https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/user-1-stephan-anstey Owner, Proprieter, Publisher en 2005-2012 shakespearesmonekys@gmail.com 42.65593 -71.33391 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:33:41 GMT yacs http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 70 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13262-ask-a-question https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13262-ask-a-question Let the community help you. Answered pages can be rated by visitors Stephan Anstey Templates Sun, 27 May 2012 19:30:30 GMT /section-807-templates#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13262 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13262 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13262 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13261-share-some-information https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13261-share-some-information From the web, from your computer, or from your head Stephan Anstey Templates Sun, 27 May 2012 19:30:30 GMT /section-807-templates#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13261 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13261 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13261 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13207-lunacy https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13207-lunacy   Oh yes, Yes, I knew dear one, you were the moon oh-faced and slivering away night by night until .. gone I pray you back - tomorrow 14 times until you sang a song mouth full  of silent lyric - a name perhaps or none at all but the stars.  you leave again as I watch it is your nature to be new again Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:21:46 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13207 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13207 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13207 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13200-un-named-poem https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13200-un-named-poem I do not tremble, the hawk circles the mouse fulfills his destiny life becomes the public confession of blood on chin, and a screech   Shame becomes my latest epoch: We are forbidden to tongue the reeds blow the seeds, eat the frogs alive so that their legs still twitch as they slide down into our bellies.   I do not weep, the cloud slides away the sun becomes a symbol of fate life floats down the the murky river like beaver bones on a current, hidden below   Generosity fades like cheer on penalty of breath. We do not dare enunciate our demons, pronounce them, whisper them like prayers. We are lost, that is the giggle, the chuckle, the laugh ... more Stephan Anstey Lost in Search of Bleaching Bones Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:17:15 GMT /section-823-lost-in-search-of-bleaching-bones#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13200 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13200 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13200 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13198-thank-god-it-s-friday https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13198-thank-god-it-s-friday I dream the week in shades of sledge hammer in hues of concrete cracked and shattered. I dream each day in shards of glass stammering out all of these things that never mattered. Months become glorious battles and years become endless wars with faceless enemies. Moments become bullets without any gun but fear and I wonder if I should wander through my destinies mouth agape or eyes closed. These are the sacred rites celebrated minute by minute in every broken heart the religion of passions and needs and soft nights - time celebrated for kind instruction served in part by callous destruction. The breaking down of man to bones, to dust to the smaller things we understand. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:26:52 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13198 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13198 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13198 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13197-his-song-for-a-summer-day https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13197-his-song-for-a-summer-day a purple martin wings along the summer day until it believes it is almost autumn enough. the lady pretends she is a martin too the wind picks up and the memory of purple hangs around an creaking birch on the edge of a glade the bird is gone. the lady pretends she is gone too while she sits under the tree  waiting for a purple martin or that man or maybe just herself. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:44:51 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13197 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13197 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13197 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13196-crazy-love https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13196-crazy-love She wears a live lemur on her head like a knit hat, and sings about her toejam She tells stories about a man who ate cheese melted over the bodies of his enemies She pretends she is a police officer searching for a woman who stole an apple She pretends she is a woman who stole an apple searching for a police officer to catch her She says, "He left me ... he left me... i loved him and he left me." But she never cries that would be crazy. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:43:28 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13196 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13196 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13196 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13195-inevitable-questions-of-a-name https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13195-inevitable-questions-of-a-name SAmantha is a tattooey sort of name,  though, I had a cat named Samantha  without a single tattoo - only a scar where she caught her leg in a 'coon trap. If my name were Samantha, I'd have 7 tattoos -  one for each continent, and a pet monkey named Arturo.  