about Alphabliss or Non-Nursery Rhymes

I have always been fascinated with the English alphabet. One of the first poems I wrote, which simultaneously introduced me to the kind of playful fun I could have writing poetry, an important part of process, was a poem comprised of all of the letters of the alphabet in succession:

A boy can do everything.

Foraging, grasping,

Hungry inside.

Just knowing love

May now offer peace.

Quietly remembering

Sensations, thoughts,

Understanding voids.

Wishing xylophones,

Yet zealous.

The three poems presented below are part of a 26-poem series entitled Alphabliss or Non-Nursery Rhymes, which I had begun working on a couple years ago at the request of my friend William Perkins. I had shown him a poem I had written called two b doobie that i am, which was initially just a play on my first name, my nickname, and he suggested that I continue to tackle all of the remaining letters of the alphabet in such a manner. The project evolved into a long poem about myself, those things which shaped and continue to shape me, the faceted possibilities of language, and its playful persuasions. All of the poems rely heavily upon sound and rhythm to carry the reader through the different reinterpretations of the self.

S is for spake is significant in the collection if only because it introduces Whitman’s influence and explicitly identifies the major theme of the series. Not one of my most revered poets, but the idea of a song of myself, of singing the body electric, is perhaps the most important notion behind the entire collection. Whitman is obviously not the only influence. Many of the poems reference other artists and other artistic creations: film, song lyrics, nursery rhymes, etc., and work to build the argument against, on the surface, a redundant lexicon.

from Alphabliss or Non-Nursery Rhymes

S is for spake

     & so he spoketh and poketh

       songs of myselves

         the snakes & snares

           of so-called stratagems

             snips & snails

               this cup spilleth

                 a song of sixpence

                 Shakespearience

                 ‘tis scattery

                puppy dog tails

            shiny-eyed estuaries of your simpering vision

              visceral esoterica & Victorian spleen

                  doth in a runaway streamlet

                       ponder apples              confess

                     whisper your last wishes & do the dishes

                             of invisible cess

                     ‘twas the mess en masse before Christmas

                             & all through the souse

                 the essence of breakfast half eaten

                                                         Santa mass

                                                   s’up

                    an escape act with a cracked stimulation gradation

                                                        stumped mustard

                        releasing air & the fear of hissing

                          unconditionally forsooth

                             splatter in a post-pancake tirade

                                the same old same old

                                    song-&-danceth

Tea

         a drink with jam and bread

   totaller and focal lotus

                     counting letters in time

       shift tragic beat from metered

         hopscotch to fox-trot

       a terminal existence

          testimony

     teat with the queen of tarts

                         in trundleland

          teething crumpets and seated

            next to the mad-shatter

               velvet tailspinster

               not robert taylor

(although he thought he was invited)

     he wasn’t delighted to attend

      the afternoon theatrical tid-bits

         titilant vittle

    guaranteed to touch non-believers

U sage

 last of the true vowels

ever-present companion to q

     not cute       unique

          a pudgy letter

    a horseshoe you dub

          eunuch

       in the underbelly future

                       bub

       ugly duckling in UV light

          phosphorescent unicorn

    your university education

       youth and uncouth

     USA usurper and unusually

        usury

       unbridled rosary urgency

           gurgle in the ukulele

               ubiquity queue

                           dubbed

              underworld hurler

                 used to unknown

           surge