tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74923864167290840262024-03-27T16:54:55.348-07:00Dreams & NightmaresA three-fold instrument. News about Dreams & Nightmares, an SF & fantasy poetry magazine. Daily poems. News about me. My thoughts about life, the universe, etc. Guess that makes it four-fold.gomonkeygohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388208407977661175noreply@blogger.comBlogger12649125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-2922102006344535732024-03-27T05:38:00.000-07:002024-03-27T05:38:37.245-07:00032724b<br><br>the small snores of catDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-9593806406439682102024-03-27T03:30:00.000-07:002024-03-27T03:30:00.248-07:00032724<br><br>At 1 millionth of a degree above absolute zero, helium is still trying to climb out of its beaker, like the coldest amoeba there could ever be. One more millionth of a degree gone, and it all falls apart. The center cannot hold. Nothing can hold. And there is no temperature, because there is nothing. How cool is that?David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-41736964281624464272024-03-26T06:24:00.000-07:002024-03-26T06:24:08.380-07:00032624b<br><br>I spend the night in the Mage's marble tomb<br>the reeking lich moves over to give me roomDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-24434699114261139882024-03-26T05:36:00.000-07:002024-03-26T05:36:56.893-07:00032624<br><br>Yesterday I got my award for winning the 2023 Elgin for best full length speculative poetry collection (for <b>Some</b> <b>Disassembly</b> <b>Required</b>). I had completely forgotten that there <i>was</i> a physical award. It's curved glass, engraved, and fairly heavy. I hope it's also difficult to break, but I didn't experiment with that. Place of Honor on the mantle, and all that.David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-5836264824786406912024-03-25T14:23:00.000-07:002024-03-25T14:23:43.189-07:00032524b<br><br>trees wave to the clouds<br>come dance with us<br>and bring the rain David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-90294054219441972202024-03-25T06:03:00.000-07:002024-03-25T06:03:53.487-07:00032524<br><br>reading<br>an ebook<br>when will it end?David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-50888520655181965872024-03-24T06:00:00.000-07:002024-03-24T06:00:00.353-07:00032424b<br><br>Beach Couplet
<br><br>
With every splashing step I take<br>
the minnows all absquatulateDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-65263912848280499452024-03-24T03:30:00.000-07:002024-03-24T03:30:00.245-07:00032424<br><br>Recent poetry sales to <i>Star*line</i>, <i>Spectral Realms</i>, and <i>Sscifaikuest</i>.<br><br>Beginning to lay out <i>DN</i> 127, the May issue.David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-31224045877561412202024-03-23T14:00:00.000-07:002024-03-23T14:00:00.252-07:00032324d<br><br>napping<br>
instead of voting<br>
WWJDDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-19573742645395589072024-03-23T13:00:00.000-07:002024-03-23T13:00:18.020-07:00032324c<br><br>primary<br>
election day<br>
echoing cavernDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-2385604336301103142024-03-23T08:36:00.000-07:002024-03-23T08:36:11.424-07:00032324b<br><br>disillusionment<br>rereading old favorites<br>that of late I've praisedDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-42195675808808957152024-03-23T03:30:00.000-07:002024-03-23T03:30:00.245-07:00032324<br><br>At our old house in Alabama, nestled on the flood-immune west side of an urban hill, somehow Winters were warmer and summers were cooler than out at the airport where the National Weather Service had their station. Until the 2011 tornado, our backyard was surrounded by Big trees, and it was 10° cooler in the summer than it was out in the sunny front yard. I miss all of that, especially since Baton Rouge is a little bit farther south, a little bit hotter, and a little bit more humid. Not to mention that we sometimes have gators in the drainage ditch on the west side of our property. Cute little baby gators so far, but nonetheless top predators in Southern Louisiana. Except for humans of course. Not to mention that, although this house has never flooded since it was built in 1962, the climate she is achanging.David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-49116851532067615542024-03-22T13:16:00.000-07:002024-03-22T13:16:10.988-07:00032224c<br><br>I have a contract with Weird House for a full-length collection of dark speculative poetry. Actually, the book is already written. Roughly half of it is weird in the Weird Tales sense, and the rest is dark science fiction, plus a few odds and ends. The title is Unwelcome Guests.David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-65463596785975231252024-03-22T06:38:00.000-07:002024-03-22T06:38:10.964-07:00032224b<br><br>the dogs are shouting <br>
