April 18, 2023

Week Three: John Kucera, Jaya Abraham, Gopal Lahiri

Week Three: John Kucera, Jaya Abraham, Gopal Lahiri

Poet and fabulist John Kucera entertains us with two poems and two fables, an ancient form of narrative intended to entertain and instruct. Compass  Clouds and storms hover  Over us like a lost thought.  A strange idea we once had to build a log cabin together  and explore worlds beyond our own.  But our lives were surmounted by menial tasks  and we never got around to our plans like the campfire and the sunsets  and the paintings of a dry winter and the umbrella of youth closing slowly but surely on all these things we remember later  in our circles of routine.  We were both deserted but they were also forgotten.  Our plans, still changing, and guiding us today like the compass above a rooftop and the wolf we patted at the Indian neighbor’s house,…

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July 26, 2022

“Spare Parts,” Poetry by John Kucera

“Spare Parts,” Poetry by John Kucera

Spare Parts I like best the ones that change: Elephant. Tiger. Bear. Old books on the shelves reflecting every self I’ve ever been. The boy who thought he’d do much better to the man who got fired for correcting his boss. The trips to the zoo and the trips to Europe and the trips back home during midterms where I carried the books in cardboard boxes up staircases to rooms that were long ago abandoned. I’ve outgrown this old house and want to let my old selves breathe. I can’t stand to leave them stacked on the shelves. Or in boxes. I open the small ones last and count the contents. I recount them later because if one went missing it would leave a hollow space. ** Determinism Boxing isn’t really about pain. To hurt…

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