Poetry: Recording on the writings of Dennis Fritzinger

Ever heard of Earth First? They’ve been around for a quarter century and most of ’em are warriorpoets… And what’s a warriorpoet? Well, one these warrior poets is named Dennis Fritzinger, he’s made sure everyone who reads the Earth First! journal has access to warrior poetry. So in his honor  I’ve read and sung Dennis’ words into five recordings. May we all learn to write poems as Warriorpoets do! –Editor, Forest Policy Research

Download MP3 here: http://forestpolicyresearch.com/audio/Deane-Chris-Tom.mp3 Or click Play here:[Audio:Deane-Chris-Tom.mp3]

Download MP3 here: http://forestpolicyresearch.com/audio/Deane-Chris-Tom3.mp3 Or click Play here: [Audio:Deane-Chris-Tom3.mp3]

Download MP3 here: http://forestpolicyresearch.com/audio/Deane-Chris-Tom2.mp3 Or click Play here: [Audio:Deane-Chris-Tom2.mp3]

Download MP3 here: http://forestpolicyresearch.com/audio/Deane-Chris.mp3 Or click Play here: [Audio:Deane-Chris.mp3]

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Another Poem by Dennis Fritzinger

Charlie Don’t Surf

charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
Charlie Don’t Surf

when i went over to vietnam
after i got in that war-torn land
i met up with a guy named murf;
first thing he told me, is “charlie don’t surf.”

charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
Charlie Don’t Surf

i was crawling on my belly thru the mud one day
after that morning it looked like play
there was shrapnel everywhere but me
i looked up and what did i see?

a funny little guy not 5-foot-2
a thin white beard and a big stick too
he said, “i’m uncle ho and i’ve come to see
if you yank surfers are as good as me.”

he gestured left, and underneath a tree
was a brand-new surfboard, just right for me
i grabbed it up and he led the way
to what appeared to be the local bay

now many’s the eye that may deceive
and a person’s word may be hard to believe
but 30 foot waves came crashing in
and i tell ya, they made one helluva din

he said, “you chicken?” and rushed on out
i followed him quick, for i had no doubt
for a california man, in his natural pride,
could show uncle ho one helluva ride

ho took off first; he was pretty quick
he did some things that were awful slick
like walking the nose and hanging ten
then he came back and did them again

but i said nothing, and soon he did see
you can’t beat a californian so easily
i was so hyped up when i did my show
i coulda sold ice to an eskimo

i did everything that’d ever been seen
till ho he was looking awful green
but he doubled his efforts, and soon i saw
that he was well-seasoned, he was not raw

he turned his head with a terrible smile
and showed me my tricks, hanoi style
he did at least one, to show he was boss,
while wolfing down rice with the local fish sauce

but i smiled too, i would not run
and did more tricks in the setting sun
and when at last the sun sank low
i could see we were in for one helluva blow

the storm came quickly, rain and wind
and uncle ho signaled that we should end
we’ll take up tomorrow said he
for you’re pretty good for a yank, i see

i shook my head and i signaled no
and i rode right out in the teeth of the blow
and uncle ho followed, for he had pride
but this time luck was not on his side

for there, in the middle of the final set
came a fifty-foot wave, the biggest yet
ho wiped out in the crash and foam,
and me, i just rode the big wave home

so all you beach boys, i’ll tell you free
a tip a short-timer once gave to me
if there’s one thing we know on this God’s Green Earth
it’s Charlie Don’t Surf

charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
charlie don’t charlie don’t, charlie don’t surf
Charlie Don’t Surf

Dennis Fritzinger is editor of LZ Friendly. This poem previously
appeared in The Zephyr, the California State VVA newspaper.

http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Texts/Poetry/Fritzinger_poems_3&3.html

Asking Dennis Fritzinger what he likes about writing poetry “is like
asking a bird what it likes about singing,” he says. “It’s something
that’s part of me. If I haven’t written for a while, I don’t feel
quite like myself.”

Coordinator of mailroom services at the Haas School of Business, where
he’s worked for 27 years, Fritzinger hears and jots down his eclectic
“songs” – on nature, ecology, family, his wartime experiences in
Vietnam – in the interstices of daily life: walking to and from his
job at Haas, taking a coffee break, en route to his veterans’ writing
group.

“I can compose a few lines in my head, but once I get to five or six,
it’s hard to keep it all together,” he says of his ambulatory
composing sessions. “It makes you want to dash into a café and steal a
napkin and anything to write.”

Once, while on foot, Fritzinger composed the following, titled simply
“the poet”:

the poet is always on duty.
the muse is always alert.
the poet gropes for his toothbrush,
and grabs for his favorite shirt.

the muse is already yelling,
“lazy one! time to get dressed!”
the poet feels for his glasses
and hurries to put on a vest.

“the sun’s been up 15 long minutes!
the wildflowers are doing their dance!”
the poet is dreaming of coffee,
and struggles to put on his pants.

the poet is always on duty.
he’s ready with paper and pen.
now where is the muse when he needs her?
doggone it, she’s gone off again!

This year has been a good one for Fritzinger’s poetic career. It began
with the publication of three pieces in The Dire Elegies: Fifty-nine
Poets on Endangered Species of North America (Foothills Publishing,
2006). There, his poetic meditations on the green sea turtle, the
black-footed ferret, and the now-extinct California Golden Bear share
two covers with such poets as Maxine Kumin, W. S. Merwin, and Gary
Snyder.

http://berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2006/11/01_veterans.shtml