Meet Our November Massachusetts Poet in the Spotlight:
Chad Parenteau

Highlighted by The Society of Urban Poetry

Chad Parenteau is the current host and organizer of the Stone Soup Poetry series now based in Cambridge, MA at the Out of The Blue Art Gallery. He has had work recently published in Off The Coast, Amethyst Arsenic, Incessant Pipe, and the anthology Multiverse. His first full-length poetry collection, Patron Emeritus, was released by FootHills Publishing in 2013. He serves as Associate Editor of the online journal Oddball Magazine. (Photo by Molly Anderson.)

Poetic Profession

"I try to write every day, even if it's as something as small as a blog entry about my sister's pug, even if it's to jot down a line for a longer piece while waiting in an elevator. I always want to keep in practice. For the last decade I've had the habit of carrying around a journal with me, determined to write poems in them until its filled (which takes me about 2-3 years to do, depending on the size of the book). It's now become rare that I will begin a draft straight from a computer. I almost always start a poem in my chicken scratch before going to my keyboard. It's a longer process, but I've grown to appreciate it, to the point that I almost don't trust a poem of mine if it hasn't gone through that whole gauntlet."

Naming The Nameless in The Room

Cthulhu just happened
to be in the neighborhood,
the odds of the elder gods.

They come up raftless on the beach.
Onlookers shit themselves on the shore.
For all they know, the squid people
think it's love.

For them, our writing books
with our own blood could be
kind of a valentine.

And if their love kills us,
perhaps it's still status quo,
par for any relationship.

Who cares if love blooms
from cocoon or fish egg?

Why not ask why we avoid
the truly alien
stick to zombies because
they're easier to deal with.

After all, they're us, just ranker,
like homeless, slow and easier to avoid.

Trigger alert: Look in the eyes
at the head of your next target.
and tell me if you're sure they're dead.
Who's to say they know you're alive.

Sure you have the shot, but for what
besides hearing yourself shoot
into the sky.

Everyone panics before the unknowable.
Does anyone ever relax?

Sometimes one man's scream
is another's song.

It's the same thing here
with more lyrics you don't understand.

Is Cthulhu the next E.E. Cummings?

If humans are their food
are we the new organic?

Is this a worse way to die?

In death all truths are unpronouncable.

Welcome your new overlords.
I believe them when they say
the water is fine.

previously published in Poetry International

The Society of Urban Poetry is a collective of poets who seek to do dope poetry with dope people; to shed light on poetry and spoken word as integral pieces of the Boston Creative Arts community; and to foster an inclusive network that embraces all forms of diversity while aiming to bridge divisions that either clearly or un-clearly exist within the poetic community. You can find out more information about SOUP via Facebook at www.facebook.com/soupboston or visit us directly on the web at www.soupboston.com.

Massachusetts Poet in the Spotlight is a monthly installment from Mass Poetry. Each month we shine the spotlight on a poet affiliated with, and nominated by, one of our poetry partners.

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Meet Our November Massachusetts Poet in the Spotlight: Chad Parenteau

Highlighted by The Society of Urban Poetry

Meet Our November Massachusetts Poet in the Spotlight:
Chad Parenteau