Archive for the ‘elephants’ category

8 Mississippi!

October 24, 2012

“Eight Mississippi” From 1 MISSISSIPPI by Karin Gustafson

A day dealing with decisions has left me with little oomph for a new poem or political post, so I turn to…. MARKETING!

Above is a picture from my counting book 1 Mississippi.  If you like counting, elephants and rather watery watercolors, it may just be up your alley (or it might work for a small child you know.)

Or, if you feel like you already know how to count will enough, you may prefer Nose Dive, a very fun young adult book that features NYC, high school, Broadway musicals, phone sex (don’t worry!), and a generational discomfiture with Barbara Streisand.  (By Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Jonathan Segal.)

From NOSE DIVE – by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Jonathan Segal

Or GOING ON SOMEWHERE, (by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Diana Barco.)  Poetry, primarily formal poetry (sonnets, villanelles, pantoums.) 

All the books are published by BackStroke Books (my own imprint.) 

Thanks for your indulgence and support. 

Autumn Grids (Adventures with iPhone And You Know What)

October 22, 2012

I was on a train this a.m. with an iPhone, which is the devil’s plaything–meaning a very handy tool for wasting time. On this trip, I played with the question of whether to “sharpen” a photo or otherwise alter.  I find this type of decision difficult, especially when working on the tiny screen.  Sometimes I can hardly tell the altered picture from the original.  Can you?   Hmmm….

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“Hot And Cold Do Not Always Equal Tepid”

October 16, 2012

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Hot And Cold Do Not Always Equal Tepid

She felt as cold as unsparked coal
but heat turned up consumed him whole.

The nights so long, the sheets so blank,
he kicked them off his heated shank–
his metabolism so very high
he could barely stand a cover nigh;

while shivered she in downy bed
despite the fire inside her head
that smoldered behind her mental blocks
(requiring her to wear thick socks).

And then they met; their “fingers” touched–
I won’t detail this overmuch.
Suffice to say, they realized soon
that every sun can use a moon.

Said he to her, open up that door,
I’m the furnace you’ve been looking for.

Said she to him (and nearly weeping),
I’m that cool balm that you’ve been seeking.

So, they clove to, held each to each,
making warmth whene’er in reach;
and if not exactly regulated
felt both, at least, well conjugated.

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My offering for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night.  Check out the wonderful poets at dVerse and, if you have some time, check out my books!   Poetry, GOING ON SOMEWHERE, (by Karin Gustafson, illustrated by Diana Barco). 1 Mississippi -counting book for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms, or Nose Dive. Nose Dive is available on Kindle for just 99 cents! Nose Dive really is very funny and light hearted, and 1 Mississippi is a lot of fun for little teeny kids.

Game Is Still On (The Tenth!) But Here’s Hoping–

October 10, 2012

Go Yankees!

I’ve posted this picture before (a watercolor by yours truly) but it sometimes proves lucky.  So, with apologies for those who’ve seen it (and for those outside of NYC!), here’s hoping.

Monday Immoveable (With Elephant)

October 1, 2012

Agh.  Ugh.  (Yawn).

Monday.

“I grow old… I grow old…/I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.”

September 26, 2012

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Happy Birthday T.S. Eliot! Who dared to eat a peach. (Born September 26, 1888- Died January 4, 1965.)

P.S. Eliot! Sorry that the elephant got so goofy!

P.P.S. After posting last night, the thought occurred that I should add glasses, though I really hadn’t intended the elephant to be good old Tom. But still, well, glasses on an elephant are hard to resist, so here they are. Then, at suggestion of other commenter, I added something else.

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“In the Soup” (An Excerpt From Possible Story About Pineapple)

July 31, 2012

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In the Soup (an excerpt from a possible story about pineapple)

She wanted to be Garboesque, but with hair that stuck up at odd angles and a slightly trapezoidal upper lip (not an elegant roof for either cigarettes or demitassed coffee), she knew that cute sad clown was the closest she’d ever come.  She bought yellow rain boots as a result, a raincoat with frog’s eyes for epaulettes, and ended up in children’s books.

