What Was Found in the Mason Jars in the Root Cellar of My New House

crimson walls and gratuitous
oxidation
grab invisible knobs
of brass and steel

nowhere comes too soon
no exit into the melodrama
no entrance into the freedom
from chains that restrict to
fever floods.

the solitary flame of
Aladdin’s lamp
taunts, teases and shrieks

Can’t get to me

silent blackness. Heard
in echoes

cackles and shackles
mask martyred mastodons
while the genie plays god on television

Oh, I know the nightmares

I catch them in mason jars
spread them on toast
and eat it over and over.


***
The bones of this poem is fairly old, I would say almost ten years. I did a lot of revision on this and it turned out a lot better. Lately, I have been big into revising my old stuff because I can. I feel like I write better poems now. Anyway, I like how it turned out.

I am trying to post more. I know I've said it before, but I was attacked by the lazy, napping monster.

Till next time....

Into the Garden by JM Scott Free on Kindle Through July 21, 2017

Into the Garden by JM Scott is FREE in all Kindle markets through July 21, 2017. I hope you all grab a free copy and take a read. These are some of my earlier poems. Some are good and some not so much.  I still love writing acrostic poems, but I don't write them as much as I used to.

Please enjoy this free sample called "Black Plums."

Jet Star Jockey by JM Scott Free in all Kindle Markets Through July 16, 2017.

Hey all, I know I should be posting more but lately my brain has been fuzzy. I feel like I have this fog over my brain and my days run together. Anyway who cares about that?

Jet Star Jockey is FREE in all Kindle markets through July 16, 2017. I love how this book turned out. It was a great poetry project for 2015. From what I can see, there doesn't seem to be a lot of other poets who do this, or at least not that I have seen. Well anyway enjoy this free sample from the book.

If you grab a copy of the book, why not leave a review and let me know what you think.

Till next time...

What the Hell is Going on in the White House

In case you missed it, there is crazy shit coming from the president.

No need to rehash all the wackiness. I don't want this to be insulting to those who voted for him, but how can anyone still stand behind him? I was never a fan, but one thing I always said was DT's downfall would be Twitter. It will be his own doing. First, let's talk voter records....


I am guessing the whole reason why DT's committee wants voter records is to find fraud. Okay fine. I get that and for some reason we have a shit load of money to do this but whatever. Let me save you the trouble....

In 1998, I registered to vote as a Republican.  In 2000, I voted for Al Gore for president. In 2004, I voted GW Bush. 2008 and 2012, I voted for Obama.  Before going any further I changed party affiliations twice in this time.  I was independent then I switched to Democrat before the 2008 primaries . I voted for Hillary in the primaries. In 2016, I voted for Hillary Clinton. I have lived in PA since I was 17 years old and I have not lived in another state since turning 18.

My father in law was a registered voter. He no longer shows up in the log book. I would know since my father in law, my brother in law and myself live in the same precinct. When I sign the book to show I was there (yes, I physically have to sign. I also have my ID ready. However, the people there only ID me once, the first time I voted in that precinct. The same people are always there). I always notice my brother in law has not been in. I also know my father in law's name is not there because he is passed away in 2010. I know this because his name will come right before mine.

Funny someone did their job and removed him from the rolls. Unless of course they have a secret book where they keep the all dead names and vote. Pennsylvania is a swing state and this year, the state went overwhelming to DT. Not exactly sure where there is fraud. I guess maybe he didn't get enough votes in our state. I don't know.

THERE IS NO WAR ON CHRISTMAS

What the fuck? Are there people who really believe this? Christmas is a federal holiday. Almost everything is closed except for a couple of gas stations and the movie theaters. When I was kid everything was closed. Where does this idea come from?

Scientists say Jesus WAS NOT  born on December 25.  The Christian church made it that day because of Yule. And the church was looking for converts.  Evergreen, Santa, and all the other stuff is pagan. I would guess what most us celebrate are  Yule traditions.

So really it is war on Yule. So maybe this year, I should stay HAPPY MOTHERFUCKING YULE as opposed to Merry Christmas.

And I would also assume if Jesus's birth was so important to practicing Christians then this fake war on Christmas means nothing to them because they know their relationship with Jesus. They do not need to be told Merry Christmas to keep their faith alive. Why would they feel insulted if they were not wished a Merry Christmas? It shouldn't matter either way.

Enough said for one day...

What's Next? After College

Wow, next week I will be done with school. I would have earned 120 credits and my Bachelor's in English and Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction and poetry. Sometimes, it doesn't feel real. I did it. I graduated.

I followed the traditional path. I went to high school graduated then went to college. Then something happened in college. I didn't like my major. I didn't know what to do then I went in freefall. I left college and just bumbled around. Yet, I always wanted my degree. It became a life goal. A friend told me about SNHU and I looked at it and applied. Here I am today.

