There's a Bluebird in My Heart

Photo by Alex Vernon via Flickr.Charles Bukowski was referred to by Time magazine as the laureate of American lowlife. Over the Rhine wrote a beautiful song based on Bukowski's poem "there's a bluebird in my heart," one I often sing around the house, especially on those days when my own starving bluebird is trapped and hidden.

This morning, I found this animated version, thanks to Zouch magazine. Read the poem, then watch the animated version.

there’s a bluebird in my heart that

wants to get out

but I’m too tough for him,

I say, stay in there, I’m not going

to let anybody see

you.

there’s a bluebird in my heart that

wants to get out

but I pour whiskey on him and inhale

cigarette smoke

and the whores and the bartenders

and the grocery clerks

never know that

he’s

in there.

there’s a bluebird in my heart that

wants to get out

but I’m too tough for him,

I say,

stay down, do you want to mess

me up?

you want to screw up the

works?

you want to blow my book sales in

Europe?

there’s a bluebird in my heart that

wants to get out

but I’m too clever, I only let him out

at night sometimes

when everybody’s asleep.

I say, I know that you’re there,

so don’t be

sad.

then I put him back,

but he’s singing a little

in there, I haven’t quite let him

die

and we sleep together like

that

with our

secret pact

and it’s nice enough to

make a man

weep, but I don’t

weep, do

you?

Virtual Poetry Jam: The Winner

Photo by Rick Schulman via FlickrI've gotten myself into this mess.

A week ago, when I put out the call for people to submit videos of themselves reciting poetry, I wasn't sure what would happen. Since it was the first Virtual Poetry Jam I'd ever hosted, I didn't know if there would be zero entries or a hundred.

And, while I offered a $50 Amazon gift card for the winner, I guess I didn't think far enough ahead to realize that, ahem, I had to choose a winner. I, the one who spends enormous amounts of time battling between fruity or nutty in the ice cream aisle, had to determine which entry most deserved vast recognition and enormous financial reward.

You didn't make it easy, either. There were funny pieces, serious pieces, and thought-provoking pieces, poems you wrote or favorite verses by others (How could you have known that I love Thomas Hardy?). There was a squeaky nose, a backwards baseball cap, a frontwards baseball cap, and a witch with a spidery veil. All of the pieces can be found in the comments of the original post.

But I've made my decision. Kind of. There are two pieces that stood out to me as stellar but had completely different feels to them. 

So I've decided to award both a first and second place winner.

First place goes to John Lorson with a $50 Amazon gift card. Lorson's piece, Of Love and Rice won first place for its originality, timeliness, and presentation. 

Second place goes to Mark Weaver with a $25 Amazon gift card. Weaver's piece Dirty Truth kind of blew me away, and I love his presentation pacing and dialect.

Winners, send your e-mail address to write2denice AT gmail DOT com and I'll get those awards out to you. 

If you didn't win, know that I loved every single entry and I'm honored you chose to share your poetry here. I hope you'll return next month for yet another Virtual Poetry Jam. 

VPJ Contest Update

There were some wonderful entries in the first-ever Virtual Poetry Jam. I'll choose the winner tonight and post the name tomorrow. Keep your eyes here!

Enter the Virtual Poetry Jam: 21 hours left!

Photo by Melanie Innis via FlickrIt started a week ago after I watched this video of three-year-old Samuel Chelpka reciting Litany by Poet-Laureate Billy Collins. It's a beautiful piece presented by a beautiful child. 

I wanted to encourage poetry to be read aloud, so I issued an invitation: share your poetry here as part of the first Virtual Poetry Jam by recording yourself (or your child) reading a poem (yours or someone else's) and leaving the link in the comment field here, and, at the end of a week, I will choose one person to receive a $50 Amazon gift card. 

I've loved the responses so far. I also know there are a few of you holding out. 

So, bring out your poetry. You still have 21 hours left to share some beauty with the world. I'd love to see a few kids share their stuff, too, so if you have children, see if they'd like to enter.

And, if nothing else, sit down with someone you love--your lover, your child, your parent, your friend, your dog--and read some poetry aloud. But be forewarned--it's addictive!

See you in the comments!  

VPJ: Little Orphant Annie and The Unknown

There's been a lot of buzz about the first ever VPJ, but only a brave few have dared release their poetry into the world. Yesterday, I posted one great entry, Of Love and Rice, an original Valentine's Day poem by columnist John Lorson.

This entry in the Virtual Poetry Jam comes from Kathie, who memorized James Whitcomb Riley's "Little Orphant Annie" when she was in 4th grade. She still remembers it today. 

Did you know that Donald Rumsfeld created poetry? Neither did I. Dan Ryan entered this piece by the former Secretary of Defense. 

You still have two days to enter the Virtual Poetry Jam. By doing so, you'll increase your own neural brain circuits (read this article if you want to hear an impassioned plea about the importance of poetry recitation for kids these days), achieve internet fame (well, I'll know who you are), make the world a more beautiful place, and earn a chance to win a $50 gift card.

So fire up those webcams (Don't have one? Borrow one! Ask your kids! Or walk up to any car halted at a stoplight and ask to use the camera on their phone) and bring out your (or someone else's) poetry!