Left Hand Poetry

A low-stakes poem this week, a wry look at how we're able to call forth the rain when all we've been waiting for is ... rain. And how Mother Nature can go a little overboard in Her response when she does make it rain.

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The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

Some poems take multiple passes, a lot of tinkering and thought, to take the shape of something I'd dare share with the world. Others just kind of flow out of the pen onto the page and I like them just as they are.

This week, it's the latter. This Untitled Inspiration Poem just poured out recently as I stood in my kitchen one afternoon. Yeah, it has a touch of cliché to it, but there's nothing wrong with a little verbal remix, especially when it works rhythmically. Which I think it does, and it's my podcast and no one who listens to this thing has ever commented that my sense of rhythm is off (or commented much of anything, 'sup?), but I digress. I'm also doing something different with this week's show notes. Since this poem isn't typed up anywhere and it's a shorter work, I'm putting the text of the poem into these show notes. Check the bottom for the poem.

But before that, you know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

Donate to Black Lives Matter

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Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative

Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

Untitled Inspirational Poem

If you're waiting for

a better, more unfettered

time

Do not decline to act

instead attack and say

"seize the day"

(carpe diem)

See them, all the things

you're waiting on

Take them on

Put upon your shoulders

the mantle of action

for inaction breeds the like

To psych yourself out of a taste

Leaving naught but

sour grapes

I wrote this week's poem many years ago, and reading it through this week in prep for recording the episode, it struck me again how much it would work as a song. I mean, it needs a chorus stuck in there, but that's an easy enough retrofit. You'll also notice if you're reading along in Blue., from which the poem comes, that the final line has changed. You'll also notice a missing period at the end of the second stanza. Both of these will be changed in my upcoming collected works poetry book (Coming 2022? How does that make you feel?). If you're NOT reading along at home, well, I mean, I included a link to Blue. above, and from there it's a quick hop to my other poetry books as well. Oh look at that, a link to them as well! But I digress. Enjoy this week's episode: "Works of Love."

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

Donate to Black Lives Matter

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Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

More inane absurdity for your ears this week, thanks to an old can of wood stain I found while cleaning out the painting supplies for the local high school's theatre department. You can find it all over my social media (tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram - Insta is where a lot of my new poetry shows up these days, in the caption FYI). Just the word "woo" instead of "wood" made me giggle - yes giggle; not chuckle, smile, laugh, bray, snicker, chortle, etc. I giggled. Because it said "woo." Look at the photo, it's hilarious in context.

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

Donate to Black Lives Matter

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Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative

Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

Hey, Internet - well, hey: Rob's fraught relationship with the Internet! I wrote a poem about you!

A brief poem this week that some of you might find a little too familiar for comfort. All I can say is: Same.

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

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The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

Coming at you from the earliest parts of the 21st century comes this poem of the time the clouds hung low in the skies over my place of business and the Good Year Blimp waddles past on its way from one sporting event to another. As I say in the episode, it's one of my oldest poems that has stood the test of time - meaning I feel comfortable sharing it on the podcast and am not too terribly embarrassed by its continued existence in the world. Thus we have, "The Sighting."

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

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Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

A few weeks back, my wife and I went on a hike with some dear friends of ours that we had not seen since the first pandemic restrictions went into place. Given that we're still working our way back to safe and I was at the time unvaccinated, we chose to get together outdoors and enjoy the Spring weather with a hike. And so this week's poem "Spring Hike" was born.

"Spring Hike" is straight from my Instagram account, where I post photos for which I write accompanying poems. If Insta isn't your thing, I cross-post all of my entries to my Facebook page, my Twitter account, and my Tumblr. If you'd like to check out the inspiring photo and read the poem for yourself, here's a link:

https://lefthandrob.tumblr.com/post/647675638621339648/amongst-the-trees-i-pause-to-wheeze-elevation

While I'm sure "Spring Hike" will appear in my next poetry book (coming 2022? Does that move you to know that? let me know), I like it enough that I couldn't wait until then to share it with you in print or the podcast, and so here it is.

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

Donate to Black Lives Matter

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Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

Here I am again, updating on a Sunday. I did tell y'all that it would be every week-ish. Still my apologies for the delay, consistency is key to growing an audience, and while you're but a handful of faithful listeners (thank you!!) at present, maybe some day I'll explode. Who knows? It just takes one Buzzfeed article, right?

But you want to know about this week's episode. "Triple Check and CYA" was written to cheer up a friend several years back, after they experienced a quintessential Corporate American Issue, and maybe even just a Corporate issue? The seed of the thing was the need to "CYA," or "Cover Your A**" when you are undertaking a potentially corporate-politically risky action. I guess the current parlance would be to say "make sure you have the receipts." Thus from that conversation was this poem born. It's certainly a performative piece.

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

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Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

Poetry covers such a broad range of the human experience that I wouldn't expect all of you who listen to the podcast to share this experience, but I'll be willing to wager that there's at least a partial overlap between listeners of this and people who have or will attend music recitals, or more broadly: intimate acoustic music performances.

"Accompanist" was born out of this experience. My specific memory is a bit fuzzy, but given the context of the poem, I'm fairly certain it was a guitar recital that prompted this brief ode to live musicians.

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

Donate to Black Lives Matter

Donate to the Souther Poverty Law Center

Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative

Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.

About 10 years ago or so I decided to try the whole giving up something for Lent concept. I went easy, I thought, I swapped out coffee for tea. As someone who's prone to headaches, it was a bit of a roll of the dice, but I found some good caffeinated tea that I could fit the bill. For the record, to know me is to know the deep abiding joy that coffee brings me - not just the caffeine, but the flavor. So now you know the about me. Anyway, when Easter finally arrived, I was back on the good stuff and was then moved to write this poem, and since this week's episode is super late thanks to the roadwork going on outside my house on the days when I would normally record and upload an episode, it's Easter! So please enjoy my Easter poem - if you're of a Christian Faith, Happy Easter! For everyone else, Happy Sunday, and to everyone, sorry this was so late!

You know the drill:

I want to hear what you think of the podcast, whether it's a specific poem or the format, or whatever's on your mind! Leave a review or a comment in your podcast app, or catch me on Twitter @Lefthandrob.

After listening to the podcast (or while listening), visit one of these sites and donate for the cause, because All Black Lives Matter and my fellow white (and cis) people we need to get in the game:

Donate to Black Lives Matter

Donate to the Souther Poverty Law Center

Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative

Transgender Law Center

The poems will continue to flow, but so must the Justice.