Poetry Wednesday: Prayer in thanks for the muse

This is a poem written in the fall of 1996, after finding inspiration to write after a trip to Nashville with a poet and a baseball player.

fold my hands, close my eyes,
try not to get distracted.
Why is it that you give me this?
Why do you speak
from my simple mouth?
(Something has to come
out of this poem…)
chewed pen-cap frustration
faded in Nashville.

The muse, perched on my
shoulder
screamed
above her usual whisper.
(if my muse had a color it would be green…)

More-than-Mentor, I thank you for
muse and rhyme, and for just knowing what it takes
to awaken me.
In stillness
I see what you’ve taught me,
shown me,
made me.
(I see how black I’ve made myself…)
Why do you speak through my simple mouth,
pink and coated from morning?

An Introspective – Poetry Wednesday

An Introspective

i (train tracks)

Standing ankle deep
muddy boots,
by empty silent train tracks
underneath a dogwood,
blossoms like white cigar-smoke rings.
(Don’t worry: the lilies have clothes
and the birds have food.)

ii (bald spot)

Lying knee high
brown-grassy curtain,
atop my mountain perch,
Sun, behind his orange veil
perched on his own mountain,
underneath a yawny blue sky,
cloud trails like dying white cigar-smoke rings.
(Conscience is quiet behind gratification.)

iii (inside)

Crouching beside
crimson tinted heart,
inside my ribcaged chest.
Lungs filling thick with air,
slowly deflating flat,
stomach pumping full of bile.
long winded exhale blows white cigar-smoke rings.
(Sometimes one must test to make sure he is not what he hates.)

Farmer Jack the Clown

As the son of Yogi the Clown, I’ve grown up in a clowning family! I’ve been doing it almost as long as my Yogi!
Farmer Jack can come to your party, parade, event and make balloon sculptures, or sing silly songs – as well as provide singing telegrams and balloon flower bouquets.

Farmer Jack also has a mobile petting zoo! which includes, bunnies, chickens, guinea pigs, and a few extra clown helpers!

Music

Josh Hatcher is a rootsy, jazzy, folk-rock artist from Northern PA. The backwoods folk meets suburban garage rock is simple, rough, and smothered in rich lyrics that demand a second look. Embedded in the music is a priceless mesh of jazz, folk and roots rock, along with technological effects and industrial and ethnic percussion. It’s a frappe of modern folk, alternative rock and electronica that shouldn’t be missed.

Drama Llama Ding Dong

If you find that your life is full of drama – people arguing and fighting with you, talking behind your back, betraying you, or a host of other “drama” related issues- then you may fall into one of the following categories:

1. You are really sensitive – and you need to lighten up.
Try not to take everything personally. Try not to assume that they are talking about you. And if they ARE talking about you – recognize it’s probably because of the way you have acted in the past. And if they ARE talking about you – and it’s NOT true – then learn to rise above the mess, not descend into it further.

2. You actually crave drama.
In the same way that sometimes I get a craving for ice cream – you have a craving for drama. You are not happy unless you have an enemy.
Guess what? There are plenty of enemies in this world. You don’t need to create more of them.
If you find yourself in this position – chances are good you’ve been raised to look for the enemy. It’s time to intentionally look for the good. Time to express gratitude. If you need an enemy – find some real evil and injustice, and tackle that. Use that energy to help someone less fortunate. It might turn it all around – IF you can get your focus off yourself. Which leads me to the next issue.

3. You are stuck on yourself.

And you think everyone else ought to be too. My friend tells me there are two types of pride (or vanity) – Big Wheel Pride – “Hey, look how awesome I am on my new big wheel!”  and Worm Pride – “Woe is me. What a wretched waste of time I am. I’m just a nasty earth-dwelling worm.”
The problem in both of these forms of pride is that the idol, the subject of attention is the self.
Certainly, there needs to be SOME focus on self for a healthy life – but if we’re out of balance, we’re creating drama not just in our own lives, but that spills out into the lives of others.

No one wants to admit that any of these might be them. But the truth is – drama begets drama. You get out of life what you put into it – and while bad things happen to all of us sometimes, how we react sets the tone for the next situation. If our attitude is negative, we will only perpetuate the cycle.

Hatcher Media

Josh Hatcher is the founder of Hatcher Media – where he works as a Graphic Designer, Website Developer, Publisher, and Marketing Consultant.

For two decades Josh has been involved with helping businesses, organizations, and individuals tell their story to the public. Let him help you shape and craft your message in a way that it will be heard by the masses.

Contact Hatcher Media today!
mail@joshhatcher.com