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Bring Spoken Word to CPAC Conservatives constantly clamor that they need to find a way to approach more demographics – particularly minorities and the youth. Yet, when events like the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) come around, you see mainly old, rich, white men speaking on stage for hours and hours. Sometimes, they spice it up with my girl Phyllis Schlafly. Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to speakers as much as the next conservative. However, why not try a tactic that the left uses so well? The arts.Hear me out before you write me off as a right-brained...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Poem For People That Are Understandably Too Busy To Read Poetry Relax. This won't last long. Or if it does, or if the lines make you sleepy or bored, give in to sleep, turn on the T.V., deal the cards. This poem is built to withstand such things. Its feelings cannot be hurt. They exist somewhere in the poet, and I am far away. Pick it up anytime. Start it in the middle if you wish. It is as approachable as melodrama, and can offer you violence if it is violence you like. Look, there's a man on a sidewalk;...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Roll on. Roll on. Mighty Thunder. Make the rumble drown out the lies. Make the light outshine the darkness. Feel the hunger of the people; Feel the anger of the people; Feel the power of the people; Who hear your message as you roll. Who join in spirit as you roll. Our founding documents declare We are one nation under God, A nation indivisible. Feel the unity of the people; Feel the patriotism grow; Feel the kindred spirit renew As you roll on. Sarah. Roll on. As the mighty thunder rolls on. Politicians and reporters They tremble as they watch...

Michelle Obama has invited rapper "Common" to the White House to read poetry. Conservative groups are displeased with the invitation and that is causing a predictable reaction from the left: Even though it's 2011, we're still litigating whether rap music in and of itself is a societal corrosive or an artistic expression that channels raw experience and expurgates emotions in the form of a catharsis. It's really the old Plato versus Aristotle rap battles over the artistic merits of tragedy -- at least we can dance to it, so there's that. But the news today is that Michelle Obama is...

The Obamas want credit for bringing American culture to the White House. When they decided to celebrate poetry at the White House on May 10, it was really not a surprise they would try to make it socially "relevant" by inviting a rap music "artist" to unload some rhymes. The rapper goes by the name "Common" (real name: Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.). He is celebrated by many on the left as a "socially conscious" street poet. But that's not the way it was seen by cops in New Jersey. ABC reporter Jake Tapper blogged that Dave Jones, president of the...

As you may have heard, First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday welcomed a "gathering of poets, musicians and artists" to the White House to "celebrate American poetry and prose." This has become a mini-scandal for the Obama administration due to the fact that one of invitees was the controversial rapper/poet "Common," whose real name is Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. What is so controversial about Common? Well, for starters, he has offered words of support for two cop killers, Mumia Abu-Jamal and Assata Shakur. Both Mumia and Assata were at one time members of the radical black nationalist Black Panther Party....

CBS News Radio White House Correspondent Mark Knoller via Twitter:WH says Pres Obama opposes violent & misogynist lyrics, but defends participation of rapper known as Common in WH poetry event tonight.WH says some criticism of Common is distorted and lyrics suggesting a threat against police are not the sum total of his work.

First Lady Michelle Obama has invited a rapper who called for the burning of George Bush to perform at the White House. Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr, who uses the stage name ‘Common’, will be welcomed at an event celebrating American poetry on Wednesday. He is expected to take part in rap workshops with schoolchildren in the afternoon before performing in the evening. In footage on YouTube he is seen calling for the burning of the former president. ‘Burn a Bush cos for peace he no push no button,’ the hip-hop artist raps in one video, which has more than 800,000...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Concord, N.H. - New Hampshire House lawmakers — not known for short speeches — plan to wax long into the night to free their chamber for a statewide poetry competition. The House had planned on meeting three days this week to vote on more than 250 bills. When they scheduled the three sessions, House Speaker William O’Brien had already promised the 2011 New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud program could hold its statewide championship in Representatives Hall at 7 p.m. Thursday. O’Brien hopes to finish the work on bills Wednesday night.

How mean-spirited are House Republicans? So mean-spirited that they would end federally funded cowboy poetry! Tuesday, Harry Reid, Majority Leader, took to the Senate floor to thunder that this town ain't big enough for both him and the Mean-Spirited Kid (John Boehner). "The mean-spirited bill, HR 1 ... eliminates National Endowment of the Humanities, National Endowment of the Arts," said Reid. "These programs create jobs. The National Endowment of the Humanities is the reason we have in northern Nevada every January a cowboy poetry festival. Had that program not been around, the tens of thousands of people who come there...

In the middle of his tirade against House Republicans' "mean-spirited" budget bill on the Senate floor Tuesday, the Senate Majority Leader lamented that the GOP’s proposed budget cuts would eliminate the annual "cowboy poetry festival” in his home state of Nevada. (See also: Reid’s prostitution lecture bombs.) Reid clearly has a soft spot for the Baxter Blacks of the poetry world and thinks Republicans don't. “The mean-spirited bill, H.R. 1 … eliminates the National Endowment of the Humanities, National Endowment of the Arts,” said Reid. “These programs create jobs. The National Endowment of the Humanities is the reason we have...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Many thanks to my correspondent, "Mr. Southwest," for surfacing an early and revealing Obama poem that I had heretofore not seen. The unnamed poem, which I will call "Forgotten," was unearthed for a lengthy March 2008 article in Vanity Fair by the magazine's national editor Todd Purdum. It reads as follows: I saw an old, forgotten man On an old, forgotten road. Staggering and numb under the glare of the Spotlight. His eyes, so dull and grey, Slide from right to left, to right, Looking for his life, misplaced in a Shallow, muddy gutter long ago. I am found, instead....