I'd have the artist use food coloring instead of ink - because, really,  I'm just a walking talking dinner for a hungry lion, and I'd hate for him to think my tattoos were in bad taste. If my name were Samantha - though it's not - I'd walk around with a mariachi band playing the theme song to "Bewitched." I'd do this every day until people couldn't stop humming that stupid tune. Until, they wondered why, why does he do that? And they'd ask "Why for God's sake did his mother name him Samantha?" She'd just say, "Well, we thought he was a girl,  and once you name them there's no turning back - You know how tattoos are." ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:32:12 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13195 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13195 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13195 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13194-a-close-examination-of-an-older-painting https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13194-a-close-examination-of-an-older-painting "Peace," he tells her as they sip red wine and look at a painting she painted before she was this woman in a black dress. "Peace has nothing to do with words," he points at the top corner where the orange touches the dark bright blue. "Peace is where all the colors stand alone and together - as one picture - one possibility -  of men daring to love in the face of an angry brush stroke." She says nothing, but takes another sip. "Perhaps, peace is more than that?" she asks. "No," he says, "No. It is that.  Just that." Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:27:09 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13194 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13194 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13194 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13193-for-a-kiss https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13193-for-a-kiss a red star tickles the end  of the world or the end  of a branch on giant baobab you ask me, "who are you my friend? why do you look at me like that?" in the water we hear the quiet of a crocodile waiting in the thick mud you ask me, "what do you want my friend? why do you look  at me like that?" in the dessert a bushman sips water from a an ostrich egg it is no time to dream as the cool air comes again  I say nothing as I touch your cheek, "Who am I, my darling? Why do I look at you this way?" And I laugh. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:26:16 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13193 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13193 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13193 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13192-watching-the-kids-perform https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13192-watching-the-kids-perform We are all doctors here, wise in the ways of kindness. We are all chemists, all physicists, all philosophers. We are all poets here. Watch the boys, Watch the girl, watch the stage Watch them dance. Watch them become you word by word, touch by touch, dream by dream and love by love. We are all priests here, learn'ed in the ways of faith. We are all all athletes, we are all novelists, we are all historians. We are all artists here.  Watch the boys, Watch the girl, watch the stage Watch them play, Watch them become you step by step, song by song, day by day and love by love. We are all human here, wise in the ways of love. We are all beautiful. All brilliant. All passionate. We are all poets here. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:22:52 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13192 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13192 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13192 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9562-the-distance-between-a-lemon https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-9562-the-distance-between-a-lemon     eleven icecubes suspended indefinitely in the heat of conversation and a crystal glass the moment is fluid the bouquet rustic and knowledge inappropriate a grape wth skinned knees bends around the idea of words and sweet citrus the evening is damp the taste daring and knowledge carnal a seed breaks between teeth between the pink of tongues and no lemon grows the moment is fluid the fingers lucid and knowledge secret anstey Cats with Opposed Thumbs, Chalices of Mucus, and Several other Oddities to Avoid Whilst Poeting Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:22:15 GMT /section-509-cats-with-opposed-thumbs-chalices-of-mucus-and-several-other-oddities-to-avoid-whilst-poeting#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/9562 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/9562 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A9562 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13190-regarding-the-math https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13190-regarding-the-math Please, if you will, indulge me.  Let me reveal to you the simple math involved in a chocolate chip cookie and a good friendship - you see it's easy. Fractions - that's what you need to know. A quarter of this a half of that,  It's never a whole - it's always incremental. Now, if you're looking for me to define the equation so you can solve the riddle then you're asking the wrong man - no I'm asking you to judge for yourself.  I'm asking you to consider the salt, the sugar the soda the flour, the butter, the vanilla - I'm asking you to really think about  the soul, the heart, the smile, the touch, the aching desperate fractions that get all mixed up until it's impossible to tell how it will work out until you let it all become half-backed. The only clues I can give you are these: set the value of hate to zero remember that some infinities are greater  than others - love is one of those. and there is always the one. the one that multiplies you and gives you your identity. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:53:18 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13190 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13190 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13190 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13189-friendship-in-a-bucket https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13189-friendship-in-a-bucket Steve and Jill went up a hill but not til days had broken Jill sat down with quite a frown and Steve left it all unspoken Jill and Steve (both quite peeved) discussed the art of quiet As Steve stood there sadly aware "God, I need to diet" Jill spoke soft as sordid sin "A man is not his belly" Steve just then said, "Still, again, it should not shake like jelly." Steve and Jill came down the hill until dread night had broken Steve too mad, and Jill so glad to be friends agiggling and a jokin' Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:52:31 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13189 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13189 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13189 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13188-little-girl-and-a-big-shake-up https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13188-little-girl-and-a-big-shake-up So, this is the echo of a thousand miles the thick cold sweet laughter of a shake dripping from the ceiling, and the smiles of a little beauty - what am I to make of these facts? Poetry is a simple matter  of words on souls - either with careful pen or (more often) a careless splatter a father asks, explain to me again how these moments are the best of times - how the facts of why we did not kill her dead are the reasons more often than the rhymes and a dozen years from now will be still unsaid The sugars will decay into a stink of must as her beauty grows.. in this - please.. trust. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:51:50 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13188 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13188 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13188 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13187-every-friendship-is-apocalypse-we-laugh https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13187-every-friendship-is-apocalypse-we-laugh Suppose Awkward were a religion,  you and I would see eachother  every week at church.  Suppose Silly were a hymn,  no one would ever sing so loud as us. And yet, were is your faith? You are afraid of words?  Tim Gunn has not had sex in 29 years, he said it, he said it proudly. As if there is no awkward in celibacy no silly in a life lived on a television screen. Suppose courage were a smile, you and I could be more brave than brave. Have faith, every word calls you friend every hand reaches out to lift you up - Sing loudly my friend. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:51:06 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13187 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13187 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13187 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13186-road-trip-for-the-sake-of-philosophy https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13186-road-trip-for-the-sake-of-philosophy Kennesaw seems a haul from here,  but man, how I love your lies, It has to be  worth the trip to go with you down at Stone MounTain. I know you lie, this is why I love you. This is why I want to join you and conquer the slickery stone the shady spots where moss will grow come spring, This is why I reach out, I ask you for your hand and pull you up to look out I know you lie, this is why we must laugh, This is why I want to scream with you of Kant and calamity, of words and meaning, of knowledge and truth, of beauty and the art of deconstructing motorcycles as metaphors.  One day, I know, my wheels will turn a million times and I will find myself in Georgia, with your name on my tongue, to speak the sunlight on Stone MounTain, to sing  Beethoven between the lines of the unwritten manuscript that is our friendship.  I know you lie, tonight in bed, laughing that I am a man writing a poem for you, about love and philosophy and nothing at all but us, laughing on a mountainside.  I know you lie, but still we must laugh. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:50:13 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13186 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13186 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13186 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13185-boys-at-heart https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13185-boys-at-heart In Tilton where the flakes fall fast I hear you laugh like Santa in my dreams We are young again, my friend, we are young and the nights are cold as this, but we dance with girls and glee and other things as pure as we were once - I hear you laugh In Tilton, where the snow is deep i see you smile, like January in my dreams We are young, so young again, my friend, we are young and the night has no moon or star, only those songs we can not forget, with girls, as we were one - I see you smile. In Tilton, where the ice is crisp I shake your hand, like yesterday in my dreams We are young again, my friend, we are so young and the night is dark, but we are not as we dance with snowflakes, a hungry raccoon, and other friends as happy as we are now - I smile as you drive away. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:48:44 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13185 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13185 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13185 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13184-superman https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13184-superman In action as the words, splash like your paint on your daughters laugh, I watch you smile as you walk by to take her home to play Adventure, no issues, only thought and dream and you seeming like the one true father of that little girl as she laughs, i watch you smile So brave, so bold, like your canvas,  sunlight, when she laughs, I watch you smile as you walk by to paint her life I watch you smile. