Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Hey Mike Rep!

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/charlespoet/episodes/2020-11-25T01_55_05-08_00

Let’s go down to the basement
We can hold hands like a couple of fags
Because there’s nothing wrong with that

And I love you
Loved you since you first had my back at The Poetry Forum at Larry's
Neither one of us has ever had much use for academia except of course for Mary Rumm and Frank Richardson

I love you like when I was a kid and didn’t know the sun was rooting for the demise of our civilization
You’re fifteen years older than me, but that only makes me think how you are beating the crap out of whatever it may mean to be a senior because even when you slow down, you’re still moving at light speed
Any introductions that needed to be made, you made them because you were never afraid of the best laid plans of mice and men

The whole experience of a Coney chili cheese dog and a root beer float never made much sense until you took me under your wing and showed me just how close Icarus flew to the sun
Mike, you are Greek mythology come to life because your myth has always preceded the actual science fiction that is Mike Rep, but none of that means a damn thing once your calendar is in astral weeks and your frame of reference is bushy eyed and cotton tailed
A rocket to nowhere bursts through the atmosphere because getting out of this town is all the rocket had on its mind. That rocket and me have a lot in common and that’s why I’m writing this poem to you.

Charles Cicirella
11/25/20

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Let’s do our best to stand against the test of time. (For bmo)

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/charlespoet/episodes/2020-11-17T15_36_08-08_00

there’s no fooling you
I knew that the second we met
fools may suffer and you’re none the sadder for it

wisdom foretold
wisdom forestalled
cut off the ends and watch nothing meet

high as a kite
doing my best to stay out of the fray
sometimes the fray turns out to be your strongest ally

the robot strikes a confessional tone
the robot knows more than all of you put together and the robot is more human than any of you will ever be
you’re damn right the robot strikes a confrontational pose when too many adults around her have let her down

it’s not rocket science
it shouldn’t take a genius to figure this one out
stop your messing around because you will be found out

rubbing salt into an open wound
our society feeds on others’ misfortune
let’s rise above the muckrakers and make something out of our lives we can be proud of.

Charles Cicirella
11/17/20

Saturday, November 14, 2020

Wisdom Ancient (For bmo)

 https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/charlespoet/episodes/2020-11-14T01_16_49-08_00

it’s late
dark
the night has no conscience

we resolved what’s insufficient
replaced with tone indicators
commonplace is as commonplace does

overthinking
her programming lackadaisical
still no one I’d rather watch cartoons with more

it’s early
bright
the morning refuses to surrender to the day

we pigeonhole until there are no feathers left
trade our secrets in for shiny garbage that guarantees us nothing but unhappiness
stay the course until the course turns on us and misdirects us into a fiery furnace of binging and purging endlessly

she said about Ponyo, “it’s really soft”
then I watched it and got what she meant
and it made me appreciate her even more

some people just get it while others
stand on the sidelines barking inept orders to an inane bunch of no bodies
you may feel like you’re stuck and time is moving all around you, just keep in mind you control time as much as it controls you

Charles Cicirella
11/14/20

Friday, November 13, 2020

Macaroni and Cheese (For Carter)

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/charlespoet/episodes/2020-11-13T14_11_13-08_00

I like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets too
They help me to make sense of the world
Plus the routine lends me a modicum of serenity

I’m making macaroni and cheese right now
It’s 12:55 AM and I need to fill my stomach with some comfort food
I like the night because the silence keeps me company by consuming my doubts and turning them into rainbow sherbet

Dishwasher’s running
Makes a lot of noise
Why is there a train in the kitchen?

The macaroni and cheese was very good and there’s even leftovers
I was tempted to eat it all, but knew it would make my stomach hurt
Getting up at 5 in the morning with cramps is no way to begin the day

Carter, I’ll make it out to Mineral City at some point and we’ll all hang out and maybe we can pull out the Legos and watch you build a new world
Sometimes it’s important to step outside of your comfort zone if only to better relate to those around you
I scooped up handfuls of clouds and inhaled them like they were cotton candy.

