Very-Much Needed Reality Checker: Articles that Challenge Our Sense of What is Real.

"...fashion being an equation, poetry is geekier math. "

- We are actually discussing a semi-worth-my-time poem in my analysis class..really made me think a bit. enjoy.

A DISH OF PEACHES IN RUSSIA

With my whole body I taste these peaches,

I touch them and smell them. Who speaks?

I absorb them as the Angevine

Absorbs Anjou. I see them as a lover sees,

As a young lover sees the first buds of spring

And as the black Spaniard plays his guitar.

Who speaks? But it must be that I,

That animal, that Russian, that exile, for whom

The bells of the chapel pullulate sounds at

Heart. The peaches are large and round,

Ah! and red; and they have peach fuzz, ah!

They are full of juice and the skin is soft.

They are full of the colors of my village

And of fair weather, summer, dew, peace.

The room is quiet where they are.

The windows are open. The sunlight fills

The curtains. Even the drifting of the curtains,

Slight as it is, disturbs me. I did not know

That such ferocities could tear

One self from another, as these peaches do.

-Wallace Stevens

Poem of the Day: Turn and Cough

Limbs-locked,

coiled thick in tendriled-rope;

devoured by your lucid eyes --those hazel microscopes!

Stitches burst open,

weeping silky lies unbound.

Giggling irises seem bright

--(till you hear them speak) cuz light travels faster than sound.

So page by page; we diligently dig

--releasing quite a gale.

my bottomless pit digest’s it’s sin;

and with vodka’s help; those whispers are served pale.

It can’t be stitched-up; murmuring it will wallow--

till you breathe in that place,

nestling deeply in those raw-hollows

beneath that willowy armor yet consoled by melodies of pot-marked truth,

For faith includes believing beyond any power: reason,rhyme or proof.

And so I remain crippled,dazed yet contently aloof...

...listlessly hammering (paralyzed and bruised).

Under the general-anesthesia...

.....my heart forever musters of you.

Vidgey-Vacations and Vegete Ventures

FRIDAY.Friday. Gotta get down on Friday. (HA.Yeah, right.) <-----(click on the comment in parenthesis)

AHHHHH..Nothin' like riding the subway home from work after yet another "rowdy" (negative connotation) week with nothing to look forward to but a lonely 48 hours; overflowing with the prospect of laundry and solitary writing. I enviously eyed the general buzz wafting through my subway car; absorbing the electric chatter of home-bound school children and Wall-street twenty-somethings. Heck, even the corporate-zombies' with pre-maturely-creased eyes were dribbling positive vibes!ugh.

"110th street. Next stop is 116th: Columbia University."

Awkwardly stumbling out the car, I walked into the blinding sunlight pouring down the bruised subway staircase. Having absolutely no plans, I slugged through groups of boisterous frolic; finally lulling to a stop at 113th street. 'Change light. CHANGE.'

Just then a robotic-voiced lady screeching from the depths of purse announced, "Message from: VIDG-STER."

(I'm still a little creeped out that my free piece-o- shit phone from Verizon actually speaks words.)

Anyway, long story short... Vidgester randomly invited me over to her house for the weekend. SCORE.

The next morning I woke up and had a much better subway trip to Penn Station. Once I figured out my train info, I waited in the NJ Transit waiting area.

So, this image I encountered stepping of the Jersey Transit will NEVER escape my memory.EVER. A shades-on Laura Vigilante, blasting "Born This Way" from the driver-seat of a yellow convertible bug.

After spending an adventurous weekend with Vidgster and the family, I was actively paying for a weekend of frivolity in the computer lab. Purfusely sweating, having just sprinted from the subway from work and already ten minutes late for class, I was trying to print my homework for class in Lerner computer lab...when naturally, I noticed this cute guy sitting next to me. However, due to my lateness, I quickly forgot about his presence.

"Damn- ittttt!" I exasperatedly hissed.

