# Please, Vote Now! for your favourite poem in the SDMB Poetry Sweatshop Anthology of March 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153 "2010-03-29T00:15:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/1 "2010-03-29T00:15:13Z")
Welcome to the Anthology Thread for the March 2010 SDMB Poetry Sweatshop. I will begin posting the poems already submitted in the next few replies, and at 6 PM PDT, I will establish a poll to determine the readers’ favourite poem. I just want to emphasize the importance of voting - the poets are depending for an outside opinion of their work. The poll is by secret ballot, so no one need ever know how you voted. Please note that the poll is seeking your favourite poem - no deep arcane knowledge of poetry’s inner workings is required. Whichever poem strikes a chord with you, please give it your vote. And, though the choice will be difficult, please take the time to choose one poem. I also want to mention that because of our current working method, all of the following poems will be posted under my user name, which may lead people to think that I am trying to claim authorship. Only one of the following poems is mine - the authors’ names may be found in the spoiler boxes at the bottom of each reply. ETA: The three words this month are:\*\* Inexorable, Good, Ado\*\* And so, I present our poets’ work for this month… ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/2 "2010-03-29T00:17:41Z")
i don’t know how to live here yet everything around me commands me be alive! the scents of forest and ocean collide the colours grey, green and brown the sound an eternal two part invention endlessly varied the ocean plays bbbbbBBBAAAAssss dddrrruumbmbmbmbmb mbmbmbmbbbbrrusssssshhhesesese on ssssssnare in an inexorable groove that i can never get the hang of while the wind howls in an unknowable scale blurred flurries which land and hold the one note you never guessed could sound so good it’s Bach it’s Rock ‘n’ Roll it’s Shock ‘n’ Awe It’s Howl ‘n’ Roar i stand beneath the cedar skyscrapers i watch the waves you can’t see what’s beyond the horizon yet the waves prove there’s nothing there but ocean for thousands of miles ‘We wouldn’t be this big if there’d been something to crash against, now, would we?’ i contemplate the horizon and the horizon’s horizon and i’m naked though i’m fully clothed i’m stripped of modern life of the vapid ado of human endeavour to even utter ‘cell phone’ here seems sacrilegious and this dizzying place compels me to grow a soul whether I believe in one or not Le Ministre de l’au-delà ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/3 "2010-03-29T00:19:44Z")
Seven o’clock in the morning the alarm went, lights of dawning breaking upon a curtained pane. Inexorable sleepiness tugged at me, dragging to a dreamland of silver grey. After a whirlwind tour of misty landscapes, I sprang awake with doom and dread. Eight in the morning the clock face read. “I had an exam at seven thirty!” Without pause I dressed myself. With a fifty I took a cab. Quick, quick, I screamed at myself. That paper is worth many credits! The school was devoid of noise and sight. Rushing to the hall of trials I yank at the door. It yield not and I pound at it. “Let me in!” I frantically protested. Someone came down behind me, drawn by all the ado in the morn. The security guard glared at me and say, “Good grief, young man, it’s a Sunday!” Crowbar of Irony +3 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/4 "2010-03-29T00:21:01Z")
Her heart is vast But it leaks. She has invited many men To dwell in it: Some have died there, Some still fight, Some are resigned To see her at her urge. Inexorable, she is moving With no ado at all To the next confusion, To take from him twice What she cannot repay. When she kisses goodbye The hollow has gone. Then it comes back. Neon eclipses Her good hair day, Her heels and skinny jeans, Her careful mascara, Her just enough flesh. In this cab she is tiny, Overwhelmed, Rattling in its heart. jjimm ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/5 "2010-03-29T00:22:21Z")
n the summer lake, apartheid comes, Inexorable bow to physics. Water segregates in layers of like Temperature, neither cooler nor warmer Is our kind, dear. The photons rain and do not trickle down Or rather are more nimbly caught Topside. The warm gets warmer While the cool gets less. The wind, a soft percussion, pulls the surface Tension into seiche, a rocking wave, And drives the far banks water into sinking, But not far. Remember our thermal inclination, dear It’s good to know your kind. And so a surface cell evolves, and wheels Across the top, then down (but not too far) then back the way it came, then up and out again, The next below is dragged in counterspin, and maybe More cells underneath: A Calder’s cup of movement, all unseen to those Without thermometer and string, nor pencil To jot down the notes. And so it goes all summer, Water keeping unto water, oxygen rampant at the top, At the bottom: nutrient in cool sludge. Limnologists wait with probes to see the moment When Autumn’s cloud and cool socializes the lake. Heat redistribution? No. The photic zone just loses Warmth, can no longer stay aloof from the bottom. And then comes overturn. Now the blow of winds is felt from through the water’s Undivided body. Such ado! Such transfer! Oxygen down To the very depths. Nitrogen and phosphorus released To rise. All but the deepest sludge is replenished For one more year. Yllaria ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/6 "2010-03-29T00:24:30Z")
The pagent continues with much ado as Time Marches On in an exorable manner “Good,” think I knowing that while it does you fuss, you bother, you delay realizing that while it does you relentlessly argue, determined to fill my life with your concerns and your complaints whining, bitching, nagging, so that My life continues with this ado you manufacture and marches on in an exorable manner It’ll all soon be over and I’ll wonder In Winnipeg ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/7 "2010-03-29T00:26:27Z")
We sit on the beach in our jeans - It’s too cold to swim or even wade – Watching him run back and forth, Playing tag with the inexorable water And winning more often than not. It’s not enough to say the heart swells. It’s not enough to say the heart fills. His future is a wide and wild ocean, And in my imagination he flies out over it In good directions I can’t even guess. But an ocean is not boundless. It’s sunrise here but night somewhere else, And I can’t escape the thought that Blowing an ember into life also Ignited a spark of mortality. Five will someday become twenty-five, And then fifty and perhaps beyond, And then reach and end with little ado. Even though the horizon is so far off, It’s always visible, a cold line in the sea. He runs to us and I swing him high - His legs are still chubby, but growing strong – And he pulls us closer together after I put him down. With a last hug we turn our backs on the sea, And then we make our way toward home. maserschmidt ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/8 "2010-03-29T00:30:19Z")
