Search Mumbling Jack
Mumbling Jack on Twitter
- February Was No Time mumblinjack.wordpress.com/2021/01/15/feb… 1 day ago
- Thinking of Geese in Winter mumblinjack.wordpress.com/2021/01/14/thi… 1 day ago
- January in the City mumblinjack.wordpress.com/2021/01/08/jan… 1 week ago
- December Moon mumblinjack.wordpress.com/2021/01/01/dec… 2 weeks ago
- The Long Grass on the Hill mumblinjack.wordpress.com/2020/11/10/the… 2 months ago
Top Posts & Pages
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Archives
- January 2021
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
Mumbles
- Ahmon Katz
- Albrecht Dürer
- Allah
- Alternative medicine
- Andrew Griffin
- Aphorephemera
- Apple Blossoms
- Art
- Art is lies
- Art is theft
- Asters
- Astronomy
- Astrophysics
- Atheism
- Audio poetry
- Autobiographical
- Autumn
- Bai Juyi
- Ballad
- Bamboo
- Barter
- Baseball
- Biology
- Blackberries
- Blue Heron
- Bog
- Bog poems
- Boy in Wolf's Clothing
- Canadian Music
- Capitalism
- Carbon
- Carlo Spinazzola
- Catherine MacLellan
- Cattails
- Cedars
- Cemetery
- Charlottetown
- Chemistry
- Cherry blossoms
- Chickadees
- Chinese poetry
- Chris Gauthier
- Chubby Checker
- Cicadas
- Cinquain
- Cliches
- Climate Change
- Collaboration
- Commissions
- Concussions
- Consciousness
- Copyright
- Cormorants
- Corporate Capitalism
- Cosmology
- Country music
- Country song
- Couplets
- Creativity
- Crows
- Cryptomnesia
- Death
- Delusional thinking
- Desperation
- Doggerel
- Du Fu
- Dutch elm disease
- Dylan Thomas
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Edit
- Elms
- Elvis Presley
- Emily Dickinson
- Emma Tibaldo
- Epistemology
- Evolution
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Fanaticism
- Fantasy Baseball
- Federico Garcia Lorca
- Fever Ray
- Fiction
- Food
- Frida Kahlo
- Funeral
- Gender
- Geology
- Ghazal
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- Gizoogle
- Gravity
- Gulls
- H. D.
- Haiku
- Hank Williams
- Harbour
- Hillsborough River
- Hinterland Studio
- Homeopathy
- Homer
- Honey locust
- Housman
- Hugh MacDiarmid
- Hunger
- Islam
- Izumi Shikibu
- Jane Hirshfield
- Japanese Poetry
- Jason Arsenault
- Jeremy Larter
- John MacKenzie
- John MacKenzie Poetry
- Korean War
- Language
- Larches
- Leonard Cohen
- Letters I Didn't Write
- Li Bai
- Li Yu
- Lilacs
- Lily pond
- Lindens
- Little Sands
- Lorca
- Lupins
- Magnolias
- Malnutrition
- Marie Fox
- Mariko Aratani
- Mark Twain
- Marsh
- Mary Gauthier
- Mathematics
- Matt Trussell
- Medicine
- Memory
- Michael Leon
- Micropoetry
- Milton Acorn
- Minor league baseball
- Miscellaneous
- More Soul
- Multiverse
- Mumbling Jack, album
- Music
- Mythology
- Neuroplasticity
- Neuroscience
- New poems
- Noir
- Norman Love
- North Shore
- Ono no Komachi
- Orchids
- Pablo Neruda
- Palinode
- Pantoum
- Parallelism
- Parochialism
- Pastiche
- Pat Deighan
- Physics
- Plum Blossoms
- Poem tweets
- Poems from old notebooks
- Poetics
- Poetry
- Pointless Pith
- Political Commentary
- Poverty
- Process
- Prose poem
- Prostate exam
- Protest poems
- Pussy Willows
- Qiu Xiaolong
- Quatrains
- Randomness
- Ravens
- Recent poems
- Recipes
- Red-winged blackbird
- Religion
- Revise
- Revision
- Richard Stark
- Robert Smith
- Rodin
- Roses
- Sabermetrics
- Salvador Dali
- Scans of poems
- Science
- Sea songs
- Seamus Heaney
- Serendipity
- Serial
- Sestina
- Shaken by Physics
- Short fiction
- Skepticism
- Skyrim
- Sledgehammer
- Social Commentary
- Sonnet
- South Shore
- Space
- Spring
- Stompin' Tom Connors
- Su Shi
- Summer
- T. S. Eliot
- Tanka
- Tanka
- The Brain
- The Crow Agenda
- The Earth
- The Ink Dark Moon
- The Marsh
- The Moon
- The Rain
- The Sea
- The Sky
- The Tibaldos
- The Wind
- Theology
- Things to think about
- Three Words A Day
- Tide
- Time
- Tom Waits
- Toque
- Trailside Cafe & Inn
- Translations/Transpositions
- Tropes
- Twisted Tanka
- Uncategorized
- Urban foxes
- velvel
- Venus
- Veterans
- Video games
- Video poetry
- Villanelle
- Wallace Stevens
- Walt Whitman
- War
- War poems
- West Point
- West River
- Whales
- Wild Geese
- Wild Geese in Spring
- Wild roses
- Willows
- Winter
- Writing
- [Broken] poems from old notebooks
Meta
Monthly Archives: October 2013
The Red Tambourines of Deep October
Last night at work I saw a friend leaving with her red tambourine under her arm and said, “The woman with the red tambourine. Thought for a second, and added, “That should be a song—there’s the title, you should write … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Art is theft, Autumn, Cosmology, John MacKenzie, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Quatrains, The Moon, The Wind, Winter
Tagged art is lies, art is theft, Autumn, cosmology, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, quatrains, the moon, the wind, winter
Leave a comment
The Bloom is not the Flower (Trailside Cafe Video #2)
The Bloom is not the Flower This one’s short, just over a minute. Probably should’ve posted it first, as it ended my first set while yesterday’s poem ended my second set. The text appears in Letters I Didn’t Write. Also, … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Art is theft, Bai Juyi, Chinese poetry, John MacKenzie, Letters I Didn't Write, Poem tweets, Poetry, Process, Summer, Time, Trailside Cafe & Inn, Video poetry
