Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Painted Dolls On The Move (made from the children's book "The Big Book Of Indians" by Sydney E. Fletcher)

The Painted Dolls On The Move

Young children prove fearless
They were dusty stars,
A band of warriors
massacred.

Their very existence
was considered
the greatest gift.

The warriors returned
Running from evil spirits.

Dance as memorials to the dead.
Dance the War Dance.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Tragic Crash (made from an article from The Putnam County Courier, the local paper)

Recently, I was in a car accident, which I'm still both emotionally and physically recovering from.  On August 11, 2011, I lost my best friend in this accident. I created this poem in the hospital, using an article from our local paper on the accident and her death. This poem is for you, Caitlyn.



Tragic Crash


A horrible accident,
Massive injuries
The vehicle rolled.

Lost control
We drifted into a ditch.

unresponsive,
not breathing.
The young woman
Wonderful, caring,
her short time
rushed.

She was pronounced dead.

We are heartbroken mourners.

Caitlyn was laid to rest
and I love her like she is returning home.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

GO BRA-LESS (made from bumper stickers)


GO BRA-LESS

Happy wife
Happy life

Skinny woman
Pull the wrinkles from your face!

Soccer mom
Not to worry...
Your daughter is in good hands!
But shut the bitch up.

Help
I live in my own world
Inside of me
Trying to get out

But it's ok...
Who says I have to be normal?



Friday, July 15, 2011

Brave Boy (New York Post)


Brave Boy

Play nice, kids.
The big bad boy
The tragic boy
Head to head

Fight for life
One day
the long road may end.

The ultimate sexual experience
Show me
How your tree bears fruit.
Sex on demand.

He's a traveling time bomb
One day turning into tragedy.
His peace has come.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Promises, Promises (The New Yorker, Glamour, Cosmo) Behind the Scenes with Jess Schneider: The Making of a Collage Poem

Check check check it out.
Here's a look at what goes into making a collage poem.

FINAL PRODUCT:

Promises, Promises

Salvage what you have left.
Love, loss, longing
Beauty, beauty.
The naked and the dead
Hiding in plain sight.

The nightmare I couldn't have,
Gods and dolls
Dead in the water,
Simply naked
Completely living.

Save us.

Wild child and bad girl sex
Big ideas,
Confessions,
Discoveries,
Secrets.
A daughter's revolution.

What's sexy now?
Admit it, you're a
troubled paradise.

Free yourself.

Close ups:


  

Monday, June 6, 2011

Nourished Tip (made from Garnier Fructis hair color instructions)


Nourished Tip

Your body
Your eyes
Stinging sensation
Poison into pressure
Your skin may burst.

Place your fingertip over
These darkest areas.
Gently massage
Gently to provide best penetration.
Keep in mind
Your skin may burst.

Time is up.
You leave as usual.
The water runs clear
With the same shade.

You never change.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

The New Yorker (made from my rejection email from the editors of the New Yorker)


The New Yorker

We are the editors.
Consider us.

Carry your regret,
Your warmest regret.
Consider the oppertunity
We are unable to regard.
Consider us.

Consider us
And the regret,
the regards,
the work,
the oppertunity,
and the giving
and giving and giving.
Consider us.

Thank you for giving us
The regret we carry.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Mom (made from Mother's Day cards)


Mom

A mother's love
So beautiful
So peaceful
A mother's heart
A world filled with
blessings
beautiful moments
and bright thoughts.

This day is for you
For your smile
It's your day
to know you're celebrated.

A beautiful day for
thinking of you
and telling you
how much it means
to have you.

it's the perfect time
for both of us
to enjoy every little moment.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

No one is there. (SUNY Purchase Lit Society's publication: The Leaf Unturned)


No one is there.
a hollow town.
shadows scattered
Cage The Animals
drunk beautiful boys
safely kept
lost in me.

smashed roses
between your legs
I want to taste your skin
to be fucked
birds and the bees
hollow me out
how low
can my dignity go

fingers split your
shaking hands
slipping down
his hollow chest;
No one is there
he loved to feel nothing.

the cold and quick exit,
throat sore,
mouth dry.
His eyes fluorescent 
and dead seeming.
my body stands
a wilderness
frozen in a tangling kiss

we fucked to feel something
and there is nothing in return.
No one is there.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Wishing (Greeting Cards)


Wishing

Keep wishing on stars.
You're more wondrous than you know.

Celebrate this new beginning
that will bring all that you are hoping for
and dreaming of.

Hope will come to us like the rain,
that waters the earth with peace.
May the peace be with you
and guide you always.
Enjoy your journey
In every way.

Fill your heart with your dream.
It will find you.
Every dream will be found.

