Whistles Were Not Previously Lips
Dale Houstman
Whistles Were Not Previously Lips
___________________________
The difference between her skin
& a novel about her skin
is the sea inside the sheets
and there die the Alps
of her bridal gown.
Daylight bleaches the sheets
and once again there are women
drunk in the hall;
pale & hand-woven
with red nails.
Blackbird-flavored ether
& baby oranges veined
in a self-sufficient light.
Love has whistles
made from opium pipes.
___________
dmh
d'huit
question in my mind--'there die the alps'---i keep thinking, perhaps
errantly, that 'dies' might be the better verb choice. i think of alps as a
single mountain range in this piece. in another context, i would be
inclined to consider the alps a series of several mountain ranges.
"Dale Houstman" <dm...@citilink.com> wrote in message
news:ujnqtrn...@corp.supernews.com...
> ___________________________
>
> Whistles Were Not Previously Lips
> ___________________________
>
>
>
> The difference between her skin
> & a novel about her skin
> is the sea inside the sheets
> and there die the Alps
> of her bridal gown.
***thought provoking strophe, with a definite hook for this reader's
attention.
>
> Daylight bleaches the sheets
> and once again there are women
> drunk in the hall;
> pale & hand-woven
> with red nails.
***love 'hand-woven with red nails.'
>
> Blackbird-flavored ether
***love this line. pulls in mystery, as well as, the innocence of a nursery
rhyme.
> & baby oranges veined
> in a self-sufficient light.
>
> Love has whistles
> made from opium pipes.
***this ending is so interesting, i'm hearing cop whistles, cat-call
whistles, end of play sports' whistles echoing in this line.
kate
>
> ___________
> dmh
>
>
Rosa Rugosa
>
> ___________________________
>
> Whistles Were Not Previously Lips
> ___________________________
>
> The difference between her skin
> & a novel about her skin
> is the sea inside the sheets
This makes me think of a number of different things: a bed
rocking like the sea when I pass out drunk; or sex; or
(regrettably) bedwetting.
Hey, there's a poem title for you: Regrettably Bedwetting.
You can pay me later.
> and there die the Alps
> of her bridal gown.
>
> Daylight bleaches the sheets
I'm afraid this reinforces the bedwetting image.
> and once again there are women
> drunk in the hall;
> pale & hand-woven
> with red nails.
>
> Blackbird-flavored ether
> & baby oranges veined
When I look at this, the lines get mixed up (dyslexia?) and
I see baby blackbirds with orange veins. Also, I see them
not as real blackbirds, but as cartoon blackbirds. And also,
I see the ether as being black BERRY flavored, probably
because I can't imagine what blackbirds would taste like, so
my mind quickly makes a familiar substitution.
> in a self-sufficient light.
>
> Love has whistles
> made from opium pipes.
Opium always sounds like the most wonderful drug. It's so
romantic, it makes all the other drugs seem lowbrow and
unimaginative.
>
> ___________
> dmh
I'll never understand why I enjoy this crazy nonsense of
yours. Other people post crazy nonsense and I don't like it
at all. And it's not a simple matter of being influenced by
personality issues, because when I first started lurking
here I didn't like you at all. (Though like "the cancer that
eats at the earth", I suppose you do grow on a person.)
Maybe it's because you tend to use happy, pleasing images
(dresses, cake, whistles, love, opium). And even when you
don't, the craziness lends the images a happy-go-lucky
feeling. You're the Bugs Bunny of poets.
I think I'm probably Baby Huey. Dennis Hammes is Scrooge
McDuck. Julie Carter is Veronica from The Archies. Sophie is
Mrs. Katzenjammer. Peter Ross is Mr. Peabody. Tom Bishop is
of course Tom of Tom and Jerry. Paul Heslop is Scooby Doo.
Dale Houstman
"d'huit" <jus...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:25W_8.626864$cQ3.100846@sccrnsc01...
> hi dale! i like this. it works for me and i love the imagery. one
> question in my mind--'there die the alps'---i keep thinking, perhaps
> errantly, that 'dies' might be the better verb choice. i think of alps as
a
> single mountain range in this piece. in another context, i would be
> inclined to consider the alps a series of several mountain ranges.
It's comme ci comme ca, isn't it? I found the sound better if I avoided
having two ending "s"s in the same line.
Martijn Benders
I think most of your work not only borders on kitsch, but _is_ kitsch.
Then again, most surrealists make kitsch.
M.H.Benders
Dale Houstman
"Martijn Benders" <maan...@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:3D3C508E...@chello.nl...
