Tag: free verse

Hostage etiquette

You can ask them for basic questions like –
toilet, drinking, eating
In case of failure, do not mind
You can try again later.
In any case you do not have to threaten terrorists
phrases such as ‘You will still all be killed’
‘Soon comes your end’
This could cause psychological disruption
and the worst consequences.
Do not humiliate the terrorists.
Do not take weapons thrown by the terrorists.
Often the terrorists hide among the hostages.
Therefore all are suspected.
Always remember
if you are ready
calmly and confidently
to resist to the misfortune,
it will never HAPPEN to you.

Taken from a list of instructions found in a Ykaterinburg hotel, as described in the Financial Times article, A grim warning in the Russian regions, 3rd December 2013. Submitted by Grace Andreacchi.

What I’m drinking

Last month, I was invigorated
by an 11 a.m. restorative Vieux Carre
at the Courosel Bar
in New Orleans.
Fill a shaker with ice and add
a dash each of Benedictine,
Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters
and a shot each of rye whiskey,
cognac and Punt e Mes. Shake,
then strain into a glass
filled with fresh ice and garnish
with an Amarena cherry —
then let the late-morning voodoo
do its work.

Taken from an interview with Mario Batali in The New York Times Magazine, December 1, 2013. Submitted by J. R. Solonche.

Curriculum

Traumatic images,
queer looks,
dangerous texts.

African slave trade: introduction to proof.

Environmental disasters,
face of the land:
terrorism, intelligence and war–

Games and simulations,
advanced taxation,
cyberinfrastructure (the language of medicine)

Shakespeare the dramatist
(art of dying)
Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler.

discrete mathematics: prostitution and vice
major issues in criminal justice.

American deaf history,
human centered requirements,
special populations — thinking about making

power and influence,
options and futures,
boundary
value
problems.

sounds of protest,
vibrations and waves:

introduction to intelligent systems.

Course titles from the course catalog of Rochester Institute of Technology. Submitted by Rebecca Charry Roje.

The Rules

Trust no one.
Keep something back
Not everyone is subject to rules
Don’t walk away
Don’t let go of the cliff
There are clues everywhere
All rumours are true
Trust no one, least of all yourself
Don’t look back
There is no such thing as truth.

Taken from Meg Rosoff’s What I Was, 2007. Submitted by Angi Holden.

Of the farm

The shrubbery
in the terrace gardens
has so many
great contrasting colors.
The yellow barberry
has turned a russet shade,
the boxwood is browning a bit,
and the teucrium remains dusty green.
Most trees have dropped their leaves,
but there are still some holding on.
The orange trees in the distance are gum,
whose leaves stay on quite late.
All of the boxwood will soon be
covered over
with burlap
for the winter
to protect them
from damaging winds
and heavy snow.

Photo captions from the blog post More Stunning Shots Of The Farm by Martha Stewart. Submitted by Kelly Jones.