September Ends

by Jones, Hunter S.

  However, hopes of a return to active collaboration were dashed when Savage signed a valuable promotional package with Hugo Boss to promote a range of winter apparel. Askew publicly expressed his disappointment at what he called Savage's 'prosaic tendencies' and left the younger poet, with some saying he had vowed never to speak to him again. In the event, Savage did not work for Hugo Boss and the promotional package lapsed.

  Savage subsequently wrote a 20,000-word open letter to the prestigious London Review of Books, which published it as a one-off supplement, declaring that he was unable to write any further poetry and was retiring to smallholding in Cornwall to rear geese. When a local reporter asked The Poet why there were no geese on his property, Savage emerged with a shotgun and yelled at the reporter, 'All writers are manipulative liars'. He later apologised and said he would not be renewing his shotgun licence.

  Savage acquired a herd of Jacob’s Sheep and was last said to be producing a very popular range of cheeses, which he was selling in person at several farmers' markets in the west of England. He has produced little new significant poetic work for over a decade, but has continued to contribute to poetry websites using various pseudonyms, including, 'Scarab, Plague Pitt, Shebbie, Slutch' and. most recently, ‘Hark O'Bounty.'

  Chapter 4

  Chat Room - How Was Nashville?

  THIS FROM SAVAGE'S PROFILE PAGE ON POETSCAFE.ORG

  Greetings, Jack Savage here, middle name Orlando ... O! says my publisher, a question of branding, m'dahling. I am to be Jack O! Savage. Would that be an O with a dot - O. - or a go-commando bowlock naked O without, asks I? Am I to be JackO? A p-o-o-oet's life has many w-o-o-oes. I can, I confess, see the appeal of the more syllabically mellifluous Jack//O//Sav//age over the bing-bang-boshery of Jack//SAV!//AGE!

  In the matter of branding - whoa! - I will forever remain your savage recusant, preferring to think of myself as one of those old English parlour pubs where none of the chairs ever quite match and the boozers sit next to the barrels of beer, and the rule of the house is to be of good cheer, sans branding. How on earth did we ever get by without branding, one wonders?

  Yes, my verse has been kippered and bound by Pisstaken Press - like some Camden Town burlesque in faux leather eee-boots, eee-scuffed. But it is here, on Poet'sCafe-dot-org that I plan to hang when the mood takes me and my sheep permit.

  -------------------------------

  Blog 1 for PoetsCafe.org

  May 3

  PILL HILL SUNSET

  .

  Vivacious was her relaxed. When she was up, she was unbearable to those around her. But, O Lord, when she was down, ten times more unbearable to herself. 'Jack,' she used to say, 'Where do poems come from?' She'd have the saddest look in her eyes. 'Why don't they come to me?' I never had an answer for her. I've been asked some questions in my time. Some just can't be answered because it is for the best that they are not. 'Okay, Jack,' she would say in response to my silence, 'I get it.' And she did.

  The last time I saw my friend, she was trying desperately to quit those little pillsy-willsys she'd been on for a decade, right through her twenties. 'Jack,' she said, her eyes filling with tears, 'I've got no questions for you, Jack.' And I knew exactly what she meant. So I wrote O CRUTCH OF CHOICE for her in the hope that the next time I see her, she will ask me another of those killer questions of hers to which I for one will never have an answer - the sorts of questions that make this life of ours the raw joy we instinctively know it is meant to be.

  .

  O CRUTCH OF CHOICE

  My little loves I cast away

  To live pill free's my firm intent

  To feel life's fullness my hot bent

  And so sick clutch, away! away!

  I flush you from my life this day

  The choice was never mine to take

  To make my life this shallow fake

  They neutered me without my say

  I'd rather die than live this way

  A slavish pharma-ceutic clone

  A clone! a clone! all answers known

  Constrained forever cast in clay

  Come versing life in all your hues!