> Dale Houstman wrote:
>
> I think most of your work not only borders on kitsch, but _is_ kitsch.
> Then again, most surrealists make kitsch.
>
> M.H.Benders
>
you like to make logical errors, don't you? This is the only explanation I
can think of (besides imbecility). Just a week or so ago, you were claiming
I was one of the "serious" writers and now I'm kitsch. Your stupdity would
be more amusing if you weren't a fascist on top of it. I'd work on getting
rid of one of them. An idiot - okay. A Fascist - bearable. A moron Nanzi -
not acceptable.
Also, you strongly claim that I am NOT a surrealist, so how is that relevant
to the discussion? Or is it true you can't hold one thought in your head at
a time? Sad, but I suppose you have paid psychiatric care in your wet little
country? So you should be able to get some sort of help, even if it's only
massive amounts of "feel good" pills.
good luck, Martijn: Americans really feel for the invalid.
dmh
Martijn Benders
>
> you like to make logical errors, don't you? This is the only explanation I
> can think of (besides imbecility). Just a week or so ago, you were claiming
> I was one of the "serious" writers and now I'm kitsch.
That only proves how fast you are able to go downhill.
> Your stupdity would
> be more amusing if you weren't a fascist on top of it.
Ooooh, american metaphysics: If I say it often enough, it must be the truth!
M.H.Benders
Dale Houstman
> Dale Houstman wrote:
>
> >
> > you like to make logical errors, don't you? This is the only explanation
I
> > can think of (besides imbecility). Just a week or so ago, you were
claiming
> > I was one of the "serious" writers and now I'm kitsch.
>
> That only proves how fast you are able to go downhill.
No - it only proves you were at the bottom of your imaginary hill to begin
with.
>
>
> > Your stupdity would
> > be more amusing if you weren't a fascist on top of it.
>
> Ooooh, american metaphysics: If I say it often enough, it must be the
truth!
>
It was true the first time I said it. I only repeat it because you have a
history of not understanding simple points.
and now I am no longer amused by pretending Dutch insects can talk. Or
think. Or write. Or admit that their dullness is precisely that.
dmh
Dale Houstman
> Dale Houstman wrote:
>
> >
> > you like to make logical errors, don't you? This is the only explanation
I
> > can think of (besides imbecility). Just a week or so ago, you were
claiming
> > I was one of the "serious" writers and now I'm kitsch.
>
> That only proves how fast you are able to go downhill.
>
Oh, another logical error by the way. You said "most"of my work was kitsch,
so all of the work I previously did that you judged "serious" also went
downhill? At any rate, I wrote the poem months before your tiresome little
game, Dutchess. As ususal - although you are beyond comprehension of your
own irrelevance to any adult conversation - your statements themselves
border on kitsch. In fact, I think you slipped over the border late at night
disguised as a human being. too bad your makeups running so badly now.
dmh
Joshua P. Hill
<maan...@chello.nl> wrote:
>Dale Houstman wrote:
>
>> you like to make logical errors, don't you? This is the only explanation I
>> can think of (besides imbecility). Just a week or so ago, you were claiming
>> I was one of the "serious" writers and now I'm kitsch.
>
>That only proves how fast you are able to go downhill.
You know, there was a time when I thought you were trying to be funny
when you said things like this.
Josh
"I am indeed quite likely to be a monster, as a tiger who'd step into a pond would be a
monster to the slimey little creatures living in there." -Martijn Benders
Martijn Benders
>
> > That only proves how fast you are able to go downhill.
> >
>
> Oh, another logical error by the way.
Logical error. Dale spotted a logical error!
> You said "most"of my work was kitsch,
> so all of the work I previously did that you judged "serious" also went
> downhill?
I never judged your poems as 'serious'. Like I said a hundred times before: the
literacy metre doesn't measure the quality of poetry exclusively. That said, I
kind of like kitsch so its only natural I would appreciate it highly. Just the
thing with kitsch is that it's only bearable in small quantities.
Your poetry always gives me the same impression: that of a guy who plays with
words instead of dolls. There's always the sense of some sort of supernatural
dullness that lies over them like the poet was really bored and started to play
about with some metaphors like they're merely replacements of his toys. Besides
that, you severely suffer from certain conceptual imbecilities: I don't think
I've seen a poem from your hand yet with the Train, the Beauty, the
Whatever..... it reminds me of Dali's watch.
M.H.Benders
Joshua P. Hill
<maan...@chello.nl> wrote:
You coulda saved yourself a lot of typing by writing "Dale said bad
things about me."
