by Richard Subber | Dec 7, 2023 | Human Nature, My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
new birdsong…
Think again
I had this idea about immortality,
but I was thinking about the wrong future.
The lab guys said they could archive my brain,
do a download of my mind and memories,
back me up on a secure server,
give me a digital life that won’t quit,
write new words for “I ain’t got no body.”
I thought I could live forever.
I was thinking about the wrong future.
Future isn’t the forever thing.
I forgot that now will last forever
in this network that has no sunrise.
I forgot that future is the next bit
of new birdsong,
the next kiss from a sweet child.
I forgot that there will be no more sniffling,
no more brie and crackers,
no more warm hugs,
no more purling brooks,
no more sunsets
that just squeeze all joy
into my eyes.
November 16, 2021
I’m inspired by Mike Franklyn’s poem, “Ah! To Be Human”
* * * * * *
My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
Book review: Girl with a Pearl Earring
This is Tracy Chevalier’s bucket of love…
–
In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Dec 5, 2023 | Human Nature, Language, Reflections, Theater and play reviews
losing sight of right and wrong…
Movie review:
Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons (1988, rated R, 119 minutes) is not a garden of delight.
If you aspire to a working understanding of good and evil, you could do worse than listen to the riveting chatter of the leading personae: the Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) and the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich). They choose each word with careful, deliciously ribald, austerely cruel, and domineering intent.
This is a boundless exposé of the worst elements—of human intrigue, self indulgence, hubris, vaunting egos, and careless poaching of souls—that masquerade as amour.
Dangerous Liaisons is an ultimately degraded experience for both the characters and viewers, who must condemn the marquise and the vicomte for so many lives destroyed…death is an anticlimax in Dangerous Liaisons.
The marquise and the vicomte are burdened with a moral framework that shuns the absolute—they have unimaginably unsatisfied desires, and no intellectual imperative of right and wrong.
They swirl through their lives, casually jousting with each other as they amuse themselves in controlling the fates of other men and women, without realizing that they are not in control of their own fates.
The movie is based on a 1782 French epistolary novel titled Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre-Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos, available in English translation.
* * * * * *
Movie review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
Dirty Dancing (1987) (movie review)
Oh baby, baby, baby…
–
Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 73 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Nov 26, 2023 | My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
no portent of delight…
Momentary
There is beauty in being,
stunning beauty of the moment,
when creature and bloom
make a tiny community of two,
the flower offering so much,
as if caring to give energy for life,
the butterfly taking so little.
No guardian brings them together
to share goodness
for futures they do not share,
a metamorphosis brought them alive
but did not portend delight,
did not augur the beautiful exchange,
it set them free to play a role,
their give and take is feeding my soul.
August 3, 2022
Published in Creative Inspirations, Sep-Oct 2022 issue
* * * * * *
My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
–
Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 73 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Nov 18, 2023 | Language, My poetry, Poetry, Reflections
s’agit d’amour…
Nuit
La nuit me dit,
”Mon cher, qu’as tu?”
et je réponds,
“Rien…mais oui,
encore je pense à elle
qui est ma chère depuis…”
Ma vie en toute,
mon âme, ma femme,
le même pour moi…
S’agit d’amour, cher noir,
la nuit qui est tout seul…
et moi aussi.
1968
* * * * * *
My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
“Tear it up,” says Kurt Vonnegut
“Write a six line poem, about anything…
–
Seeing far: Selected poems with 47 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Oct 26, 2023 | Book reviews, Books, Human Nature, Reflections
a “start feeling good” book
Book review:
Lessons in Chemistry
by Bonnie Garmus (b1957)
New York: Doubleday, 2022
390 pages
Lessons in Chemistry is not a “feel good” book.
It’s a “start feeling good” book.
Of course, there’s a message, and there’s a good story, and the message doesn’t get in the way of the story, and the story doesn’t obscure the message. (Guys, everybody can be a scientist, no matter which bathroom they use).
I think I need to mention that I’m not a dog person, so I confess that Six-Thirty isn’t my favorite character, but he’s more human than some people I know, so he’s important. Just think about this: maybe dogs can talk, but they choose not to.
Lessons in Chemistry is 390 pages of telling the centuries-old truths about the failures and the bitterness of the culture of male domination.
Some readers may think it’s all too much (and the “Supper At Six” TV show is a bit much), but the story evolves into a good story, and we need more inspiration to understand that some girl baby born somewhere yesterday may have what it takes to be the best scientist ever.
Elizabeth Zott has the words.
She says:
“Let’s get started.”
* * * * * *
Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
Book review: “Bartleby, the Scrivener”
Loneliness beyond understanding…
by Herman Melville
Seeing far: Selected poems with 47 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
* * * * * *
by Richard Subber | Oct 24, 2023 | Politics, Reflections, Tidbits
a great smooch…
“…righteousness and peace
have kissed each other…”
Psalm 85, King James Version
First published in 1611, authorized by King James I of England
…indeed, a kiss for all seasons
* * * * * *
Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2023 All rights reserved.
Book review: Ethan Frome
not being satisfied with less…
by Edith Wharton
–
As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
* * * * * *
