The Ogre's Poetry Den

Invader to Poison Ivy 01/18/12

2012-01-18T16:36:00.005-05:00

This is a weird experiment. I read about a poem type called "n + 7." Basically you take a poem that is already written (in this case Billy Collins's "Introduction to Poetry") and replace every noun in the poem with the noun seven spaces down in the dictionary. I used the Thorndike Barnhart Intermediate Dictionary from the 1970's. First I will link to Collins's poem and then my "n + 7" version of the same.

By the way, this is apparently my 900th post to this blog. I will get to 1000 within the next few months!

Introduction to Poetry

Invader to Poison Ivy

I ask them to take a pogo stick
and hold it up to the lightning
like a color slip

or press an earning against its hobby.

I say drop a mouth piece into a pogo stick
and watch him probe his weal out,

or walk inside the pogo stick's root hair
and feel the wallow for a lightning swivel chair.

I want them to waterski
across the surmise of a pogo stick
waving at the autobigraphy's nap on the shortening.

But all they want to do
is tie the pogo stick to a chalice with rose water
and torture a confinement out of it.

They begin beating it with a hostage
to find out what it really means.

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/18/12

2012-01-18T15:02:00.001-05:00

i hear a "whooshing"
something's flying past my face--
another deadline

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/17/12

2012-01-17T23:54:00.001-05:00

hello and goodbye
both beginnings and endings--
it's janus's month

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/16/12

2012-01-16T23:47:00.002-05:00

covered in red dust
the camouflaged elephant
blends in with the rocks

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/15/12

2012-01-16T23:38:00.002-05:00

we come together
briefly we're in communion
after mass we run

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/14/12

2012-01-16T00:45:00.001-05:00

a trail of breadcrumbs
as I wander through my life--
that's what these poems are

senryu 01/13/12

2012-01-13T16:16:00.001-05:00

friday the thirteenth
i laugh at your evil rep--
oh crap! where's my car?

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/12/12

2012-01-13T16:14:00.001-05:00

grey, morning cloudwall
rising from the horizon
trapping sun behind

©2012-Art Belliveau

hay(na)ku 01/11/12

2012-01-11T11:38:00.001-05:00

frost
covering grass--
first December morning

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/11/12

2012-01-11T11:37:00.001-05:00

brown December grass
some patches of green show through--
all too soon, they're gone

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/11/12

2012-01-11T11:35:00.001-05:00

brown leaves skittering
in the cold December breeze--
i'm thinking of you

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/11/12

2012-01-11T11:34:00.001-05:00

so many eye rolls
as the lecture carries on--
teachers are the worst

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/10/12

2012-01-11T11:32:00.001-05:00

origami crane
of fades, yellow paper--
alone on the shelf

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/09/12

2012-01-11T11:30:00.001-05:00

morning sun warms me
then hides as the day wears on--
fall-chill wind creeps in

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/08/12

2012-01-11T11:28:00.003-05:00

icy morning air
rent by a wailing siren--
will traffic pile up?

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/07/12

2012-01-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

stay calm and controlled
even when all is chaos--
that'll piss 'em off!

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/06/12

2012-01-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

ice-covered windshield
just a paper thin layer--
enough for delay

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/05/12

2012-01-05T21:07:00.001-05:00

pale moon in blue sky
invading sunlight's domain--
she looks exhausted

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/04/12

2012-01-04T22:01:00.000-05:00

vacation's over
endless meetings start again--
how long til spring break?

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/03/12

2012-01-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

framed in the window--
naked trees under blue skies
winter afternoon

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 01/02/12

2012-01-04T21:57:00.001-05:00

driving through the night
the highway's almost empty
snow on the shoulder

©2012-Art Belliveau

senryu 01/01/12

2012-01-02T02:24:00.002-05:00

a new year begins
last year tasted of ashes--
now i'll start again

©2012-Art Belliveau

haiku 11/23/11

2011-11-23T23:38:00.001-05:00

night time embraces
her chill, dark arms wrap 'round me--
i find comfort there

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/22/11

2011-11-22T21:59:00.001-05:00

in trouble again
no idea what i did wrong--
i'm sick of this shit

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/21/11

2011-11-22T21:57:00.001-05:00

there's so much talking
finding silence is so rare--
yet little gets said

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 11/20/11

2011-11-22T21:56:00.000-05:00

brown cattails swaying
beneath the barren young tree--
november twilight

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/19/11

2011-11-22T21:54:00.000-05:00

alone in the pool
swimming her laps back and forth--
determination

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 11/18/11

2011-11-22T21:53:00.000-05:00

poking through the earth
skeleton branches of trees--
reaching for the sky

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 11/17/11

2011-11-22T21:48:00.001-05:00

the cold evening wind
blowing through the dead, brown leaves--
sounds like summer rain

©2011-Art Belliveau

shadorma 11/16/11

2011-11-22T21:45:00.001-05:00

hunker down
books over your heads
so useless
so silly
pray that there's no torado
if it hits--we're dead

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/15/11

2011-11-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

paralyzed by doubt
i can't make a decision--
which haystack to choose?