Have a wonderful
memorable
beautiful
life.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Stealing The Color (The New Yorker)

Stealing The Color

Some terrible thing has happened to this girl.
I draw it just so I can remember it.
A beautiful garden,
Willow trees, roses,
everything symmetrical.
vibrant.

Sexual bewilderment.
You could smell that they're using you.

Flashbacks in the garden
She abandoned herself
She was disturbed by
the police presence, the dark clothes,
the disappearance of nail polish.
Life was nothing like what she remembered.
It was as if everything lost color and suddenly
went to black-and-white.

She was in love.
And that dream she had fell apart
She was raped.

The minute you get to the garden, it becomes realistic.
She just jumped off the roof
into the garden's eerie calm.
Following a dead woman down the street,
She becomes a ghost.

That garden completely changed my life.

It separated us,
Women Without Men
forever.

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Beginning Is Near. (made from fortunes from fortune cookies)



The Beginning Is Near.

To give is to deserve
But love is acting
not feeling
Trust
But still keep your eyes open.

Look first to yourself.
The best mirror
is often your eyes.
You are the guiding star
in your existence.
Stay strong.

You will step on the soil
of past misfortune.
But there are lessons to learn
There is enough time
To take a different path.
Happiness is around the corner.
Down the next street.

You have a deep emotional nature
Strong and sensitive.
Look first to yourself.
Not him, or his eyes.

Joyfulness prolongs your days.
Happiness.
Feel it.
Trust it.
But still keep strong.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

It's Not Your Fault (pamphlet on dealing with rape & sexual assault)


"It's not your fault"

She didn't scream
She did not fight back
She was drinking.
these are excuses.
NEVER blame yourself.

Listening not judging
Listening not prying
It's normal to feel angry, afraid, anxious
Feelings intensify and overwhelm
Sit with your silences.

Protect yourself
Discomfort
Aggressive behavior
feeling vulnerable
find a way out.

If it feels like you're being pressured
then you are.

"NO" means "NO"

Saturday, February 26, 2011

A Harder Rain's Gunna Fall (Digital Collage: NY Times Online)


A Harder Rain's Gunna Fall: They shoot people from ambulances

He blew kisses to the crowd.
He urged them to fight
to fight to the death.

protesters tried to march
thousands streamed out
of mosques after prayers
sending forces to join the fight.
the capital had fallen to rebels.
the violence broke out.

young loyalists charged with emotion,
triumph and anger
fight for justice and freedom.

"This is the invincible force of youth,"
he said,
"Life without dignity is useless."

The antigovernment
The last strongholds in a widespread rebellion.

"Every individual will be armed,"
he said.

They have no freedom.
the life of pride, unity and dignity,
the flag flying and hoisted.
They want freedom, too.

young loyalists, young supporters
thousands shot dead
and left without a prayer.

The coffins of dead protesters
bodies being taken away
to beaches to be burned.

it will become a hell...

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Creator or Liar? (made from small booklet about accepting Jesus)


Creator or Liar?

God created heaven
out of the dust of the earth.
He made man
and man was given a choice
good or evil
to obey or disobey

Sinner multiplied and
covered the earth...
God loved them
and watched over them.
But violence was everywhere.
They rebelled and killed the prophets.

Jesus was born,
He was the world
and the world was made by him.
His was the only perfect life ever lived.
He was challenged and crucified.
Satan- the powers of darkness
They crucified the Lord.
The devil and his angels loved the world,
But claim Jesus was a liar.

God was broken
and man was lost.
The lost shall be cast into the
lake of fire...
God destroyed the earth with water.
Enter into the joy of thy Lord!
Nobody else can save you.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Disordered Eating (Made from pamphlets about eating disorder awareness)


Disordered Eating

Afraid, angry and helpless.
These feelings are natural.
Ask for help.
Admit concerns.
You are doing the right thing.
Figure out what to do next.
What to say
Where to go for help.
There are people out there who understand

Self-starvation
Binge eating and purging
over-exercising
vomiting
feeling out of control,
ashamed
disgusted
feel nothing at all.

Beauty and shape
weight or body size
be aware of the ways your beliefs
about your body
your healthy and strong body
are influenced by our society.
Take good care of yourself.

Cycles of pain or fear
and the need to feel control
can become destructive obsessions.

your body image is being manipulated
Know the difference,
Respect yourself.

Monday, February 7, 2011

For Those Touched (informational pamphlets on Cancer & HIV)


For Those Touched

Living is more than doctors appointments.
There's so much to feel, to experience,
Laugh, love, share, cry,
Learn to live
And let it all out.

People are living with diseases.
They are hugging, kissing, sharing.
Family and friends living with treatment and loss,
Living with a diagnosis.
They are still living.

Treat your heart, your soul,
and your spirit.

People have found strength, comfort and
any excuse for a party.

Living is celebration.
Everyone is welcome.

We are survivors.
Join us!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Cosmo's Guide to Meeting More Guys (Cosmopolitan)


Cosmo's Guide to Meeting More Guys

Make him happy
Fake yourself right into a real orgasm.
Give him what he needs.
A happy lover comes back
and I have to wait for him.

Enjoying your breasts helps you feel confident
but a flat-chested girl should spend
a fortune on outrageous lingerie.

Women's self esteem dips
So we're more likely to spend money on things
that make us feel more attractive, like
slimming must have tops.
Some clothes really do make you look fat.
You'll never meet expectations without shrinking.

I feel flowery and feminine
Like how a real woman should.

Embrace who you are
Fake yourself.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Attack and Revival: Harmony (how to play guitar instructional packet & history textbook)

Attack and Revival: Harmony

Relax from the palm of you hand
beyond the fingers to your wrist.
Memorize the melody.
Sing, strum or whistle the tune following the rhythmic pattern.

Disturb the flourishing businessmen
and their kingdom of uncivilized heroes and their civil war.

The government held the people in mythology
thinking that no need was seen to improve The Kingdom.

The flowering artistic minds were conducting a period of upheaval with song.
Picking the strings
Thumbing the strings
Strumming the chords.
Paint the scenes on the walls.

The king lost control of his nobles
a gradual collapse of government.

Curl the fingers in toward the palm of your hand
Hold the guitar against your body.

The songs you sing return the people
to their ancient independence and their new prosperity.
They came to life in the arts.
People living in harmony.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Part of the Family (Digital Collage: NY Times Online)


Part of the Family

A home keeps me grounded
my family is my world.
A consistent household of love.

We were strangers at birth
with no dynamics
only our family connections.
You never think you can
love somebody that much.

Save your smile for
your parents
your grandparents
your siblings
your aunts or uncles.
A smile so big
It will melt their hearts.

Save your smile for your family
Because they love you
more than you can ever think.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Side Effects (Informational packet for Loestrin 24)


Side Effects

Any woman should understand
the benefits and risks of male association.

Sharp chest pain.
Sudden, severe, crushing.
A history of heartache.

Suffering depression.
Lack of energy, loss of appetite
Irregular numbness, nervousness, tenderness.

Women are developing and dying
of heartaches or pain.

Don't show weakness.

It is temporary.
It will gradually disappear.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Unbound: A Self Portrait (The New Yorker & fortune)


Unbound

A slightly goofy-looking artist
Twenty something.
She is obsessed with sex and sass;
Studying friends and former lovers.
She can't feel; can't cry;
Can't think beyond language as a writer.
She tries to kill her heart with her cauterizing wit.

Inside her head there is always something beautiful.
A luminous, surreal world,
as lush and limpid as a dream
A dream of love.
Magical, whimsical and always thrilling.
She walks a tightrope between
reality and imaginative freedom.

Her broad shoulders and broad smile,
The most utterly lost of all days is
that on which she has not laughed.

Daring, gorgeous and outlandish
in that silent world.

This is what it is to love an artist.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

At War (Digital Collage: NY Times Online)


At War

Things went from bad to worse
the inevitable conflict
sooner rather than later.
Distorted or ignored.

We should not be so quick to condemn
the military elite.
Ending wars is not easy.

Enemies at home,
Misguided and dangerous.
Fear, hatred: a  natural catastrophe,
With no human authors.

American against its government.
All were guilty or none were.
We should not be so quick to condemn.

Total Secret (multiple receipts)


Total Secret

The return of the-- the Angel
A gift.
Sexy as always
Shrunken, fit.

Have a fabulous experience.
More benefits.
Endless indulgence.

Entry Method:
V card swiped.
Thanks for your merchandise.

used
ITEMS
defective
ITEMS
We are
ITEMS.

Change.
Be old fashioned.
Change.
Live better.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

The Fruit of Patience (Fortunes from Fortune Cookies)


The Fruit of Patience.

You're not afraid of storms,
For there are none so wonderful as your own.
You're learning to sail your ship.
Trust your intuition.
Have peace and find joy.

The smart thing to do is
To reduce the complicated to the simple.
Your emotions are right on the surface,
but that's okay.
You always say it better.

What is the meaning of life?
The entire sum of existence is just
the magic of being needed by one other person.

God can heal a broken heart,
but He has to have all the pieces.

Do a Favor, and Honor You (Fortunes from Fortune Cookies)


Do a Favor, and Honor You

Ignore heavy chains of worry.
Today's a day to nourish yourself.
Feed yourself well.
Never do anything half way.
You can be the candle
or, the mirror that reflects it.
Go the whole way.
Shine.

There are two ways to failure
The road not found
then the path of idle hours.

Other people will shorten
Abort, retry, ignore.

Honor yourself.
Forge persistence if you aim to.

The majority of the word "can't" is "can."