With my school work ending next week, now it is time to think about what I want to do now. I will have a lot more free time, at least until November. I am going to apply for the Master's program at SNHU so I can be a professor at the school. I am not applying for grad school until September, which gives me several months to work on other things.

What's Next?

• My poetry calendar. It is time to select photos, write poems and create the calendar. Projected release is late September or October. Of course, earlier would be better
• Work on my 300 Poems One Book board on Pintrest. I have been slacking on this for 2 months now. I want to get back to making a new poem every other day. 
• Prepare two poetry chapbooks for Kindle. One is already done. I am thinking of taking poems from this blog to make another called Blopo (a clever combination of blog poems). I am still not sure if this is a good idea, what the hell do I do with the poems on here? Delete them? I don't know. 
• Go back to freelancing, even part time. 
• Marketing and more marketing for my writing and my jewelry
• Send more work out to publishers. I also have been slacking on this. I am going to start with one a week and move it up to 2 a week. 

And that's about it.  That is a lot. I know it is. But here's the thing, I want to carve out my own path in life. And this is how I want to do it. Yeah, I know I am not going to be rich overnight or famous, but I got to work at it. I have be dedicated to my art (in all forms) and consistently work at it. 

Till next time....

Sweet Dreamland Wheels by JM Scott FREE Through June 16, 2017

Hey all, Sweet Dreamland Wheels is FREE in all Kindle markets through June 16, 2017.

Two years ago, I participated in NaPoWriMo with the former Found Poetry Review. And the goal was to create 30 different poems using various found and experimental techniques. Some of these techniques I use to this day because it allows me to discover new word combinations. The poems can be thought-provoking. Some may not even have  "meaning." Sometimes poetry can be enjoyed by the use of language and how the words sounds together. Think of it like nursery rhymes. Many of them don't make sense but they are fun to say.

I can't believe this book is two years old. Where does time go? It seems like it is time to get another book ready for Kindle. It feels like months since I released one. I do have some in the works. I am hoping once, I finished with school (just two more weeks) I will get back into a writing routine.

If you get the book, why not leave a review. It would mean the world to me.

Here is a sample poem that was sourced from a Stephen King novel. Enjoy....

Some Time or Another,  We’ve All Been There

I could see arrangements
in the blind bathroom-
the insectile sound
of nothing there

the October hospital
happened across the pavement
and spiders at three o’ clock

And yet
I remade my bed early.

it occurred to me-
yesterday I over laid
the expensive water
and tumbled over my Joyland dream.


Source: King, Stephen. Joyland. London: Titan Books, 2013. Print.

Jupiter on Repeat

Jupiter sounds like unseen hand bells in a windswept wasteland. And perhaps those were hand bells, alien instruments from beneath the surface before Jupiter reclaimed it self. We are on borrowed time here on this planet. It is a matter of time before we are artifacts buried deep in sandstone.

Do you ever really look at people? I find myself looking at each person, while sitting in a parking lot or on the boardwalk. Wondering what they are thinking about. Why are they going into the beer shack, is for a get together with friends or to drown their problems in amber? I wonder who they are, where they are going. Sometimes, if you think about people long enough, you realize they might be wondering the same thing about you, and in the end you are all almost the same- just a spec in the universe. We circle around each other like atoms sharing electrons.

I couldn't mow over the garter snake in my front yard. I thought I had killed him when I mowed over his tail- twice. But once I turned the mower around, he was there. His head upright, flicking his tongue, sensing the air. I moved the mower closer, to scare him. He didn't move. He looked right at me and I looked right at him and I mowed in another patch of yard. Later, I found him under the car. Then even later, I didn't find him at all.

Sometimes, beautiful word phrases will come to mind and they swirl and tumble like dandelion seeds. Then just like that, a wind comes and takes them away. And I find myself wanting to write but the muscle desire and discipline also vanish in the wind. I think that, maybe, I am too hard on myself. What is productivity anyway? And how does that mean anything to anyone? Somehow, through mind numbing levels of Candy Crush, I get my work done. I should be glad for that.

It is like summer just turned on. The heat outside lays across the horizon like spider webs. I want to go swimming, but the lakes are too cold. Inside, the heat has not found its way in. It will by eleven tonight. The thermostat will read 81. I like the summer. I like sitting in the sunshine by water feeling my skin burn even if I am wearing SPF 75.

There are too many thoughts in my head. And my dreams are disturbing. Sometimes, I don't know if my memories are real or memories from dreams. It is in those dreams, I  am  looking for something. I don't know what and sometimes I feel myself losing my breath, somewhere in the void.

I think about the people all around me and the summer heat and all I really want is a cherry Popsicle to make my lips red and listen to Jupiter on repeat.