PHILADELPHIA CALENDAR POEM

I enjoyed reading all the writings from our in-class collaborative Philadelphia calendar poem. I chose my favorite passages and assembled them into one poem (see below). My selection of favorites is based on imagery that is vivid versus abstract/vague and specific to a Philadelphia calendar versus a Baltimore calendar, an "anywhere" calendar, etc. I don't understand some of the images and how they relate to the month (April ducks? May wrap-up?), but these lines, interspersed throughout the poem, keep the reader attentive and a little off balance--that is to say, alert to the occasion of the poem. For this reason, I also added a few abstract/vague passages (month of new lives or great returns; month of the unwinding). There is a cylinder in "calendar," and so you may see and hear how December's trees turn to January's trash (which turns to trees, and so on...).

January
month of pines in trashbags
month of icicles and frozen streets
month of Mummers and bums
month of snowed-in SEPTA buses and slushy sidewalks

February
month of vibrant colors and loud mufflers
month of black ice and slow clocks

March
month of cheesesteaks and green relief

April
month of ducks and flooded gutters and floating trash

May
month of Mary and mothers
month of the wrap-up

June
month of Odunde
month of crepe trucks and high suns and long nights
month of vacations and iced coffee
month of full park benches

July
month of the bell and crazies in the crosswalks
month of tourists and revolutionaries and independents

August
month of steamy concrete and hot hazy days
month of new lives or great returns

September
month of SEPTA rides
month of leaves
month of the unwinding

October
month of ghost tours and fear and masks
month of burnt-orange gourds and dead leaves
month of champions and riots

November
month of cold shadows
month of candles and naps

December
month of city hall Christmas trees
month of sparkling trees