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Campaign Stop
Blasted out of Kansas by freak weather
dropped from the sky (it was the dropping
out of clouds that dazzled and kept us
from sizing up the contours of the house)
Legs protruding from under the foundation
(we conjured her flattened form)
Some house, we observed,
judging from the impact.
Then we milled around
and the chattering commenced.
Foreshortened as we were,
afflicted with miniature parts, we could
barely grasp our ballots when
the time came, let alone
discern the answer:
Are you a good witch
or a bad witch?
Last edited by Christine98, Aug/4/2011, 12:55 pm
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Aug/4/2011, 12:53 pm
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Re: Campaign Stop
Funny. I was thinking this week it has been a while since you weighed in poetic-like.
Very much liking this poem. Your hand is almost always so sure, sculptor like, it is difficult to find a wrong touch. Sometimes I think a poem must come to you full blown and that only then do you commit pen to paper. That is how the poem comes across: fully realized before the making starts.
S1 is fine writing. L1 is a strong opening. S2 tickles me with its understated humor. S3, for me at least, speaks to the confusion all of us little people must feel when approaching the ballot box. At least until we realize every vote we cast amounts to a crap shoot. And then come the last two lines, rightly italicized, where you slip us the micky. Who but you would draw a political statement out of an old children's story?
This tickles the beejesus out of me. I want to send it to the demagogues I think the poem has in mind. Or, at least to the demagogues the poem brings to mind.
Tere
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Aug/4/2011, 5:44 pm
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Re: Campaign Stop
I agree with everythig Tere said, except I don't think "The Wizard of Oz" is exactly a "children's story".
You are rarely posting, but when you do, look out! I wish I could be the objective N as you are, writing social commentary, but that is not who I am (yet), and probably not who I will ever be. But we certainly need you, and I, at least, am indebted to your keen eye for the whole, the small, and the irony of it all.
I love your work, Chris.
Liz
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Aug/5/2011, 6:20 pm
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Re: Campaign Stop
Fantastic! This kind of poetry inspires me so! You fused it together so well.
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Aug/9/2011, 9:35 pm
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Re: Campaign Stop
Thanks all, for your reads and comments.
Chris
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Aug/10/2011, 10:24 am
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Re: Campaign Stop
Hey Chris,
What's the matter with Kansas, huh? Love the first line, the images, the Wizard of Oz references (how'd you come up with that one?!?) and tongue-in-cheek observations throughout. What I especially like about this poem is the way it combines honesty and humor, pointed political commentary and judicious self-reflection. Rare combos these days, methinks. No nits from me. Much enjoyed.
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Aug/13/2011, 1:16 pm
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Re: Campaign Stop
Love it all; but this kind of encapsulates the piece for me:
" (it was the dropping
out of clouds that dazzled and kept us
from sizing up the contours of the house)"
that almost formal news anchor voice of barely controlled emotion in face of the truly weird
This certainly puts the story in a different light, taking the view of the munchkin in the street rather than the primary characters. It makes it more personal, more plausible, like any hyper-real event.
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Aug/14/2011, 12:40 am
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Re: Campaign Stop
"the munchkin in the street" hahahahaha
Watching Obama through this debt ceiling deal and those lines from the movie just popped into my head.
Thank you, Kat and Libra, for your comments,
Chris
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Aug/14/2011, 8:20 am
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Re: Campaign Stop
I was reminded of this poem today in a conversation over the gold-standard (not as fun as it sounds).
Just a brilliant piece.
quote:
(it was the dropping
out of clouds that dazzled and kept us
from sizing up the contours of the house)
The WoOZ was a commentary on the gold standard and other such matters of economic policy, right? I cannot recall exactly, but I remember Dorothy having silver slippers(as opposed to ruby-red pair in the film).
I really should find the time to read it again.
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Aug/17/2011, 7:12 pm
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Re: Campaign Stop
hey Alkiviades,
Yeah, I heard something about the Wiz and the gold standard so I wicki-ed it and there was a nice discussion of that.
I think I read the book but I mostly remember the movie; some of those characters/themes/lines are permanently embedded in my brain and a fine thing it is.
Thanks for your comments,
Chris
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Aug/18/2011, 12:42 pm
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