Sacred Emily (comments will remain open)

. . . That is a word.
That is a word careless.
Paper peaches.
Paper peaches are tears.
Rest in grapes.
Thoroughly needed.
Thoroughly needed signs.
All but.
Relieving relieving.
Argonauts.
That is plenty.
Cunning saxon symbol.
Symbol of beauty.
Thimble of everything.
Cunning clover thimble.
Cunning of everything.
Cunning of thimble.
Cunning cunning.
Place in pets.
Night town.
Night town a glass.
Color mahogany.
Color mahogany center.
Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.
Loveliness extreme.
Extra gaiters.
Loveliness extreme.
Sweetest ice-cream.
Page ages page ages page ages.
Wiped Wiped wire wire.
Sweeter than peaches and pears and cream.
Wiped wire wiped wire.
Extra extreme.
Put measure treasure.
Measure treasure.
Tables track.
Nursed.
Dough.
That will do. . . .

— From Gertrude Stein’s Geography and Plays (1922); Read full poem at “Letters of Note.”

***

Comments and Likes will remain open. Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts and helpful guidance on this subject. (Jennie and I will edit the About page to reflect this decision.)

Written words can stand alone, and often do so powerfully, but what are words without the meaning we attach to them? “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.” Our meanings paint the “red red rose,” and the blood we shed when pricked by thorns paints our memory. “What’s in a name [or a word]? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

So please, share your meanings, share your voices, share your words. And share freely, with us and with each other, without obligation or expectation. Jennie and I will do the same.

“The Genius of the Crowd” by Charles Bukowski

The Genius of the Crowd — by Charles Bukowski

there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day

and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace

those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach love do not have love

beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average

but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their concepts
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect

like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock

their finest art

Charles Bukowski, from 70 Minutes In Hell(video of Buk’s reading)