THE HOBBIT & other inspirations for impromptu poetry

The good news is, I know so many people with cool blogs! I am friends with brilliant, talented artists. They post often, crafting insightful reviews of books I should read or witty reactions to the extraordinary events that occur in their lives. They are sensitive and accomplished and more or less organized, raising clever children or traveling around the world or starting their own businesses, publishing new poems and books or writing about their jobs.

The bad news is, I'm not as awesome as they are. I rarely post anything, and when I do -- I mean, my last was all, buy my book (please)! I'm not saying I'm 100% boring or dense -- I have moments of smart -- but I think tonight I'm noticing just how many gifted acquaintances I have. You go, guys!

When I met my friend Monet Moutrie, we'd bake tarts in my kitchen in Colorado and she'd talk about the new ideas she had for her food blog, which has since become a major success. She's crafting these amazing wedding cakes in Austin, Texas, and posting entries that make me drool. Yay for keyboard covers! My friend Sarah Reebs has tackled photography (and grad school) and is nailing both of them. My oldest sister, Amy Murray, has started running half-marathons and is one of the funniest mom-bloggers out there. Mandy Solomon, a colleague of mine from Pikes Peak Community College, has taken the helm for CSWRS (Colorado Springs Writers Reading Series) and is organizing community-based events while balancing a vigorously dedicated position at the college. Katey Schultz is rockin' around the U.S. spreading her kickass writing and teaching like a boss. And, as usual (because I've never known him not to be a keen intellectual and driven poet), Robert Peake maintains his website of book reviews and personal essays that makes me wish I could be so acutely aware of my surroundings and the beauty so many people are able to create on a daily basis.

Basically, I'm in awe, and I'm grateful this year to know you, not only because of your web presences (duh) but because you keep me informed and challenged and energized. I'm thankful this year for everyone who shares with me in conversation and letters.

Today, during my office hours, I stopped working on a paper and started writing a poem that I doubt I'll want to submit anywhere but were still fun to write. (Because the best way to feel more organized is to start dawdling in the basement of the library.) My friend Augusto sat across from me and we chatted about the upcoming release of the Hobbit and some recent scandals related to the movie that might concern other animal activists out there. I wish the graphics had stuck in the document - the sections aren't supposed to be numbered but divided by tiny pictures of the animals they're dealing with. Darn. Ah well.

Also, it occurs to me that I've no clue why these legitimately worrisome accusations prompted poems that might be funny. I'm seriously considering not going to see the movie.

PETA PROTESTS PRODUCTION OF THE HOBBIT

1

And the chickens are all, we didn’t sign up for this,

wild dogs every night and someone's forgetting to pack us up

in our coops with the snacks we were promised, we thought

this was our big break and Andy, the one taken away first,

was all, on the plane ride over here, I’m going to make it guys,

I’ve got chicks to think about back in Chipewa,

that was Andy, two dogs chomped him up so fast he probably 

still doesn’t know he's being digested, wondering why the hell

it’s so quiet where he is, and it’s true we were promised

an unrealistic amount of treats if we could show up and act natural,

they said act natural and fluff your feathers in the road,

that’s what they said, but there was no contract, the first red flag

2 

Actually no one liked Rainbow

or thought she took her job

as serious as she should have,

never learning her directions or

practicing tossing her head

over the water bucket like the rest of us,

a total waste – she was Yellow Horse #5,

her big eyes peeking up in practically

every scene with her ears improvising

flirty twitches every time somebody 

speaks. She fell off the edge

of the bluff last night before lights out

and they found her this morning

with her head in the stream

her muzzle and cheekbones grey as rocks

and I guess the handlers understood

she was a dramatic horse 

who had it in her to act impulsively 

because they never even asked us 

if we saw anything or how we felt

3

Tonight on Live Action Five

our own Sandy Applewaite

is in Wellington, New Zealand

where PETA is protesting

the production of Peter Jackson’s

The Hobbit, recently cited

with animal cruelty accusations

including the deaths of 27 animals

on a local farm where the creatures

were housed between takes, 

allegedly with scant supervision

or medical care, near dangerous

cliffs overlooking open waterways.

This all comes to us via tip hotline

through which a caller only identified 

on record as Mr Pepper states,

“These animals were promised

a chance in the sun, an opportunity 

for their families, and they’ve been 

robbed, publicly.” Cut to Sandy Applewaite

in rain slicker on a damp hillside, 

holding microphone and nodding,

finger in her ear, it's serious      

...