The freakin' printers would conveintly decide to not work now...ughhhh

Banging on computer keys while listening to Eminem under my noise-canceling headphones, I hardly noticed the cute guy leave.

FINALLY. My papers were printing. There is a god.

Frantic with hyteric adreneline and caffiene, I shoved my various belongings into my tattered bag. Suddenly the computer lab door opened again, and the cute came right at me...he dropped a piece of folded noteboook paper on top of my books and swiftly left. Startled and slightly puzzled, I froze just looking at the crumpled piece of paper that I hastily smushed in my pocket. Later, during my 4 hour poetry class (we discussing a poem about a debatably symbolic trout...for 2 hours. NOTE: sometimes a fish poem is just a fish poem, people!) I un-crinkled the luke-warm paper wad. It read:

"Hey.

I didn't know how to start a convo. with a stranger in the comp. lab (you looked mad ha).My name's Green-Eyed God (whoa, chill out people...obviously this is just a self-contrived nickname for GEG's privacy concerns.)I think you're ridiculously cute. I'm here for class on Mondays and Thursdays. Shoot me a call or text if you would ever wanna grab lunch or dinner!(phone number here)

-Green-eyed God

WOW.Moneyinthebankkkkkkk!

I sent him a text and we met for dinner the next night(which was awesome.) Since then we've had a series of (in my opinion) hilarious adventures!Hopefully I'll get to share them with ya'll before summer's over...work's been overwhelmingly(but enjoyably) demanding (don't forget the head-bang-against-the-wall poetry analysis classes ha). On another note, I"M BACK ON THE RUNNING TRAIN (aka I'm in a more positive mood than usual haha.)

Anyway...PEACE OUT.

-L

Vacancy: Heart for Rent.

Remember the day you realized that santa wasn't real?

That you couldn't, in fact, be 'Batman' when you grew up?

Remember the day it hit you that your parents are just regular people laden with mortal flaws and vulnerabilities (no different than the other twenty-five billion people of the world?)

Ugh well guys, sorry, today was one of those days.Bare with me, and prepare for a rant. Everyone has a dark side. Even

the people you love (especially the people you love.) Wanna learn a helpful trick? If you ever find yourself confused on whether you really love someone, or wanna find out if someone really loves you... ask yourself: "Does this person KNOW my flaws? If they do, then do they accept them and love you just as you are: even your idiosyncrasies and annoying tendencies? Try it. It works.

Unfortunately, I already tried it and quickly got the answers to my questions…some were kinda obvious, some were quite eye-opening and I didn't want to hear it hah...but I'm glad I understand now.

However, one concept that completely baffles me, (for the most part..there's a few exceptions), I really tend to love and accept everyone just as they are. I mean it just makes sense! How could I not? Even my own mortal face is grotesquely riddled with sin and deformity! Who am I to decide that a person doesn't deserve my love and acceptance?I'm no better then he/she is.

I don't know if it's just a northern thing or what, but these days, I've noticed that most people categorize an act of kindness or generosity as a sign of weakness or manipulation(aka being a "doormat" or doing something cuz it's "a means to an end".) To wear an open heart nowadays is a very brave/dangerous/debatably-stupid thing to do. It's a double-edged sword. Although your compassion for the ones you love is an everlasting power; deeply and irrevocably woven into your essence … so is the gut-wrenching pain of knowing your offered heart is listlessy-tossed aside, it's thirst never quenched; forever doomed to wander through hollow spaces left by empty promises that are now only haunted by the distant echos of a fond memory.....

Forever light and love,

-L

Very Funny

Hey. Obviously, I have way too much time on my hands today; but I thought this needed posting. So I'll Fill you in first. Today JumpThru launched our official website. I'm featured on the "Get To Know Us!" page (joy.) My wildly capable boss wrote my bio (it's actually really funny.)Check it OUT:

Leila Annette Norman

is a hugely inspired intern who has endless enthusiasm and lots of random and incredibly useful information.

