Monday, December 9, 2013

Two Stories Accepted for Publication

Hey, all. Just heard the news that two more of my flash fiction stories have been accepted for publication. Check out the first one, ONCE UPON A TIME, A SOLDIER, at commuterLit.com today! The second story, LES CANAILLE, will be published at Cigale Literary Magazine (cigalelitmag.com) on December 20th.

Lot's of good things happening. Jeremy Grant and I (The Rubber Brothers--percussion and poetry) opened for the Dave Bidini book reading event at the Alton Mill yesterday afternoon. A great time was had by all. And...I organized the audience into a poetry writing jag (collected their scribblings and shaped them into a poem) so that together we created the Great Canadian Hockey Poem. This is what we came up with:


Dreams Live Forever

Dreams live forever
dad and me on a Saturday night
where cold meets warm at the edge
of the rink
at the edge of the hot chocolate cup
cold seeping into bones
frozen feet and numb fingers
sitting on the bench
putting rink boards up
the echo of the puck
hitting the boards in an empty rink

I love hockey
it makes me happy
soggy hot dogs and stinky popcorn
my couch coach father
and our Saturday night imperative
skates on ice, sticks on puck, the big hit
(but please, no fights)
Hull Hall Harvey Howe
the 4-H club
Johnny Bower, Tim Horton, Dave Keon
(because I wrote a speech about him in 7th grade)
I loved the edge catching, ankle twisting hurts
the bulrushes up the ice
fogged over in the morning light

oh, and
my father tying my skates
the smell of gloves
fights on the ice
fights in the stands
hey, and no helmets
no mouthguards
toothless
like a 7-year-old-child
but macho

like smelly brothers after a game
and thank god for
sweet smelling, nose saving, Febreeze-fresh hockey bags
leather goalie pads and sweat
and the thrill of the first Leafs game in Maple Leaf Gardens

And clear the track, here comes Shack
the arc of shaved ice on a sudden stop

See, I was at the big game
3-1 Leafs over the Habs, 1967
and Keon winning the Conn Smythe
a part of history
Jubilation in Canadian Pride
and I loved shinny
and I remember my old gear
“Make sure you hang it up.”

It’s all about the dream
that I’m the one with the puck
back and forth
momentum changes
exploding into a breakaway
bodies banging
sliding gliding sweeping
swooshing around the ice
and crack went the stick to the puck
oomph, crash, shoulders hurt

But we love the game
that’s why we think
it’s worth the stench of the hockey bag stink
because dreams live forever
and well
it’s kept the guys out of trouble

Cheers!


1 comment:

Gloria Nye said...

I could just hear you read this, Harry. Brought back lots of memories for me. Listening to Hockey Night in Canada around our pot bellied stove in the country. And also turned ankles and cold fingers at the make- shift rink at the community hall. Thanks.