written for Shay’s Word Garden – Janis Ian
Kerouac’s dog sniffs my shins I say “call him off, sunshine’ in a voice like an armadillo’s coarse as a ribbon of wasps. But Kerouac simpers fingers outstretched, he’s mewing like a nightbird to his four-legged friend. That’s when the dog pisses on my boots - amateur bloody genius! And I discover I’m laughing, offering Jack a smoke “to camouflage the odour” We lean into the evening jaws long as yarning The absurd glints high as that feathered moon and the windmill blades grip the purple sky. I see it now, in the warp of horizon how we’re all screwed way too tight for sanity.
Words used: armadillo, ribbon, Kerouac, nightbird, boots, smoke, absurd
Out of the Cave 
Love it – the title, the opening, the dialogue, and especially the last two lines
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Thanks so much! It has been days in development so I am so glad you like it.
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Absolutely love this! All the images are fantastic and original. Especially the ending…which you are always so good at.
On a side note, Kerouac was the writer who got me into reading and writing. I never read in high school. I guess I was too cool. But after I graduated, someone gave me On The Road, and that was it. I’ve been reading ever since.
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I must read it. He’s so famous and I know so little about him or his writing. From googling, On The Road is definitely his most famous.
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On The Road is his most famous. I liked it a lot when I was young. I haven’t reread it in a long time.
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I’ll try and hunt down a copy. Thanks for telling me your history with him. I barely read these days. I really need to get back to it.
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Jo this is absolutely brilliant! The thoughts the amazing imagery that puts us right there with the smells and feeling of it all! I love this and the ending well it is a powerful punch; one that we all need. Amazing writing my friend!
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Thanks so much, Carrie!
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Also, added note, I responded to your sweet comment over at Shay’s place. Thank you again!
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Cor … “jaws long as yarning”. Brilliant.
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Thanks so much!
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I found that phrase quite brilliant too.
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oh wow ! this is scintillatingly good; the moood, the vernacular, the startling images, this is one for my commonplace book !
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Thanks, John!!
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this is a really accomplished poem, Worms; I loved it from the get-go; you could get a chapbook with more poems in this vein —
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Kerouac himself would flip for this. Me too. It’s always a treat to come here and read what you invent.
–Shay
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Thanks Shay. ❣️
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Enjoyed this write, Worms, love the mood of it, and these lines:
“We lean into the evening
jaws long as yarning”
“The absurd glints”
“the warp of horizon”
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Thanks, Sunra!
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Someone once compared my stories to Steinbeck; obviously this person was highly inebriated!
I’ve been a fan of Kerouac ever since I first laid eyes on his work. It would be interesting to get his opinion of your piece. I think you and he would get along quite nicely. Well done, Jo.
Just a little ad lib fun: https://youtu.be/_SzyyhnpUYM
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Thanks! I need to try “on the road”. I have never read any kerouac.
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You really should; I think you’ll enjoy it but you need to be in the right frame of mind. Kerouac is an experience and you need to prepare. 💫
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This is just so good. I love the idea of Kerouac’s dog pissing on your boots, and that image of the windmill blades gripping the sky is so perfect.
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Thank you, Kate! BTW the chickens are doing brilliantly. They grow so rapidly!
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That’s great! We’ve had two power outages lately so a poor hatch rate in the incubators. Two of the ones that did hatch have… behavioural issues. We’ve called them Nero and Caligula and separated them for the safety of the other chicks. Then two more hatched this morning and Marcus said they should be called the profits, so I suggested Nostradamus which was misheard by Harriet… the two newest hatchlings are now Nostril and Dumbarse.
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🤣🤣🤣🤣
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hanging out with a favored artist – we should all ponder this. Really enjoyed the humor, the creativeness of this poem!
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ThNls so much, Margaret! I really appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment. ❤
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