The Hundred Years’ War, I was taught Was so much ado about naught. It dragged on, inex- Orable. Its effects, Though, were good in what Will the Quill wrought. AppallingGael ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/9 "2010-03-29T00:31:59Z")
And now, without further ado The incredible Thumbelina Will become much bigger than you She of the smallest yin, The bit lip, an apology Curbing her every whim You whooped when you found her Tucked in a nutshell, You crowed as you marched her Down the aisle, A mute doll in your pocket, But all the while, She had a divorce on the docket. Her inexorable gift for shrinking Gave her a name-true. And her tiny way of thinking Held her perhaps past her due, Kept her panicked fast To you. But rest assured, my Fat little wood rat- There is a growing going through me. I’m stretching my legs now, Hungry as a jungle cat, No longer small enough for she, I am growing Hair in rude places and Bleeding out loud And betting on aces You have a pumpkin shell? I’ll show you shrapnel. You have a secret name, And dibs on my first born? I have the end of every fairy tale, And the power of a woman’s scorn. I will not kiss Your beastliness away. I will not awaken My kingdom to your sway. I’m getting good and goddamned big, And then I’m gonna Set your stories straight, boys. pandoranoid ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/10 "2010-03-29T00:33:51Z")
I scrub the walls of this empty room, not because I want to, but because I can’t stop myself from doing it. I strip the walls, red with iron, again and again. My husband is in the other room. He knows how much I hate this. He knows how I long to fill this room, to not scour the walls each month. He thinks he’s no good for me while I cry through this cyclic event. He wants to help; he wants this room to fulfill its purpose. But its not his fault. For some reason, this room remains inexorable, obstinate in its vacancy. it could be celebrated, its occupants the subject of much ado. Perhaps this room will never be used, perhaps I will grow old and cease my scouring. Maybe someday, I will use this room. Until then, I scrub. Serenata67 ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/11 "2010-03-29T00:35:27Z")
Every time I taste marmalade on the crunch of toast I smile at the morning I rolled over for a sleepy kiss, accidentally smelling her armpit stinking a little. Watching her sleep that moment there was no good or bad, only the inexorable peace of love without opposite. There are moments,even years, where I for(get)(got). Swearing at the goddamn mother fucker who just cut me off carrying with me the giving of all those moments away. That’s why there’s much ado about my morning marmalade. Tasting it, I taste it, and then I forget less. mauxlicious ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/12 "2010-03-29T01:32:20Z")
And, with the establishment of the poll, the creative portion of this month’s SDMB Poetry Sweatshop is brought to a close. Please, read, enjoy and vote on these remarkable creations. I also wanted to mention, for those interested in such things, how the obligatory words were derived. I’m on the road at the moment, so I don’t have access to my OED, Roget’s Thesaurus nor any of my other English reference books. I could have used the Random Word Generator again, but I don’t particularly like its division into categories of common, uncommon, rare, etc. So I went to a random number generator, selected three integers between 1 and 467 and then, using those three numbers as page numbers, took the last word on each of those pages in Seamus Heaney’s “Opened Ground”. I found it interesting to have a more poetic source for the original words this time around… ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/13 "2010-03-29T11:51:04Z")
All wonderful poems! Each month I’m amazed at the quality of poetry us Dopers put out. I’m honored to be in the company of each poet here. Another month of great work. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/14 "2010-03-29T19:06:53Z")
Holy crap. I thought it was hard to pick my favorite \*last \*month… Amazing work, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/15 "2010-03-30T12:06:08Z")
I had a thought last night about the voting on the sweatshop poems. What do you think about making the voting multiple choice? This way, if one reader thinks poem 1 and 5 are awesome, they can vote for both. Perhaps the next one will think poems 3 and 4 are great, etc. I think it’s a lot like going to a poetry slam that’s judged by applause and clapping for two really great poems. I wouldn’t increase the voter turn out, but it could, quite possibly increase the margin by which someone wins. Lets say that poem 2 is within the top 3 for every voter. Then poem 3 would end up winning, instead of having two votes and losing to the poem that only three people liked, but they really liked it. Kinda rambling and I’m sorry for that. But I think it could really be a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/16 "2010-03-30T12:53:13Z")
Another very tough choice – y’all are some very talented poets! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/17 "2010-03-30T14:33:08Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > What do you think about making the voting multiple choice? I’ve thought about the same thing. Of course, then we might run into problems with people voting for \*every \*poem, and I’m not sure we could impose a limit on how many checkboxes people could select. But I agree that it will probably give a more accurate depiction of which poems are enjoyed the most by the most people. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/18 "2010-03-30T16:30:32Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I’ve thought about the same thing. Of course, then we might run into problems with people voting for \*every \*poem, and I’m not sure we could impose a limit on how many checkboxes people could select. But I agree that it will probably give a more accurate depiction of which poems are enjoyed the most by the most people. I guess if they vote for all the poems, it’s just sort of even out in the end, right? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/19 "2010-03-30T18:04:41Z")
'Struth. TBQH, I’d really like to be able to give recognition to \*all \*the poems I’m particularly taken by. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153/20 "2010-03-31T00:09:29Z")
This is another month of great poems. I completely agree with the idea of multiple choice voting…every month has been full of difficult choices. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-vote-now-for-your-favourite-poem-in-the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-anthology-of-march-2010/534153.md?page=2)