Thursday, June 28, 2012

Poem A Day Challenge, Day Seven

This is a short poem, the prompt for which was write a poem about two people interacting with out talking.  As it turns out this prompt arrived on April 7, my wife's birthday.  The poem is whistful and hopeful, conjuring up all the other feelings someone has when "the one" appears, if only briefly.

There She Is
By Bill Kirk

There she is.

Across the crowded platform
Stands a slip of a girl
In a whisp of a summer dress,
Swirling with the coming and going
Of each passing train.
Which one will be hers, he wonders?

The boy gushes a hope-filled glance in her direction.
And she, sensing an extrasensory broadcast
As if from a distant universe,
Scans the panoply of possible senders—
First, around her; then at a distance.

For one brief moment, eye contact.
His hopeful stare and slight upward nod,
Rewarded almost imperceptively
By her barely uplifting eyebrow
And the slightest curl of a smile.
In that moment she is his.

Then she is gone.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Maybe It's Time To Double Check The Dead Bolt

This short piece may best be read in the light of day....

The Visitor
By Bill Kirk

Three sharp taps on the door beckon.

Should I wait or should I go?
Why would anyone be knocking at this hour?
Can’t see much through the peephole.
Why didn’t I change that light bulb last week?

If I just stay quiet,
Maybe the visitor will go away.
Besides, I just wanted
Some time to myself tonight—
Don’t really feel like “being home” for anyone.

A presence is almost palpable
Out there in the darkess,
Waiting. Watching.
How long has he been outside anyway,
This visitor?

Has he seen me?
Does he know I’m inside?
Does he sense my hesitation?
Does he know his knock has
Left me wary and wondering?
Where’s that bat I put in the closet?

But what if it’s important?
Could it be a neighbor?
The Police?
Has there been an accident?
What if someone’s hurt?

Three sharp taps on the door beckon….

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

April 2012 Poem A Day Challenge, Day 1

To any and all who drop by my blog from time to time.  I'm catching up.  Many of you will recall April is Nationally Poetry Month.  This year, I tried to hang with the schedule of writing a poem a day.  Or I should say I started to try.  Failing the daily grind, I have nonetheless committed to going back to all those poetry prompts from all those days in April; to write the wrong of the unmet challenge.  Some of those poetic musings will appear here, starting with the prompt and poem from April 1:  "Write a communications poem".

Communication Conundrum

By Bill Kirk

"Hey, John.
Just heard my phone buzz.
What’s Up?
Wait a sec. I got no Wi-Fi
And this connection is crap!
Yeah, I got four bars
But the audio-video is totally
Out of sync and slow beyond belief!”

In times past,
Communication wasn’t always that slow.
It was even slower—on a good day—
And mostly by design.

There was a time when the
Transmission of the messages themselves
Seemed to reflect the natural rhythms
Of everyday living.

To be sure, some messages
Were more important than others.
Perhaps that’s the difference in a nutshell—
Only the most critical messages
Were sent by the fastest means possible,
Even if slow by today’s standards.

Whether by runner
Or horse
Or ship
Or train
Or tom-tom
Or telegraph
Or phone,
The means (and speed) of transmission
Often defined the sense of urgency—

That hierarchy of speed
Was fine with most people.
Based on the sense of urgency alone,
There was a time
In the not too distant past,
When no one wanted to get a
Long distance phone call,
Because it meant someone was
Either dead or dying.

Everyone knew
The greater the speed
And sense of urgency behind the message,
The less anyone wanted
To be on the receiving end of the line.

Yet in far less than a life time,
The urgency of a message
Is no longer defined
By its speed of transmission,
Nor by assumptions about who
In the known universe may have sent it.

That quiet ding
Or buzz
Or Beethoven bounce
Or Salsa sound bite
Heard while eating
Or meeting
Or toileting
Or driving,
Signals the arrival of a message
From just about anyone, sent
From just about anywhere.The sound of arrival demands
The attention of the receiver
(“I’ve got to take this”),
Like the insistent cry of a newborn.

