October 10, 2011

Click. Clack. QUERTY.

This was my entry for Writer's Digest Prose Poetry contest.



Click, click, click. Clickety click. Fingers fast slipping across the keys. Click, clack. Clack, click. Back and forth, forward and backward. Up, down, and all around. This is actually fun--Ding! Onomatopoeia, she whispers, smiling. Left to right, and right to left. Fingers pushing and pulling. QUERTY, her mind utters. Why that now? whispers she again. Like you should still be sighing. This happens all the time--Ding! Fact is, she and her mind are forever talking. Talk about being engaged! Click, clack. Deep in her subconscious too, no doubt. Even when heavily submerged in her REM. Click, clack. Call it constant communication on auto-pilot, while still getting some zzz's--Ding! This endless conversation, this often mindless, mental stream, she's used to it by now. She should be. Clack, clack. Unlike those days when she'd pound herself for what she thought was a self-imposed ADD. Self-diagnosed it was really and entirely not her fault. Click, clack. You wouldn't blame a mind that simply goes on overdrive, would you? Clack, clack. Actually, she deserves a pat on the shoulder. And coffee. Starbucks would be nice. Or chocolate, or both. Sweet caffeine for a hyperactive mind. Or a new book. Even a finely bound classic. Would a tap do?--I'm kidding, her mind teases, more often now, it seems. How in the world did she manage college? I helped you, her mind...clacks, for lack of a better word. But even then, she knew better. She started over--Ding! An AA this time. Click. It was a tough decision, but she took it anyway and did not back out. Even with a BBA--heck, after a BBA!--for crying out loud. Back and forth, forward and backward. Clack. How scary was that, to feel so left behind, as spates of new grads flood the gates, all hoping to till the ground, year after year after year. Clack, clack. To have gone back is to have seriously lagged behind those who stayed, those who were now way ahead. But to have continued in a new direction presented great uncertainties and intimidation. Could one expect anything less than fierce competition? In a creative arena, you've got to be kidding. I warned you, chides her mind. I told you to stay in the path, keep your emotions in check, and watch that passion. Your heart would get you in trouble. Clack. I'm just saying...clack, clack.

But she has long since passed that crossroad and traveled a new road. Click. Her consciousness switches. Click, click. Where did you store that information anyway? Her mind shifts. Typical mental random access mode. Speaking of RAM, as in computer-speak, it's such a common term nowadays. Kind of like Jobs. No, not the workplace stuff. Steve's surname. The apple guy. Besides, workplace jobs are fast becoming extinct these days. But poor Steve... He isn't poor, what are you on? Clack. He's recently rested in peace--honestly, don't you read? Oh...sorry. RIP Steve. Still, such a shame, with all the apple stuff now orphaned...QUERTY. What now? Clack. Wait, she's remembering--Ding!--the convention salesmen used to efficiently type the word, "typewriter", of course! The keys were all conveniently located on the same line. Click. Hence, the potential buyers were impressed--Ding! Thank goodness for Google and Wikipedia for their ever-growing presence to ensure that our source materials are just clicks away. Clack. And to Steve. But I helped too--her mind chimes in--Ding! In fact, I've always helped you. Clack, clack. See, you've written this much already. Wow, sure glad that Writer's Digest has posted this challenge. Or was it Robert Lee Brewer? Remind me to give him a shout-out later on Twitter. Oh, now you need my help?--her mind chatters, as she shifts in her chair. She doesn't mean to ignore it, this integral part of her life. Click, clack. Yet, every now and then, she yearns to call the shots. It must learn to live with her. Her art. Her passion. Her heart. She'd do the same. She's been. I'm really liking this, she says with a grin. Click, click. Same here, if it is indeed prose poetry, her mind yaks. Clack, clack. But there isn't any typewriter in sight. Tap, tap. What's that tapping noise now? What happened to the clicks and the clacks? The ding's gone too. Onomatopoeia. Must have all just been inside her head, and none of it real, she reckons. Of course it is happening inside your head...but why on earth should that mean it is not real?--recalls her mind. Apparently, it's what the greatest wizard who ever lived told the boy who lived at King's Crossing, according to J.K. Rowling. By the way, Rowling initially wrote her stories by hand. With a pen. Burning your eyebrows writing stories with ink on your hands makes you a real deal. Just saying, while tapping on the iPAD.

April 15, 2011

Oh, Cheri! (poeTry)

by amica paige



***I stopped at the park a couple days ago and was awed by the instant spray of pink that was not there a few days before, but now colored the park and nicely complemented its greens. Unfortunately, I did not have a proper camera to capture the wispy vista. The following copyrighted image is what I produced with my cell phone. Knowing how fast the Cherry Blossoms would disappear, I wrote a poem to keep a vivid memory of that unexpected meeting.***
©2011 Amica Paige;

"Cherry and my sidekick"

How fast you appeared!
Without any kind of warning
Save for the dewy Spring
Your blossoms fast ripening
Yet how awfully long the year!—
Since you last visited here.