Tagged art is lies, art is theft, Bai Juyi, chinese poetry, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, poem tweets, poetry, process, Summer, time, Trailside Cafe & Inn, video poetry
Leave a comment
Watching Crows in Winter (poems from old notebooks, January 2011)
1 I watch the crows, and I wait, as they examine me from their pews of overhead wires and January’s bare branches, each restless, attentive head turning one dark eye and then the other on me. Beak after beak opens … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Crows, John MacKenzie, Memory, Poem tweets, Poems from old notebooks, Poetry, Time, Winter
Tagged art is lies, crows, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, memory, poem tweets, poems from old notebooks, poetry, time, winter
Leave a comment
The Late October Moon Weaves
More than half-cut now the late October moon weaves between clouds all night stumbling and falling but still holding the last of its shine
Posted in Art is lies, Charlottetown, John MacKenzie, Language, Micropoetry, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Tanka, The Moon
Tagged art is lies, Charlottetown, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Language, micropoetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, tanka, the moon
Leave a comment
Let’s Forget the Sea
Let’s forget the sea and all its salt that gathers on, sharpens our tongues, forget how it swells, urgent in the night, a wet, rhythmic push of water on rocks, forget the sea at its evening low ebb withdrawn beyond … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Autumn, Gulls, John MacKenzie, Language, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Sonnet, The Earth, The Sea, The Wind
Tagged art is lies, Autumn, gulls, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Language, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, sonnet, the earth, the sea, the wind
Leave a comment
Turn My Head (poems from old notebooks, August 2004)
The house is empty. I am not standing, Forehead touching your forehead. Your hands Are not gently gripping my shirt, tugging. The sun is out, but you are not here to walk with. Today I will smoke too many cigarettes … Continue reading
d’Etre, Et Cetera (against a sea of troubles)
High tide has just turned, but already gulls descend— squall over prime spots on mudflats to be
Posted in Art is lies, Art is theft, Cinquain, Gulls, John MacKenzie, Language, Micropoetry, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, The Sea
Tagged art is lies, art is theft, cinquain, gulls, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Language, micropoetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, the sea
Leave a comment
Yesterday’s Poem (notes on process)
I’ll get to yesterday’s poem, as promised, eventually. But first, some generalities. For me, these days, writing poems is a cold-blooded endeavour. I don’t wait for or depend upon a burn of emotion, a flash of insight, a moment of … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Art is lies, Consciousness, Creativity, Epistemology, Memory, Poetics, Poetry, Process, The Brain, Writing
Tagged art, art is lies, art is theft, consciousness, Creativity, epistemology, memory, poetics, poetry, process, the brain, writing
Leave a comment
In the Company of Gulls (a sonnet on the rocks)
Today a poem. Tomorrow, a note on the process of writing it. In the Company of Gulls (a sonnet on the rocks) When you aren’t here I keep company with gulls on the shoreline cracking open mussels to eat raw … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Art is theft, Gulls, H. D., Harbour, John MacKenzie, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Roses, Sonnet, The Moon, The Sea
Tagged art is lies, art is theft, gulls, H. D., harbour, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, roses, sonnet, the moon, the sea
1 Comment
Thinking of Your Absence (Down by the Harbour in Late October)
Across the water green slips silent from low hills intent on winter— over here gulls come and go with their rusty door hinge squeals
Posted in Art is lies, Autumn, Gulls, Harbour, John MacKenzie, Micropoetry, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Tanka, The Sea, Winter
Tagged art is lies, Autumn, gulls, harbour, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, micropoetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, tanka, the sea, winter
Leave a comment
The Place of Skulls (poems from old notebooks, 1998 or ’99)
Can’t figure out exactly when I wrote this, though I can clearly recall smirking a lot while doing so. I’ve since pilfered at least one image from it to use variations of in other poems. Ghazal for Mary Magdalene is … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Atheism, Death, John MacKenzie, Mumbling Jack, album, Poem tweets, Poems from old notebooks, Poetry, Process, Religion, The Sea
Tagged art is lies, atheism, death, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Mumbling Jack, poem tweets, poems from old notebooks, poetry, process, the sea
