mikepowernyc

[mikepowernyc]

Renoir said

When I was a boy, my parents hung a painting called Girl With A Watering Can by Pierre Auguste Renoir in the room that would become my bedroom. It gave me one of those introductions to art that wash over us when we’re young then stay with us for the rest of our life. Renoir said, “Why should art be ugly? There are enough ugly things in the world.” That's another thing that stays with me. He…

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Courtroom Sketch

The worst thing about him is the low bar he sets. He is one of the people who thinks violence is a good way to settle a disagreement. In his case, because he is a coward, he wants other people to do his violence for him. He wants to watch it on TV. Courtroom sketches by Jane Rosenberg

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On the back of the night

On the back of the nightThere is something darker than blackThat changes youWhen you looked and it looked backAt the crack of dawnThere is something brighter than whiteThat changes youWhen you look and see the light

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The oceans of my dreams

When I fall asleep I am like a fish returning to water from the hot sticky sand of the waking world. I can swim and breathe again in the oceans of my dreams.

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There's a pebble inside

There’s a pebble insideThe great pyramid of GizaThat hasn’t seen the sun forThousands of yearsBut it remembersIt still remembersThere’s an old man whoHasn’t known love sinceHe was youngBut he can’t forget itHe forgot how to forgetThere’s an ocean that coversHalf of the worldThat breaks on rocky andSandy shores andNever forgetsIt is made up of dropsThere’s a young woman whoSurvives on her…

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The be a part of us

To be a part of us, you have to give up a part of you. By us, I don’t mean you and me; I mean the generic us of any couple who want to make a commitment to each other. The part of you that you have to give up is the part that allows you to do whatever you want, whenever you want. That’s a lot of freedom to sacrifice on the altar of us. It is a bigger sacrifice for some than others. For those who…

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Measuring Up

We measure ourselves against lines on a wallWe measure ourselves against our parents and siblingsWe measure ourselves against those we admire and despiseBut mostly we measure in numbersWe measure in inches and kilometersWe measure in nanoseconds, geological epochs, and light yearsWe even measure in negative numbersAgeWeightHeightBlood pressureBank balancePeople we’ve had sex withPeople we…

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You did the finest thing for me

You did the finest thing for meThat anyone can do for anotherWhen I fell in love with youYou let me see myself through your eyesI saw some things I liked a lotAnd some things that I did notI leaned into the good thingsAnd away from the bad onesI became a better manBecause of you

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#art #drawing #original poem #poem #poetry #sketchbook

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So today

So todayI finally found a wayTo enjoy that hungry feelingThat had bothered me for so longNow this hunger that used to eat me upIs burning off the fatThis hunger keeps me curiousAnd there’s nothing wrong with thatThis hunger is finding its own wayWay off the beaten trackThis hunger won’t be satisfiedWith some little snack

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Breathing

Breathe in – the flowers of natureBreathe out – the diseases of manBreathe in – the future that’s comingBreathe out – the past we’re leaving behindBreathe in – the spirit of LoveBreathe out – the demon of angerBreathe in – the air the follows the stormBreath out the storm

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#original poem #poem #poetry

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All the things that are weighing me down

All the things that are weighing me downAre the same things that are enlightening meEvery burden bears its blessingAnd every curse carries its tune

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#original poem #poem #poetry

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I have a mind that likes to wander

I have a mind that likes to wanderIt’s not going anywhere in particularBut the things that it stumbles acrossHave made me who I am

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#original poem #poem #poetry

[mikepowernyc]

If you live long enough

If you live long enough you will recognize things that you are doing for the last time.You will watch people you love die.You will see faces in the trees and in the shadows on the rug.You will not see the faces that are speaking to you.I am speaking to you.You can’t see my face.Unless you can now that you think about it.

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#poem #poetry

[mikepowernyc]

The reassurance of the mundane

There is something aboutThe reassurance of the mundaneThe sound of water in the sinkThe smell of onions on the stoveTo know your friend has got your backAnd the one you love is coming homeThings that are too good to be trueUsually areBut not you

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#poem #poetry

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The world is so still

The world is so stillI can hear the clouds comingFalling all over each otherTo see which one can dumpTheir water on me first

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#poem #poetry #writing

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Not today

I had the rugPulled out from underI stumbled butI couldn’t fallNot todayToday was a day for balanceFor taking luck for grantedA day where every step Falls where it ought to fall

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#poem #poetry

[mikepowernyc]

ASCAP

Last Wednesday I attended the 2024 Membership Meeting of ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. If you are a songwriter, you should do yourself a favor and join. When it was founded, in 1914, you had to read and write music to be a member but after an exception was made for Irving Berlin, the floodgates opened for schlubs like me (and Irving). There were many wonderful…

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#ascap #blessing offor #claudia brant #liana banks #maggie lindemann #music