An open thread for folks who may not be interested in the Adam Schiff Book Club thread this evening.
The perfect start? A Groundhog Day poem written by our Balloon Juice poet laureate, SiubhanDuinne!
A POEM FOR FEBRUARY 2nd
Groundhog Groundhog, soft and grey,
In the first hours of this day,
Herald of an early Spring
Or p’r’aps of Winter’s lingering.May I stroke your lovely fur, O
Groundhog snoozing in your burrow?
Might I learn the way you reason
As you call the coming season?Speak, encyclopædia!
Go on mainstream media!
On every network morning show,
Say which way the wind doth blow!Will you face the avid panel:
People from The Weather Channel?
Shall you finally see your shadow?
Be a guest on Rachel Maddow?Imbolc, Candlemas, St Brigid,
Guide us through the season frigid.
Ancient fear of darkness wanes
As each day gentle sunlight gains.Groundhog Groundhog, soft and grey,
Lead us through the looming day.
Take away our fear and sorrow —
Then do it all again tomorrow.
Am I crazy, or is this one of her best ever? Thank you for sharing these with us, SD!
Open thread.
Update: This post didn’t go up as scheduled so it got lost in the shuffle. Re-upping for later this evening.
Spanky
No post should be without a comment.
So here it is.
lowtechcyclist
And I grabbed the coveted #2 spot. Calvert County in the top two spots!
ETA: Great poem, Subaru Diane! Especially with that nice little twist in the last line.
Darby'sMom
Absolutely LOVED this. Read it through a couple of times, it was so much fun!
Subsole
Just popping in to say I loved this and really appreciated her sharing it.
Was kind of a disappointing day; this definitely picked me up.
So, thanks, SD.
Gin & Tonic
Interesting development:
WaterGirl
This post missed its scheduled time and got orphaned, so trying again. This particular poem from Subaru Diane is too good to miss.
The Dangerman
Hmmmm. Deep thoughts. What happens when a Bigfooter gets Bigfooted. Bigfoot^2? Is it like the posters of what happens when you divide by zero?
Ok, not that deep. Hmmm. Shallow thoughts. What happens…
LADave
John and dear front pagers. I’m a long-time lurker. (Like, since 2007.) Balloon Juice has been a daily must-visit for me since then, multiple times a day, even though I’ve never stepped forward. Over the last year or so, so many of the posts have been essentially retweets or block quotes of somebody else’s words, or media articles. The site itself, and the view into the thoughts of John and the front pagers, has declined dramatically. I miss it. Does anyone else feel this? I will never leave, but I miss the Balloon Juice I’ve been reading for so long.
WaterGirl
@The Dangerman: Did I bigfoot something or did something bigfoot this one?
Julia
Thank you for this, SD!! Your work is a breath of fresh air.
Rusty
I saw this earlier and I am so glad it got it’s own post. Very worthy and beautiful. Many thanks for sharing.
Suzanne
Sooooo, due to some crazy job stuff, entertaining the idea of relocating to Philly or South Jersey suburbs. I think Philly is a pit of despair. Are any of the burbs nice?
NotMax
@Suzanne
Yes. Too many to name include pastoral pluses.
Suzanne
@NotMax: I would like a decent commute, so train access, good schools, no tweekers for neighbors, proximity to Costco and Trader Joe’s. Does that narrow it?
Last time we looked at Philly suburbs, we were not impressed. I think we would like south Jersey better.
NotMax
@Suzanne
Haven’t resided there in a lo-o-ong time. Might suggest finding the map of the SEPTA rail lines and comparing where they go with your other criteria regarding proximity of amenities.
Suzanne
@NotMax: I also want to live around Democrats.
NotMax
@Suzanne
Bit of data on south Joisey.
phdesmond
brilliant, Siubhan!
did you ever read this?
https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/dinosaur
NotMax
@NotMax
Same source, which includes Philly suburban areas.
Poe Larity
Lovely poem.
@LADave:
There was once an age
roused an acute crumudgeon
then chirps ate his world
Yutsano
@Suzanne: When I was looking at jobs in Philly, I actually looked at Delaware. Still a short train ride, cost of living was decent, lower taxes overall, and still sophisticated enough to support nice amenities. Just a thought.
munira
This is brilliant. Love it.