Mind of Moog

I started another blog that I will loosely term a "lifestyle blog." It is really a place for meditating on the nuances of everyday objects and the time that we pass as "leisure." My first post is on chairs. I came up with this idea as a means to prompt myself to think about an everyday object in more creative ways. The more I thought about the subject, the more I realized that such an exercise can be very fun and even surprising at times. I hope that you will check it out. Thank you for reading!

Drawn by my wife Emily and adapted from Walter Kaufmann's translation.

Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.      Remote      Shelter      Digital      Breathe      Distance It is easier to breathe at a remote distance— in my digital shelter, for instance. -James B. Moog Poems submitted for April 24

Today’s prompt Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following  5 words  (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed  7 or 8 lines .      Aspen      Shadow      Fever      Hidden      Promise Aspen now hidden. A promise of fever Lingers like a shadow. -James B. Moog Poems submitted for April 23

April 20 Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines. Breath Last Rage Close Fortune “Rage-Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses.” King Agamemnon held his fortune too close, his pride doubly cursing his great fighters’ their bodies made carrion. Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, incensed by the dishonorable treatment of his priest by mortal Agamemnon,swept a fatal plague through the army that spread upon man’s own breath. Man killing Rage flowed through Achilles’ blade as well, driving it toward his King but Pallas Athena appeared before him beckoning caution. Wise men fear the Gods and Achilles stayed his rage and returned to his men at last. Poems submitted for April 20  

Prompt Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.      Soft      Glass      Honey      Gust      Rest A wanderer, though still I might rest but for the cold gust hard against my skin, now cracking like glass. Oh, to reside forever in halcyon fields where the wind flows sweet and soft like honey… — James B. Moog Poems submitted for April 17

Prompt Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.      Sunlight      Ceiling      Nostalgia      Bleak      Mother Faust's Dream The passageway is bleak, the ceiling low—far below sunlight. “Follow it down, ’twill lead you to the Mothers.” Beyond nostalgia: delight in what exists no more and yet waits to be. — James B. Moog Poems submitted for April 16

Prompt Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.      Silent      Oxygen      Truth      Dedication      Owl The truth is hidden like the legs of an owl and silent like oxygen. It takes some dedication... — James B. Moog ALSO A silent moonlit dance. against the silhouette of an owl’s desire Behold its prey, straining for oxygen, in dedication to its own truth. — James B. Moog Poems submitted for April 15

In the Winter of 2016, my omonim [1] visited me And my Korean fiancé, her daughter, Emily To plan our wedding ceremony, Eagerly anticipating our matrimony. Before going to dinner one night, We visited a Merdardo Rosso exhibition. Illuminated by interactive light, My omonim insisted, love creates the aesthetician. I think back often to what she said: Indeed, True Relations clarify. Now, I find myself well-wed, And wise enough to never dare defy My wife or her mother In the least With no one above her I am allowed celestial peace. Returning to Ol’ Rosso, I enjoyed his plasters most oscuro, Supported only by dusky luminescence While his works in wax seemed incandescent. -James B. Moog [1] Omonim means mother-in-law in Korean.

April 14 Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.      Gift      Fall      Brief      Still      See Send us your poem via our  Submissions  page or post on Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag  # lifelines . I submitted a haiku this time: Spring’s gifts are so brief. Still, I long to see Summer, Fall, and Winter too… -James B. Moog And another poem: The fruit of knowledge, overripe, a gift of gravity after a brief fall.  We see only the necessary. -James B. Moog