Alexander Shaumyan
Alexander Shaumyan Poems
What is a poet but a drunken fool-
a pitiful being that staggers through
local taverns, pathetic and mad,
muttering gibberish to the masses,
...
I love you more than all the bull
That you'd been telling me,
I love you more than all those guys
That you had shagged for free,
...
Write what you will,
But your lines do not impress -
Your metaphors, hyperboles
And anaphoras do not contribute
...
(for Bob Dylan)
Come gather 'round hippies
Wherever you roam
...
Just when you think of writing
A halfway decent poem,
It hits you over the head
Like a ruthless giant hotdog
...
Pretty girls don't take hallucinogenic substances, they are,
Pretty girls are like ether clouds inflating and deflating male egos,
Sometimes they give you a real cocaine high,
Making you feel like a millionaire executive of General Motors,
...
Take this body, my love,
my body, my love,
feel my knees and my arms,
feel my fingers on your hair,
cold fingers, sad fingers,
kiss my mouth, my love,
...
Feeling spiritually hungry,
I stopped by at an
Internet writers' joint,
Where I was served with
...
Down the rabbit hole
We go and go,
Following infinite
Decimal rows
...
Bleed no more, bleed no more, my love-
Just go in peace towards your destination,
For in this life my eyes have seen enough,
Enough of broken promises and frustrations.
...
Old poets drink café au lait,
While children snicker in the yard,
Saying that poetry is gay,
Deriding the pretentious bards.
...
In these cold rainy nights,
In these streets, in these dreams
I'll walk in my solitude
To a place where light is.
...
A convergence has brought us all here
From the talking heads peddling fear
And the deluge of perpetual lies
From pandemics to genocides.
...
In this healing wind
all our scars of the
past are blown away,
torn away and scattered
...
'Russians have, or had, a special name for smug philistinism - poshlust. Poshlism is not only the obviously trashy but mainly the falsely important, the falsely beautiful, the falsely clever, the falsely attractive. To apply the deadly label of poshlism to something is not only an esthetic judgment but also a moral indictment. The genuine, the guileless, the good is never poshlust. It is possible to maintain that a simple, uncivilized man is seldom if ever a poshlust since poshlism presupposes the veneer of civilization. A peasant has to become a townsman in order to become vulgar. A painted necktie has to hide the honest Adam's apple in order to produce poshlism.'
-Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977)
...
I have the command of the language
When it comes to frisky sex and
Mathematics,
For I adore every conic section
...
She storms my brain
in psychedelic colors
and discordant rhythms,
leaving me breathless
...
Alexander Shaumyan Biography
Alexander Shaumyan was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1962 and immigrated to the United States in 1975 at the age of 13. He started out as a painter but turned to poetry as a more effective medium for expressing his message. His work appeared in many small presses and online journals. He's also done translations of Russian, German, French, Spanish, and Italian poetry. His translation of Nikolai Gumilev has been published online. His translation of Sergey Esenin's last poem appeared in GLAS, Volume 23-the internationally known journal of new Russian writing, edited by Natasha Perova. His poetry has been taught by Professor Gerald Smith at Oxford University, who teaches modern Russian poetry and émigré Russian literature. In 2002 he self-published three books of poetry: 'Spirit of Rebellion', 'Canzoni dimenticate' and 'Through the Eyes of Love'. He published his fourth book of poetry 'Place Where Light' Is in July,2003. All the four books received excellent reviews from Laurel Johnson of The Midwest Book Review. They appear in the November issue of the MBR Bookwatch. In 2004 he published two more books of poetry - 'What Is a Poet? ' and 'From Darkness Came'. His seventh book of poetry 'Thinking of Math and Her' came out in 2005. For more poetry visit my website www.shaumyan.com)
The Best Poem Of Alexander Shaumyan
What Is A Poet?
What is a poet but a drunken fool-
a pitiful being that staggers through
local taverns, pathetic and mad,
muttering gibberish to the masses,
while picking his nose
and philosophizing about the legs
of a young waitress?
What is a poet but an unkempt vagrant,
who's taken a free bus ride to nowhere?
What is a poet but a caricature of a
civilized society that wants to hear
how beautiful it is?
What is a poet but a persona non grata,
crashing your sophisticated party,
urinating on your carpet and shouting
obscenities all night long,
talking about God and demons
and drinking all your good whiskey,
while trying to seduce your woman?
What is a poet but a madman,
who forgot to take his medication
and reminds you of your bipolar mother
who pisses in her underwear
or your alcoholic dad who takes Viagra?
What is a poet but an asshole
who tells you the truth that
you don't want to hear?
Alexander Shaumyan Comments
Alex, no matter who or how much people rate your poetry, I think/believe you're writing deserves all 10's or better. :)
Alexander Shaumyan Popularity
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4/24/2024 4:43:59 AM # 1.0.0.1119
God bless the freaks and more!