Re: a comment on #1 entry from Chico, the star stalker on Pico by <{Baba^Yaga}>	28-Jul-03/7:54 PM
If you are talking about the typo "was" versus "was not", my excuse is my work schedule. If you are talking about the topic, I will excuse myself w/ idealism. See bio.
Re: Octopussed by <{Baba^Yaga}>	28-Jul-03/7:42 PM
My heart goes out to that innocent octopus. Nice storytelling.
Re: You wash up, I forget. by Bachus	28-Jul-03/7:41 PM
I liked "I decline out of guilt and fear and love and space." The "My mind concludes/ To much weight./For such a short time." is confusing unless "to" is supposed to be "too" and there is not supposed to be a period after weight. But you are right, bathtubs aren't made for two.
Re: Killing Ben Afleck by Shardik	27-Jul-03/3:59 PM
FYI: a little sound bite that was on netscape said this, thought you'd appreciate: "New Breed of Men: Metrosexuals Metrosexual: (noun) Of or pertaining to a straight, urban male who is eager to embrace and even show off his feminine side, especially when it comes to expensive haircuts, designer suits, and $40 face cream. And thanks to a certain type of male celebrity (read: David Beckham, Justin Timberlake, and Ben Affleck), it's now cool for a man to own 43 pairs of Bruno Magli shoes, wear moisturizer, and paint his nails. At least, that's what The New York Times and a handful of papers around the globe say. "
Re: a comment on Monument by geewhiz1962	27-Jul-03/2:22 PM
Why, you're still mad at me? Yeah, the helium balloons totally exploded all over the place, and the dead man's daughter, who was blowing up the balloons, got a tooth stuck in her shoe, which was actually probably a sign that there is a god because he only had about 3 or 4 cavity filled teeth left when he died.
Re: a comment on Ode to a Fox Cub by http://mulberryfairy	27-Jul-03/2:03 PM
That was a joke horus8/babayaga, I actually enjoy the variety on poemranker, excepting the rhyming love poems. I didn't even know there was this poemranker controversy that you are talking about. But I appreciate the feedback about the Fox poem, I admitted being wordy, and that is why I posted it here for feedback before submitting it somewhere. You are right about the shape, my husband, a more visual kind of poet, thought it was supposed to be shaped like a fox head, LOL.
Re: a comment on #1 entry from Chico, the star stalker on Pico by <{Baba^Yaga}>	27-Jul-03/1:58 PM
With all due respect, you don't know me well enough to assume me to be a sensitive virgin. I grew up living on welfare in subsidized housing like everyone else, and anyway, not many sensitive folks would willingly put their "poems" on here to get insulted, or, for that matter, be willing to say something about someone's comment knowing that other people would be offended. As a social worker, I have an ethical mandate, on and off duty (but I'm on call 24-7 anyway, so that distinction doesn't matter), to confront oppression, even if it means getting messy and being thought naive. (And like most social workers, I have a tendency to be too serious.)
Re: a comment on Memoirs II by http://mulberryfairy	27-Jul-03/1:46 PM
Well thanks, does that mean we've made up?
Re: a comment on Ode to a Pizza Hut Roach by http://mulberryfairy	27-Jul-03/1:42 PM
Yeah, I know, that is why I am a social worker, not a poet.
Re: Dildo (formerly titled "It") by http://bandgeek	27-Jul-03/12:55 PM
I think the marriage metaphor works, otherwise, I would think kayak.
