hiatus

Posted on March 1, 2010 by riverwriter

For a month this empty space
has tormented me,
pulsing like a tell-tale heart
beneath the floorboards.
I have conversed casually
in the evening with my bride,
passing calm comments
on fashionable news items.
I have enjoyed company
and made pleasant conversation
on unaccustomed subjects.
All was well so far as they could discern;
but, within, Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Backstage

Posted on February 13, 2010 by riverwriter

[I wrote this piece to read at the seventieth birthday party of Gilles Lacelle, a very good friend of mine. There are allusions here that are specific to the situation.]

Backstage

Usually there would be two of us,
Gilles and I, lifting, fitting and cutting,
planning and discussing and finally
his favorite part, painting.

I’d be painting too, but I’d watch him:
other people would see the finished
set, but I would see his hands at work. Continue reading →

Posted in aging, Poetry | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New Podcast: “sometimes I wonder” by riverwriter

Posted on February 8, 2010 by riverwriter

I have just recorded and posted my reading of “sometimes i wonder”, a poem I posted in wordcurrents in April 2008, then revisited with an altered version in October 2009.

The reading starts with a brief commentary upon the fact that I based the work on a “found poem”.

The podcast runs 1 minute, 52 seconds. It was recorded in mp3 format stereo, with some sound attenuation for background noise (furnace, passing traffic).

The poem is featured as the first item in the slide display on the main page (as of this post).

It is currently the listing at the bottom of the page on the podcast menu.

Here is a direct link to the podcast of my reading of “sometimes I wonder”

Posted in about podcast | Tagged | Leave a comment