Tag: writing

About the Shadormas

my latest bunch of short poems explained

Over the last few weeks, I’ve written a bunch of shadormas. A Shadorma is a poetic form that originated in Spain and is like a haiku, in a way. The scansion over six lines is 3-5-3-3-7-5. I’ve found it a fun form to play around with. I mean, I have written about 30 of the things in a two-week period, so clearly, I enjoy them.

I like short form poetry. I like the math-y-ness of the various forms I’ve tried, like American Sentences. I’m sure my enjoyment of and facility for them is related to my former avocation of songwriting.

The larger group of poems had a lot of what we all seem to be thinking about these last few months – the creeping fascism, the danger and distress of these times – but 30 poems is a lot, so after some high-grading, I found that only 2 of the 9 pieces I have for you today refer to the Trump regime directly enough so that it’s clear what I’m talking about. After practicing reading these poems a number of times, I’ve come to realize that the shadow of fascism and the stupid cruelty of the regime hovers over all of them.

So… uh… enjoy?

8/1/25

Ten More American Sentences

Read at the Sunday Word Open Mic, 7/6/25

Six black vans. Two cop cars. A school bus with blacked out windows. Ice convoy.

Mar-A-Lago Alcatraz. Leave the alligators out of this mess.

Shadow on my soul. Fear I’ll die under torture by the government.

I wake in the night thinking of Montreal. Mornings I wake up at home.

Took the garbage out this morning. The local systems are still working.

Local systems are best. You only drop bunker busters on strangers.

Gil Scott-Heron said, “The Revolution will not be televised.” Hi.

No matter what, we must keep fighting. You and I can beat back the fash.

Saw you in the Square that fine day, screaming about a revolution.

Two Trumpers and a thousand screaming, dancing, feisty lefties. Winning.

Update About My Incessant Scribbling

I guess this is a thing now.

I recently got published in Meat For Tea: The Valley Review with a piece called The Casserole Tree. I read at their issue release party at Gateway Arts Center in Holyoke. I didn’t read the published piece, I had already read that one out, and there was something else I preferred to share. I liked that event. It’s in a bar, there was music and visual art and poetry and rock music. I’m looking forward to the next one.

As far as the piece I read at Gateway Arts, I plan to read that one again at Paul Richmond’s Third Tuesday Word this week.

Work on the summary of The Story is proceeding. It’s taken me months to even summarize this thing, and all I can think as I go through it is how much work it needs. I am sure it’s going to grow from the current 120K draft, but who knows by how much? All will be revealed in time, I suppose, but this thing is not going to get shorter, and there is so much work to do. It really is going to take years.

I want to read an exerpt from the thing in front of people, but open mike slots are 5 minutes as a rule and I want to read for at least 10. I haven’t found a 5 minute chunk that’s worth excerpting!

In other news, I still have the Socialist Ghost Story sitting out, waiting to be returned to. I was struggling with that one a bit, but I theorize that the reason I was struggling is Too Many Irons In the Fire. Once I can devote my whole brain to it, it will come into sharper focus. I am afraid it might be a while before I do get back to it. Maybe I should drawer it, but I definitely want to go back and finish it.

Another Quick Writing Update

Yesterday (Saturday) I attended Paul Word Richmond‘s Word Festival at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, MA. There was some memoir (Hiya, Rick Paar!) some fiction, some very violent high fantasy, some shamanist stuff, some activist poetry… just a whole lot of different shades of poetry. I read a bunch of American Sentences I’d written as a self-challenge. It was fun and I’m so glad I went.

I have stopped working on The Ghost Story at 15k+. I have been splitting my attentions between it and The Story, and at this point, it’s clear that The Story has to take precedence. At least until I get this scene-by-scene summary of it together, it has to be my whole focus… Except for Wicked Queer. Submissions are open there for next Spring, and there’s also the upcoming Docs fest in October. I have to carve out time for that, now, too.

There’s just no room for the Ghost Story. It will have to wait until something else falls out of the schedule for me to go back to it. That’s fine. I think there’s promise there, but I need for that to be my all-consiming thing, not my third (or even farther down the list) thing. If I tried to finish it now, I’d just try to rush to a probably-wrong ending. Gotta think it through. I love my characters, I think there’s some beautiful tension in it… I just need to not force the characters into something fake. Still shooting for 20K on it, but it might take a few more words to get there.

Also trying to keep the content coming at this .com, but it’s lower on the priority list. I will strive to keep the Events page up-to-date, but there’s honestly not a lot happening, as I’m gearing up for both the Fest and the second draft of The Story.

Submissions: I have a flash fiction piece in queue at The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and I am about to start trying to shop some of these American sentences. Submissions seem to be on the short side now, but The Story is at 120K and The Ghost Story will likely be a little over 20K.