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:48:05 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13184 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13184 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13184 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13183-poets-together https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13183-poets-together I saw you once, in Boston City Hall  thinking about poetry and  the road you took from Cambridge (maybe I don't know) you were wearing shoes like any good traveler - looking at Ryk  as he spoke words about his little girl and love - perhaps in your heart you traveled back home to be with your father for a moment (maybe i don't know) you were half-smiling when you got up to read your poem about jazz - improvisation - (maybe ) you  (i don't know) wandering off after  the microphone went off, no chosen path,  only Boston and perhaps one day the chance you might arrive. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:47:30 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13183 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13183 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13183 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13182-angels https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13182-angels When Gabriel blows his horn, I Hear you scream, "QUIET" quietly because you love him too much to bear - the walls crumbling Jericho, you think, you think and fall Oh Gabriel, you blow too soon, wait wait the night will come and wait, wait my love! When Gabriel sings and Michael swings his sword, I hear you scream, "STOP!" loudly because you love him too much to bear - the Archangel knows only God and Holy  Vengeance - pity he who wishes he were man. Oh Gabriel, you sing too soft, louder, louder the day will came for quiet, louder louder, my love! Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:45:57 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13182 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13182 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13182 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13181-mis-sed-writing https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13181-mis-sed-writing last rage (or melancholy - if she is) in the peanuts in the peanuts - a assaulted - first the (loud) scream (smearing) rage in the broken stick - the rod - the spared the unspared rib broken, the (branch hit) bolt of light ning the ( in parentheses) mis (used) treated to the last rites, the rights, the rights we left - she (sees) left - rage and angel ... (wings) broken. Another - frog - legs eaten. We again we again being we again. Rage, rage, and the peanuts (long ago) roasted. all naked (dowsing for) almost. all most. I do not lie(lay) - south africa, you are my (once) home afrikaans (still, I remember nothing) spoken in charliebrown in my memory. rage, rage and the melon bitter - melanin (lost, for gotten) oh friend, I did not lie (about love) it is too much to return, to unreturn, to beat them away - rage, peanuts, the divine the sublime, the seraphim in blue denim jacket, in dungarees, what is left un(er appreciated)(known)(wanted) said, is left is right is the sacred rite ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:21:28 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13181 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13181 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13181 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13180-explaining-the-end-of-the-story https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13180-explaining-the-end-of-the-story a monkey floating in a pool of creme de menthe singing one last song before sinking a silver-legged frog in a tuxedo dancing with a man who has eyes for just such a frog, clueless ... how the dance ends suddely a beaver called by the police to testify to the audacity of the boy who said dam.See more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:19:52 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13180 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13180 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13180 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13179-nostalgic-rhyme-for-no-one-in-particular https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13179-nostalgic-rhyme-for-no-one-in-particular Westford and a stony brook 30 years, a cast off look Old arch bridge and townfarm flowing Frozen Nab, where's Joe going? Westford and a Turkey farm 40 years, a broken arm Parent's and a railroad car Old Homestead - not too far ... Westford and Forge Pond Beach 20 years, but out of reach Kimball's special far too much Coldspring dreams.. I can't quite touch. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:19:07 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13179 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13179 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13179 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13178-3-more-rules-to-break https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13178-3-more-rules-to-break 1) A man in a purple tutu says, "no, I will not rite or right or write for you, I will not ride to Bute or rile two goons. I will not, can not, dare not Rye. To ewe, or other sheepish folk, I will sing as Groucho spoke, so wry to you." The first rule of Stephan is thus: One must write every day or become the same as every other broken man in mommy-bought blue jeans. Which is to say, I will be mot...ivated by fear of becoming normal. 2) The suffragette in the granite mausoleum says nothing. She is still. She is very still. She is still dead. The second rule of Stephan is thus: One must write everyday or become the same as every other man without a real job. Which is to say, I will be motivated by the joy of being free. 3) A platypus in an elephant costume says, "Why do I need a reason? I am a platypus." The third rule of Stephan is this, no more, no less: One must write every day or become the same as every other man in search of God. Which is to say, in the act of creation we find that which creates us. I will be motivated by madness - the simple kindness of insanity that divulges the truest of all secrets, there is no more fascist act than writing, and at heart we all wish to rule the world. