Go Outside: a Collection of Poetry
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GO OUTSIDE: A COLLECTION OF POETRY A thesis submitted To Kent State University in partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts By John Joseph Roth May, 2017 © Copyright All Rights Reserved Except for previously published materials Thesis written by John Roth B.A., University of Akron, 2014 M.F.A., Kent State University, 2017 Approved by Dr. Catherine Wing , Advisor Dr. Patricia Dunmire , Interim Chair, Department of English Dr. James L. Blank , Dean, College of Arts and Sciences TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................... iii-v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..vi POEMS Bird Watching.................................................................................................................................. 1 A hike into the hereafter................................................................................................................. 2 Bird Kill ............................................................................................................................................ 3 For every heartfelt bird ................................................................................................................... 4 Unwelcomed Spring ........................................................................................................................ 5 In the forest there are no kind spirits ............................................................................................. 6 Little Worry ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Go Outside ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Wintering as animals ...................................................................................................................... 9 Peel away brightly ......................................................................................................................... 10 With a vibrancy that kills .............................................................................................................. 11 Beauty ........................................................................................................................................... 12 Wildfire Arsonist ........................................................................................................................... 13 Helen ............................................................................................................................................. 14 Angel Grist ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Prayer-Eater .................................................................................................................................. 16 Larval Memories ........................................................................................................................... 17 Locust Bomb .................................................................................................................................. 18 12:00 AM, another front porch gathering .................................................................................... 19 A field guide to acting on instinct ................................................................................................. 20 Escaping the ant farm ................................................................................................................... 21 Houseflies ...................................................................................................................................... 22 Swarm ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Mud Dauber Wasp ........................................................................................................................ 24 iii Alarm pheromones ....................................................................................................................... 25 Mud Chaperon .............................................................................................................................. 26 Resurrection Minutia .................................................................................................................... 27 Portrait: Death of the Matador ..................................................................................................... 28 Pagan Dark .................................................................................................................................... 29 I dissolve into many voices, none quite my own. ......................................................................... 30 Funeral Procession Etiquette ........................................................................................................ 31 Bog People Convention ................................................................................................................. 32 My ghost as apology, not enough ................................................................................................. 33 Cadabra cadaver ........................................................................................................................... 34 Death by Osmosis ......................................................................................................................... 35 This river is starving; so am I ......................................................................................................... 36 Boatman on Lake Erie ................................................................................................................... 37 Drought ......................................................................................................................................... 38 Dear Ocean,................................................................................................................................... 39 Sex on the beach was not meant to be taken this literally .......................................................... 40 Ad infinitum .................................................................................................................................. 41 On the boardwalk ......................................................................................................................... 42 You are not sea glass ..................................................................................................................... 43 Sailor’s Litany ................................................................................................................................ 44 Exposé on slow drowning ............................................................................................................. 45 Shower thoughts ........................................................................................................................... 46 Betta Fish ...................................................................................................................................... 47 Head-Case Aquarium .................................................................................................................... 48 Vegetable Hurt .............................................................................................................................. 49 A beast among bunches ................................................................................................................ 50 Arboreal Standards ....................................................................................................................... 51 The farmhand falls in love............................................................................................................. 52 To the neighborhood stray ........................................................................................................... 53 iv Paleolithic Afterlife ....................................................................................................................... 54 Gentrified ghosts ........................................................................................................................... 55 Urban Exploration ......................................................................................................................... 56 A moratorium on self-being .......................................................................................................... 57 v Acknowledgements I’d like to thank the NEOMFA program, along with Kent State University, for giving me both the necessary time and resources to finally bring this collection of poetry to fruition. I’d also like to thank Dr. Wing for not only being a wonderful mentor, but for being someone whose genuine interest and deep knowledge of modern poetics could motivate almost anyone to write. Without her various classes and workshops, I doubt I’d see poetry the same way. Of course, I also want to thank my committee members for their invaluable insight throughout the years and the continued kindness that they showed me through each interaction I had with them. Dr. Biddinger, you have inspired me more than you know. And to Dr. Brady, I’ll miss our small weekly workshops