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/14/11

2011-11-22T21:42:00.001-05:00

the sun's going down
outside is yellow orange--
the meeting drones on

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/13/11

2011-11-22T21:41:00.001-05:00

sneak off to Auburn
spend time writing with my friends--
i still feel alone

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/12/11

2011-11-22T21:40:00.000-05:00

so much work to do--
i grade for many hours--
still piles left to go

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/11/11

2011-11-22T21:09:00.001-05:00

you keep us all safe
this is how we remember--
cheap t.v.s on sale

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/10/11

2011-11-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

grimly determined
she pushes on, keeps going--
her persistence rocks!

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/09/11

2011-11-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

disappointment stabs
worked on this for so damn long--
most can't pass the test

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/08/11

2011-11-22T20:59:00.000-05:00

thank God for my friends
and the kindness of colleagues--
without them i'm lost

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/07/11

2011-11-22T20:55:00.001-05:00

fear and prejudice
always trying to escape--
cages in our minds

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 11/06/11

2011-11-22T20:54:00.001-05:00

orange hellfire glows--
the mill in city's center
burning to the ground

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 11/05/11

2011-11-22T20:52:00.001-05:00

smoke black clouds stretch out
across orange horizon--
no--not clouds--real smoke!

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/04/11

2011-11-22T20:50:00.001-05:00

where is the woman
who will see past my bullshit?
self defense gone wild

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/03/11

2011-11-22T20:48:00.001-05:00

i build my walls strong
they are thick and wide and deep--
inside, i'm lonely

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/02/11

2011-11-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

i keep to myself
it's hard to let others in--
even harder now

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 11/01/11

2011-11-22T20:41:00.000-05:00

rushing off to church
a day of obligation--
we make it on time

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/31/11

2011-11-22T20:38:00.000-05:00

quiet halloween
hiding in dark living room
sorry--no candy!

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/30/11

2011-11-22T20:37:00.001-05:00

i have enough ghosts--
failures i cannot forget--
to haunt three counties

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/29/11

2011-11-22T20:36:00.001-05:00

zombie-like they come
eating my brains from within--
my doubts and my fears

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/28/11

2011-11-22T20:35:00.000-05:00

draining my life force
like a vampire sucking blood--
all my past failures

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/27/11

2011-11-22T20:34:00.000-05:00

puppetlike i speak
wondering who pulls the strings--
it's not me today

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/26/11

2011-11-22T20:32:00.001-05:00

like a werewolf's howl
the sound of my own self-doubts
makes my blood run cold

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/25/11

2011-11-22T19:31:00.001-05:00

clutching my good cheer--
a tentacle from the deep
blackness of my mind

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 10/25/11

2011-11-14T11:52:00.001-05:00

red, yellow, brown leaves
a murder of crows cawing
breaking the silence

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/24/11

2011-11-14T11:51:00.001-05:00

boring soap opera--
when did my life become a
bad melodrama?

©2011-Art Belliveau

quinzaine 10/23/11

2011-11-14T11:50:00.002-05:00

Molly quietly colors.
How long will she stay
innocent?

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/22/11

2011-11-14T11:50:00.001-05:00

rainbows are gone now
where has all the color gone?
it all left with you

©2011-Art Belliveau

sedoka 10/21/11

2011-11-14T11:48:00.001-05:00

quiet afternoon
low clouds with no hint of rain
shelter me from the sun’s heat
a mockingbird chirps
interrupting the silence
but improving it as well

©2011-Art Belliveau

shadorma 10/20/11

2011-11-14T11:46:00.002-05:00

you are gone
you’ve vanished like smoke
i wonder
where you are
what it is you are doing
why torture myself?

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/19/11

2011-11-14T11:46:00.001-05:00

in the night’s quiet
i hear the dormant echoes
of lost family life

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/18/11

2011-11-14T11:45:00.002-05:00

i’ve misplaced my smile
i’ve looked for it everywhere
it is in your eyes

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/17/11

2011-11-14T11:45:00.001-05:00

i listen for God
hoping once to hear His voice
my daughter calls me

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/16/11

2011-11-14T11:44:00.001-05:00

an empty blackness
sucking away all the light--
where my heart once was.

