7:06 AM on March 12 [1 favorite]
posted by Vatnesine at 7:06 AM on March 12 [1 favorite]
does anybody else feel like they've been lined up. look, a brass ring.
stated before the state again, like flo and a few others, I would not consider the paperhat if, I had my coxcomb and Michael Myers Halloween mask... also used in what Heist movie?
so, in effect, as a sub of participant of the idea, a by law that if one is elected that person can choose someone else if they choose, it's about choice.
I do take the post and this post seriously but what I envisioned is much more simply complex and aggregate it's intent and function.
posted by clavdivs at 2:09 PM on March 13
stated before the state again, like flo and a few others, I would not consider the paperhat if, I had my coxcomb and Michael Myers Halloween mask... also used in what Heist movie?
so, in effect, as a sub of participant of the idea, a by law that if one is elected that person can choose someone else if they choose, it's about choice.
I do take the post and this post seriously but what I envisioned is much more simply complex and aggregate it's intent and function.
posted by clavdivs at 2:09 PM on March 13
Ah sorry clavdivs, I misinterpreted you. I’ll try to fix it. Thanks for letting me know.
posted by Vatnesine at 9:48 PM on March 13
posted by Vatnesine at 9:48 PM on March 13
Mod note: A comment voting for clavdivs has been removed, as requested by the commenter, because clavdivs does not want to be considered for this role.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:53 PM on March 13
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:53 PM on March 13
Raymond Chandler Evening
Song by Robyn Hitchcock ‧ 2007
It's a Raymond Chandler Evening,
At the end of someone's day,
And I'm standing in my pocket,
And I'm slowly turning grey.
I remember what I told you,
But I can't remember why,
And the yellow leaves are falling
In a spiral from the sky.
There's a body on the railings
That I can't identify,
And I'd like to reassure you, but
I'm not that kind of guy.
It's a Raymond Chandler Evening,
And the pavements are all wet,
And I'm lurking in the shadows
'Cause it hasn't happened yet.
posted by chmmr at 12:17 AM on March 15
Song by Robyn Hitchcock ‧ 2007
It's a Raymond Chandler Evening,
At the end of someone's day,
And I'm standing in my pocket,
And I'm slowly turning grey.
I remember what I told you,
But I can't remember why,
And the yellow leaves are falling
In a spiral from the sky.
There's a body on the railings
That I can't identify,
And I'd like to reassure you, but
I'm not that kind of guy.
It's a Raymond Chandler Evening,
And the pavements are all wet,
And I'm lurking in the shadows
'Cause it hasn't happened yet.
posted by chmmr at 12:17 AM on March 15
Congratulations Mittens - you’re the Metafilter Poet Laureate Pro Tempore! Please use your powers for good and not evil.
posted by Vatnesine at 6:55 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]
posted by Vatnesine at 6:55 AM on March 19 [1 favorite]
with twice the votes as my nearest competitor,
i dash off to see if some furious redditor
searches my history for proof (so they hope)
that i've stolen my lines from either dryden or pope--
or knowing my typical comments they'll sigh,
it was probably written with help from AI--
but no:
every comment of mine that hallows these halls
was hastily typed up between conference calls.
posted by mittens at 7:16 AM on March 19
i dash off to see if some furious redditor
searches my history for proof (so they hope)
that i've stolen my lines from either dryden or pope--
or knowing my typical comments they'll sigh,
it was probably written with help from AI--
but no:
every comment of mine that hallows these halls
was hastily typed up between conference calls.
posted by mittens at 7:16 AM on March 19
...a non-threaded text-only 20-year-old 25-year-old website that doesn’t use algorithms
ftfy!
posted by y2karl at 4:59 PM on March 22
ftfy!
posted by y2karl at 4:59 PM on March 22
this calls for celebration, Karl, I lost my key to the Cardoso lounge, do you have a spare..
posted by clavdivs at 3:23 PM on March 23
posted by clavdivs at 3:23 PM on March 23
Best wishes, mittens! What might you do with your new role?
posted by brainwane at 4:16 AM on March 25
posted by brainwane at 4:16 AM on March 25
Mod note: Comment containing poem deleted upon user’s request
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 3:26 PM on March 30
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 3:26 PM on March 30
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by juv3nal at 8:44 PM on March 4 [4 favorites]