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:16:45 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13178 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13178 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13178 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13177-15-minutes https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13177-15-minutes Everyday, I tell myself it doesn't matter what Warhol said. Gin doesn't make a man more right in his proclamations. But it does matter, no matter what I say -- what I wish. The future matters. I can lie to myself about it all I want, but in the end, gin doesn't make a man wrong either. Dead all these years, and who'd have thought it was his words that would haunt me, not his bad haircut. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:16:04 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13177 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13177 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13177 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13176-bare-essentials-of-the-truth https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13176-bare-essentials-of-the-truth Shannon wore pale yellow the day I first saw her standing under the awning in front of Garfinkle's. I turned my head, but kept walking, and resisting the urge to look back. I think she smiled at me. That was enough. A few weeks later, when I saw her again, she was in a black pencil skirt grabbing fresh fruit at the farm stand down the street. I turned my head again, and smiled this time. She didn't smile at all. That hurt. It seems funny that sometimes the beginning of the story tells everything you need to know - especially the end. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:15:30 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13176 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13176 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13176 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13175-haiku https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13175-haiku a loud brown sparrow in the dead brush winter brush another snowflake falls   a cloud of thrush searching for a line between here and there Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:14:36 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13175 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13175 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13175 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13174-a-nose-for-what-matters https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13174-a-nose-for-what-matters Some people have noses - you might have (though not surely) no ticed this little fact. Some people (usually when they're grown) pick their noses while others have them picked for them by genetics or cosmic misfortune. Some people have noses you wouldn't want (though surely you would want a nose) some are stolen when they are children, they want ... perfect noses, some are lost when they are children crashing into adulthood. but, it is true, some do have noses. you know, some no ses are broken and beautiful, some are long and slender and sadly ugly. Some people have noses you never noticed, unobtrusive noses, unnoticed noses, unexceptional noses. Some people have noses you know. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:13:26 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13174 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13174 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13174 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13173-the-hidden-meaning-in-her-vast-collection-of-suck https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13173-the-hidden-meaning-in-her-vast-collection-of-suck I suppose I wasn't surprised when found out my friend Carrie collects drinking straws from every restaurant she visits. She was telling me about the different weights of plastic used, the ways it is accordioned, striped, twisted, and tinted. She told me, "Steve, you know, straws are like little stories -- What, I'm serious, don't look at me like that -- most people miss everything, because, wel...l I don't know, I guess because they're too busy with the end to appreciate the journey." She glanced over at the waitress station where a bunch of straws were neatly kept In a big silver tube, "Some restaurants buy in bulk, just plain transparent straws. You know, straws that show nothing but the liquid going up." I liked how her brow furrowed as she tried to explain the importance of a wrapper - not to the collection but to the meaning of the straw. "One McDonalds straw," she says, "is enough." When I asked about Wendy's, she shook her head and waved her hand at me as if the question completely mis understood the nature of a straw. "California has different laws regarding the distribution of straws - so there is always a paper sleeve around them," she shrugged, then conspiratorially, "That's a lie but everyone assumes that I know because I have hundreds of straws collected in dozens of states and hundreds of restaurants." When the waiter asked what we want to drink, she said, "Water with lemon and two straws please." She smiled at me, "I like them virgin, I think it adds something to the collection - I'm not sure - purity maybe?" ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:12:29 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13173 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13173 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13173 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13172-beauty-as-commonality-between-men https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13172-beauty-as-commonality-between-men When you say to me, "this is beautiful” I hear the whisper of some almost-god "We are all men here, and this thing this very thing, this only thing, this thing is the same to both of us - the affection, the affectation, the effect - this thing is the common we - the we, the very we that can only be reflected in the objections of the objects we both agree are most you and most me simultaneously. R...eally." Or, perhaps, the only almost-god, being very funny, is whispering, "you beautiful fool there is no thing there at all, but the bit of me I wish you to perceive. Silly, silly, beautiful men." ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:08:17 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13172 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13172 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13172 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13171-for-the-masseuse-in-the-fur-coat https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13171-for-the-masseuse-in-the-fur-coat There are no miles (smiles though are real) There is no road, but this and you - where you are - a closed door - and open sky between friends - Thus fully be-furred and unbe-spectacul(ar)ed, she - want(on)ing - becomes the very smile of a distance that does not exist except in space. All poetry is al(l)ways thus an art form of scuplted time captured ... from the image into words or - reversed - and souleriffically unpromised by this we that does not grow but for all the universe expands to fill full the empty want of every then and every now since. Oh, she, she cold she warm, she so far and kneeding only flesh of strangers and the strange, be not estranged from us - the wee we who are you r friends. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:06:00 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13171 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13171 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13171 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13170-ideology-politics-and-the-lack-of-truthism https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13170-ideology-politics-and-the-lack-of-truthism Marx is not the man in the donkey suit, nor the woman - the whore - the mother nurturing her fat ugly baby for something Like the future. If this is Marx to you, then you are sleeping, and there is no hope except that you will sleep on. Marx is not the book on the bespectacled professor's shelf ... nor the words - the thoughts - the bitching screamed into the thin minds of the flabby thought'd for something Like the past. If that is Marx to you, then you are broken, and there is no hope at all, except that all shall know you are mad. Marx is is the man, not the symbol, nor the dream, nor the bullet frozen in a frame of only now lost in the fat disgusting ugly past amongst Sandanistas and Cossacks. If there is no Marx to you, then you are alone, and there is no hope except that I will love you. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:04:13 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13170 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13170 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13170 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13169-the-shape-of-the-news https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13169-the-shape-of-the-news Un-named experts: "The nation is in awful shape, it's vaguely rhomboidal with several disturbing protrusions, a big glop to the north west and some splatter in the west near the equator." When pressed for details the expert would only say, "You end up with shapes like this when you a secret society like the masons is involved with laying your foundations. I'm sorry, that's all I can say." Doctors are calling for an immediate investigation into the protrusions on the east coast, "Shapes like that are often signs of a cancer, it might be best to have a statectomy and avoid some real problems down the road." ‎(the road being I-95.) Former President Bill Clinton denies any involvement with the phallic shapes of the florida and massachusetts protrusions, "I want to be very clear, I did not approve the shape of any states. And technically Massachusetts is not a state, it's a commonwealth - Like Kentucky, Virginia and Pennsylvania." ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:01:07 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13169 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13169 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13169 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13151-internal-machinations-of-the-divination-of-a-tree-a-dog-and-a-suffragette-a-man-without-a-voice https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13151-internal-machinations-of-the-divination-of-a-tree-a-dog-and-a-suffragette-a-man-without-a-voice part 1: the benediction of a true statement between us (i am) i am a dream(er) I am. (Quite) symbolic, she - bones and bones and bones (and bones if bones are trees and bones are steel and bones are words if bones are words) - (there) is (no) kissing  (in the hallway) let's (hear it) - flesh (oh pale flesh) - (Driving) for our (only you) very own (You are) No. No. NO. Yes. Come on- in the house with shards of glass in its walls. I (did not) (did not) (will not) will be (a frog sliced gut to mouth) the (one) Tree (in the yard). One, then sometimes - people do, (no they do not) get on with it (off with  ... red.) remember this (I swear) in five years too early to know we are we - I hate (winter) . but we can (please) we can, we can watch  oh draw the flag, the moment, the words out - out - cheer. I brought extra pompoms. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:24:25 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13151 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13151 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13151 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13150-she-feeling-not-quite-there-enough https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13150-she-feeling-not-quite-there-enough of snowflakes - of cold - of dark (blistering dark) an endless flow from you to me (that does not start) to here. to the stark (void) empty room where we (more you) can not see what is truely true: loneliness - the thin layer of ice between the moon and a path. close the door, close the door let us run out - let you run out without me. empty - but for snow flakes. falling one snow flake. one snow flake that defines loneliness in the mass of sameness.   Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:00:21 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13150 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13150 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13150 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13147-heading-to-bed-after-waking-up-on-the-couch https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13147-heading-to-bed-after-waking-up-on-the-couch i will (not) leave you alone in a (cold) room with (a cat)  crying for a new(er) moon no(r) fingers (wrapped)  around (fingers) (a )lone(liness) you(r) will (will) be like  (eye) on the bed S(t)il ver(y) light(touch ing) through (thin)  curtain pulled back (to back) to reveal Love.  orange cat (pawing) out sid(l)(e)(ing) sCrAT-ch-ch-ching in terrupt(ing) the  eye i will NOT leave you (alone) in (the) a cold room cold - with a cat. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:49:11 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13147 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13147 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13147 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13146-lime-green-icicle-tower https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13146-lime-green-icicle-tower Chihuly twisted his glass - HIS glass the way I wanted to words - MY words A million dollars, they said, for that one and this other, a hundred times that would be too little by half We sipped, together - him in Tacoma me in Lowell - a thousand sips  of something too strong - too Him to me.  I said the same nothing I always say when I stare at God across the street through a shade on a sunny day He knew me only as a knob of black glass shattered on his workroom floor sometime after the last Chandelier was hung Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:47:56 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13146 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13146 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13146 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13145-who-s-there https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13145-who-s-there an old oak door, six broken moons o'ing awake – faithless to the worn out hearts a tattered screen a boarded window one star, only one damned star and the fat sad spirit waiting a filthy splintered floor, is that a dancing sun burning - passionate  on the oft-held tongue? quiet, someone knocks. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:46:15 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13145 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13145 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13145 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13143-building-a-snow-man https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13143-building-a-snow-man she asks, "snow, or no snow?" I beg, in every man, a carrot  and bold unburnt coal - do we wait  cold for the impetus to be whole? we (or else) in other men, a stick un-wielded reveals each blow (inch by inch) then  (yielded) under plough  as yet unfielded Answers  come as children roll the chill  up ball by ball into the question  is that a man? or is that snow unmoved by joy  of boyhood plans? in every word,  a snowflake waits, too warm? too cold?  too small? too great? Every man (and others too) asks the question, "What is true? ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:44:11 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13143 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13143 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13143 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13138-captain-s-farewell https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13138-captain-s-farewell here we go boys here we go into the storm into the sea and though the wind blows though the swells grow here we go boys here we go to the sea here we go, boys here we go into the storm into the sea and though we're broken though I'm dying though I go boys though I go into the deep here we go boys here we go  into the storm upon the sea here we go boys here we go for you a moment eternity for me the whitecaps rollling the rocks all sharp the angels play on golden harps here we go boys here we go you in boats and me in sharks there you go, boys there you go out of the storm upon the sea I watch you leaving and though I'm dying there you go boys there you go remember me ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:38:36 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13138 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13138 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13138 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13131-youthful-indiscretion https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13131-youthful-indiscretion such are the nights - the days, the crazy zombies slurped - we swing, we swang we sing we sang two more zombies - blackout, brains eaten slurped - we dance, we danced, we dance, we danced one last zombie - we - in puddles on the floor. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:45:00 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13131 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13131 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13131 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13127-the-ugliness-of-telephone-poles https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13127-the-ugliness-of-telephone-poles a goddamned sunset or a fat frickin' chipmunk I dunno, whatever. it's all too stupid-cute for me i want the sick scent of antifreeze and rotting olives the feel of rusty razor and baby kitten stew under my bleeding toes while I scream for some ugly chick to come out of the alley and make me feel  something twisted and broken like a taffy-pulled body from twisted steel before it became a junkyard wreck i want the truth - if there is such a thing as that - God in the agony, God in the irony, God in the shards of broken glass, where everything I love became ... God  I don't know  anything at all. ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:21:55 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13127 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13127 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13127 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13120-a-quiet-lyric-for-denial https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13120-a-quiet-lyric-for-denial and thus the soul becomes a word the heart becomes a poem we walk from paris in barefeet and enjoy a springing Rome and thus the body is a work the mind a trick of light we keep silent in this place where wrong is mostly right and thus each thought is history each breath, an heir long passed we inherit almost nothing and it's nothing that always lasts and thus the soul becomes the word the heart becomes the poem we stand at last before truth every dream must roam and thus the body is the work the mind a fabric torn we scream without a tongue in the place where love is born and thus each thought is the story each breath, a long held air we bequeath countless verses and hope posterity will care and thus the soul becomes us our heart becomes a prayer we stand at last beside the lie and love more than the wise would dare ... more Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:46:13 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13120 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13120 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13120 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13119-making-love-beneath-the-full-moon https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13119-making-love-beneath-the-full-moon Darling, life becomes us slowly, hairless and shaking - until every night is fireflies and our dreams unrelenting in the dance ceaseless in the song this is the mad heart of sex and sexlessness of passion and apathy - us in a word, in a voice, in a slow tongue, a fast  touch, hidden and hard Beloved, life becomes us quickly, stoic and joyful - until every morning the loons call a cool lapping a hot longing this is the calm heart of sexlessness and sex of hurt and passion - we in the word, in the voice, tongues entwined, thoughts becoming fingertips on flesh. Darling, life - becomes us. Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:15:44 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13119 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13119 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13119 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13113-to-ku-or-not-to-ku-5-7-5-discussion https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13113-to-ku-or-not-to-ku-5-7-5-discussion read an interesting article about 5-7-5 Stephan Anstey Poetry Discussion Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:40:02 GMT /section-810-poetry-discussion#comments 17 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13113 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13113 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13113 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13112-for-all-i-no https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13112-for-all-i-no suppose the wind were nothing and all the gulls were stone would you love me darling only me and me alone? suppose the night was endless and all the stars were lies would you want me, lover for eternity past the skies? suppose sunrise came with rage and all the words were still would your lips a'glistening mouth, "... and I always will?" Stephan Anstey Beside the Point Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:55:30 GMT /section-822-beside-the-point#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13112 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13112 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13112 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-12964-red https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-12964-red too weak to stand grandfather gazes through the dirty glass of the window at the sugar-water feeder where the hummingbird hovers the beauty is overwhelming and every second jots itself into his mind like a love letter the flash of red as the little bird disappears reminds him of his beloved her lips were so red as that years ago, before she fell asleep. Stephan Anstey Black bear Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:51:53 GMT /section-421-black-bear#comments 5 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/12964 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/12964 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A12964 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13078-great-to-hear-from-so-many-people https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13078-great-to-hear-from-so-many-people Obviously there isn't a mad rush of everyone returning, but there has been a steady stream and a a lot of nice notes welcoming the return of Shakespeare's Monkeys Stephan Anstey Site News Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:18:55 GMT /section-11-site-news#comments 0 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13078 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13078 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13078 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13074-a-minor-treatise-on-cliche https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/article-13074-a-minor-treatise-on-cliche How do you decide when to use or not use cliche? The most important thing to understand is what cliche is: replacement of thought with a shorthand representation of thought. Technically, I suppose, all writing is just that, but in the case of cliche, it's a bit more insidious. The tendency of many of us is to whip right through the thought and jot it down. Cliches are shortcuts. Instead of forming the whole thought, we skip right ahead to the description of the thought neatly provided by common words and phrases. This is the antithesis of poetry, where the thought itself is supposed to be examined and presented in a unique way. So, it is correct to say, 'it's fine to use them with a twist' -- because then what you're doing is taking advantage of the audience's prediliction to jump to conclusions based on cliche, and then leading them down a new path and opening up a new line of thought. When a cliche merely fits in the line, both literally and metaphorically, it is the sign of a lazy writer. ... more Stephan Anstey Just a Nastey Journal Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:59:28 GMT /section-30-just-a-nastey-journal#comments 10 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/post.php/article/13074 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/comments/feed.php/article/13074 https://dev.shakespearesmonkeys.com/links/trackback.php?anchor=article%3A13074