Eclipse 7/22/09

I saw the eclipse in Korea (about 80% of total). Talk about dumb luck for scheduling a trip at this time. I was running around the park showing the locals my pinhole viewer (a piece of paper with a pin hole in it). Here is a poem inspired by the subject:

Eclipse 7/22/09
The sun
tried to darken
and return
to my natural state
on the other side.
The moon’s shadow
fit perfectly
over the sun’s bulb
as if designed
for this moment.
The light, though dimmed,
still burned
my blue eyes.
Sometimes white clouds
would filter it enough
to reveal the sharp crescent.
Barbarically pierced,
a thin sheet
also projected
the image on the ground
and others saw
and defaced their newspapers
to see the spectacle
without damage or language.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Poem From Korea

Started writing this on the plane and then finished it when I could not sleep early in the morning:

arbor on arc

On all global surfaces
the statically flailing limbs
always grow toward the light
and the roots
always grow into the dark
core of the Earth.
The mirrored green trees
grow apart
and away from the Earth's center.
Their roots are the closest
but still distant.
Some branches
seek to strangle the sky,
while some droop
in return,
and others float
parallel to the ground.
Except for their trunks
they follow no artificial law
but are punished
by the pruning
around power lines,
unlike the strict hedges
aligning the road

-Robert L. Jackson III

Top 25 Most Poetic Songs

Well, for lack of anything better to post, I've decided to list the Top 25 Most Poetic Songs. They have to be the most poetic rather than simply the best to stay inline with the subject of this blog. However, because poetry and song are very closely related, an actual list could go on and on. In addition, any such list really depends on the taste of the individual who makes the list. To be on the list the song also has to have a video on Youtube, so it has to be fairly mainstream and popular. I've also limited one song per an artist or band. Therefore, in actuality, this is Rob's Favorite Poetic Sounding Songs that are available on Youtube. Remember, its just for fun.

I will undoubtably forget some good ones, so I'd like to here your suggestions of songs that I might leave off.

Here are the first two songs on the list:

25. Radiohead: No Surprises
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgzeqwhNTDk
24. Jimmy Hendrix - All Across the Watchtower

Broken Levees

My family and I had a great trip to Missouri over the Independence Day weekend. On Friday I spent most of the day helping the Levee Czar (my father) inspect the levees surrounding about 800 acres of farmland. The levees had broken in several locations and flooded all the land and was inaccessible until just last week. It is amazing how fast the flow of water could erode 20 foot tall piles of soil, that even had large trees growing on it. The levees will eventually be repaired and the land will be used to grow a crop (probably soy beans), although much of the season has already been lost.

In homage, here is one of my favorite songs

When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin




Here is also a short poem I wrote during the trip:

Levee Cracks

The levees were raised
decades ago
from virgin soil.
Maples and oaks
slowly separated
and grew into
the artificial terrain,
fortifying it
but initiating cracks.
Vehicles and weather
also slowly wore
the peaks down
until a 100 year
flood arrived
and pressurized
the aging walls.
The cracks
grew and joined
and the water
bled free
of containment.
The branches and trunks
fell and drifted
downstream
to dam
the flexing creek.
-Robert L. Jackson III