  Prose tramelled content I re fuse

  .

  by Jack O Savage

  ----------------------------------

  May 31, 2003

  PETE: How are you? Thanks for accepting the chat request. Everything is private, so we can discuss openly. I love poetry & believe you will really enjoy this poet. His name is Jack O. Savage. He’s from London. He’s like a rock star with words.

  LIZ: Thanks for the info. I love London & go there as often as possible. It’s my favorite city on Earth. My best friend’s boss has a flat in Kensington. We get to stay for free, when it’s available. Last time I was there, I went to Keats’ Cottage.

  Oh, you’ll like this. I’ve been to Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey, too.

  PETE: I do like that. I hope you are up for this.

  LIZ: Up for what?

  PETE: The Poet. He’s a real trip. A sort of online Shelley or Keats to bring a little higher meaning into today’s self-obsessed social swirl.

  LIZ: That’s what you said in an email. I’m really looking forward to learning more about you; what you like, and more about The Poet.

  PETE: Likewise. Likewise. Did you get a chance to read his bio and his latest blog?

  LIZ: Yes. He IS awesome. How did you find him?

  PETE: I try to keep up on the latest in contemporary poetry. I'll have you know I subscribe to The Georgia Poetry Review. And, you know Nashville. Everybody that plays a guitar is a poet. So, it’s easy to find new songwriters and poets from around the world, thanks to the internet. Reading has always been my way to get away from the pressures of day-to-day life. What about you?

  LIZ: I don’t have much chance to keep up anymore. That’s why this is so exciting for me. My passion has been pushed aside because of my career. This will be a great way for me to get back into reading and back to my first love. Thank you so much for thinking of me!

  PETE: So you like Savage’s poetry?

  LIZ: Yes. Yes, I did. Not to get too personal, since you are a client, but it really struck a note with me. How comfortable are we with each other?

  PETE: This is a private room, to discuss what we read. It has nothing to do with our careers. We can share thoughts openly. If something affects you personally, then that makes it art. I want to know why it affected you. You go first, then I’ll share something.

  LIZ: Okay. You can’t hold anything against me. We have a business contract, so I say we have a personal contract, too. We can’t share with anyone what we share in here. How’s that?

  PETE: You’re on. I agree completely.

  LIZ: I’ve had a turbulent life. Life itself taught me early on that this world is no picnic. Bizarre things have happened to me, which haven’t been what we’ll call “normal.”

  PETE: Bad parents?

  LIZ: No. Nothing like most people. Just bizarre episodes that have happened throughout my life. Due to those episodes, I’ve had some real problems in the past with depression. The poem on the blog really affected me. I’m trying to get off anti-depressants. I understand what he means. What his friend is experiencing. It touched a very personal, hidden part of me.

  PETE: Are you going to tell me what happened to you?

  LIZ: Yes. Yes, I will, but this afternoon isn’t the time. We’re getting to know each other and chat about our mutual love of literature. So, what about you? Why do you find The Poet so intriguing?

  PETE: It’s the freedom. Jack O. Savage is free to be who he wants to be. He doesn’t have to live his life with any restrictions. He is free to express, to create, to live, and to love. He is his own man. I admire his spirit, not just his talent.

  LIZ: Great points. I’ve got to be in Nashville on business this week, so I’ll make certain to re-read his writings again. It’s good to have something to read when you’re on the road. Thanks again for introducing me to hi
s works! Gotta run. Get ready for the week.

  PETE: Are you signing off? Can you sign on later tonight? Tomorrow?

  LIZ: Probably Wednesday or Thursday would be better. How would either of those days work for you?

  PETE: Let’s say Wednesday night around 10:00. If you can’t make it, just send an email. Let me know.

  LIZ: That sounds wonderful. Have a great week!

  PETE: Just a minute. Let’s read a book before we sign back on. Savage says his hero is R.J. Askew. Why don’t we read his debut novella? Chat about it on Wednesday?

  LIZ: Let’s do that. What’s the book called?

  PETE: Watching Swifts.

  LIZ: You’re on. Catch ya later.

  PETE: Thanks. See ya then. Have fun in Nashville.

