William Michaelian

Poems, Notes, and Drawings

Tag Archive for ‘Criticism’

Vice-Versa

Whatever I meant in that moment and mood, it seems blurred and faded now. The words sound nice. Maybe that’s why I was satisfied with them at the time. But I can’t say I’m satisfied with them now. The drawing, though, I like better. I can’t criticize someone for the way he looks. His expression seems the result of having lived many lives in one. Now I wonder: is that, […]

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Break or Bend

Am I my own best, most attentive reader, or am I like so many others who write, and who somehow remain strangers to their own words, as if they are embarrassing and awkward to be around? Haste is the great enemy. If, while reading, I do not engage all of my senses and weigh each line on a scale of personal and universal truth, while being sure that, as it […]

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An Enlightened Classroom

Will I have any thoughts today that are original or worth remembering? Will I have any that are even necessary? Familiar chatter, recycled debris, replay of memory. Discussions on social media — there are those rare and beautiful times when they take on the spirit of an enlightened classroom, where everyone is teacher and everyone is student, and all questions and answers are respected and encouraged — rare, too, in […]

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Each is You

Remember, everyone you meet is living the precious gift of their lives. So don’t be hasty. Don’t criticize. Be patient. Be considerate. Be kind. Realize, each is you in disguise, Honey sweet, honey sour, Honey wise. . [ 1766 ]

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Customs

If the big philodendron on the front step moves any further toward the light, it will walk right into the yard. As it is, anyone approaching the door must pass through a plants-on customs inspection. Blame and fault: see if, for one whole day, you can keep them from your speech and thought; even for an hour, and you will have done something as brave, daring, and worthwhile as any […]

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One Minute, Two, a Lifetime, the World

One habit to the next without rest, each with its pretty colored shell — see them on the mantelpiece, and there upon your brow — but when you thirst, love, oh! — seek a deeper well! “When You Thirst” Recently Banned Literature, January 7, 2018 . One Minute, Two, a Lifetime, the World I think one of the most revolutionary, transformative acts we can undertake, is to set aside a […]

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