She would have liked, she often thought, to curate great art; to analyze conceptual pieces where people buried steel rods and talked about the American way of death, but wrote, instead, of a bunny who ate carrot soup.

She would have liked, she occasionally thought, to eat steak and pour Merlot down her bra. But she had a rather flat chest, which, she was sure, would have made the Merlot look like a stain of spilled Welch’s.

Also to go to Kiev, Prague, better yet, Casablanca where she would bemoan the Casbah, smoking filterless cigarettes over languid coffee, Merlot, maybe even, a Scotch.

But, as the carrot soup book was selling well, she went to the Galapagos, which were in fact quite beautiful. She came out afterwards with a book about an aging tortoise.  He ate grass soup; make that, watercress.

She would have liked to lie down in watercress, even just wet grass, to become a sylph, a silkie, swimming nude among its soft blades, a sharp metal one strapped to her back.

She wrote instead a book about an eagle who ate mouse soup. This one did not do so well, but, since she was now a somewhat successful children’s book writer (what with the carrots and watercress), one mouse soup was allowed.

In Paris, she thought to go to boites, but spent time instead in the Musee de Cluny where the corners of the tapestries held amazing pineapples.  In the cafes nearby, she ate many kinds of soup, thankful that she did not smoke, even inelegantly. At night, however, she increasingly poured Merlot down her bras, but only ones that were already a deep dark red.

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I am posting the above draft I-don’t-know-what for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night, hosted by the wonderful Hedgewitch, Joy Ann Jones. (Verse Escape). To those who are reading a lot and are put off by the sight of lots of words, I’m so sorry it’s not a short poem!

Check out dVerse for great online poetry. AND, if you get a chance, check out my books! Children’s counting book 1 Mississippi -for lovers of rivers, light and pachyderms. Or, if you in the mood for something older, check out Going on Somewhere, poetry, or Nose Dive, a very fun novel for those who are somewhat discontent with their appearance but love musicals, cheese and downtown NYC.

“Not P-Rose”

July 12, 2012

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Not P-rose

Perhaps a rose by any other name
would smell as sweet, but the unappellated
bud, the un-monickered bloom whose fame
has not been sung (its petals not related
in pinked syllables, scent characterized
by a synesthesia of waltz and skirt,
mud taste of coffee beans and honeyed pies),
that flower–that not-called-rose–will not insert
itself in my memory, which even smells
with words (as much as nose), holding most close
those lines that ring, that linger, echoed bells,
clinging even to harsh jangles more than prose
(some prose).  A rose–let it take new names in turn
but let them, my brain whispers, be names I learn.

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The above is a sonnet (of sorts) written for the dVerse Poets Pub “Form For All” challenge, hosted by the extremely thoughtful, generous and lyrical Gay Reiser Cannon, to write a poem on… poetry.   Check out dVerse, which is about to celebrate its first anniversary.

Also if anyone truly has time on their hands, they may enjoy looking at a very early (and quite different) draft of the poem above that I wrote one April, National Poetry Month, a couple of years back, on the 25th day of the month (when I was writing a poem a day).  The precursor really doesn’t work that well, but may be interesting to those intrigued by process.

Finally!  I have a poem featured in a new blog/zine– “Ten of the Best – Short Poetry,” which highlights ten short poems each month.  My poem arose from Brian Miller’s “buttons” prompt  – “Parkinson’s (Father)”.   Thanks  thanks thanks to Kolembo, the editor, and to all of you.

Insect Paparazzi-ing (Amazing sights!)

July 10, 2012

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I have been taking pictures of bugs lately.  Yesterday, I posted a very weird picture of a bee (who seemed to stare right into my iPhone camera.)  Here was another unexpected sight.

A Pleasant Break – Still Lives with Dog and Elephant

June 24, 2012

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Sometimes, when tired or stressed, it’s nice to do something, make something, simple–say, a drawing of an elephant and dog, without even an attempt at particular meaning–hidden or obvious. Just elephant, dog, bowl of fruit, flowers. (I do worry a bit about the dog on that high stool, but am going to dispel those concerns for now.)