I am bourne darkly, fearfully, afar;
Whilst, burning through the inmost veil of Heaven,
The soul of Adonais, like a star,
Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley, Adonais: An Elegy on the Death of John Keats
Greetings from the far left coast where I am delighted to announce that my poem "View from the Deck September 2023" will appear in the October issue of Quill & Parchment. A link will be included in the October 1 newsletter.
The poem came about in an unusual manner. On September 4 I received an email from Q&P editor-in-chief Sharmagne Leland-St. John in response to my email of August 7, 2022, asking for feedback on a poem about the approach of my seventieth birthday. At the time I was not sure whether I was on the right track or wandering in the wilderness. A week passed, my birthday approaching. I knew Sharmagne was dealing with illness and did not want to bug her about it, so did not follow up. Instead I worried with the poem some more and decided that with a few minor revisions it was passable after all.
When I first began the blog adventure I made a decision at the poetry desk that I would not use it for my poems, opting to seek publication elsewhere in an effort to expose the poems to a wider audience. (Note for readers unfamiliar with the poetry racket: Most magazines publish only poems that have not been previously published elsewhere.) As the birthday loomed I made an exception to customary practice and published On the Approach of My Seventieth Birthday at Portable Bohemia.
It seems Sharmagne was working her way through a backlog of some 1500 emails last month when she found mine. In the ensuing exchange I mentioned that poems are not coming readily these days. She suggested that I take a crack at her magazine's monthly poetry prompt challenge. Prompts are standard fare in poetry workshops and writing groups. They are supposed to act as a spark to help someone who wants to write a poem get started. The ones I have happened upon on occasion invariably left cold.
Periods when the poems do not come readily are nothing new. I always fret about it, though I should be used to it by now. During my early years in Portland, I mentioned that I was experiencing a dry period to two poets I got to know after meeting them at an open mic. Elizabeth passed along some poetry prompts she had come across that she thought might be helpful. She meant well, but nothing came of it. My iced-over faculty of imagination remained firmly iced over. When Elizabeth mentioned this to her friend Andrew, he replied, "I don't think that is how David writes poems." It was a perceptive observation.
Sharmagne and I enjoy a lovely literary friendship dating back more than twenty years, during which she has unfailingly offered support and encouragement. It would have been ungracious to respond to her suggestion other than by promising to give it a try. Well, it so happened that the October prompt—write a poem that uses the sentence It came when Autumn came—was very much in tune with a theme already on my mind for an essay in progress titled Fall Term 2023. To my pleasant surprise, the little poem came together over the space of a few days. I think it turned out okay.
For those still wondering who to support in the 2024 presidential sweepstakes, the noted Russian democrat, human rights champion, and bare-chested, horseback-riding, three-wheel biker Vladimir Putin condemned the criminal case against Donald Trump, calling it "persecution of a political rival for political reasons." Well. That is a subject with which he has some familiarity.
This week Putin met with another friend of Trump, North Korean maximum supreme leader Kim Jong-un, who arrived at a secure location in Russia's Far East via personal armored train. Conventional wisdom has it that the agenda included Russian purchase of munitions from North Korea to replenish stockpiles depleted wreaking havoc and destruction in Ukraine. In return North Korea gets assistance with spy satellites and maybe missiles. Kim for his part expressed "full and unconditional support" for Russia's "just fight against hegemonic forces to defend its sovereign rights, security, and interests." Presumably NATO and the US are the hegemonic forces the honorable Kim has in mind. I see now our foreign affairs realists nodding their grey heads in solemn agreement.
One imagines Trump, golf club in hand, gazing with envy, maybe a touch of awe, upon the duo known for owning their enemies with extreme prejudice. The appeal for the MAGA faithful goes without saying.
Associated Press, North Korea's Kim vows full support for Russia's 'sacred fight' after meeting Putin, NPR, September 13, 2023
Stephanie Sy, Concerns grow as Kim Jong Un pledges support for Putin’s war in Ukraine, NPR, September 13, 2023
Amy B Wang, Trump embraces Putin’s sympathetic comments to claim political persecution, Washington Post, September 13, 2023
Meanwhile, on the domestic front, Marjorie Taylor Greene's Kevin McCarthy launched, sort of, an impeachment inquiry while efforts to address the not inconsequential matter of funding the government descended into chaos…or slapstick.
Politico reported on Tuesday that Trump has privately discussed impeachment of Biden with House GOP leaders, notably Taylor Greene and Elise Stefanik (Meredith McGraw, Alex Isenstadt, Trump privately discussed Biden impeachment with House GOPers). The point is to inflict maximum damage on Biden's campaign for reelection and to trivialize impeachment so that Trump's pair do not look so bad. And, in Taylor Greene words, for the inquiry to be "long and excruciatingly painful for Joe Biden."
On the budget front, the House blockhead caucus is salivating at the prospect of a government shutdown. They can be counted on to claim Biden is to blame.
Jay Kuo at The Status Kuo has been all over the impeachment move and budget maneuvering. His take on McCarthy is spot-on:
McCarthy is effectively buying time on this issue while trying to mollify Trump because he knows a more pressing matter is now fully upon him. The government runs out of money to pay millions of federal employees at the end of the month and will have to shut down unless there is a continuing resolution, or by some miracle 11 more appropriations bills are passed by the House, agreed to by the Senate, and signed into law. If McCarthy gives into the demands of the Freedom Caucus, there will be no budget and the government will shut down. But if he goes once again to the Democrats for help, his right flank could call for his head.
It’s a terrible spot to be in, but McCarthy really enjoys pretending he is a true speaker, and not one in name only. Nothing else really matters to him but the trappings of power, even if they are illusory. (The Impeachment Drive Is Already In Trouble)
Hunter Biden's indictment on gun charges. I am a hardliner on gun control. The only gripe I have with the indictment is that the prosecutor appears to be bowing to pressure to charge Biden with something. One fact of note that came out in reporting on the indictment is that he owned the gun for a total of eleven days.
I suppose we should not hold our collective breath waiting for the gun fetishist lobby to issue a ringing defense of Biden's sacred Second Amendment right. The NRA released a milquetoast statement: “Laws should be applied equally against all criminals.”
The hapless Biden is a minor-league grifter whose moral compass could do with some major recalibration. He should be treated the same as anyone else in comparable circumstances of owning a firewarm as a drug user and lying about it on the paperwork completed when he purchased the weapon.
On a lighter note, estimable MAGA congresswoman Lauren Boebert and a male companion were ejected from a Denver theater during a performance of Beetlejuice after numerous complaints from fellow patrons about inappropriate behavior, vaping, recording the show on a cell phone, singing, and being generally disruptive during the performance.
Surveillance footage from the theater published by KUSA, an NBC affiliate in Denver, appears to show Boebert and a man being escorted from their seats. In the hall, Boebert is seen rebuking an usher, at one point giving him the middle finger.
As they were being escorted from the premises, according to the incident report, the pair made statements such as: “Do you know who I am?” and “I am on the board” and “I will be contacting the mayor.” (Bryan Pietsch, Timothy Bella, Rep. Lauren Boebert booted from ‘Beetlejuice’ musical for disturbance, Washington Post, September 13, 2023)
A class act.
New at Portable Bohemia Substack: Fall Term 2023, September 8, 2023. Greetings at the beginning of the fall term. Days and evenings grow cooler, sunlight softer. Soon leaves will turn color and fall lazily to the ground. The rainy season with our Portland drizzle, cooling breeze, and gentle melancholy is on the horizon. The rhythm of the school year kicks in. A time of renewal. My spirit refreshed…read more>>
Keep the faith.
Stand with Ukraine.
yr obdt svt