How fast do we fall in love!—
At your enchanting pink delight
Yet, in the midst of April showers
Again you’ll swiftly escape
And amiss of your lure we’ll be
Surely the rest o’ the year—oh, Cheri!

March 22, 2011

The problem with "You're problem" isn't my grammar, Dr. Katz explains it

New Year: Social Blunder: Full Denial: Clean Slate

Thank God for the New Year, because you can wipe your slate clean, or at least pretend to by denying yourself the default mode of guilt and shame and diving into full denial instead.

My last social blunder for 2010 was “You're problem”. Turned out, it had nothing to do with my grammar, but everything to do with Dr. Katz.

Dr. Katz and the "Other" Head


Dr. Katz explained it better, or the patient who went for his therapy session rather. The patient talked of this “other” head inside of his that always told him to do something else, even when he was right in the middle of what he had already intended. For instance, rather than telling his guests to “Take Care", he blurted out “Take…luck" instead. In his desperation to save face, he endlessly rambled, thus making the already awkward situation even worse. And all because this “other” head told him to say “Good luck” at the last second, which his mouth immediately obeyed right after already having uttered “Take”.

Chocolates + Thankful Stranger = No problem + You're welcome


My family had given out chocolates at this event as Holiday treats. At he end of the night as we said our goodbyes, a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere and stood right in front of me. He was way closer than arms length and well within my bubble, grinning from ear to ear as he thanked me. My mind went blank that instant, but automatically replied, “You’re welcome”, while the rest of me tried to figure out just what exactly he was thanking me for during that split second that seemed to stretch forever. When I finally figured out the subject of his gratitude, from the mention of “chocolates”, I knew just what to say: “No problem!”—except that there was a problem: I had forgotten that my mind was still on default with the arguably more proper response, “You’re welcome!”

You're Problem!


The man stood silent for a moment, looking confused after hearing me say “You're problem!” Then he chuckled in amusement at my unusual response, perhaps to make light of the situation. I managed to pull myself together and quickly explain “You're problem!” away with a more logical reasoning, that my mind had been on overdrive due to the holiday fuss and that my mouth was desperately trying to play catch up; the last thing I wanted was to bring up my "other" head. He seemed to understand, or tried to, at least. After all, the New Year was about to ring in.

Lighten up


Luckily, I was able to laugh along before my denial wore off and shame returned to pound on me for that year-end faux pas. It did end my 2010 in good spirits, if only momentarily.

So for you to get all worked up from being told “You're Problem!” after expressing your gratitude to someone, please remember that person’s “other” head. Get it or lighten up. Seriously.

March 14, 2011

"Soul Aloft" - (poeTry)

by amica paige



"The principal thing in this world is to keep one's soul aloft." - Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)

The ground shook and awakened
Neptune charged swiftly at them
Their houses taken along—uprooted and afloat…
They used to call this home
This silent, scattered place
Of sudden devastation.

What do you do when you hear their cries?
What do you do as you see them die?
Do you turn your head the other way—
As you switch the channel for lovely things?
Are your arms too short for reaching out—
Or just plain exhausted from working out?

What can you give when you’ve got bills to pay?
And those things you’ve longed and been saving up for…
They had some stuff too, before…
Which now have all been washed ashore…
Would you care to consider sending them, at least—
some body bags for their dead bodies?

I saw it too like you, you know
Just like I saw the two towers fall
On ashen heads in the money pit
Just like I heard when Katrina came
And Neptune charged in Asia too
And the fiery ground shook Haiti’s feet

Flaubert said to keep your soul aloft…
I do that when I see my home afloat…
You see, it can happen here too…
I felt their pains when disaster came…
My heart cried out as my hands reached out,
Though we are miles and miles apart.



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March 6, 2011

The Strokes on SNL

How in the world have I forgotten about The Strokes--what terrible memory lapse I must have suffered.
Thanks to Hulu, I was able to catch what I missed, and thanks to SNL for a sweet reminder...

February 16, 2011

Cloudly Skies (poeTry)

by amica paige



Sob.
Pitter-patter.
Prattle, prattle
Teeth chatter.

Gray.
Pitter-patter.
Gloomy skies
Cloudy gray.

Talk,
Nonsense talk.
Rattle, tattle
Mindless chatter.

Choke.
Throttle, choke.
Prickling tears
Dribbling drivel.

Sob.
Poppycock.
Rant, chant
And a racing heart.

Anger, leaves. (poeTry)

by amica paige



Sitting here
In the dead silence
Of frustration
Conversations flow
In the background where
Books are read and coffees—on red,
Round tables occupied
By stagnant bodies.

Outside
The leaves sway
Both purple and green,
Harmonious with
The gentle breeze,
Oh—how they dance with it!
I see them through the glass wall
That separates them from me.