I've been trying to watch more "challenging" movies recently (documentaries, indie flicks, old foreign films), and when a friend wanted to go see "Howl" (2010 film starring James Franco), I figured I'd give it a shot. I'd heard of the poem, and knew Ginsberg was a Beat poet like Kerouac, but that was about it. First off, I'll admit that I though a 1957 obscenity trial would be about something pretty minor, kind of like having an obscenity trial for a painting that's just a bunch of abstract smears. Well... nope. "Howl" was pretty graphic in places, so it wasn't...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

He awoke Sunday quite depressed Reminded of what lie ahead Not looking forward to going anywhere He had rather sleep late instead Sunday was always his favorite day After working hard all week Sleep late then watch the ball game Get some real R & R and peace Oh, he wanted to visit, but then again Ball games would be on all day What a bummer to miss any or all Why, his favorite team would play Guilt overrides, he knows he must go His mind starts devising a plan Make an appearance an hour or so Then leave as...

So what is the matter with Obama? Conservatives have been asking this question for some time. I've written a number of articles trying to solve the mystery.   Even some liberals are starting to wonder. James Carville railed about Obama's blasé attitude after the catastrophic oil spill. The New York Times' Maureen Dowd revamped Obama's "Yes We Can" motto into "Will We Ever?" The liberal women of the TV show "The View" have expressed sympathy for Michelle Obama's living with a man so out of touch. Peggy Noonan, hardly a vehement Obama foe,  recently pronounced him disconnected.  Obama's odd mannerisms intrigue...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Peter Orlovsky, longtime partner of Allen Ginsberg and a poet in his own right, died May 30 in Vermont of lung cancer. He was 76.

Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee: she is a fen Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen, Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower, Have forfeited their ancient English dower Of inward happiness. We are selfish men; Oh! raise us up, return to us again; And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power. Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart: Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea: Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free, So didst thou travel on life's common way, In cheerful godliness; and yet the...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

A burqa-clad contestant on the Arabic version of "American Idol" landed in the finals after bravely blasting hard-line Muslim clerics on live television, sparking outrage among religious conservatives in the Middle East. Unlike the wildly popular Fox show, contestants in the Middle Eastern version recite traditional and original poetry rather than sing. While most regale the audience with odes to the beauty of Bedouin life and glory of their rulers, Hissa Hilal stunned audiences last week by attacking Muslim religious leaders as "vicious in voice, barbaric, angry and blind," and guilty of "preying like a wolf" on people seeking peace....

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

The Scotch-Irish. A poem by Mrs. Kate Brownlee Sherwood, of Canton, O. From Scot and Celt and Pict and Dane, And Norman, Jute, and Frisian, Our brave Scotch-Irish come; With tongues of silver, hearts of gold, And hands to smite when wrongs are bold, At call of pipe or drum. By king and priest and prelate racked, By pike and spear and halberd hacked, By foes ten thousand flayed; They flung Drumclog and Bothwell Brig An answer to the gown and wig, And freedom's ransom paid. They fell, alas! on marsh and moor; They signed their covenants firm and sure...

GIVE THANKS TO GOD

Words can be used To wound or to heal Lord change my heart As here I kneel Give me a heart That's full of love And guard my tongue With Your power from above Help me to not Spread gossip or woe Give my heart discernment Help me to know Help me to care For the one that's hurt Help me to see truth And with lies not flirt For we are not called To hurt one another We are called to love Our sister and brother So Lord help me use Words that will heal Lord change my heart...

When God looks down from heav'n above, What does He see in me? Does He discern this child yearns To sit upon His knee? He sees the need for love I feel, The hunger to belong, And sees the struggle that I face In choosing right o'er wrong.

STRONG WINDS Strong winds are blowing, heralding changes. God's Spirit is in these winds with messages from the Lord who makes winds His messengers, flames of fire His ministers. He rides upon these winds with His messages, interpret the winds, sense His Spirit in them, ponder these winds in your hearts. Listen with your spirit, God will reveal mysteries, answer questions for you, hard questions which are like life and death to you. God has prepared His answers even before you asked, Before they call, I will answer, while they are speaking, I will hear. The answers are written upon...

Welcome To.... 'Amy's Place' welcomes all poets and those who enjoy poetry.'Amy's Place' is more than just about poetry.Come in, relax, and share with fellow FReepersyour thoughts about any of the things on the *Menu*. Enjoy! :) Never Forget! Bad Penny Amy's personal guardian ~ the ever charming, lovable, huggable, LouieWolf Many thanks for stopping by. : )

Warm night air like a blanket Cooling breezes from the lagoon Sweet songs carried softly Lapping like the ink black water Ebb and flow so gently Peace and contentment The quiet thrill of romance In the city of dreams....

Grow old with me... share my last days as if they were my first... give me solace when I thirst share my anguish and my pain... give me shelter from the rain. Grow old with me... until I shall part... my life, my love, my heart.

In the difficult times in life When I don’t know what to do, May I not try it on my own. May I always remember You. When I question things, when I doubt, When distractions may block my view, May I turn to You then in faith. May I always remember You.