My First 'Critique' (Nikki Giovanni's Reply...) [Pt. XIV]

10/06/09

George:

Your poems remind me, somewhat, of E.E. Cummings, though without his wicked sense of humor. you [have humor], of course, but Cummings had a darker side that makes us all laugh.

I like the Love poems but that probably has to do with the fact that i write Love poems right now. “Chemically dependent on you” is a great line. Anarchistic Intentions is wonderful. Oddly Jobless too. I like Parsing Language Openly if I am understanding the protest of the waste of war. I like your brevity and tightness. Writing is a good way to learn about the world and ourselves. And good writing asks more questions than it answers.

What is M.E.?

Good luck as you continue with your plan to explore your talent.

N


Oddly Jobless

a sheep
following orders
in my own
direction
an ‘A’ student.
until i read
a book
about the Robbery
now i see
but not then
i continued on
in the direction
you sent me
‘succeeding’? supposedly...
i graduated.
you trained me,
Basically.
a sharpshooter
fit to serve
a cadet for 9/11
her soldier?
she was there
i waited
until you
through that rock
i left for England
tending more to alcohol
than M.E.
or Pip.
i don’t remember
being there
without her
i wasn’t
i found my way back
but not to M.E.
i learned by assisting
and teaching
tangential
circular
mathematical
certainty
of experience
singled out
committed
cast
out
i took more orders
analyzed them
something was missing
truth
it didn’t happen
i wasn’t there
i was turning the
world upside down
looking for me
i found her.


Parsing Language Openly

Petty lunacy
Obnoxious
Missiles rain down-
Israeli civilians, terror-stricken.
Commandos barge in-
Palestinian civilians, massacrd.
Un-Muslim.
Un-Christian.
Unforgiving.
Ridiculous
A redundant retrospective
On retardation
Of unity-
Humanity.
An important
Opportunity is presented-
Cessation of settlement.
Stepping softly
Toward resolution
Humans
Cooperating
Resolved to reinvent
Intending to emerge
Forgiving
Converging
Onward toward
Religious
Sense.
Conscience?


Anarchistic Intentions

the artificial intelligence
of selves interested
in articulating
‘creating’ and ‘cultivating’
acculturating
assimilating
nonsensical
statistically speaking
aberrations
kNown to me to be
out of Tune
what if
One Fine Day
(when?)
Boy Meets World
Serendipity
(surreptitiously, purposefully)
Forces of Nature
(me? U.S.?)
deciphered the dream
it’s all the same
every word, song
moVie and story
simply temporary storage
Love
in every
syllable, note & scene
sensual oVerload
of mind
under my
Anarchy Unleashed


Chemically Dependent Actor (Alchemical Dependence)

unintelligent but intelligible,
eligible for an elegant
legibility. intent on reaching
for understanding by breeching
standard thoughts and fears
years of tears, dreary.
still- weary of memory
of wars and invasions
insanity, evasion, expansion
terrorism, 'truisms'- all a prism
a spoken motive of altruism
biding and hiding; projecting
hidden intentions of retention
of past aggressions and transgressions
rejecting one moment for a perception
of future 'justice of substance'
chemical interactions misread
by inadequate gasping
grasping at the
'facts' of 'acts'
when becoming
fluid and fluent
Being
flowing freely, fearlessly
electrically eclectic satisfaction
inactively seeking an appropriate path
recognizing the reflection
and the cognitive impact
of action, inaction
deed, missed deed
missed details
entailed attractions
oppositional misinformation
operational defamation
refining formidably
extracted.
interacting.
recognizing.
influencing.
realizing
neutrality; confirmed.
affirmed..
i am...
chemically dependent
on you.