Dear Friends of Eretz,
The poet reveals in his notes that he composed this poem while caught in a rainstorm, darting from temporary shelter to temporary shelter, and hoping that his computer would not get wet. There is a definite disjointedness to this poem, sometimes indicated by blank spaces within lines and hyphenated words.
Jack Spicer (1925 - 1965) (pictured) was a co-founder of the Berkley Renaissance Movement and inspired the Beat Movement. He referred to his poetic style as "poetry as dictation," by which he meant that a poet is no more than a "radio" able to receive transmissions of poetry from an "invisible world," as opposed to composing poetry through his own will and intellect--a rather humbling thought! Also, a bit schizophrenic! He suffered from chronic alcoholism and depression which resulted in the loss of job after job and friend after friend. He died just as his life appeared to be turning around with the success of his famous "Vancouver Lectures." Additional biographical information may be found here: 
The title of the poem refers to music, an art form that has rhythm and often passion--just like poetry and sex. The first line is an obvious double entendre. The second line compares the sexual act to swimming.
Darcie Dennigan is an Assistant Professor in Residence at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and is a co-founder of Frequency Writers: A Writing Community for Providence & Beyond, in Providence, Rhode Island. She has published two books of poetry. Additional biographical information may be found here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/darcie-dennigan.
"Circuitous Route" is the final poem in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Re-deploying from Indonesia to New Jersey took over a week. I flew from Indonesia to Thailand to Japan to Hawaii back to Japan to California to Delaware and then finally to New Jersey--just in time for Valentine's Day.
"Clonazepam" takes its name from a drug in the benzodiazepine class sold under the brand name "Klonopin." It is commonly used to treat seizure disorders, but is also indicated to treat panic disorder. In my experience as a physician, I have also seen it used off label to treat all kinds of other psychiatric problems, including Tourette Syndrome, as well as facial tics.
In "Silk Quest," the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry, a pilot, a flight doc, and a chaplain go for a walk. Sound like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it?
"Buddha Quest" is the latest installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. With time to kill in Thailand, Rudy, the Chaplain, McNamee, and I decided to hike to a park that had an enormous statue of Buddha in it. The journey turned out to be epic--a real odyssey of enlightenment. Several times Rudy, McNamee, and I wanted to turn back, but the Chaplain provided the spirit for us to persevere. We finally reached the park and, after braving wild dogs and climbing tortuous stairs, our goal. The return journey was easier, and we stopped at a restaurant for my first taste of authentic Thai cuisine.
"The Raven" is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. The KC-10 that was tasked, among other things, to re-deploy me from Indonesia to New Jersey, picked up three Phoenix Ravens as passengers. They were on their way to Japan, and so were we. 
Edith Matilda Thomas (1854 - 1925) (pictured) was recognized by The New York Times as "one of the most distinguished American poets." She published nine poetry collections in her lifetime, and an additional collection was published posthumously. Her poetry was championed and inspired by fellow poet Helen Hunt Jackson. Additional biographical information about Thomas may be found here: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/edith-m-thomas.
I composed "Cómo, Cuomo?" in response to the New York governor's recent jackassery. It is a pithy little sonnet that dares the dictatorial fascist to make New York so awful that all of the good citizens (ie: the ones who oppose him and who do the actual work and pay taxes) leave the state. Then Mussolini junior would be left with the useless segment of society that lives off government hand outs. It would serve him right. I doubt the poem will every be published--more's the shame--but I feel better having written it.
Richard Aldington (1892 - 1962) (pictured) was a founding poet of the Imagist movement. He was also a famous novelist, critic, essayist, and translator. His earlier poems were influenced by Greek mythology and Japanese art. His later work reflects his bitterness and disillusionment after serving in the British Army during World War I. Additional biographical information may be found here http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/richard-aldington and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Aldington.
"Extender Crew Roll Call" is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Some top-notch, dedicated airmen re-deployed me from Thailand to New Jersey: Alejandro, Krueger, Maack, Pates, McNamee, and Adams. I salute you. Thank you for getting me home safely.