someone's here! someone's here!<br>
or riding a bike <br>
walking to school <br>
driving too slowly <br>
or quickly <br>
nothing at all<br><br>
they're cry-wolfing again <br>
it's too bad <br>
we'll ignore them <br>
when the saucers landDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-17128612963662004042024-03-22T03:30:00.000-07:002024-03-22T03:30:00.148-07:00032224<br><br>he lights <br>
each fingertip<br>
glory beDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-85599049473676581142024-03-21T07:00:00.000-07:002024-03-21T07:00:00.133-07:00032124b<br><br>Surrounded by Rocks and Sand
<br><br>
horned toad<br>not a toad<br>looking like <br>the business end of a flail<br>hunkers down on my palm and waits<br>waits for me to get bored<br>and turn it loose<br> as one does<br> if one is not an assholeDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-35385339817658465522024-03-21T04:51:00.000-07:002024-03-21T04:51:00.134-07:00032124<br><br>I hated waiting a whole month for the next installment of a serial. <i>Analog</i> magazine had a lot of them when I was in my early teens and a month still seemed like a long time. The magazines aren't monthly anymore; I guess it was no longer a workable business model, but that's not really what I miss most about those days. In 1967, <i>Analog</i> came wrapped in fairly stiff brown paper, and the covers arrived in pristine condition. At some point (in the 70s, I think) the publisher decided they couldn't afford brown paper, or maybe they couldn't afford the machines to wrap it around the magazines. The covers started showing up wrinkled and bent. Then, they had the gall to go to lightweight paper, still slick, but as thin as the interior pages. You can't read the magazines now without the cover getting all curled and bent up. I would probably subscribe to <i>Asimov's</i> now if it wasn't for that irritating disability. <i>Analog</i> is the same way (same publishe). I'm not going to reward them for being cheapskates. Of course, I don't have to make any money with <i>Dreams and Nightmares</i>, but I use coverstock and it holds up to the wear. Back when I started reading them, the argument was whether <i>Analog</i> or<i> F&SF</i> was the best SF magazine there was. Now, the magazines that get the most award nominations are all online. However, there is just something about holding a physical object with your work inside it that you can't get from online publication. Or perhaps I'm very old-fashioned.
David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-35454397309905293412024-03-20T06:00:00.000-07:002024-03-20T06:00:00.148-07:00032024b<br><br>tail lights crawl thru the fogDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-89322324761163887452024-03-20T03:30:00.000-07:002024-03-20T03:30:00.351-07:00032024<br><br>summer Saturday<br>
can of worms <br>
and a bamboo poleDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-52128963647025709212024-03-19T06:00:00.000-07:002024-03-19T06:00:00.135-07:00031924b<br><br>daydream busy signal in my headDavid Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-24453721473517573122024-03-19T03:30:00.000-07:002024-03-19T03:30:00.151-07:00031924<br><br>News: 4 poems, "all frequencies silent," "somebody's dearest," "the human conditioner," and "slow dance," Five Fleas, 18-Mar., 2024, https://fivefleas.blogspot.com/ David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-9202245322225793862024-03-18T08:11:00.000-07:002024-03-18T08:11:28.368-07:00031824b<br><br>two baskets<br>full of pill bottles<br>this can't be me!David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-4957431462606198242024-03-18T06:42:00.000-07:002024-03-18T06:42:31.404-07:00031824<br><br>making plans<br>other folks may break<br>dependence David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-75493188642239003812024-03-17T06:17:00.000-07:002024-03-17T06:17:23.732-07:00031724b<br><br>the roof patch<br>may keep the water out<br>showtime!David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7492386416729084026.post-12684040600455353572024-03-17T05:55:00.000-07:002024-03-17T14:06:13.034-07:00031724<br><br>camaraderie<br>never again the high<br>of a scientific conclave<br>Zoom a pallid ghost David Kopaska-Merkelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00671933173361524910noreply@blogger.com0