Send him to the cornfield!
JAS Carter
<jos...@snet.net.REMOVE.THIS> whistled into the wind, melodiously:
>You coulda saved yourself a lot of typing by writing "Dale said bad
>things about me."
>
>Send him to the cornfield!
This must be Iowa, 'cause it sure as hell ain't heaven.
--
Julie Carter
You put Ohiohills in; you take the Yahoo out;
you put Ohiohills in and you type your message out.
You do the hokey pokey and you drop Julie a line.
That's what email's about.
Dale Houstman
"Rosa Rugosa" <rosa1...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3D3C3D51...@yahoo.com...
> Dale Houstman wrote:
> >
> > ___________________________
> >
> > Whistles Were Not Previously Lips
> > ___________________________
> >
> > The difference between her skin
> > & a novel about her skin
> > is the sea inside the sheets
>
> This makes me think of a number of different things: a bed
> rocking like the sea when I pass out drunk; or sex; or
> (regrettably) bedwetting.
Life's an ocean of regrets.
>
> Hey, there's a poem title for you: Regrettably Bedwetting.
> You can pay me later.
Consider yourself paid.
>
> > and there die the Alps
> > of her bridal gown.
> >
> > Daylight bleaches the sheets
>
> I'm afraid this reinforces the bedwetting image.
What have you got against bedwetting? You're an anti-bedwetterist!
>
> > and once again there are women
> > drunk in the hall;
> > pale & hand-woven
> > with red nails.
> >
> > Blackbird-flavored ether
> > & baby oranges veined
>
> When I look at this, the lines get mixed up (dyslexia?) and
> I see baby blackbirds with orange veins. Also, I see them
> not as real blackbirds, but as cartoon blackbirds. And also,
> I see the ether as being black BERRY flavored, probably
> because I can't imagine what blackbirds would taste like, so
> my mind quickly makes a familiar substitution.
Precisely. It's a "two-fer." Or "more-fer.":
>
> > in a self-sufficient light.
> >
> > Love has whistles
> > made from opium pipes.
>
> Opium always sounds like the most wonderful drug. It's so
> romantic, it makes all the other drugs seem lowbrow and
> unimaginative.
It sounds great, but it's problematic, I hear. And - even more regrettably -
it is difficult to find! In the 60s it was a lot easier. Often hash came
soaked in the stuff. Nice weekends.
>
> >
> > ___________
> > dmh
>
> I'll never understand why I enjoy this crazy nonsense of
> yours. Other people post crazy nonsense and I don't like it
> at all. And it's not a simple matter of being influenced by
> personality issues, because when I first started lurking
> here I didn't like you at all. (Though like "the cancer that
> eats at the earth", I suppose you do grow on a person.)
> Maybe it's because you tend to use happy, pleasing images
> (dresses, cake, whistles, love, opium). And even when you
> don't, the craziness lends the images a happy-go-lucky
> feeling. You're the Bugs Bunny of poets.
Now THAT's a compliment! It took my wife about ten years to like me, so I
understand. As for the nonsense, I suppose one of the reasons you might like
it here so much is that I do take a lot of trouble to "metaphorize" and
"focus" the images around discernible and common iconic subjects. I mean,
I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but I really don't write them as
nonsense, and they make as sort of perfect sense to me. In other words (even
though they are - as I have learned from an astute Dutchess - kitsch) I take
them seriously. The "happy, pleasing images" however, are almost always
rallied in the cause of regret, resignation, violence, melancholia, amnesia,
solitude, isolation, loss, and "perversity." It sort of fools you, I
suppose.
> I think I'm probably Baby Huey. Dennis Hammes is Scrooge
> McDuck. Julie Carter is Veronica from The Archies. Sophie is
> Mrs. Katzenjammer. Peter Ross is Mr. Peabody. Tom Bishop is
> of course Tom of Tom and Jerry. Paul Heslop is Scooby Doo.
And who will be Alice Goon and Deputy Dawg?
dmh
Martijn Benders
> You're the Bugs Bunny of poets.
>
> Now THAT's a compliment! It took my wife about ten years to like me, so I
> understand.
Ah, the concessions involved in long term relationships!
> As for the nonsense, I suppose one of the reasons you might like
> it here so much is that I do take a lot of trouble to "metaphorize" and
> "focus" the images around discernible and common iconic subjects.
That's almost the exact definition of kitsch. The manager of the Spice Girls
does exactly the same things. Carefully creating an icon other people can
worship. False idols.
M.H.Benders