Every Word for Itself

Al Ferber

Description

every WORD for ITSELF:
It’s a jungle out there in the world. It’s survival of the fittest out there in this world. And that includes the
words we use. Choose them wisely. Say or write what you mean. And mean what you say or write. I don’t.

Sujets

• Everything
• Word
• Utterance
• Poetry
• Words
• Life

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 24 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669878636
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

every WORD for ITSELF
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Al Ferber
 
Copyright © 2023 by Al Ferber.
 
ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-7864-3

eBook
978-1-6698-7863-6
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
 
Cover design by Al Ferber
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 05/24/2023
 
 
 
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
851515
Contents
Acknowledgements
Anywhere
Mitzi (R.I.P.)
Diplomacy
The Beats Are Gone
Feels Like
Unexpected Compliment
Call 911
Powdered Milk
Ghost Writer
Cha-ching
An Acquired Taste
J. Judy Said
Mulch
Chill Out
Through The Grapevine
Balls & Bars
S.O.S.
EWFI
Loud As Thunder
Shattered
The Dances
Where’s Everybody Go
The Secularist
Subterranean
Descent
Belly of the Beast
Arrangement
In The World
Opinions
Sunday
Words
Almost
Cemeterys & Shrinks
Don Juan
The Price Is Right
The Ascent Of Women
Rare Condition
The Conundrum of Boys & Girls
Hints of Joy
Chip Chip Chipped Away
The AA Thing
I Forgot
Night Life
Around The Circus
The Hole In The World
Bring It On
Hair Trigger
The Crew
The New Disease (2013)
Chamber of Horror
Aunt Maim’s
Hunters & Gatherers
Crawling
Passion
Welcome To My New Digs
Bronze Age
Stud
Rolling Around
Rattle Trap
Me & My G.P. in 1970
My First Car
Dr. Darko
The Pill (1970)
Pshaw Pshaw Pshaw
Screen Play
Protocol
Made My Day
Scant Chance
Ensnared
Eminent Domain
Enlightenment
Cautions Warnings Alarms Alerts
Mr. Potato Head
Buxom Neon Crossing Guard
The Out to Lunch Bunch
Scant Evidence
Other Voices
A Return to Now
The Ballad of Hideki Irabu
Haunted or Exhausted
You’ve Got a Disease
Cold Weather
The Birds
The Arrogance of Mud Wrestling
Weather Worn
Minimum Wage
Another Brick From The Wall
Graffiti
Missing Persons
Snapshots
Perfectly Sad
Debt Collector
Turf Wars
Every Word For Itself
Moment
Country Hicks
Oh, Hippies
Calamity
Epidemic
The Queen of Hearts
Night Train
Sucker Punch
Lies & Liars
Another Day
Pricks
Shock
Odd Size
Inside The Houses
At The Core
Don’t Dare
Slime
Florid
My Town Hall Meeting
Admiral With Draw
Evidence Based Practices
Death In The Right Circumstance
Chit Chat
Enigma
Flash Flood
Some People
Whirlpool of Forgetting
Summer Fun
Connect The Dots, Fool
So Many
No Bail Money
Squirrels: a modern day fable
Hello Boys, a cautionary tale
Gorp
Love Affair
Sump Pump
Strobe
Thanks for Sharing
Confusion
Under The Sun
Benchmarks
Violence
Electrical Current
Triggers
Infrequent. But Intense
Choosing Peace
Shallow Grave
Sneaky Process
Also by Al Ferber
Acknowledgements
Poems by Hop Wechsler, Paul Lutton, Tiffany Bartholomew Swain, Cathi Ferber, and Connie Rossi appear here with their permission.
 
Fable by Lawrence J. Ingram appears here with his permission.
 
Dedicated to
Cathi,
love of my life
Anywhere
                                      Mom said don’t go
                                      anywhere
                                      for any reason
                                      at any time
                                      kid said I didn’t
                                      go just anywhere
                                      for any reason
                                      at just anytime
                                      I went to
                                      the bathroom
                                      to take a shit at
                                      precisely 7:15 PM
Mitzi (R.I.P.)
                                            Her ears
                                            her whiskers
                                            her nose
                                            her paws
                                            could see
                                            for miles but
                                            not her eyes
Diplomacy
                                  Never took a course
                                  in it
                                  pretty sure I wouldn’t
                                  do too well if I had
                                  don’t do a hell of a lot
                                  a thinking
                                  before I speak
                                  my brain seems
                                  to operate on the
                                  “fire when ready” system
The Beats Are Gone
                                Gus said the beats are gone
                                it took him
                                the longest time
                                to dope out that the Beats
                                were from his father’s
                                generation
                                no similarities whatsoever
                                except the submarine
                                under Brooklyn bridge
                                the dinosaur
                                in the museum of art
                                red nosed clowns spinning
                                around
                                looking out the window
                                of a laundry dryer
                                Canadian geese shitting
                                on golf course greens
                                remnants of Old Glory
                                getting
                                tarnished in the wind
                                and a poetry reading
                                on top
                                of an unsanitary landfill
Feels Like
                                            Feels like
                                            spring today!
                                            I know
                                            they’re
                                            trying
                                            to trick me!
Unexpected Compliment
                                        A guy, just before
                                        a meeting,
                                        who I respected
                                        as a damn fine
                                        human being
                                        and
                                        brutally honest
                                        about recovery,
                                        told me
                                        whenever he read
                                        my poems
                                        it mades him feel
                                        grateful
                                        that he wasn’t me
Call 911
                                                It’s not
                                                raining.
                                                call 911
                                                I wonder
                                                what
                                                went
                                                wrong!
Powdered Milk
                                    Never saw milk
                                    in a pitcher before
                                    mom poured it
                                    in a glass
                                    I took a drink
                                    cringed and said
                                    “what (the hell)
                                    is this?
                                    It’s not milk!”
                                    “It’s powdered milk.”
                                    “It tastes horrible.
                                    I’d rather drink water.”
                                    Can’t remember
                                    what happened after
                                    that but I never drank
                                    powdered milk again.
Ghost Writer
                                    Did it a few times
                                    for friends as a favor
                                    then got
                                    a referral for cash
                                    did it
                                    not thinking I’d