Leave a comment
Field in Autumn
Late October geese circling in for one last feed honk their alarms too late—12-gauge shoulder slaps bring down tomorrow’s supper
Posted in Art is lies, Autumn, Food, John MacKenzie, Micropoetry, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Tanka, Wild Geese
Tagged art is lies, Autumn, Food, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, micropoetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, tanka, wild geese
Leave a comment
Built of Bone (poems from old notebooks, November 2002)
Midnight takes a turn. Moonlight so white it might be Built of bone. Nothing moves But dreams also (of screaming). Consider: He is considering The house and its place in time, Its duration in space, its editions And additions. He … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Autumn, Consciousness, John MacKenzie, Language, Mathematics, Memory, Neuroscience, Physics, Poem tweets, Poems from old notebooks, Poetry, Space, The Brain, The Moon, Time
Tagged art is lies, Autumn, consciousness, John MacKenzie, Language, mathematics, memory, neuroscience, physics, poem tweets, poems from old notebooks, poetry, space, the brain, the moon, time
Leave a comment
Everyday Math
The ring-billed gulls descending over the low tide slant of shingle toward dark mudflats are a litter of dirty-white scrap paper scrawled with derivatives measuring the changes of functions in differential equations. Across the harbour the calculus continues; considers a … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Astrophysics, Biology, Cemetery, Charlottetown, Chemistry, Consciousness, Creativity, Death, Epistemology, Evolution, Gulls, Harbour, John MacKenzie, Language, Mathematics, Memory, Neuroscience, New poems, Physics, Poem tweets, Poetry, Prose poem, Science, The Brain, Time, West River
Tagged art is lies, astrophysics, biology, cemetery, Charlottetown, chemistry, consciousness, Creativity, death, epistemology, evolution, gulls, harbour, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Language, mathematics, memory, neuroscience, new poems, physics, poem tweets, poetry, prose poem, science, the brain, time, West River
Leave a comment
Gritty Bar Poem (poems from old notebooks, October 16, 2004)
The kids is starved, the wife’s knocked up, an I just barfed the last rum up. Look, the tide’s out, the quahogs thin, so shut yer mout an git to diggin. Oh fill yer boots, ya useless gits— we’re outta … Continue reading
Posted in Art is lies, Charlottetown, Harbour, John MacKenzie, Language, Poem tweets, Poems from old notebooks, Social Commentary, The Sea
Tagged art is lies, Charlottetown, harbour, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Language, poem tweets, poems from old notebooks, social commentary, the sea
Leave a comment
Late October Night Frost
White glint of stars on an iron-black sky I’ve stuck my tongue to—again
Posted in Art is lies, Autumn, Haiku, John MacKenzie, Language, Micropoetry, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Space, The Sky
Tagged art is lies, Autumn, haiku, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Language, micropoetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, space, the sky
Leave a comment
Lament for Lorca (poems from old notebooks, July 1999)
I recall writing this while reading a now-forgotten biography of Lorca in a Chapters store in Victoria, BC. Lament for Lorca Fuck Dali, who was born dead— his heart more bent than his clock— how long can one man’s death … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Art is lies, Art is theft, Death, Federico Garcia Lorca, John MacKenzie, Poem tweets, Poems from old notebooks, Poetry, Salvador Dali
Tagged art, art is lies, art is theft, death, Federico Garcia Lorca, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, poem tweets, poems from old notebooks, poetry, Salvador Dali
Leave a comment
Quick in the Night
We all watch the moon swelling and shrinking monthly, rising and falling like our chests—quick in the night with a flutter of secrets
Posted in Art is lies, Autumn, Consciousness, John MacKenzie, Language, Micropoetry, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Social Commentary, Tanka, The Moon
Tagged art is lies, Autumn, consciousness, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, Language, micropoetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, social commentary, tanka, the moon
Leave a comment
Under the October Moon
Tonight your whisper drew me out to wait under the October moon— but there was the only the cold wind moving in the dry leaves
Posted in Art is lies, Autumn, John MacKenzie, Micropoetry, New poems, Poem tweets, Poetry, Tanka, The Moon, The Wind
Tagged art is lies, Autumn, John MacKenzie, John MacKenzie poetry, micropoetry, new poems, poem tweets, poetry, tanka, the moon, the wind
1 Comment
The Devil’s Bride (video from Trailside Cafe show)
The Devil’s Bride Over the next few days, I’ll be posting a couple more videos from a show I did with Catherine MacLellan and Chris Gauthier at Pat and Meghann Deighan’s Trailside Cafe in Mount Stewart, PE, on this past … Continue reading →