A woman who:

*loves running and is a Division1 Varsity Athlete at Columbia University in their nationally ranked Cross Country and Track Team.

*was a political science major but decided she preferred Creative Writing and Philosophy. We think she has an obsession with psychology, social technology and women's rights.

*spent the summer of 2010 in the hills of Oregon as a coach for Nike's youth camp.

*spent previous summers as jury assistant in the Supreme Court in Cobb County in Georgia learning what it means to have a "jury of one's peers".

*won the "Raider Pride Award" not once but twice for "consistent displays of courage, kindness and honesty."

*she is an avid Sci-Fi buff and an expert about Star Trek, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. We call her well- rounded.

Some facts:

> Senior at Columbia University, majoring in Creative Writing with a double concentration in philosophy and poetry.

> Born and raised in Marietta, Georgia.

> Potential captain( and last senior standing) of Columbia’s Division-1 Varsity Cross-Country and Long Distance Track team.

> Founder and writer of a widely popular campus blog.

(P.S. She used my golions freshman pic...can't get better than that hahah)

Poem of the Day: Just ME.

Sup, NLsynergy fans.

Sooo...

I swear I'm not a narcissist; but the Poem of the Day is obviously about me, deal with it, sorry ha.

Love/hate/enjoy/or be annoyed.

but remember....

"It's Friday,Friday, gotta get down on Fridayyyy!"

-L

ME.

I don't care what they think.

I'm sittin' in da back,

( its my favorite seat.)

I run real fast because..

it's just, thrilling.

Ughhh.. WHY does my water keep spilling..

Well, my music is extremely LOUD.

I loathe backstabbers.

I'm terrified of clowns.

I only kiss with passion,

(beneath a webbing of trees.)

I laugh so hard.. I forget to breathe.

My soulmate's eyes are burning , crisp,and tart.

Heck, "Lord of the Rings" movies?!

Bro, I know them by heart!

I often walk and talk aimlessly,

(with no actual place to go.)

And I drive in the summer,

with rolled-down windows.

An unwilling wanderer,

...where is my home?

Yet somehow I've found,

I'm never truly alone.

Try just lying in silence

with someone you love.

Oh, have you noticed the wingbeats of moths

whisper sorta like speckled-doves?

"You day-dream too much,"

people often complain.

But I relish every moment!

My motto?

"Seize the day!"

And even though this is poem is absurdly cliche:

I'm gonna be ME,

and that's... OKAY!

Poem of the Day: "EXPOSED"

Twisted in mournful veins,

molded from bloody pizza-dough;

fondly-thought fingers,

knead a frazzled-heart in bows.

Insisting to beat, hoping to fly,

lost in opaque echos.

See how my lonely ocean-eyes

speak only faded-grays?

My swirling mists formed dripping clouds,

the day you flew away.

My adrenal-summer sun,

married winter's moonlit glow.

Joined for two, revolving-dances:

sloshing smiles, sand, and footprint-riddled snows.

But, my Darling!

Even diamonds can be tarnished

at the touch of it's lover.

As such..you stripped me of my armor;

(my heart's protective cover.)

Two hazel vortexes,

your spiral eyes,

ember-yawning,

(and willowy with drunken-need,)

....gurgle in my blood.

Your love, muddled by your greed.

"Baby, come back!"

I lost you then.

I knew.

My heart's a gutsy racer,

...but it couldn't catch up to you.

Gasping breath flees my body;

it's anxious and congested,

pregnant with my fears,

its perfect-nature: molested.

Panting,

shadows sway,

haunting a lonely door.

His room of moist memories!

(those squirming lights on the floor!)

Silhouettes intertwine

magnetically dancing in a swoon.

They whisper tiny secrets

that glide shyly toward the moon.

We're soul-mates, you see?

( Far from"star-crossed" lovers!)

Our bond is undeniable,

but his cumbersome passions

are smothered.

Too soon,

the sun rises.

(and he fumbles with his clothes;)

concealing the emotions,

he accidentally...

EXPOSED.