The poet reveals in her notes that "Stairway to Heaven" is an elegy to her brother who died in 2011. The poem reveals that he died from cancer.
"Gucci Boys" is the next installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Gucci Boys was a tongue-in-cheek nickname given to the KC-10 Extender pilots. The KC-10 Extender is a modified DC-10 that includes a boom employed for mid-air refueling missions. One from McGuire arrived just as I was looking for a way to re-deploy from Thailand, and coincidentally I had saved its pilot's career after a medical mishap befell him. He was only too happy to add me to his crew and fly me home.
The poem is divided into three parts. The second part is only one sentence--a quote from Catullus and a short comment upon it. This is probably a reference to Gaius Valerius Catullus (85 BCE - 54 BCE) (pictured), a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic. Catullus was one of the neoteric or "new" poets who rejected the epic poetry style of his contemporaries in favor of a shorter, lyrical, colloquial, more personal style. Of the 161 of his poems that are extant, twenty-five are bawdy pieces concerning a woman named Lesbia and her infidelity.
Mr. Joris may have been having a fourth dimensional moment when he composed "In Betweenness." He could feel today between "the day before yesterday and yesterday." I felt as though the shadow of a tesseract passed over me as I read his words.
"General Order One" is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. After languishing away on Sabang with little or nothing to do for over a week, we hitched a ride on a Japanese C-130 bound for Thailand. We finally made it off the island! We were looking forward to a post-mission libation. Unfortunately, General Order One was in effect, so alcohol was quite literally off the table.
The poem consists of eleven terse couplets and a final singlet. A kind of anagram word scramble form is used, about which the poet elaborates in her notes. It is fun to read this poem aloud. Nonsense, no scent, or one cent--you decide.
"For Alison," a Shakespearean love sonnet, is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. I composed the poem nine years ago almost to the day. As I was looking through the diary of my time in Indonesia, I discovered it amongst its leaves.
"Estranged" explores the themes of Walt Whitman's "To a Stranger" in a twenty-first century context. People claim to understand Whitman, even to identify with him, but he would not identify with the vast majority of us today, our faces ever buried in cellphones, ears and brains buzzing with cyberfeed, and with our virtual friendships on social media.
"Sabang Haibun" is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. I found the haiku portion of the haibun penned into the diary that I kept during my Indonesian odyssey. The story preceding the haiku was easy enough to compose retrospectively.
"The Two to Three Day Plan" is the next addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Deploying to Indonesia had been a priority mission. Re-deploying home, however, was not. For about two weeks after my op was over, I languished away in Indonesia being told every two to three days that I would be re-deploying in two to three days.
According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_America_be_America_Again, "Let America Be America Again" was composed in 1935 and published in Esquire Magazine in 1936. It is interesting and sad to note how the message of the poem still resonates today, almost eighty years later.
"Treasure Hunt" is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. As the Air Force's role in the tsunami relief mission was winding down, there were still many medical relief supplies jumbled together and mixed with other random supplies. I was tasked to lead a team to sort out and organize the medical supplies. It was a kind of treasure hunt.
In the second stanza, Poe conjures an image of himself desperately trying to cling to reality, each day of which is represented metaphorically by a grain of sand. Sand evokes the image of the Sandman--the mythical bringer of sleep and dreams. Alas, the sand slips through his fingers and is washed away by the sea--perhaps a metaphor for salty tears and the relentlessness of time.
"Nothing To Do" is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. For days after our op was over, the TALCE and I languished away with nothing to do. This poem captures that frustrating feeling of boredom with words and word placement.
"Mag" by Carl Sandburg was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on January 18, 2014. A link to the poem may be found here: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/23845. The editor of Poem-A-Day notes that "Mag" was first published in 1916 in Sandburg's collection, Chicago Poems, which helped establish the poet's reputation.
The poem was inspired by Encounters at the End of the World, a documentary film by Werner Herzog. A review of the movie by the New York Times, including links to movie clips, may be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/movies/11enco.html?_r=0. Note that the last seconds of the first clip depicts the Antarctic scientists pressing their ears to the ice to listen to the calls of the seals swimming below them--an image which inspired Fagan more than any other, as she reveals in her notes, and which is responsible for the eerie images and haunting feelings evoked by her poem.
