Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Books One More Post About Poetry...
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:11 PM
...but wait! Don't just skim! This poem is actually written by Barack Obama, and it appears here.
It's called "Pop," and here is the first half.
Sitting in his seat, a seat broad and broken
In, sprinkled with ashes,
Pop switches channels, takes another
Shot of Seagrams, neat, and asks
What to do with me, a green young man
Who fails to consider the
Flim and flam of the world, since
Things have been easy for me;
I stare hard at his face, a stare
That deflects off his brow;
I'm sure he's unaware of his
Dark, watery eyes, that
Glance in different directions,
And his slow, unwelcome twitches,
Fail to pass.
I listen, nod,
Listen, open, till I cling to his pale,
Beige T-shirt, yelling,
Yelling in his ears, that hang
With heavy lobes, but he's still telling
His joke, so I ask why
He's so unhappy, to which he replies . . .
But I don't care anymore, cause
He took too damn long, and from
Under my seat, I pull out the
Mirror I've been saving; I'm laughing,
Laughing loud, the blood rushing from his face
To mine, as he grows small,
A spot in my brain, something
That may be squeezed out, like a
Watermelon seed between
Two fingers.
Please bear in mind that the President was 19 years old when he wrote the poem. (More information here.) Our outgoing president wrote poetry when he was 19, too, but the men's room at that particular Denny's has since been remodeled and the poem was lost under several coats of paint.
(Thanks to Slog Tipper Brian.)
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1
I'm no poetry fan but I like it. Moreover I'm so fucking happy our president is a poet and an author and he writes his own speeches. Imagine that. A president who writes his own speeches.
2
"Our outgoing president wrote poetry when he was 19, too, but the men's room at that particular Denny's has since been remodeled and the poem was lost under several coats of paint."
Some funny things make you LOL, and some funny things are SO funny that you just kind of shake your head and sigh with a weird sort of glee.
Some funny things make you LOL, and some funny things are SO funny that you just kind of shake your head and sigh with a weird sort of glee.
3
People. We elected a man who has a brain in his head. It's a goddamn miracle I tell you. A miracle.
4
since finding out that the remains of birds sucked into jet engines are called snarge, and that there are snarge scientists working for the smithsonian, i have taken to fondly referring to my ex-boyfriend as "snarge for brains." but i think the biggest snarge for brains in the world has to be GW. SEE YOU IN HELL, PRESIDENT SNARGE FOR BRAINS!
7
I thought you meant Jon Favreau who directed Elf and had a bit part on Friends. Then I wiki'd it and found out it's a different Jon Favreau who is only ONE YEAR OLDER than me, and I felt really bad about myself and my stupid job.
8
Matt and Fnarf are actually both sort of correct (or sort of wrong-- however you want to look at it).
Obama wrote his speech on race last spring entirely by himself, but he almost always collaborates with Favreau, who is often called his "mindreader". Jon wrote a draft of the inaugural, Obama did several edits with his own additions and suggestions. The process has been documented many times. They definitely both have a hand in the speechwriting.
Obama wrote his speech on race last spring entirely by himself, but he almost always collaborates with Favreau, who is often called his "mindreader". Jon wrote a draft of the inaugural, Obama did several edits with his own additions and suggestions. The process has been documented many times. They definitely both have a hand in the speechwriting.
9
@7 he's only ten days older than I, but I bet I've made a whole lot more fucking money, so I feel better about myself.
That won't be true forever, but at least it's true now!
That won't be true forever, but at least it's true now!
10
squeezed out, like a
Watermelon seed between
Two fingers
Can we make fun of this yet? Has he been President long enough...please...let us know.
Watermelon seed between
Two fingers
Can we make fun of this yet? Has he been President long enough...please...let us know.
11
Depends. Do you want to make fun of it because "squeezed out" is hilarious and reusable, or because of "watermelon seed"? The latter is just tired.
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