Charles Cicirella
11/13/20

Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Rachel and Carter

 
Have known Rachel since I was a young punk screaming at the top of my irascible lungs while digging my feet into the gravel behind JR Miggs
She let me drive her car without a license while we went on clandestine missions which I cannot go into in more detail because this poem is also for her young son
Rachel was the first person I met at Miggs that made me feel welcome and that was a long time coming for me

We’ve kept in sporadic touch over these past many years and every time we talk on the phone it’s like no time has passed and we’re still just as silly and ready to take on the world
Rachel always supported my art and never made me feel judged or like a pariah just because my world view is unconventional and doesn’t jive with the creaky, cranky status quo
When we went to California for Nick and Dana’s wedding I knew I could always count on her to hang out with and that we’d laugh until we both nearly peed our pants

I’ve wanted to meet Carter since he was born because he sounds so cool and also because I know Rachel is the best mommy in the world
She has always been honest with me and not once did she let me down by losing her nerve and acting like all the rest of the sheep humans who resist change by endlessly staying the same
I want to break out of my cage and when I do I’m going to call up Rachel, grab a Stephen King book and go pick up her and Carter so we can all just get lost for a while and not worry about being found until we’re good and ready to come back home.

Charles Cicirella
11/11/20

Ancient Wisdom (For beemo)

 https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/charlespoet/episodes/2020-11-11T01_42_28-08_00

dhfji
pIWDJqwih
dr    fi8QIH

got it all wrong
which turned out to be okay
because you are open to mistakes being made

want to break it all down
like they did in cavepeople time
when survival wasn’t just a catchphrase

you make me laugh
stutter and wiggle my nose
because your filter is filterless

donkey priest robots
roaming the countryside
good deeds are us and you

saw your pictures
read the writing on the wall
it left me wanting more

iqwjdse
pqiwdep    [d0i    Kq]
PO9QWJU2    WP9O

Charles Cicirella
11/11/20

Monday, November 09, 2020

Who is Alex Trebek?

 https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/charlespoet/episodes/2020-11-09T00_16_22-08_00

National treasure
World explorer
Gameshow host

Let’s not stand on ceremony.
We welcomed Jeopardy! into our homes because Alex Trebek made us feel safe and taught us all what discretion is the better side of valor actually means.
You would never know he was having a bad day because he was the ultimate fighter who understood that the show must go on no matter the condition you’re in.

When my mom got lung cancer she always wanted me in her room to watch Wheel and Jeopardy! I believe it was her way to spend some quality time together as she showed me just how smart she was.
I cannot believe he’s gone and how much it feels like I’ve lost a friend because Jeopardy! is the routine and Alex Trebek was the glue that held it all together.
I don’t know what to say or how to act because there’s this emptiness now in my heart that I don’t believe will ever be filled again.

Charles Cicirella
11/9/20

Sunday, November 01, 2020

“I find myself quite average, but I appreciate your words” (For Sara)

 https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/charlespoet/episodes/2020-11-01T17_42_21-08_00

There is nothing average about her in the least little bit
Don’t get me wrong average is great, but Sara’s exceptionalism sneaks up on you like a mountain cat that is relentless in its growling intensity
From the moment I viewed her passion for Heavy Metal I knew her fire was buried deep in the darkest depths of Mordor

When she admitted that she was shy telling both of her last names because one of them was unique, my heart started to work overtime to capture all of the daisy petals flying throughout the holy air
We package and process ourselves as pieces and parts when nothing could be further from the truth
Average is as average does and nothing Sara does is commonplace or circumspect

I think what I’m drawn to, along with her insatiable fire, is how outside the pack she is because the pack mentality means nothing when social distancing has become all the rage
While listening to Sara play I find myself transported to another plane where everyone’s vantage point is considered and music and love matter most
I look forward to watching her up on stage sharing her soul because that’s clearly her destiny.

Charles Cicirella
11/1/20