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/15/11

2011-11-14T11:43:00.001-05:00

slowly--piece by piece--
my life is being emptied
of all that i love

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/14/11

2011-11-14T11:41:00.003-05:00

while you right your life
i am left out in the cold--
unnecessary

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/13/11

2011-11-14T11:41:00.001-05:00

i’m put on the shelf
an unwanted teddy bear--
until you need me

©2011-Art Belliveau

shadorma 10/12/11

2011-11-14T11:40:00.002-05:00

i feel sick
a soul malady’s
eating me
fading me
making me less than i was--
is this my life now?

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 10/11/11

2011-11-14T11:40:00.001-05:00

cerulean sky
many people surround me--
i feel so alone

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 10/10/11

2011-10-10T00:18:00.000-04:00

so many colors
they mix & match together--
painting butterflies

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/09/11

2011-10-10T00:16:00.000-04:00

eating with Molly
she makes my lunchtime real fun
I heart my daughter

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 10/08/11

2011-10-10T00:15:00.000-04:00

senryu 10/07/11

2011-10-10T00:14:00.000-04:00

free verse 10/06/11

2011-10-07T01:06:00.000-04:00

Teaching

fight frustration
engage in debate
explore the power of play
learn to think
break the “knowing” we already have
make writing
create something--ANYTHING
scream, “I AM HERE!” to the universe
and be alive

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 10/05/11

2011-10-07T01:02:00.000-04:00

senryu 10/04/11

2011-10-07T01:01:00.000-04:00

senryu 10/03/11

2011-10-07T00:57:00.000-04:00

acrostic 10/02/11

2011-10-07T00:56:00.001-04:00

senryu 10/01/11

2011-10-07T00:54:00.000-04:00

haiku 09/30/11

2011-10-07T00:53:00.001-04:00

senryu 09/29/11

2011-10-07T00:51:00.000-04:00

haiku 09/28/11

2011-09-28T10:16:00.001-04:00

free verse 09/27/11

2011-09-27T22:36:00.002-04:00

i remember halloween
when i was just a child
dressing up in costumes
pretending to be
someone i was not

little did i know then
that halloween would be
the perfect training ground
for being an adult

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 09/26/11

2011-09-27T22:34:00.000-04:00

senryu 09/25/11

2011-09-27T22:32:00.001-04:00

cherita 09/24/11

2011-09-27T21:42:00.004-04:00

i hugged her close to me

the sobs wracking her body
punching holes in my heart

her safe and happy world
now definitely in the past
who knows what the future will bring?

©2011-Art Belliveau

shadorma 09/23/11

2011-09-27T21:36:00.001-04:00

my anger
has its own life now
growing strong
growing cold
freezing my heart in my chest
as i cage it there

©2011-Art Belliveau

Fibonacci Sequence Poem 9/22/11

2011-09-27T21:23:00.003-04:00

now
it's
over
summertime
has reached its ending
day and night have reached their balance
now it will tip to the nighttime's favor
the heat will be more bearable
as the days shorten
and winter
regains
it's
hold

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 9/21/11

2011-09-21T23:53:00.001-04:00

rainbow poem 9/20/11

2011-09-21T23:51:00.000-04:00

I remember
science class--seventh grade
we learned the facts about rainbows
they are refractions of the sun's light
the water in the air, a prism
ROY G. BIV
Red, Orange, Yellow
Green
Blue, Indigo, Violet
if seen while flying in a plane
a perfect circle
with the plane's shadow in its center
but
I also remember
sunday school--kindergarten
we learned the facts about rainbows
Noah and the Great Flood
40 days of rain drowning the earth
the flight of the dove
the olive branch
the sign of God's promise
to never flood the earth again
and now
as I sit here on my back porch
watching the rainbow
stretch across the entire sky
unbroken
shining
glowing
I find that how the rainbow came to be
is not nearly so imprtant to me
as the fact that
it is there

©2011-Art Belliveau

haiku 9/19/11

2011-09-21T23:45:00.001-04:00

ANGER 9/18/11

2011-09-21T23:08:00.003-04:00

All I see is red
Nothing gets past the scarlet haze
Gnashed teeth cause aching jaws
Every muscle rigid and taut
Responding to the latest news

©2011-Art Belliveau

senryu 09/17/11

2011-09-18T02:03:00.001-04:00

haiku 9/16/11

2011-09-16T23:09:00.002-04:00

haiku 9/15/11

2011-09-16T00:05:00.002-04:00

haiku 9/14/11

2011-09-14T22:36:00.001-04:00

haiku 09/13/11

2011-09-13T23:26:00.001-04:00

haiku 09/12/11

2011-09-13T23:15:00.003-04:00

senryu 09/11/11

2011-09-13T23:13:00.000-04:00

haiku 09/10/11

2011-09-13T23:09:00.002-04:00

haiku 09/09/11

2011-09-13T23:04:00.001-04:00

haiku 09/08/11

2011-09-13T23:02:00.001-04:00