Re: a comment on Monument by geewhiz1962	27-Jul-03/12:47 PM
Glad I directed my comments at the narrator, then. I'm working on a poem that tells an amusing true story about an ashes ceremony I was recently invited to witness, see below. Read it in reverse order so it will follow the timeline in a linear fashion, I was trying to make the occassion a mystery and put the poem in reverse order but it didn't work. Ashes to Ashes The air smelled of moistened trees, buckshot, and latex as the crowd walked gingerly back toward the camp, some ran to avoid further soaking by the rain, or to put the ordeal behind them. The six rifled gunmen had ultimately been successful, after multiple failed attempts to get the balloons off the ground, the impatient crowd instructed “Shoot the bottom one first, it’s heaviest!” while glaring at a too-heavy string of red and white balloons but the rain came down steadily through the lush maple and birch leaves. The gunmen had been forced to wait longer than they’d hoped, each time they aimed, the pedestrians cried out “More are still coming,” “Old people can’t walk so fast!” Irritation had been rising throughout the trek to the abandoned, overgrown cemetery of the 1800’s The cemetery belonged to the same church whose foundation we passed along the way the walls burnt down after the last of the smallpox victims had died, now its basement’s stone walls stood moss covered, defiantly and proudly intact. Maybe Industry was on the map back then, a farming community, not this cluster of unfinished hunting camps with black tarp insufficiently covering leaning plywood structures. The helium tank had detonated one after another balloon, startling ashes off cigarettes that hung loosely from observers’ mouths. Dust gathered on the designated inflators’ socks and shoelaces, The bangs had drawn a sweaty crowd of spectators around the corner of the house to watch. They were hastily instructed to scatter the dust around and particles were thrown around in the bushes and trees, over the house loam came trickling down the roof, spattering into trays of deviled eggs on the picnic table. Frank’s finest day, His plan of a 21 gun salute for family to see off the ashes of his radiated body into the depths of his beloved hunting camp a plan a trickster like Frank would appreciate, his last laugh.
Re: a comment on #1 entry from Chico, the star stalker on Pico by <{Baba^Yaga}>	27-Jul-03/9:35 AM
Yeah, I can tell you're drunk by your slurred typing. But, anyway, I was trying to be judgmental, I just wondered what compelled you to comment in that way so frequently, and I haven't read anything else by you, so your poem and that comment were my only frames of reference. I did consider writing "I hope you're Korean" but I didn't want to set you up to be even more defensive if you weren't Korean. But, who cares, you don't have to resolve it peacefully ... I don't know you, I really just was curious because I've known several different regions of racists (Southern, Midwestern, Northeastern US and my German grandmother), and kind of wondered if you were part of that or if it was something else. I totally got that your other poem was about stereotypes, but when you ended it with wiggers, chiggers, niggers, etc. you added judgment to your observations, instead of just letting the stereotypes be stereotypes. I know you thought I was lecturing you, but I didn't mean to, I just wanted you to be aware of how you were coming across. I know we all have hang-ups- I know I am sexist and racist and allow myself to reap the benefits of white privilege, so how could I judge you?
Re: a comment on Ode to a Fox Cub by http://mulberryfairy	26-Jul-03/8:00 PM
You and I both know that if this poem had been as graphic about the subjects of sex and/or feces that you, and other p-rankers, wouldn't complain. Actually, I am aware that I have a dangerous tendency to be wordy (especially for the short attention span of the poemranker audience). I thought about taking out the first stanza, but it seemed like it needed the background- so you could imagine what kinds of Maine people that fox might have also come in contact with.
Re: a comment on #1 entry from Chico, the star stalker on Pico by <{Baba^Yaga}>	26-Jul-03/7:53 PM
DurtKL, I sincerely wonder what compels you to use racial slurs every chance you get? Do you do it for laughts, or are you actually angry at various racial and ethnic groups?
Re: Monument by geewhiz1962	26-Jul-03/7:37 PM
"I fully understand that the living need to remember." What do they need to remember and why? Of course you'll be forgotten in 10,000 years, I suggest you deal with your existential angst, rather than try to ensure that people remember you, graveyards are a waste of space. Of course, these comments are directed toward the "narrator", not the author.
Re: Kakistocracy by <{Baba^Yaga}>	26-Jul-03/7:31 PM
"Panoramica" and "views of enslaved cattle" work well together, as do "Kakistocracy" and "Citizens Cained". I'm not sure if I'm getting the best complete picture, but the whole reminds me of Fast Food Nation.
Re: Forgotten by Queen of Tease	26-Jul-03/7:26 PM
This IS a lonely place.
Re: Colgate & Paper towels by Bachus	26-Jul-03/7:06 PM
A lovely drama. I like the little moral at the end.
Re: The Bearded Men by walrus8	25-Jul-03/9:13 AM
With your valuable feedback about the switch from "mouth" to "anus", I think you should replace men with "women"... "It's the bearded women! I'm really scared! They're coming again, And we're not prepared!" And how could we be?
Re: a comment on 8:45 AM Dentist Appointment by http://mulberryfairy	25-Jul-03/9:09 AM
Thanks for the feedback, it will surely have a place in my revision.