Originally published November 7, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified November 7, 2007 at 2:01 AM
Poetry in motion ... on buses
Seattle Times staff reporter
Performance preview
2007 Poetry on Buses Launch Party & Reading, with readings by poetry contest winners, music by Seattle hip-hop group the Blue Scholars and Seattle's 2006-07 poet populist Jourdan Keith as emcee.
7:30 tonight, The Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., Seattle; free (206-296-7580 or poetryonbuses.org).
For the past 15 years, poems have graced Metro Transit buses, giving commuters something to take their minds off the ride.
In 1992, the King County arts commission, now called 4Culture, launched a poetry contest with the intent (stated in less-than-poetic terms) to "integrate public creativity into Metro's public infrastructure."
This year the Poetry on Buses assignment was to write about dreams in 50 words or less. In the past, topics included self-portrait, lost & found and facts & fictions.
Fifty-five winning poets were chosen from 3,000 entries. They include Seattle's current poet populist, Cody Walker; Metro operator Linda Anderson; local writer Sierra Nelson; and three students: Franklin High's Taylor Tibbs, and Gatewood Elementary's Giovanni Paredes and Sharon Zumwalt.
Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com
Roman Postscript
by Cody Walker
I've little to offer up:
contrast, shadow ...
but no dream-ballast, no
sleep-stirrup,
no starry adagio
of REM.
My love, I'm sorry. M.
Caravaggio.
Mercurial Moon
by Linda Anderson
Pink streetlight through my curtain,
Be a mercurial moon.
And melt the grey concrete
To a soft green-schist stream
That will stretch curl, twist jump,
Deepen in shadow pools,
Spread rapids down the block.
Blackberries encroaching our sidewalk,
Go! Cover those riverbanks!
untitled
by Giovanni Paredes, age 6
I dreamt that a zebra was talking to me
I gave him some food
And walked away
The zebra followed me
I yelled, "GO BACK!"
He didn't want to go back
But he went back
Ate some grass
And then drove off
In a red monster truck
Trees
by Sharon Zumwalt, age 6
I dream about trees
Some are little
Some are big
Some are medium
They pull out their roots and walk to my house
Then knock it down
Eat my entire town
And all because
Everything there
Is made of trees
Your Eyes Are Closed But You Aren't Dreaming
by Sierra Nelson
You are traveling slowly,
Like a great shipwreck still sailing.
Almost tenderly, the sun puts a hand to your forehead.
Yes, you think, I've been unwell. You sink into the feeling.
But the sun is blind and must touch everything:
Always feeling its gold way forward towards the dark.
A Beautiful Dream, Of Gumbo & Greens
by Taylor Tibbs, age 16
Gumbo, with a side of
Greens ...
On a hot link, spicy day
Drizzled with Sea salts
Red chili pepper
Shrimp who leap with golden smiles
O, Come along and share a bowl
White rice in a china cup
The day was so beautiful
Mmmm ... what a lovely dream
Of Gumbo, with a side of
Greens
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
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