NaPoWriMo 2014, Post 4: Gravity never fails but it can be bested

Gravity never fails
but it can be bested
if only for short times
and only certain scales.

Indeed, we can test it
and where strong sunlight shines
we can look at details
of how particles rested.

The charging of the fines
moves them from hills to vales,
craters left congested
with past levitation's shrines.

NaPoWriMo 2014, Post 3: Wander Lonely from the Cloud

alone
always alone
the sun a rumor,
parental warmth
negligible.

who gave the push
is unknown
perhaps unknowable
but there is
always a pusher.

some jump in
skin flayed by
volatility
as we gawk at their slow demise
and record it all
for posterity
for science.

but so many
others
slip surly bonds and
wander lonely
from the cloud
unlamented,
undetected.

NaPoWriMo 2014, Post 2: Search

Would we know them if we saw them?
We are trained,
inculcated
to expect cylinders
landing in New Jersey,
prime numbers from Vega.

With each paper
we find ourselves
closer to
further from
the answer.
Super-earths and nano-cubes
are belied by firm fact
and absence of evidence.
Still plans continue to explore
Oak Island
on Mars
or Europa
or Titan.
There's a hunch the game's not over
even if they're not inside the room.

Dragon-born, we send semiprimes
and Chuck Berry
but our planet leaks Baywatch.
Do they love Lucy?

NaPoWriMo 2014, Post 1: Three Muses

Welcome back, Erato, for your yearly trip
to reside here on my humble site.
I ask you for a little skill so that I can equip
some quality in everything I write.

And once again, Urania, you find some extra time
as the winter fades and summer draws e'er close.
So I ask for inspiration as I begin these rhymes
so that I can worthily compose
a month's worth of poetry--30 days of verse
dedicated to your heavenly charms.
And if you notice that my work is going bad to worse
don't hesitate to sound all the alarms.

You're off the hook, Euterpe. Go on and take five.
Your sisters have you covered until May.
Though guitars may be idle my love for you survives
and if perhaps you think you'd rather stay
I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Annual NaPoWriMo Intro Post

Every April since 2010, I've transformed my music blog into a poetry blog for National Poetry Writing Month (aka NaPoWriMo). This April will be no exception.  The idea behind NaPoWriMo is to write a poem every day for all 30 days of April. While not required by the "rules" of NaPoWriMo, I also strive to post that poem here every day. This is sometimes complicated by travel (as will certainly happen this year), but I try to do this on a best-effort basis.  And, you know, you get what you pay for as far as free poetry.

In 2010 I wrote a poem about a different Major League Baseball team each day.  In 2011 it was poems about chemical elements. In 2012 and 2013, however, I turned vocation into avocation and wrote space poetry, which I also plan to do this year.

As in the past, I know some other folks will be joining me in NaPoWriMo with space themed poetry, most notably Christine Reuter (aka tychogirl), Amee Hennig (aka astropoetamee), Alex Parker (aka alex_parker), and Noam Izenberg (aka iyzie) . I also expect Jennifer Grier (aka grierja) and Michele Bannister (astrokiwi) to take part in NaPoWriMo though they may keep their poems from the web in order to allow them to appear in publications.

NaPoWriMo is about getting people to write without worrying about having it be perfect, which pre-empts the whole process. I encourage all of you to write something! In previous years I've come up with free verse, sestinas, sonnets, haiku, and a whole heck of a lot of doggerel. It doesn't need to be a poem every day, it doesn't need to be The Rime of the Ancient Mariner or Leaves of Grass. It doesn't have to be anything you share with others, it doesn't have to be about planets or space or science at all. But if you want to try your hand and are willing to share but don't have a venue to post what you want, I'm happy to do so here. I'll post it under your name or anonymously as you wish, with any accompanying text you like. If you can find this blog, you can probably find my contact information either in my profile here, or on Twitter (@ asrivkin) or elsewhere.

After The Judgment Day

It feels like I haven't picked up my guitar in ages, so I thought I'd indulge myself a bit today after a crazy stretch. The most proximal crazy was moving everything out of the house in Pomona NY where I lived when I was in high school, in preparation for selling it (hopefully the closing will be this week). I've been using Twitter to chronicle the various bits and pieces of my childhood that I ran across. These two elements come together in today's post, sort of, as I wanted to record something relevant to the house.

In retrospect I was always writing lyrics, which segued into writing songs. I have a few different candidates for my first "real" song depending on definition. Some of them were written in the house previous to the Pomona house. Love at First Sight was written there, but there's already a Gedankenband version of the song. Kumiko was also written while living there, but with somewhat different lyrics.   Watching Rainbows is a personal favorite, but I'm saving it for a landmark anniversary this fall. So I turned to After The Judgment Day.

The song was written at the behest of a very-short lived band I was in. I'm not sure we ever even played together for more than an hour or two of practice. The name came from Jon the lead singer, who took the first initials of our names (Tracey the keyboardist, Darren the bass player, Jon, and me) and came up with the phrase. It was the first "band song" I wrote but not the last, with songs for Dr. Lüst, Jury Rig, and even the Gedankenband getting songs (Out Of Our League was written as a Science Diet equivalent but doesn't mention the band).

The lyrics for ATJD are a bit awkward, but were earnest. :)  I wrote it in March 1986, so it just turned 28. Recorded, as is often the case, solo with my guitar using Audacity. I hope you enjoy it!

After the Judgment Day

New Gedankenband EP: Unselectable

Link to Unselectable on Bandcamp
1. I Think I'll Fall In Love With You
2. What Am I To Do?
3. If I Can't Be
4. I Still Reckon
5. Lost In The Artifacts

I'm only too happy to report the availability of a new EP by Andy Rivkin and his Gedankenband: Unselectable. The songs have appeared here on the blog in acoustic or demo versions (or in one case the final version) over the years, but the majority appear in full band versions for the first time on the EP.

As usual, the EP is downloadable for free, though you may also choose to pay something for it if you like. But having people download and enjoy it is most important for me. :) 

Previous LPs, EPs, and singles are also still available, linked from the main Gedankenband page through their covers.