Author Archives: sputterpub

Apostrophe

Posted on January 20, 2023 by sputterpub

Don’t heed me now. I’m no authorityon building rhyme and specifying howone might’s well work at writing poetry.Don’t heed me now. The syntax needs be natural. I’ll allowa word’s reflecting etymology(its present obsolete or middlebrow). But don’t abuse good sense … Continue reading →

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Echeveria

Posted on January 19, 2023 by sputterpub

We planted succulents a year ago.Removing ivy and some old bamboo,I wanted drought-resistant green to grow,intent to tuck the roots in rocks. But yousaid soil wouldn’t stay in place, and sowe wedged in pots (some hidden, some in view).They did … Continue reading →

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Theorizing

Posted on January 18, 2023 by sputterpub

I wrong her when I say she shut me downthe days I tried to tell her how I felt.What hurt was her disdain – that sour frownand “Can it!” never made my passion melt.But now I see distinction – there … Continue reading →

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Constraint & Complaint

Posted on January 17, 2023 by sputterpub

Outrageous is the way the parent ravedwhen Grandma’s offering was overheard.The father sought to rule how all behavedwhile abdicating care – it was absurd.Preposterous and futile his attemptto dictate from a couch or easy chair.He had no interest how his … Continue reading →

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Mayor of My Phone

Posted on January 16, 2023 by sputterpub

The first three letters of my name are “Mar.”In New York it’s pronounced like Apple’s “A.”But California made it rhyme with “care”(and though I’m no old horse, it stayed that way).When voicemail’s left for me by cell, what’s thereaddressing me, … Continue reading →

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Ant Skunk Opossum

Posted on January 15, 2023 by sputterpub

So far the winter here is crazy wet.Reports about La Niña have gone mute.Like seasons of my youth I don’t forget,the storms arrive in waves from a commuteAlaska sent, Hawaii made. The threatof parked high pressure’s this month destitute.It’s likely … Continue reading →

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They Seem Too Scared (Millennials)

Posted on January 14, 2023 by sputterpub

They seem too scared to me to be content,too anxious to be thoroughly preparedfor all contingencies and each event.They seem too scared. Did parents over-hover? Were they caredfor to ridiculous and ill extent?What caused their nervousness to be so bared? … Continue reading →

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Yellow Press

Posted on January 13, 2023 by sputterpub

I think I was in junior high or less,when we were taught about the 4th estate.We learned then that the vile “Yellow Press”existed to twist truth, to propagatefake news that grabs attention, to addressthe weakest minds. By 1898the term was … Continue reading →

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The Present

Posted on January 12, 2023 by sputterpub

I future-focused when I was a kid.I didn’t prosper in the here-and-nowin college in the 60’s, when we bidfarewell to past and future, trying howfor better presents – change that would allowa shot to every group our culture missed.(We mostly … Continue reading →

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Rain Check (A Curtal Sonnet)

Posted on January 11, 2023 by sputterpub

My brother’s Covid means we must postponethe dinner reservation that we madeto celebrate completion of each speckof year-end office work. We’ll use the phoneinstead of seeing Mom for brunch, and tradegood words for food, and peace for pain in neck(induced … Continue reading →

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