There's nothing quite like the
Clarion call of a common ring tone
To generate a frenzy of twisting, turning, patting,
Reaching and grabbing: "Nope. Not mine."

Alas, with all messages essentially traveling
At the same speed,
Through the same pipeline,
How is it that the relative importance
Of one message can be distinguished
From any other?
“Pick up! Pick up! I’m in the ER!”
“Hey, how do you spell ‘misspell’, one ‘s’ or two?”

If all messages appear equally important
By virtue of the speed they span
The distance to destination,
Which ones are the most urgent?
Which ones are worthy of a rapid reply
Or even of taking the time to find out?

To retain sanity, might such a
Lack of distinctions
Doom all messages to being
Discarded or disregarded?

On the other hand….
Instead of turning a blind eye or deaf ear,
Is the socially mandated alternative
Now the giving in to the siren song of
The electronic beck and call
And the click and clatter of constant comment?

Have we reached saturation
Or do we still crave yet more stimulation.

Such is the communication conundrum.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

NOW AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING

Children’s Ezine Guardian Angel Kids: Growing Up – June 2012 Issue

The Guardian Angel Kids creative crew is pleased to announce the new Ezine format. The inviting visual will take the reader on a turn page style adventure with the click of the mouse accompanied with the sound of turning a page in your hand. Without further ado, we present the Guardian Angel Kids Growing Up June 2012 issue…

The carefree days of childhood invokes memories of lazy days of summer vacation filled with days of swimming at the town pool. It was the central social point of the neighborhood and the excitement of the day would then flow onto our cul-de-sac (after the children of the neighborhood ate their respective suppers) where there was always a stick ball game going on until the single street light flickered on. Quickly we would change gears and switch to playing flashlight tag.

My mother, always an avid reader, made sure her children read each and every day and to this day we all have instilled the same love of reading with our own children. Without lapsing in our reading skills throughout the summer we were always well prepared with our studies. The days appeared endless and before you knew it, it was time for back to school shopping.

The love of reading has led me to the path of writing for children and Editor-in-Chief of Guardian Angel Publishing, for which I’m joyful for and proud to present the Guardian Angel Kids June 2012 issue of Growing Up http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com/.

We hope you enjoy our issue of Growing Up as much the Guardian Angel Kid staff did reminiscing about our childhoods and selecting the wonderful poetry, stories, articles, and activities.

*  Letter from the EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Donna M. McDine

*  Featured BookS:
    **  Growing Up Dreams by Susan Berger and illustrated by Samantha Bell
    **  The Odd Chick by Mary Esparza-Vela and illustrated by Kevin Collier

*  Children’S poetry, ACTIVITIES, SHORT STORIES, and articleS:
    **  “I’m Growing Up,” poetry by Guy Belleranti – how quickly the time passes by.
    **  “Is It Friday Yet?” poetry by Alicia Z. Klepeis – The excitement of the approaching end of the week.
    **  “Activities to Make Reading Fun,” by Kathy Stemke – having fun with language is the key to         unlocking the world of reading to your child.
    **  “Too Much Trouble,” by Juliana M. Jones and illustrated by Nancy Miller – the growing responsibility of getting older.
    **  “Maid for Make Believe,” by Caroline Yu and illustrated by Clara Batton Smith – the magic of pretend brings to friends closer together.
    **  “Read Aloud Tips for Preschoolers: Put Some Pizzazz in Reading Aloud,” by Dorit Sasson – how to connect to the story by acting it out.
    **  “Encouraging Your Reader,” by Vanessa Fortenberry – tips on how to encourage and instill the love of reading.

Visit Guardian Angel Kid today and www.guardian-angel-kids.com and enjoy a child safe and ad free Ezine.

We also invite you to stay connected with Guardian Angel Kids through our Facebook Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guardian-Angel-Kids-Ezine/163785080346247.

Please feel free to drop Editor-in-Chief, Donna McDine an email at mailto:submissions@guardian-angel-kids.comand let them know what you think of Guardian Angel Kids and what you'd like to see in the future. They aim to please.

The Guardian Angel Kids Ezine staff and contributors look forward to your visit. Thank you for your time and interest.