I like it that the Slog is a creative space where the contributors take a few chances, so I usually don't slam anything. But jeez, Paul,haven't you ever read any real poetry? This "Midnight Bus" series is all just utterly worthless crap. You lose cred for publishing it.
Darn it! MBP was my morning crossword puzzle.Most of the submissions were awful including mine in comments,but I still like this one that I wrote for my daughter:
The man seated next to me,
Has fallen asleep.
His head lolls on my shoulder,
And spittle creeps.
I look at my reflection,
Why did I sit by this man?
I want to move,
But don't think I can.
His hand falls in my lap,
And I clutch my purse.
His clothes are dirty,
And smell of urine and worse.
His breath is real boozy,
And foul and bad.
I wake him and tell him,
It's our stop,Dad.
I like the bus poems. Paul, you make it sound like you're getting rid of them because haters hate them. If that's really the case, please remember there are people online who just like to hate things, and they don't appear to care what the things are.
It seems to me that Slog has bent over backwards for trolls lately (shoplifting confessions, for example), and this is a game you cannot win. Trolls are attention vampires. All you can do is delete or ignore them.
Please don't get rid of MBP. The poems make me laugh every morning; they brighten my day. I don't have a car and commute by bus to work; these poems remind me about how awful and how great it is to ride the bus. Now when I look at the bus poetry on the bus, I smile instead of gag.
Having been a longtime bus rider, I quit smoking this week. My sense of smell is returning and the experience of public transportation has become an entirely new one for me. MBP speaks to the deepest levels of my olfactory soul right now, so I do appreciate it.
The man seated next to me,
Has fallen asleep.
His head lolls on my shoulder,
And spittle creeps.
I look at my reflection,
Why did I sit by this man?
I want to move,
But don't think I can.
His hand falls in my lap,
And I clutch my purse.
His clothes are dirty,
And smell of urine and worse.
His breath is real boozy,
And foul and bad.
I wake him and tell him,
It's our stop,Dad.
It seems to me that Slog has bent over backwards for trolls lately (shoplifting confessions, for example), and this is a game you cannot win. Trolls are attention vampires. All you can do is delete or ignore them.
And I agree with #10--haters hate. Big surprise.
Do you ever read 3QuarksDaily? They do poetry - serious poetry - every day, along with their news, opinions, etc.