Jesse Ventura (Navy Seal, Wrestler, and Minnesota Governor from 1999-2003) was on Larry King last Monday night giving commentary on the White House Correspondence Dinner, the disputed Minnesota Senate election, and other things. It appeared Ventura wanted to say his quip of poetry very badly, as he mentioned it three times during his interview.
On the night that Jesus Christ supposedly rose from the dead,
The Navy SEALS shot three pirates straight through the head.
Colors of the sun
Flashing on the water top
Echo on the land
Picking for a coin
Many other tiny worlds
Singing past my hand
Awake to understand you are not dreaming
It is not seaming just to be this way
Dying men draw numbers in the air
Dream to conquer little bits of time
Scuffle with the crowd to get their share
And fall behind their little bits of time
Voices in the air
Sympathetic harmony
Coming from the trees
Hanging at my door
Many shiny surfaces
Clinging in the breeze
Oh, leave me where I am I am not losing
If I am choosing not to plan my life
Disillusioned savior search the sky
Wanting to just to show someone the way
Asking all the people passing by
Doesn’t anybody want the way
I say goodbye to joseph and maria
They think I see another sky
And from my fallen window I still see them
I’ll never free them from the sky
Yesterday I spoke of visiting the Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. One of Kennedy’s favorite poems was I have a Rendezvous with Death by Alan Seeger. The poem is a reminder of his grim fate while stuck at sea and later marooned on the remote Salomon Islands during World War II. It’s always interesting to find poems of the past, in this case 1916 reused in modern culture.
Last year Gears of War 2 was released for the XBOX 360. The great marketing people at Microsoft Publishing Studios and Epic Games used an abridged version of Alan Seeger’s poem to describe the game. The trailer known as Rendezvous with its eerie narration brings this 90 year old poem back to life in a new light.
Youtube: ”Rendezvous Trailer”
The official trailer from Microsoft is also availible in 720p is availble here.
From Russell Simmons Presents Def Jam Poetry, Perre Shelton at 17 recites his poem “Dandelion” to television audiences. You can read a bio about him here. Bryan Newbury over on his blog gives a good critique of Dandelion and Perre Shelton.
Copyright 2009 by James McGowan. Photos are Copyright by their respective owners, they are listed as Creative Commons, out of copyright, attributed, or my own.
