Word Smithing Week 1 / Jan 3

St. Vincent Milay Inspired

1) I have not heard
a word you
have said.

The things that

seem important
and relevant to you.

Forgive me,
but your words
are meaningless
and boring.

2) My money is gone
And I am broke.

My pits stained,
My clothes dirty,
And a stench follows.

Forgive me,
I don’t usually
shower in
public fountains.

10 Best Openings and Endings

o Openings
 It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
(Orwell)
 I am an invisible man. Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (1952)
 Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that
station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. - Charles
Dickens, David Copperfield (1850)
 It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in
the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he
was not. - Paul Auster, City of Glass
 Mother died today. - Albert Camus, The Stranger
 I am a sick man . . . I am a spiteful man. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes
from Underground
 All this happened, more or less. Slaughter House 5
 I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens
in such cases, each time it was a different story. - Edith Wharton, Ethan
Frome
 Of all the things that drive men to sea, the most common disaster, I've
come to learn, is women. - Charles Johnson, Middle Passage
 It was love at first sight. Catch-22
o Endings
 It was a fine cry—loud and long—but it had no bottom and it had no top, just
circles and circles of sorrow. –Toni Morrison, Sula
 “Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is
another day.” –Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
 One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, “Poo-tee-weet?”
  Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for our play is played
out. –William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair
 “We shall never be again as we were!” –Henry James, The Wings of the Dove
 But that is the beginning of a new story—the story of the gradual renewal of a
man, the story of his gradual regeneration, of his passing from one world into
another, of his initiation into a new unknown life. That might be the subject of a
new story, but our present story is ended. –Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and
Punishment
 Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody. –J. D.
Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
 P.S. Sorry I forgot to give you the mayonnaise. –Richard Brautigan, Trout
Fishing in America
 This is not the scene I dreamed of. Like much else nowadays I leave it feeling
stupid, like a man who lost his way long ago but presses on along a road that
may lead nowhere. –J. M. Coetzee, Waiting for the Barbarians
 For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish
that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they
greet me with cries of hate. –Albert Camus, The Stranger
10 first and lasts
o Firsts
 Funeral
 Grandma laid among us with rosy cheeks and quiet eyes. Her skin
weathered from years that now lay behind her. I stand before her
remembering the past. Wondering what my future will be like
without her.
 Telling someone I love them
 Today I am 22. Then, I was only 8. And still I fear the power of my
words. There was an urge for expression then. Now all I have is
fear.
 Car accident
 I didn’t see shay until it was too late. Her car was totaled and now I
had to call my father of all people.
 Emergency room visit
 I jumped off the coffee table, onto my sleeping companion. Startled
he awoke, and startled I became at the sight of my blood.
 Touching a cloud
 Mash potatoes.
o I take pride in my mashed potatoes. Watching gins
appear and hunger vanish. Salt, butter, crème and
potatoes are what I always imagined as a child clouds
would be until I jumped out of a plane for the first time.
 Poem shared to others
 Being infront of others I barely know, sharing something deep from
my heart was nearly impossible to not be overtaken by tears.
 Trip to Rome
 I became homeless for a day until a generous little nun, gave me
her time and showed me the way. She was Italian and I was not.
She reminded me that we are all just people.
 Time taking mushrooms
 Strawberry fields surrounded me, as my friends pranced through
the groves of flowers lit by the blue moonlight.
 Riding a bike
 Crabtree lane sits beneath my tires and awaits my elbows and
knees. Currently an enemy and accomplice of gravity.
  Sought revenge
 Sweeter than most candies I have tasted. Ridding the air from my
bullies lungs was worth the cavity.
o Lasts
 Meaningful Screw
o Sex is sex. A saying I have always heard. Something I never
believed, until I noticed the difference between sharing a
sexual experience with someone you truly love, and
someone you never care to speak to again.
 Run in the rain
o Hannah joined me for the trip, littering the sidewalk
behind us with dampened clothing. Summer nights kept us
warm as the chilling droplets of rain cooled us down.
 Swimming Race
o Nearly loosing conciousness, I held my breath for the last
lap. I swam the race of my life.
 Time I said by to my friends
o We hugged and told eachother that it would not be long
until we met again. They shed tears on the porch. I shed
tears in my car as I drove away.
 Kiss goodbye.
o I could have stayed in the car longer. An hour or two.
Locked inside, locked lips. I should have stopped my car
and ignored passing time.
 Bloody nose
o I wasn’t punched in the face for unwanted words. The air
is dry and my nose is cracked.
 Lie
o I padded my age with a year or two. Her bra was
padded, a fair exchange I think.
 Argument
o Seeing my sister happens once a year. So tell me why
we wait till these days, the last one in fact to argue,
bicker, and fight? Because we are siblings.
 Time I cried from laughing
o Video story telling was about to begin when I discovered
a video of a woman enjoying warping capabilites of
Photobooth. Her recorded reactions and laugher inspired
the uncontrollable laughter in me.
 Dumped a girl
o I was afraid of hurting her feelings and did not wish for
her to contact me again. So I told her I was a drug addict
and unable to bring myself to corrupt her. She never
spoke to me again.
Your most embarrassing moment…. Ever.
“Over The Handle Bars”
Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. I can make it. Six. Five. Four. Pedal faster. Three. Two. Almost there… I
didn’t make it.
The crosswalk sign fades into an orange hand of restriction and I lay alone among many. I have
become a spectacle. A humorous memory taken back to foreign lands, told to friends and family.
Never again will I ride drunk again. Never again will I reclaim my broken pride. sprawled on the
ground back

Most Memorable Moment

- Sandra. You’re joking.

- Spencer. I haven’t even started eating yet.

- Sandra. Joking, you idiot.

- Spencer. What? I’m hungry.

- Sandra. But an entire chicken?

- Spencer. How dare you doubt me. Emmmmmmmmm (Spencer begins dancing, waving his
entire roasted Whole Foods chicken in front of Sandra’s face.)

- Sandra. Gringo, get a fork or something.

- Spencer. I have a plate. That’s all I need when I eat chicken. (Spencer opens his hands,
showing Sandra his utensils.)

- Sandra. Fried chicken, okay but roasted?

- Spencer. It doesn’t matter.

- Sandra. A fork. Use something for god sakes.

- Spencer. Meet fork. And get acquainted with knife. Oh, don’t forget to say hi to napkin.
(Pointing to his shirt.)

- Sandra. What about your hands?

- Spencer. What about them?

- Sandra. You look like a coal miner.

- Spencer. It adds flavor.

- Sandra. Ewww!!!!

- Spencer. Emmmmm… (smile)

- Sandra. Who raised you?

- Spencer. My mother. She’s actually a wolf.

- Sandra. Funny.

- Spencer. I try.
- (Sandra walks away and Spencer elbows up next to Nadia at a work table.)

- Spencer. Now that I finally have you alone. (Speaking to his chicken, as he sits next to. Nadia
looks at Spencer and shakes her head with a smile.)

- Spencer. Does my chicken distract you? (Spencer grabs a leg of chicken, and devours almost
all of it, greasing his hands and his chin.)

- Nadia. Your ridiculous and I love it. An entire rotisery chicken. (Meanwhile, Spencer takes a
drink of his water, making sure to use his wrists in order to not get the cup dirty.)

- Spencer. I know.