Elegy

According to the internet—a lot of things these days seem to fall appropriately under that prepositional phrase—the best way to deal with the loss of a pet is through uncomfortable puns and poorly written poetry:

Time to Go

The time has come I think you know
the Lord is calling so I must go
I love you so much; I wish it wasn't so
I wish I could stay; I don't want to go

I actually find the repetition of 'go' in this stanza effective and uncomfortably moving.

I guess that uncomfortability is one of the internet's main themes. For example, I am now going to post a tribute video for my cat, which you will feel guilty for not watching all the way through, even though it is uncomfortably long:



Just for those of you who might have to face the same burden of grief that I have learned to bear forth after the lost of my cat Buster, I wanted to recommend Christopher Smart's tribute to his cat Jeoffry*. I know you know it already. Memory is useful in these times.

The autobiographical nature persistent in the work of amateur poets universally suggests poetry's utility as an art of emotional export. The autobiographical nature persistent in the work of our masters is a comfort in the face of the possible death/rebirth of poetry.

If you feel up for the former sometimes, me too:

The Lord is calling now I must go
but before I go I want you to know
I know it hurts to lose a friend
but I'll always be with you even to the end.**

*I would also like to remind that audience that this is a section from Smart's larger insane masterpiece Jubilate Agno. It's good.
**written by John Quealy

"The dice of the intellect are loaded."

I'm not at the 2010 AWP Conference, so I am sadly unable to live-blog it with the best of them. Instead, I would like to submit my humble proposal for next year's event—

Why the 2011 AWP Conference should be held in Vegas:

1. Death: Poets love death. And Vegas is where things go to die.
2. The Riviera: It could really use the business.
3. Fanny Packs: You're already wearing them.
4. High Levels of Oxygenation: To help keep you awake through the inevitable Q & A's.
5. Poetry Nightclub: - "Vegas’s premier hip hop destination...You never know who you’ll see drop by or who’s canoodling in the secluded corners of this aesthetically pleasing night spot." Apparently. Anybody could be canoodling.
6. Donald Revell: Who doesn't at least kind of like Donald Revell? He's a nice guy. He lives in Vegas.
7. Craps: I'm officially addicted to Craps.
8. Cirque du Soleil: If you like the AWP Conference, we also recommend: Cirque du Soleil.
9. The Eternal Mysteries of Life: Where else do all literary terms, all forms attempting to approximate life and life's approximation in language--synechdoche, hyperbole, literalism, metonymy, foreshadowing, antithesis--come to such a direct point as at the peak of the replica of the Eiffel Tower outside of the replica of Paris so aptly named Paris?
10. Joan Rivers: - Engh? I mean, I ran out of reasons. But need I say more?

This is what the carpet looks like at the AWP Conference. It also gives you a good sense of what the coffee tastes like at the AWP Conference. A little overdone and "tangy."

The carpet design team calls this pattern 'Half-way to Vegas.'