Dueling Holidays | Eric Tanafon Eric Tanafon Fantasy by Eric Tanafon Menu Skip to content About Search for: Dueling Holidays April 1, 2018 Uncategorizedetanafon Happy April Fools’ Day, Ostara, Easter, and the beginning of National Poetry Month! I’m including some poems in my forthcoming short story collection, Dragon Scales & Other Tales. To celebrate the day(s), here are three that didn’t make the cut. This one is the most recent, and the most self-explanatory. PAINTING As I’m painting the bathroom walls, I think of Michelangelo. Okay, so he was painting A ceiling, and there are a few Other differences. But I have to wonder, Did he, while putting the final touches On a face or cloud, worry About water damage, chips and dings Just waiting to happen, All the ravages of time? Did he see himself picking up That old brush again To patch things up, years down the line? I doubt it. Genius flashes, then fades with grace. Only mediocrity needs maintenance. This is one from decades ago that I still like. BREAKFAST The phone, ringing In an empty room, Makes no sound. Leaves stick To the cobblestones. Sorry, the sun Can’t appear today, So we give you the moon, Who’s been losing sleep For years Rehearsing this part… You startle me Before the mirror— Narcissus, deflowered. The sun pokes A bright fist Through morning clouds. Once, when I was out running some errand in downtown Seattle, I noticed a woman walking across the street. All of a sudden a loud voice said, seemingly from out of the sky, “Ma’am, you’re jaywalking!” It was a cop with a loudspeaker, I guess, up in one of the buildings, but it seemed more like some angry god obsessed with the small sins of humankind. The woman ignored the voice and continued on her way. Later, I wrote this. JAYWALKING IN SEATTLE City of back alleys And dead-end ecosystems, City of ten thousand smokes, City where homeless men In ragged clothes Wait under the freeway ramps, Looking out over the Sound, For the next Messiah To forget them again; To get around you I must bend the rules, Step on cracks, Cross painted lines, Ignore the megaphone voices Of patrol cars And the Metro buses Bellowing like bulls in rut. Your flashing red hand Holds no terrors for me, Your little man Made of white light Is no friend of mine; Like a cat I keep The right of trespass, And go against the flow Of space and time. Share this: Twitter Facebook Like this: Like Loading... Post navigation ← Can Spring Be Far Behind? Space Octopuses and Spaghetti Code → Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here... Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email (Address never made public) Name Website You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change ) You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change ) Cancel Connecting to %s Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Δ My books Preview "You don’t have to believe in Christmas or Santa Claus to enjoy this marvelous fantasy where nothing is quite as it seems, but you may find yourself just wondering a bit as you follow along on Holly and Connor’s adventures. Father Winter: A Yule Story is most highly recommended." Jack Magnus for Reader's Favorite "I am going to be recommending this one to my local library for their winter reading circle with kids. Whether you have a child you would like to read this to, or just want to feel a little magic of your own, I recommend this book." Kathryn Bennett for Reader's Favorite Preview "WOW! Just Wow! Road to Hel is a brilliantly written, beautifully sarcastic and amazingly witty novel about a boy and his quest for greatness..." Rabia Tanveer for Reader's Favorite "Superbly written with a great mix of today's world and the tales of Norse mythologies." -- Robert D. Stanley, author of The Core Stone "The flow was nice, the writing was excellent, and the plot just hit the spot for me." -- Kat Mandu Reviews Preview "Trust me, you're going to love it.." -- Fantasy Book Lane (Top Fantasy Books of 2015) "Robin Hood: Wolf's Head is a retelling of what you think you know, but yet in such different ways that you are completely caught off guard..." --Michelle Randall for Reader's Favorite "Some passages are the finest of their kind I have yet read...This is something different, and quite special..." -- EA Walker, author of Red And the Wolf "A vibrant and fascinating new take on the Merry Men and life in Sherwood Forest." -- Elizabeth Horton-Newton, author of View From the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale Blog at WordPress.com. Follow Following Eric Tanafon Sign me up Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now. Eric Tanafon Customize Follow Following Sign up Log in Copy shortlink Report this content View post in Reader Manage subscriptions Collapse this bar %d bloggers like this: