Plaid Birds

By Refried Bean

This is a book of poems, stories, and a few personal essays. A lot of the writing is Christian themed or relates to experiences with mental illness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Refried Bean
• Release date: Jun 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463865125

Refried Bean

Refried Bean is from Greenville, SC. Refried worked in a bookstore for twelve years and has an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Refried now lives in the Bronx near a Stop and Shop.

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Plaid Birds

by Refried Bean

copyright 2018

Distributed by Smashwords, Inc.

Acknowledgements

Thank you so much, Anne, Brian, Cheyenne, Elise, and Claire.

Thank you Mom and Dad, and thank you friends and teachers.

Thank you Moody, Johnny C Weaver, Kimbi, and Kimberly.

Thank you VCFA and New York Cares.

Thank you Rob, Kathy, Chad, April, Mike, Ariel, John, and Chrystie.

morning by morning he dispenses his justice

-Zephaniah

his mercies are new every morning

-Lamentations

poem

Don't y'all think that

they should have just

named Jesus Christ

God junior?

poem

Sometimes I cross the line

with my little religious jokes, don't I?

Well a crossed line is a cross

so maybe that works out a little bit.

poem

When you pray to Jesus Christ,

do you call him JC MacDougal?

I don't, because that is not his name.

And I think it is kind of weird

that you suggested it.

Letters to the World

A picture's worth a thousand words

but words are worth a lot.

And shyest writers

make some friends

where friends were often not.

Cause text can find its way to places

human souls would dread

And Shakespeare's words have shined a light

where angels fear to tread.

Conditions

Seeing past the flaws you find

in those you love is tough.

You may still be a little blind

or just not blind enough.

Blood of the Martyrs

When they hold the knives to our throat

they will look in our eyes

and see waterfalls,

golden hills,

green meadows,

and all their fortunes restored

and eternities handed back to them

with kingdoms rising in the distance

while light and clouds waft by,

showering the grass

with a cool rain,

as life and love everlasting

make each blade shimmer with promise.

Iced

I did write a poem about martyrdom

as I was walking home from the laundromat

expecting to be knifed suddenly

by people in my neighborhood

who do not appreciate me,

but all that really happened

was that a lady walked by selling cupcakes

and I did not think to buy one in time.

On a Gray Day

In the future,

when everything is automated,

there might not be as much work for humans,

but a lot of mice might be able to get better jobs

from being able to just push a button or computer keys.

Vow

I will refuse to ever go to Paris

and I will never be sorry

about regretting it.

Is this poem the peek of my career

My poems are getting sassier each year

And I think eventually

there will just be a video

Of me screaming like an animal

For several hours,

Hitting myself,

And zooming into the camera

So people can see

some chewed up food in my mouth

That will make them remember

This exact poem

That should have been enough warning.

The poets of the living dawn

Life will go by fast

and don't you want some glory

on the other side

and some food and a castle

and some people to say thanks

or just some friends now

or some strangers somewhere

who you can write a note to

and say you're nice

and I'm glad you

sometimes

get to eat pizza.

I know what time it is.

When people ask me what time it is

I'm going to say 3:15. You're mean.

Or 3:58. You're second rate.

Or 4:04. You're a bore.

Or 1:59. You're out of line.

But then I will say just joking.

I will say it is 5:41. You're fun.

And it is 7:43. You are nice to see.

And it is 2:59. You're fine.

And 7:25. I'm glad you're alive.

Then I will say

Actually it is 6:00.

Time to fix me a chicken pie

with some milk

and a bowl of chocolate pudding.

Ideas

Apartment wall music translators

Sending people a bill for your silence

List of rules at a local pool when people use the pool location for an art gallery show and the poster of rules is perceived as sarcastic and people think it is a genius work of art then it goes to a museum and people think it is the rules for the museum and they obey it and it is rules that don't make sense in an art museum.

Church

I will never understand

why people don't understand.

Lettuce Prey

We do know

what deliberate

romulation looks like.

Rambunctionizing the flavor industry

will transform the peeps.

And most of all, a maniac cab driver

during a guinea pig medical emergency

will jolt the galaxies back into remembering

Poem

When animals

are doctors for humans

do they call themselves

veterinarians?

Poem

Do you feel that looking at a map

Is kind of like playing God.

I mean don't you feel like you are in charge

When you can see all the countries at one time.

And don't you feel like

everyone in the world can hear you

When you look at the map

and shout in your room

as loud as you can

Do not trifle with me!

Behold the Magic Roofaloo

Angel battles probably have some stuff

that earth battles don't have so far

like rainbow beam attacks

and light bright force fields

with portals to other dimensions

where more armies flood in

and zap the demons

with fire and lightning blazes,

but I am guessing that

when things really get crazy,

and all seems lost,

that is when the angels decide

to dispatch the magic