--SAY IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT

…I have a new poem, "Mother's Day" up at Stoked and also here under "Words in Print." I tend to write really dark, tragic stuff, but this poem is about as tragic as they come. I even had a friend question why I would write something so horrific. I guess that's a fair question.
I don't know if I have an adequate answer.
I do know that it's nearly impossible for me to write happy pieces. It's not that I'm an unhappy guy, but rather that it feels like a cop out to take the traditional everything-works-out-wonderful-and-they-all-lived-happily-ever-after endings. It seems boring.
The dark stuff is more interesting to me, more unexpected. The truth is, the world has lots of dark places and dark moments and dark people in it.
The truth is, I'm not talented enough to write something happy without it coming across as hokey.
We all have our niches.

..I'm still working on paginating a chapbook for a poetry contest. It's a lot more work than I thought. I might be wasting my time. Even though there are three winners, contestants WORLD WIDE are encouraged to enter.
I suppose, it can't hurt.

…I got my copy of L.E.S. (Lower East Side) Review in the mail and read the whole thing through. There's lots of different stylings in it. Some of the poems were really out there and I had no idea what the author was trying to say.
I don't know why people like poetry like that.
I wonder if they can infer some meaning that is totally escaping me.
I me totally flying right over my head.

..Here are some interesting and very random facts I've collected for your enjoyment:

What's the saddest movie of all time?
-- 20% say "Schindler's List
--16% "Old Yeller"
--14% "Terms of Endearment"
--10% "Life is Beautiful" (one of my favorites films)
--10% "Brokeback Mountain"
--9% "Million Dollar Baby"
--6% "The Champ"
--3% "Love Story"
--2% "An Affair to Remember"

…There are more kangaroos in Australia than there are people

…"Mean people" earn $10,000 more than "nice people" in the work place

--91% of all adults think they are a good, very good, or excellent driver

--Has Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality been realized in the US?
Yes --54% of blacks
Yes --49% of whites

--Through yesterday, the US has tied the record (20008) for weather-related disasters that cost $1B or more

--The last seven July's have been the highest grossing movie months ever

--"The Jersey Shore goes to Italy" premier is the highest rated in MTV's history
Ambercombie and Fitch has offered to pay the cast of "Jersey Shore" not to wear the apparrel line's clothing