http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:47:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Before dinner every evening,when the sun has just begun its descent,we take our bikes to the school.A haunted monument to public educationit towers, frowning down upon us:outsiders, miscreants, deserters,insults to the glory of the state.We stare back up at it and stick out our tonguesin defiance, laughing –how lucky we ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/reflections-on-providence-rhode-island/ I can’t feel my toes, and I imagine them all turning blue in my shoes. Like me, the gulls brace themselves against the cold ocean air             of a Northeastern March. Empty strings of lights droop from domesticated trees outlining the streets. Like a wasteland flecked with stray sightseers, trinket lovers,             shot-glass collectors. But these cobblestones pay mute tribute to the ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/the-old-port/ You looked just like my dad, I remember, and there was always a basket of Dum-Dum’s in your house or a handful in your pocket, as reward for being your granddaughters. You had a sweet tooth, they told me. I remember you in pieces as clear and sharp as that photograph gleaming under the lamp: me ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/i-remember-grandpa-tony/ I shall therefore conclude with a proposal that your watchmen be instructed, as they go on their rounds, to call out every night, half-past twelve, “Beware of the East India Company.” The cold night of December saw Indians abroad       with white features. The Masons did not meet that night, they were:       “Involved with tea.” Leaning upon the ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/december-16-1773/ Your body is like a birch tree: young, thin, frail, supple, sinewy. Your voice is like a clarinet: low, soft, smooth, sensual, long-winded. Your love is like an elephant: slow, patient, awkward, never-forgetting. http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/my-lover-is-like/ The only certainties in life are death and taxes and change under couch cushions. Mark has succeeded much better, his bounty Four-fifty in change, no trifle. Jean-Martin is short by one-fifty. They both head over to McDonalds. Dollar menu: the student’s delight. Choices, decisions, rumbling stomachs. Mark heeds his with greater voracity, orders a bit high for his budget. ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/poor-mark/ Writhing, wriggling in the joyous absence of a cruel, heartless sun. Stretching languidly over cool pavement, Drinking in the moisture surrounding. Slurping. slimy, sluggish. Panicking, racing (as fast as possible), Searching for shelter from the heat of the cruel heartless sun, cruel heartless steps. Slowing, stopping, drained. Tiptoeing through the graveyard, Stepping carefully among the bodies, Pitying the careless clitellata, Decaying on the ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/death-of-an-earthworm/ Cheese, cheese! O glorious cheese! I can’t eat you for you make me gassy, But when I see you my eyes become glassy, and I forget flatulence with ease. O cheese! Cheese, cheese! O marvelous cheese! Muenster and cheddar and jack, One bite and I cannot turn back. Pass the Beano if you please. More cheese! Cheese, cheese! I miss ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/praise-for-cheese-by-the-lactose-intolerant/ There was no beach. Nothing but rock down to the sea, full of crags and caves ripe for exploring. The waves crashed against the stone – those covered in seaweed danced. Baby crabs and shrimp, mollusks and barnacles, hidden by patches of seaweed frolicked in tide pools. The sand colored rocks were rubbed smooth, holes and ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/beavertail/ You curl your legs beneath you and rest the well-worn notebook in the crook of your knee Your favorite pen or one just like it Press it to the paper and make lines, curves, circles Rhyme every other line, or every two lines Or do not rhyme at all, simply write Until the inspiration comes and ... http://muse.jelliebean.org/writing/this-is-how/