"TALCE Roll Call" is the latest installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Every enlisted member of the Tanker Airlift Control Element to which I was attached in Indonesia was a fine American with whom I was proud to serve. This poem tells a little bit about each of these outstanding airmen: Powell, Lofton, Yahut, Watkins, Kendrick, Fraley, Aguiejo, Charleston, Bridwell, and Bennet. A separate poem, "Major Robert Dotson," is dedicated to my comrade and CO.
In the seventh stanza, Wilson refers to Bearden, presumably Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988), the African American artist, writer, and humanist. Additional biographical information about Bearden as well as examples of his artwork may be found here: http://www.beardenfoundation.org/artlife/biography/biography.shtml. Bearden was noted for his collages, one of which, The Calabash, is pictured. Reference is also made to Lawrence, presumably Jacob Lawrence (1917 - 2000), an African American painter whose career Bearden nurtured. More about Lawrence and his artwork may be found here: http://whitney.org/www/jacoblawrence/meet/.
Dear Friends of Eretz,
"General Boredom" is the latest additional to my poetic odyssey, A Wave of Poetry. Our op was over. We had absolutely nothing to do. We felt good about what we had accomplished in the tsunami relief effort, but our role in that was finished and we wanted to go home. However, the Generals could not make up their minds about the matter. So, we stayed. Bored.
"For Tranströmer" by Norman Dubie was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on January 15, 2014. A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:
New Story Posted January 14, 2014: "High Noon in Kirojo." In this story, a paladin apprentice faces an outlaw in an old west inspired showdown. Reminiscent of the old Kung Fu TV series.
"Operation Unified Assistance" is the next installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Operation Unified Assistance was the official name given by the military for its tsunami relief efforts. Ironically, the name was given on the day that my role in the operation more or less officially ended--the day we were ordered to leave the theater and turn over relief operations to the Indonesians, UN, and NGOs.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/17315
"Take Notice!" is the latest addition to my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Take Notice! was the motto of the USS Essex when I sailed on her. The ship has amazing combat capability. Equally amazing, her medical capability is exceeded only by the USS Mercy.
The poem is presented in ten couplets followed by a final singlet--twenty-one lines in total. The style is reminiscent of the New York School "I do this I do that" approach to the modern poem.
"Lines on Nonsense" consists of nine quatrains with an abab cdcd efef &c rhyme scheme. The poem praises nonsense as one of life's pleasures and warns against allowing reason to diminish its importance, for there can be much good reason in good nonsense.
"Little Bottles of Wine" is the next installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. It was a long held rumor that French MREs had little bottles of sweet French wine in them. So, when a contingent of French Army arrived near our base of operations, we were most eager to trade our MREs for theirs.
The title is Spanish for "the kiss." The poem is a love song, full of passion, yearning, and confused emotions. Interestingly, the poem has sixteen lines when a sonnet might have been expected. Maybe it was all the dashes, but I was reminded of Emily Dickinson when I read this poem.
"Crack Rolls" is the next installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Living conditions aboard a Navy ship, even for officers and even on ships as big as the Essex or Lincoln, are cramped, and the daily routine is monotonous. A saving grace is the food, which is excellent by any standard. The dinner rolls were particularly amazing--I have not had better before or since.
"The Benefits of Being Barney" is the latest installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. During my first assignment with the Air Force, I became the squadron flight surgeon for the 27th Fighter Squadron. Their pilots kind of adopted me, had me fly with them, and gave me a call sign and everything.
"Token Loss" by Kay Ryan was offered by Poets.org's Poem-A-Day on January 10, 2014. A link to the poem, including the poet's notes, may be found here:
"Forklift" is the latest installment in my poetic memoir, A Wave of Poetry. Our forklift was the envy of the Indonesians, who did not have one. Its use allowed the TALCE to load and offload aircraft with amazing speed.