The Measure of Success

The Measure of Success

by Mark Ivan Cole

Massive limbs, all bleached and dry,
  lie cracked and broken on the ground,
     the evidence of vast expansion
         long ago, before the storm.
A brittle bark now peels away
  from half the trunk that towers still,
    despite its many amputations.
The crown is gone, its glory shorn,
    and roots lie rotting down below.
I will not mourn this ancient oak
  for still a stream of life runs strong
    from base to tip, from root to bud,
      and every Spring, its rush of green
        drinks in the sun for one more year,
            for one more season,
              each new leaf, a grand achievement.

Mr. Speedy, X-Ray Orderly

This is Mark's journal entry from his experience at Taipei Veterans' General Hospital the night before going in for surgery.

X-ray orderly shows up. Speaks no English. We agree that I am the guy on his sheet of paper. He mimes taking  a picture and motions for me to follow. He has candy-striped pink & white glasses.

He takes off down the hallway. A tall guy dressed in the same standard-issue outfit (blue for guys, pink for girls) seems to have been corralled as well. We follow Mr. Speedy down the hall to the elevators. Mr Speedy squeezes us into a crowd that's getting into that little lift. We go to down to the first floor and follow him left? No, right. Ok. Mr. Speedy squeezes between the wall and a moving gurney and takes off, leaving Tall Guy and me stuck in traffic.

We catch up with him at the counter. He says sit. We sit. A nice young lady with a quizzical expression is relieved when I say my Chinese name. Now her piece of paper makes sense!

A young guy in a lab coat helps me stand--no, not that way, the other way--for the X-ray. It's all done in a second.

Mr. Speedy says sit. I sit. Mr. Speedy says let's go. Tall Guy and I follow him right, no, left, to a different elevator.

The doors open. The elevator is a construction zone. We get in anyway. A lady who seemed to be waiting to get in doesn't get in. The doors close. The doors open. The waiting lady gingerly gets into the elevator. The doors close.

The lady pushes floor #7. Nothing.

Mr. Speedy pushes floor #7, wiggling his finger a little bit as he does so. Ah, now the number 7 is lit.

We go up. The lady gets off at the 7th floor. The doors close. We proceed to the 10th floor. Mr. Speedy breezes down the hallway. It looks familiar. Hey, this is General Surgery! We're back!

I guess...yeah, we're done.

Tall Guy and I find our way back to our rooms.

Lyrics to "Love Theme For Aliens"

"Love Theme for Aliens"
-Music by Larry Benigno, Lyrics by Mark Ivan Cole

Mourning another orbit 'round the red sun,
Every day that you're apart from me
Carves a piece out of the heart of me.

My world won't recognize a love from your world.
Still, my heart believes that you're my girl,
Even if we go alone.

Make this work.
I know we can,
If you'll only take my hand.
The love between us never fails
Even if they can't make heads or tails.

Let the planets sail away.
We'll bring them all together.
No drifting, lost in empty space,
Our love provides the tether.

No one will understand my feelings for you.
They all say we are simply not the same
And there's nothing left to gain.

Even if my arms could never hold you,
Anywhere we are in space or time
There your soul will be with mine.

__


To see the video, go to our YouTube channel.

The Candidate Responds 候選人的回覆

Since 2012 is an election year, I thought I'd post a rambling I did after being on an airplane for 20+ hours and finding myself jet-lagged in a Nike conference room somewhere in Asia.  --Mark

(more art here)

The Candidate Responds

I’m glad you asked that because I think it’s important that we talk about these things. Things like this need to be talked about and that’s what we’re here for. Issues of this nature are controversial because they inspire differing opinions on one or more sides, and it’s this very thing that I want to talk about today. We must define it clearly, completely, and in-depth.

And then we must take action. Now. I’m not talking tomorrow or next week. I’m talking now. My staff and I have put our heads together already and looked very seriously at the option of setting up a committee with the expressed purpose of quantifying our discussion readiness potential.

Car Names As They SHOULD Be 汽車命名

I'm forever amazed at what can be used as a name for a car. In the U.S., there's a certain macho flair to it. For example, what they call the Nissan "Bluebird" in the rest of the world is called the "Maxima" in the States.

But what should these cars really be called? Here's a possible list.

Brought to you by the Suzuki Psychic

(The car that knows where you're going even before you do!)

Overheard 竊聽

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Overheard

A Play in One Act

by Mark Ivan Cole

SCENE ONE

The scene opens to stage that is completely empty except for a park bench sitting in the very center facing the audience.

RHONDA approaches from Stage Right, sits down quickly on the right end of the bench and agitatedly digs into her purse for her cell phone. After viciously punching the numbers, she holds the phone to her ear.

RHONDA: Hi, Minnie, it’s Rhonda.

Yes! I did!

No, it did not go well.

Of course it didn’t go well! He’s such a jerk. He did exactly as you said he would.

Yes!

So we ate at the Bistro again, like I told you.

A salad. I always have a salad.

Well, they’ve got good salads, but I didn’t eat much this time.

No, but he’s just wolfing it down like his steak is the most important thing in the world and he can’t wait to eat it and get out of there.

So I finally told him I’d had enough, that it’s either her or me, and he—

I WISH! No, he didn’t choke, he just gave me this pained puppy-dog look and told me he couldn’t live without me.

Exactly, so I said: “Then don’t!” And he says “You want me to kill myself?” and I said, “No, I just want you to live with ME and not with HER.” And he goes into this whole thing about how if I really understood him and if I really cared, I wouldn’t put him in this position and things are really difficult right now and—

[During this section, PAUL enters slowly from Stage Left, holding the phone with an earpiece in his ear. He has a look a bemused concern on his face.]

PAUL: Oh, come on, it can’t be that bad!

RHONDA: YES, it WAS! It was the same damn thing all over again!

PAUL: He makes messes all the time. We have to put up with this behavior every time he gets stressed out over anything.

Kelso

by Mark Ivan Cole

The mist of dawn,
The rippling river,
Warm sun on leaves of gold,
Music,
Laughter, hope,
New wine
And long-awaited dreams—

The day is my fortune,
Vast beyond measure,
Treasured and guarded
Close to my heart.

And in the evening,
First kisses still warm,
You sail with me
Far into the blue.

In your eyes, my reflection
Gleams as never before.

The stars recall.
The sun remembers.
The river runs ceaselessly round the bend,
Still whispering thoughts of you, of me,
Of us.