The Measure Of A Man

Spoken Word piece. Won four awards with this one.

still he comes with the speed of a locomotive and the precision of buck shot

 

the measure of a man

y a r d s t i c k   

      or                  ruler
 

which is crueler...

 

quantified by the end result

in fluid ounces

or  calories burned?

 

 

 

is he a 2, a 4, a 26?  off the charts at 2,010, his head will swell and he'll do it again

 

 

the measure of a man
from 5-foot-one
        to
six-foot-four
is the black and white height chart
by convenience store doors
 

 

it's the ching-ching-ching
of the change in his pocket
it's the rodney king beat down
it's the size of the rocket
it's the stupid f*****g rim size
on the tires that he owns
it's the full size qwerty keyboard
on a half size telephone

 

and the magnitude of the mass must equal the proportion of the depth to the breadth to the second power

 

and it must tower
(not cower)
in the shower               be bold when it's cold         and NEVER ever

 

get old

 

there's a size 42 3-piece suit in the closet and it fits him it'll always fit him because it fits you it fits into the picture you painted with a stolen brush and magenta periwinkle blue chartreuse fuchsia girly colors and every time he looks at it hanging in the 12 by 16 foot walk-in closet he had built for you in the 3200-square foot house on 2 acres at 64 Highmaintenance Lane he is reminded that it takes exactly 2 to tango and you aren't dancing anymore you aren't holding him around the waist anymore you aren't stepping on his size 12 feet and laughing anymore you're just counting down the days to the next victoria's secret sale the next granite countertop stainless steel matching coach bag spray on tan touch screen blackberry starbucks acrylic nail tea cup  sweater-wearing chihuahua clearance sale 

76 5 4 3 2

 

1

 

the pin stripe suit with the red satin lining will never get worn if he has anything to say about it but after he's dead and 6 feet under he'll have nothing to say about it  he sees it hanging there every time he opens the closet door he knows you love it because you had it specially made

 

 

measured

 

for a man

 

whose days are numbered

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[W.k.kortas]

If you're going to play around with form with malice aforethought, you'd better damn well have a good reason. Happily, this does; the whole notion of measurement is played with here in many ways on several levels. There is effective and judicious use of repetition, and the formal tricks and variations are used with real purpose. So many people play with form just to be modern or post-modern or whatever the hell else with no purpose in mind. They could take a lesson from this piece.

[Jonathan Ballam]

i love the physical form and imagery in this poem. It felt like you were drawing the lines of a waistcoat and the words automatically followed you like breadcrumbs.

Too beautiful ;)

[Dane Osborne]

Frigging brilliant and powerful.....though somehow i'm sure you already knew that :D LOL

I'm amazed by the inventiveness, its like you took the whole concept of form and just took it apart, put it back together again, and changed it into something else. Well done

[Gone]

still he comes with the speed of a locomotive and the precision of buck shot
the measure of a man
y a r d s t i c k
or ruler
which is crueler...

Had to laugh at the inuendo here! Which is crueler? - a micrometer! lol

This poem however is much deeper than the opening suggested. I liked this piece. It was both entertaining and meaningful. I enjoyed reading it.

[Michael Todd]

Absolutely wonderful piece. I loved the use of all of the measurements. Really enjoyed this.

[Tony]

I'm shrinking.

[Crowley]

Effing amazing....I have to say that this is a creative, musclebound, stick it in your face and any other place they will allow you to write. It oozes confidence and self identity and all in all f*****g brilliant. Its the man every man wishes he was and every woman wishes he was. A hard stick to be measured by, as long as we are measuring....not thinking that I measure up....lol. Great job.

[roarke]

Woe that there isn't more. usually, mostly. There's nothing left unweighed or unmeasured here and certainly nothing left wanting. LJW, your clarity is like a million candle power light that singes the cavity of our minds. An atomic flash cube.

With this piece, it's not just the whole, it's the parts, the deliberate surprises that hone the fine edges to surgical sharpness. If anyone needed an epiphany, all they need do is experience your writing. Terrific stuff.

[bob, small b. aka invs]

i don't know how i missed this one when you first posted it. very clever use and play with numbers and measure. your writing has a nice edge to it. and 'the precision of buckshot'. great phrase, and it fits this piece of writing well.

[Iota]

Wow, well alright now you go with your flowing self. LOL I truly enjoyed this read it was unique from how you configured the writing and then breaking all formatting again which kept this always fresh to me. I can only hope my GF isn't waiting for me to pass away and i will remove all suites from the closet as soon as I get home, LOL.. Truly a great write. Loved it, loved it Loved it.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

i like the punch and bite to this and the dark humor