On the brink of thirtydom

Mon, 30 Jan 2012
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Janet picks up her fortune cookie,
Then puts it down, turns to her friend:
“Don’t bank too much on youth. Your rookie
Season is drawing to an end.
John, things we would – when young – not think of,
Start to make sense when, on the brink of
Thirtydom, we pause to scan
What salves and salads cannot ban,
The earliest furrows on our faces,
The loneliness within our souls,
Our febrile clawing for mean goals,
Our programmed cockfights and rat races,
Our dreary dignity, false pride,
And hearts stored in formaldehyde

— Vikram Seth, The Golden Gate

No worries – no anxiety. Just reading a very good book and felt those were awesome lines.

Lucky Strikes.

Tue, 21 Jun 2011
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Marlon Brando lighting up.

So I mentioned that day that one of my poems has been published in the latest issue of Ceriph.

Here it is:

          Lucky Strikes
          By Laremy Lee 

          For all the boys from 10A04.

          Fumbles one out from the box, strikes
          it at a dulled edge: conversation
          does not ensue. He tries again – twice,
          thrice, before its head snaps off, departing
          into the distance of a long, lonely night.
          Leaves him standing there, limp
          cigarette dangling loosely from his lips,
          moisture slowly soaking filter tip.

          Lighting up shouldn’t be a dismal match
          grovelling wildly at the feet of blunted flints,
          looking to catch the song of a spark
          in a vain draw on an inflamed hope –
          that determination will grow into fire.

Go get your copy of Ceriph if you haven’t already done so.