the best revenge

my father used to stop in the middle of his sermons and silence me where i squirmed and cavorted in the front pew. (i also went thru a period of being the class clown in high school.) odd, that i wanted center stage when i finally found performing unsatisfying. instead, i got my revenge by writing this play: www.pbase.com/wwp/rite the humor may not be the most sophisticated, but i still get a chuckle whenever i look at it. only many, many years later did i learn most boys have issues with their fathers. may i be forgiven for writing this piece before realizing i'm not alone.

third time's a charm

does everyone want to write a musical? i suspect so. first time i had songs and tried to make a story. the second i had the story but no songs (and most of the action happened over the phone, a fatal flaw). since i usually do better doing more with less, i wrote something smaller, a three person pocket-musical: 'old man finding the desire to live' and that seems to me to have worked. at least, i like it. hopefully, you will too. www.pbase.com/wwp/finding

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