Phantom Billstickers Cookeville Poetry Poster Run by Jeffery D McCaleb

Cookeville is not exactly the prime place for postering; 1st of all, it's not allowed unless you're having a yard sale or haggling off your possessions in a garage. 2ndly, people don't walk around much unless they're walking the hills checking for cattle. The only other time I've seen much walking is at the mall, which isn't much of a mall at all; it's more of an indoor track for old folks with empty shops & memories. 3rd, where people do take a few strolls around with feet are at parks or near downtown Cookeville where all the poles have turned into metal for beautification. All other places for feet are for jogging. There's not enough time to slow down when in the city. You've got to get what you need & head back to the farm or back to the house.

 

People use the university a lot for exercise; it's well-placed & has good sidewalks in square patterns. People apparently like to jog in circles & squares. A few times a year we host half-marathons & such. Frankly, there just isn't enough pavement to hold a whole marathon. We're a small town, with small people, with small cares, easy & mostly laid back & unless you have a reason to go to Walmart or work, there's little reason for leaving the warmth & comfort of home, especially around the holidays.

 

I chose Christmas morning & the day after to head out with my borrowed Swingline stapler, not the best for this sort of job, but I thought I might draw a little extra suspicion if I would've been carrying one of those industrial types that are for real stapling. People may not walk around much here, but we like to know what you're up to. While postering one particular pole, a lady came up behind me. I thought for sure she was gonna ask me what I thought I was doing, but she was just looking for her lost puppy. She did ask me what that was, referring to the poem half stapled to the pole (I experienced a lot of jammed staples... that's what my pocket knife was for that morning). I told her it was poetry. She said she'd have to come back & read that sometime. I wonder if she did. I also wonder if she found her puppy.

 

The poems I put up were a mixture of poems from Phantom's past launches. Poems never get old or out-dated though; I've learned that & heard that & seen that. Poetry lives forever, putting them on poles just makes them live longer. And these are classic poems for me, tried & true tests that words don't die, especially if you print them on a poster & try to change a small piece of the world.

 

I have heard that you need to place poems in places where the walking traffic flow will have little choice but to see them. I've also been told, "Remember, 95% of people who walk past a poem on a wall or in a window will do just that: walk right past without a single glance." I believe Jim Wilson told me that & it's true - people are in a hurry, not watching where they're going, what they're doing, get in, get out & do it as quickly as possible. This make me wonder if poems on poles in Cookeville may draw an extra eye or two. Like I said, we're fairly easy & laid back around here; people like to take the time to smell the roses. Of course, the roses are pretty much planted in personal gardens & yards, so...

 

I realized that while my posterings may not get the most attention of those choice few who spot what may be seen as a small-print announcement for a yard sale, that really isn't the point... at least not for me. Cookeville is about the backdrop, the scenery behind & within the town. I'm thinking this probably made for particular poems on particular poles in particular places: a nice "Keep It Up" poem by Brian Turner would look super in front of the stockyard; "Teenager" by Patrick John Timothy Connors is perfect while rounding the sidewalk on campus; "Hat" by Marty Schofield is perfect for the farmer's market; a Sam Hunt poem will decorate any pole in any place; "Old Song" & "Sea Call" look real nice together; "Peace" by Aroha Harris looks like heaven on a pole in a church parking lot; "Ray Charles at the Copa" will make you wanna listen to Georgia on my Mind whether you're in Georgia or not; & Frankie McMillan's "Wired" is also a poetic treat out of the corner of the eye while jogging, try to hold age at bay for as long as possible.

 

Cookeville may not be the best place for poetry on poles, being laid back or in a flurry of a rush to leave a town without much pavement & get back to the farm & the spring, & the fireplace but I found that it's a perfect town for me. If one person takes the time to stop & ponder some poetry, the world has already begun to change...

 

jeffery d mccaleb