must see themselves (Friday's Sunday's Poem/Hot Actress 77)

White Stallions
by Bruce Dethleftsen

the children of the street
must see themselves
in the greasy puddles of the forenoon
in the sundown storefront windows
in the luster of the shoes they shine

must see themselves
in the reflection of a customer’s sunglasses
in the tears of the old women
in the shadow of the bus

the children of the street
must see themselves
flying purple kites on sunny beaches
dining with the family after church
riding white stallions

the children of the street
must see themselves

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About the poem: Today's poem is from Bruce Dethlefsen, courtesy of the "Foot of the Lake Poetry Collective." I picked it because (a) it's up on that site for free, (b) I liked the transition in images from the poor kids in the street shining shoes to kids riding white stallions on the beach, transforming poor kids' images into dreams...

... although, if I must quibble (and I must!), I'd point out to Mr. Dethlefsen that nobody really shines shoes anymore, outside of Andy on Parks & Recreation...

and (c) Bruce Dethlefsen is Wisconsin's Current Poet Laureate and the latest victim of Liar In Chief Governor Scott "Patsy" Walker's Unnecessary Budget Axe. You may recall when I suggested that it would be a nice symbolic gesture on Gov. Patsy's part to cut his own pay -- a move that wouldn't make a dent in the (non-existent) budget "crisis" but which would make the point that he's going to sacrifice, too.

Well, Gov. Patsy isn't one to miss a symbolic opportunity, so long as it's not him who's taking the pay cut. Among the minor items buried in various budget plans is Gov. Patsy's decision to end the annual $2,000 contribution from the Governor's office to the Wisconsin Poet Laureate.

Wow! I can feel Wisconsin's economy improving already.

Before jumping down my throat, keep in mind that $2,000 is not only a tiny sum of money, but Gov. Patsy is also ending a program that was created by Wisconsin's Republican Superhero, Former Governor Tommy Thompson.

Oh, and also keep in mind that while he's ending that program, which Wisconsin clearly cannot afford what with the way we're all swimming in red ink, Gov. Patsy just had the state buy him not one, but two cars, including an SUV, the purchase of which shows just how bad at math this administration is. A Department of Administration spokeswoman said that the SUV it purchased for $40,225 was a deal, because a new SUV would have cost $50,939 -- but failed to take into account the $935 per month the State's been paying to lease the old SUV. If they leased it for more than 10 months, it's at best break-even.

Poetry and politics. Fun! Time to talk about

The Hot Actress: It's Sarah Michelle Gellar. I don't even know what made me think of her. But I did, and I looked into it, and she's 33, so she qualifies.

Let's finish up with some Andy:






Click here for the complete list of Friday's Sunday's Poems.