David Floren
David Floren Poems
[N.B. This poem is a reaction to Mark Twain's notion that '[w]ar talk by men who have been in a war is always interesting; whereas moon talk by a poet who has not been in the moon is likely to be dull.' (source: Bartlett’s Book of Quotations, p.623 §16) .]
* * * * * * *
...
A crutch wedged in a thankful pit,
Close-gripped with a knurled fist
- Suspension bridge of pure grit -
Each reached plank, a pearled day.
...
Squirm in your seat and grind your teeth,
Rub your hands and set your jaw
Right when it takes you.
...
Our lives, our souls – they're
Actually down here,
hard-returned.
...
Life is rich with such variety.
Makes me itch with much anxiety
For liberal action.
...
It starts with heart and vision,
Crisp voice of concision.
Such plain and precise demands:
...
Describes yearnings:
Wend.
Play-thing, swaddle, mother, scribble
...
Marketplace value is often found
Behind the wrinkles of the brown
Grab bags awaiting fresh owners,
Pal. You know the onus is yours.
...
Freedom of Information
Is an Act, not a right.
It’s fairly tight-fisted.
You might say unfair.
...
What words should we etch
On memory’s precious plaques?
Which monkeys would we willingly stretch
...
Those with something – they can make
Something out of nothing.
Nothing always takes something
To give forth, to yield.
...
Absolutely No way
Is it about incessant expansion
Into metaphysical mind-space,
...
Won’t catch me stalking the prize cattle of Hyperion
Nor casting baited lines in Ra’s inestimable fishery
While he steers his fiery bark (a theory on
This has Ra ever steering and watching) . Misery
...
Tears welled and threatened
To leave tear-track evidence
Of breathtaking profundity.
...
Marcus Aurelius
in his Meditations
Implores us to explore
Our constitution and
...
Happenstance begone
when earners are hell-bent
on entertaining to entertain
raise notions.
...
The Best Poem Of David Floren
Mark Twain Is Plumb Wrong
[N.B. This poem is a reaction to Mark Twain's notion that '[w]ar talk by men who have been in a war is always interesting; whereas moon talk by a poet who has not been in the moon is likely to be dull.' (source: Bartlett’s Book of Quotations, p.623 §16) .]
* * * * * * *
He might not wear his hat, but soon,
Very soon,
Mark Twain will survey your town,
Plumb your head and call you 'Clown.'
He'll bark 'Who're you to muse on the moon? ',
Chew his wet cigar and choose to frown.
He'll choose to frown for sure.
Half his frowns are half-smiles.
But you get to choose his reason.
Methinks he fears the old ruse of false allure.
Some ears hear how seasons
Whisper to pass the torch.
After a time your eyes see her
Illumed in solar torchlight.
We who've seen such beams
Hit their mark, as stars fling arrows
To glitter our wounded porches,
Have certainly 'been in' the moon.
I hope this deft being-there soon narrows
The spacious and clever clef he uses
To take that stroll where he extols
Where having-been-there controls.
It takes a real toll on, and confuses
The very real goings-on of hardscrabble muses.
We who thought the true ever loses
Cheered for once when it withstood.
When we could honestly state
'A politician sometimes makes good
on a promise.' Apollo 11 and J.F.K.
(Even when born of Cold War hate) .
We who were floored
by the impact of Earthrise,
William Anders' famous picture
Strode through a perceptual gate.
To see our home emerge blue-white
From the thick crude of space,
Changed how we see this place.
We who've heard the scratch,
The squawks of radioed confirmation,
Sensed the raw elation of Houston:
We’re fish hawks and weary heron
Winging home a hard-won catch.
Listen, your attention is demanded:
'Tranquility Base, The Eagle has landed.'
When hearts in Houston rose
To bear-hug those in their safekeeping,
Any knave of a reporter
That interviews the Armstrongs only
And confesses to think no one else
Possesses the requisite knowledge
Ought to try absorbing the fists,
Jeers and wild stories of wives,
Navigators and straight-up,
double-shift-pulling engineers
With solutions divine!
But Mark Twain is right to draw his quibble line.
More than half of this drivel is less than fine.
Just know that you could be in the moon,
Even on or under it,
And shine.
[11-11-2002 Armistice Day (or Veteran’s Day) , Berkeley, CA]
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