  JUNE 3, 2003

  Blog 2 for PoetsCafe.org

  May 13

  KEEPER OF SHEEP

  Hi, me again; just can't keep away.

  If you replace the word 'Financial' with 'Poetical' in today's offering, you will sense why it was time for this word sharecropper to quit.

  I won't say that knocking out another bunch of 14-liners was like knocking out a balance sheet, testifying - all Warren Buffetty - to 'another great year of above-trend returns', but...

  I used to follow the Sage of Omaha on Twitter, before my digi-detox. His very first tweet was, 'Warren is in the house.' Magik! Of a sort. Though I expect he got one of Bill Gates' sherpas to write it.

  We are all jaded by repetitive behaviour. Some root contentedly in the rich loam of their success or failure. Others - esp Americans - are wired to change every pore of their lives.

  We Brits are far less adventurous, being more inclined to moan insufferably or suffer heroically.

  Which is why I decided - these occasional musings apart - to quit word husbandry and keep sheep, of which I now have 33.

  I tweet you not, my full-fat blue-veined Boscomb Belle cheese is the finest in the whole of Devon.

  Posh London restaurants clamour for it. But I prefer to see my customers in the flesh at Honiton Farmers' Market.

  And so to cheese of a far cheesier sort. This verse, another repost, was written about a decade ago during my time a-troubadouring with the Renaissance Bards. The last two lines replace those in the old, published version.

  And no, this does not mean I am actively writing again. I have spent my life amid dreams and flights of fancy. Sheep are above tweeting.

  .

  DEAD HUSBANDRY

  .

  My energies I've saved for you

  And you, in your turn, have made me

  The winner that I am your best

  Fine powers you've imbued in me

  Your suited representative

  Your Chief Financial Officer

  My title has a pleasing ring

  Chief ... Financial ... Officer ... made!

  My life is yours, in you I trust

  Your will I've sacrificed to serve

  To be your most devoted man

  I've given you my best and more

  You've drawn the essence from my vine

  When I sign off ... your bottom line

  .

  by Jack O Savage

  ------------------------------------

  PETE: How was Nashville? Are you still there?

  LIZ: No, back in Atlanta. Good week for business. You know Nashville; you can’t really have a bad time in Nashville, can you?

  PETE: No, not really. Nashville’s a fun place. Did you make it by Vandy or West End?

  LIZ: Oh, yes. To me, Nashville IS the West End. It was fun, although no Vandy visits this time. How’s your week?

  PETE: Business as usual. Another day, another way to make a dollar. Guess the new software you sold us will be installed in a few weeks. Hey, before I forget, back to the Vandy mention. I pulled out some alumni info. How tall are you? Your pictures look like you’re six feet tall.

  LIZ: You’re cheating! I can’t believe you looked up my old pictures.

  PETE: Are you angry?

  LIZ: Yes. No. Yes, because you did it. No, because I think I know who you are.

  PETE: What does that mean?

  LIZ: Are you Pete Hendrix that won all the state swimming titles a few years ago? You were always in the Chattanooga newspaper. Weren’t you offered a scholarship to UT?

  PETE: Yep, guilty as charged. I love swimming, but turned down the scholarship so I could attend Vanderbilt. I can’t believe you remember that.

  LIZ: You’re cute! That’s why I remember!

  PETE: And you’re funny. You said we’re in the chat room to discuss poetry & what we read. What did you learn so far this week?

  LIZ: I understand what the poet is saying. The insight is extraordinary. We both understand being overworked. Chasing the almighty dollar. Can I say that?

  PETE: Glad you enjoyed his work. Yes, of course you can say that because it’s true!

  LIZ: Really enjoyed reading Watching Swifts. It’s just so different. The way Askew handled life & love was so unique. His ability to get inside the female mind, understand how we think is uncanny.

  PETE: It is remarkable, isn’t it? The story of Man vs. Nature. Poetry & Prose. So many elements make it one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. No wonder The Poet admires him.

