my only starring role

due to many misfortunes, only one of my film scripts actually made it to the silver screen (in black & white) 'mother thunder' directed by john lehmann, starring kathy martin, jeff shore, and yours truly. the original 16mm celluloid really lovely, but now 35 years later, sadly decayed. i just ran across a few rough and smudged grab-shots from the dvd. perhaps later i can post better ones. a time-capsule indeed. and the making-of a drama in itself. www.pbase.com/wwp/mother

strike while the iron's hot

the secret of both poetry and romance seems to be obsession, putting oneself totally at the service of the image. when these descended upon me, i couldn't sleep, i'd go to bed, get an idea, and be back at the table. i'd wake up in the middle of the night, no choice but to write. a memorable time, and a pain. yes, the muse can be very demanding. www.pbase.com/wwp/apple

they can be cranky

last night i posted prayers to things. however this discounted their kinks, which i describe in the following poems: www.pbase.com/wwp/candles and so you know what you're getting yourself in for...

SCISSORS

Scissors

know no shame;

they cut up

in the classroom

with a keen,

sharp

wit.

Scissors

cut ribbons

at public functions,

collapsing pictures

into collages;

they like the irony

of me

half made of you.

Scissors

point themselves

like two bird-beaks

at everything

we've done;

they swoop down

from the ceiling,

chopping the bed to bits,

dropping us

back into offices,

where they sleep

like innocents

in drawers.

Scissors

smile

when we go wild

in wars,

acting like

them.

Yes, we need to be careful with things, defend ourselves against them.

we forget to thank them!

those wonderful objects like shoes, telephones, washing-machines. this is my way of celebrating them: www.pbase.com/wwp/prayers help me celebrate the unsung heroes helping us everywhere.

zen we went

so far i haven't mentioned theater. always thought i'd get rich and famous as a playwright. no such luck. but i've written a lot for it. and these short meditations pretty well sum up my conclusions. www.pbase.com/wwp/laughing and as an afterthought, i'll add a slight entertainment: 'henry & alexandra, the journey to cairo'. it's a piece that's never been done and that i'm fond of. www.pbase.com/wwp/cairo

fantasy loves

all my life i've suffered from fantasy loves and anima attacks! maybe this is what drove me to poetry: the muse. alas, this ended with my last collection dedicated to the unobtainable lady, 'bagatelles.' one of my few ventures into prose poems, i had an ecstatic time writing them.

MOONLIGHT

I met an old woman in the forest who asked me to carry her pack, puffing uphill like a grampus to her little cabin where spitting geese and her ugly daughter waited. How was I to know I'd hang out of a tree at midnight watching the daughter peel off her face and skin revealing the princess who'd been thrown out of the house for not saying she loved the king her father enough? In that moonlight I lost whatever innocence I had and I've been carrying the parcels of old women whenever I can, hoping they'll lead me to that same home.

you can read the progression of loss at www.pbase.com/wwp/bagatelles

more poems: www.pbase.com/wwp/poems

pictures: www.pbase.com/wwp

the angora lake letters of rabbi niemann

my friends give much better advice than i do. read: 'my sister from the black lagoon' by laurie fox, 'foolsgold' by susan wooldridge, 'gentle vengeance' by charles lebaron, and 'a little book of forgiveness' by d. patrick miller. that said, i have tried my hand at the trade (many times). an example is the summer i worked at angora lookout and wrote to my friends, changing their names and my own. here's an example:

July 10, 198_

Dear Skeezix,

Hurry is the hidden enemy. I'm never safe from anxiety. When I begin bumping into things, watch out. I'm as likely to run you down as say good morning.

How is it I accomplish so much sometimes, not skipping a heartbeat, and other times do nothing, panting all the way? It must have to do with organizing my time, options for breakdowns.

My car broke down yesterday, as I was returning to the lake. I drove thirty miles in second gear. A simple, one-hour repair turned into a three-hour ordeal. Wondering, waiting, worrying, I banged into a railway barrier and bloodied my head. That finally slowed me down. I sat and meditated by a river. I watched two kids learning to kayak. I watched a young woman come home from work. She bent over a man stretched out on a backyard couch. She massaged his temples gently. I felt lonely.

Somehow, when we do the essential first, what is close to our heart, whether it be work, play, or love, we accomplish a lot, we do what we need most, and the rest is simply extra.

No wonder we need to sit by a river, let it wash our cares away. If love comes first, don't substitute bowling, or the rigors of the office. Seek out love, and be satisfied.

Love,

Neimann

read the rest at www.pbase.com/wwp/rabbi
poems: www.pbase.com/wwp/poems
pictures: www.pbase.com/wwp