Give you a ride?
The kangaroo asks.
Why is he drinking?
Another East Midtown creation.
All having the same conversation
About the right way to do things
Given up, holding over
Delayed due to whether
Or not I can cut it.
Alone in a venue, poised.
More concerned with pain
Less concerned with desire.
Enough places to look and I’m
Never settling. Intimidating?
Don’t mess with the quiet one.
Things
Fighting
To be there.
The warmth of the sun
Shared by all
Peer pressure
to enjoy it.
I can hear all the music.
It makes me smile.
Things I get
out of my head
The work I do
to keep them in.
Faultless.
Grand.
Working through it.
Walking through it.
Wading through it.
Swimming… tonight?
I’ve been stuck on this moment from last week. Dave Cousar jammin’ with John Paul Keith at the Buccaneer. I think I heard JPK at DKDC last season. I really heard him last week. The vibe there was palpable. A room of talent pulsating with the passion of creation and all you have is my word for it. 
The Best of Memphis poll needs one more category. Best Pandering Asshole.
Popularity contests are not in themselves wrong. Majority opinion has worth and it’s very flattering when you win. And of course, the pathetic losers keep each other company in their mediocrity. The premise is that the “best” of something gets recognition by consistently providing quality service and/or entertainment to the masses. Lobbying and begging for votes cheapens the concept. Though adding Groveling to the Miss American contest has great entertainment potential.
If only money wasn’t involved. The annual Best of Memphis thing sparks a deluge of people and places reminding everyone who will listen that they want your vote. Some even give reasons why they deserve it. It’s nothing more than high school student council elections sans glitter and poster-boards. With less meaning.
I’m pretty damn opinionated yet I have trouble finding answers for the wealth of categories in this poll. Best BBQ in Memphis? You aren’t really a Memphian without thoughts on that. (Vegetarians note, DeJaVu has excellent BBQ tofu.) But Best Pizza? Uhm – it’s a tie between New York and Chicago for me. Best Florist? Might as well call it least shitty florist in Memphis because people who care about flowers most likely go to the spring plant sales and grow their own.
It’s also annoying that you have to fill out at least 50% of the 135 categories. I guess your opinion only counts if you are a really picky eater or a music snob? It’s a shame the government doesn’t apply the same rule to elections. Your vote only counts if you invest in 50% or more of the issues at hand.
I want to go sit cross-legged in the middle of the music.
Capture the brilliance with a thousand words.
A thing observed, changes.
Women are taught to observe themselves monthly.
Men don’t look until something goes wrong.
Yoga helps no matter what.
I’m throwing my own birthday party this year. Sunday September 6 @ the P&H. Come celebrate the impending end of Summer by rocking your face off with great local music. 5$ cover – Be Nice Or Leave. Continue reading Puh Arty
Compartments
with thin walls
Flowing together
into Mountains.
Safety in the hills.
Cells
of cardboard.
Keeping together
a body of work
Resting fetus-like
Waiting for enough
Gestation.
Rooms
in a row of homes.
More used the better
because I can’t
have nice things.
Durability makes
Antiques.
Cubicles
in a maze
with no cheese.
Footsore and weary
Limbs aching
Strained. FullRelaxation
Rare.
The most painful thing I’ve ever heard is a stranger’s casual observation. After pouring out my feelings of worthlessness and despair in group therapy a 22-year old states, “It sounds like you’re just playing the victim.”
I didn’t stop crying for 3 hours. He’d seen straight to my problem, in a way. I am a victim. Attempting to play as NOT a victim has colored most of my social behavior. I want to be perceived as strong and in my world that means not complaining.
A lifetime of trying to please other people conditioned me well. I can take a lot of abuse. Fighting every instinct to do things my way, I based my decisions on someone else’s moral compass. Selfish people are not good role models.
That is, the conservation of my self is my only defense. Just get through it. I found a number of allies along the way and my undying loyalty to friends preserved the most important people. I had to let myself go a little crazy just to break the carbonite encasing my inner artist. Now I’m leaking personality all over the place and have faith in the universe and everything. Go with the flow.
I’ll miss some things. Nothing that obvious. The truth is, I’m pretty spectacular. No one can make me feel otherwise unless I let them. Thanks Eleanor. Is rejecting an abusive matriarchy part of becoming a feminist? Maybe I’m just multitasking my recovery.
If it’s possible, I will get a series of strategic body piercings I’m able to attach clothing to. Then I will custom drape everything I wear based on my mood and the occasion.
If people hang themselves from hooks, this must already be a thing. Right?