  LIZ: Absolutely. I’ve gotta cut it short tonight. Back in the office tomorrow. You know how that is. Want to connect Sunday?

  PETE: Absolutely. The Poet will post his next blog Friday. I’ll get it to you. We’ll discuss it Sunday afternoon at 3:00.

  LIZ: Perfect. Oh, what’s the weather like at home? It’s starting to get hot & humid here.

  PETE: Yep. Spring’s over. Some storms here today, but looks like the clouds have cleared & blue skies have returned.

  LIZ: Great. There were some storms as I was driving back this afternoon. Glad it’s cleared out. Have a fun evening, Pete. I look forward to our chat Sunday.

  PETE: You too.

  PETE: And Liz, you’re cute, too.

  ___________________________

  JUNE 7, 2003

  Blog 3 for PoetsCafe.org

  May 27

  DIGI-DETOX

  .

  THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your emails and comments.

  The answer is the same, though - no, non, niet, nine, niento, noo way am I writing again.

  My digi-detox meant goodbye to all that. I am only sending these blogs to oblige a friend.

  Perhaps the myth of Psyche and Eros remains instructive to all who live their lives online.

  What do we ever truly see of others and ourselves today-dot-this-dot-that? A trillion Facebook images show us ... what? Perhaps the more we see, the less we see because we are blinded in the digi-blizzard and so become lost in our fantasies, where the truth is what we clickceive it to be in our disembodied delusions.

  I knew I had a problem when I sent 100 tweets in on my first day. When I hit 250,000, it was time to stop. Totally. I am not going back to it.

  This is for all who spend more of their lives than is perhaps good for them online, living out fantasies through the medium of their keyboards.

  .

  INVISIBLE

  .

  This voice is all you'll ever have

  Beyond your self-made dream of bliss

  In which I match your beauty full

  To feel your love as you feel mine

  I am... O I so am! Sir! Real!

  Invisible ... in your wild eyes

  You fantasise in breathless sighs

  You touch, you kiss, you hold love here

  Yet cannot see the truth of me

  Be I as mad to love as you?

  Playing Psyche to Jack Eros

  Behind a message on a screen

  Your mannequin from Hugo Boss

  Tis I! ...your mystery unseen

  .

  by Jack O Savage

  PETE: How’s your weekend?

  LIZ: It’s been amazing. I’ve rea
d all weekend. Jack’s blog, my old copy of Shelley's Love’s Philosophy. It’s all coming back—I remember why I love poetry so much. Thank you for bringing this back into my life! How’s your weekend?

  PETE: It’s been great. I have a place on Walden’s Ridge. Spent a lot of the morning swimming in the pond, listening to the birds, sitting by the waterfall on the property. You should see this place. No electricity in the cabin, nothing. Just back to nature. Candles made from my own beeswax, my Bible, a copy of On Walden Pond. Total freedom.

  LIZ: That IS getting away from it all!

  PETE: You’ll have to see this place someday. There’s an awesome view of the Sequatchie Valley. It’s the most beautiful place on Earth.

  LIZ: I’d love it! Can’t wait! I saw a hawk this morning in Midtown. Funniest thing. Not much wildlife here, but I looked up & saw a hawk circling overhead. As my grandmother would say, “Wonder what it’s telling us?”

  PETE: That is funny. I saw two hawks circling, sky dancing this morning. It was like poetry in the sky watching them circle, dive, play. Beautiful.

  PETE: Are you ever going to tell me what has happened to make your life so turbulent?

  LIZ: I will someday. Someday, we’ll meet for dinner, discuss poetry, have some wine. I’ll tell you then. Let’s not go there now. Not yet. Although I have a question for you. Did you graduate from Vandy’s Law School?

  PETE: Nay. I attended Andrew Jackson Night School. We have a family firm. I wanted to get right into things. You know, work while I went through law school. Why?

  LIZ: Dunno. Just curious.

  PETE: What about you? Are you ever going to tell me if you ARE six feet tall?