Oswego Alumni Magazine » poetry http://oswego.edu/magazine Oswego Alumni Magazine Wordpress site Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:03:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Last Word: Sandy and Mr. Mangrove http://oswego.edu/magazine/2013/01/15/last-word-sandy-and-mr-mangrove/ http://oswego.edu/magazine/2013/01/15/last-word-sandy-and-mr-mangrove/#comments Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:25:19 +0000 Guest http://oswego.edu/magazine/?p=3555

Eli Fleurant ’76 is a poet, philosopher, lecturer, inventor and historian. He created Diaphanism, a philosophy of reason, harmonic social-interaction, positive emotion and well-being. He received a master’s at St. John’s University and has taught at CUNY and Hoftsra University.

He lives on Long Island and teaches modern languages at SUNY Farmingdale.

He is working on two books: Toussaint Louverture and the Panorama of Haiti: Before and After the Quake and Diaphanism: The Formula of Happiness.

Eli Fleurant '76

Eli Fleurant ’76

Sandy and Mr. Mangrove

Neither oaths, nor sciences

Or man’s stratagem

Dared to halt her fury and rancor.

Before her fierce raid,

She rallied the towering of the ocean,

Emboldening her measure,

Inflating her lungs;

Her bloated cheeks

Gusting the wind

Rushing the monster waves to shore.

There she was, Sandy the savage lover

Lingering, wrecking, taunting.

The tide bursted, ripped free.

Flood, deluge, everywhere!

Then came night;

A tenebrous abyss

Filled the latitude.

And souls espoused nothingness,

The unknown and dark spirits of the elements.

Trees and prides hitherto tall and mighty

Thereon surrendered hubris and heightening.

Fear, tears, anger

Simmering in the torments of the night.

Sneers, curses and prayers

Met with deaf ears.

Mayhem reigns everywhere.

The tempest roars with no yield or pity.

Apocalypse seemed impending.

Sandy the furious nymph,

With her veils, her wretched kisses and rough kicks

Shattering pines, oaks and elms …

Abruptly, she veered to court Mr. Mangrove.

Oohh! Mr. Mangrove!!! She mocked.

Mr. Mangrove, a stern and robust timber

With luring brow.

Sandy paused, stared and stormed with vigor.

The Stoic Tree defied the strike.

In time, the fearless lover, tamed and beguiled

Unwinded her fury and lust

At the shrine of the wooden Centaure.

Eli Fleurant ’76
Oct. 29, 2012

]]> http://oswego.edu/magazine/2013/01/15/last-word-sandy-and-mr-mangrove/feed/ 0 To the Maximus http://oswego.edu/magazine/2011/03/04/to-the-maximus/ http://oswego.edu/magazine/2011/03/04/to-the-maximus/#comments Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:36:09 +0000 Kyle Gargan http://oswego.edu/magazine/?p=318 Poet/musician Oveous Maximus was keynote speaker at the 2010 ALANA (African, Latino, Asian, Native American) Conference.

Students flock around poet/musician Oveous Maximus, right, for pictures and autographs in Hewitt Union Ballroom during the 2010 ALANA (African, Latino, Asian, Native American) Conference. Maximus, a rapid-fire spoken-word poet, was the keynote speaker for the weeklong conference. “This was amazing,” Quindell Williams ’11 said. “The spoken word, it’s something different, something close to home and close to our age. I thought it was great.” ALANA, now in its 24th year, has become a staple in promoting a multicultural environment at SUNY Oswego and is a consistent hit among students, faculty and administrators.

Students flock around poet/musician Oveous Maximus, right, for pictures and autographs in Hewitt Union Ballroom during the 2010 ALANA (African, Latino, Asian, Native American) Conference. Maximus, a rapid-fire spoken-word poet, was the keynote speaker for the weeklong conference. “This was amazing,” Quindell Williams ’11 said. “The spoken word, it’s something different, something close to home and close to our age. I thought it was great.” ALANA, now in its 24th year, has become a staple in promoting a multicultural environment at SUNY Oswego and is a consistent hit among students, faculty and administrators.

 

 

 

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