Who am I? for Poetry Challenge |
Whom am I? Glad you asked. I am John (Jake) Cosmos Aller The one and only. I was born on October 30, 1955 The same day that rock n Roll was first named Co-incidence, I think not. I was born two months premature Spent the first two months Of my life In an incubation tube The newly invented technology. Saved my life. Had all the childhood illnesses All at once Almost died. Born and raised In Berkeley, California Son of a college professor And local politician And a madwoman mother. The very Berkeley middle name “Cosmos” Has nothing to do with being Born in Berkeley My grandfather Wanted an English translation Of our Germanic last name As a middle name for his son Had a choice of Cosmos Or Universe And so Cosmos Aller Became a name I am the last Cosmos Aller Had six siblings Three of my parents Prior relationships Three from their relationship. 22 nationalities flow through My tangled bloodlines, Basque, Cherokee, Dutch, Danish, English, French, Finnish, German, Irish, Jewish, Italian, Laplander, Mongolian, Nigerian, Norwegian, Scottish, Scot-Irish, Swedish, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian, and Welsh. Went to school at Berkeley Attended Thousand Oaks Kamala Harris’s elementary school. Three years in DC public schools Became student body president At BHS. Went to the colleges Flunked out of Oberlin Graduated with honors From the University of the Pacific. Went to the Peace Corps in Korea Looking for the woman of my dreams Met her in 1982- married six weeks later, Been together for 40 years No children though. Taught ESL, government And business in Korea. Went to graduate school At the University of Washington Got a MA and MPA degree My wife Joined the US State Department Served 27 years In ten countries Doing many different jobs. I am most proud of helping American citizens Who get into trouble overseas Made over 35 death calls During my service. Meanwhile, my wife Joined the U.S. Army Retired 20 years later As a Major in Military Intelligence. Cheated death 23 times In my life, Had childhood diseases, Arthritis, Bronchitis, dengue, Fibromyalgia, Weird tropical parasites 17-leg operations. Before finally overcoming An MDR staph infection That almost killed me, Almost amputated my leg. Since my retirement I have been living in Korea And the west coat Of the US. And blogging up a storm At my blog check it out at Https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com These are just some of the strands That makes up the tapestry Of my improbable life The life of John (Jake) Cosmos Aller. Fan Story prompt Who am I? Read "A Simple Query" to find out. Then tell us about yourself. The topic for this poetry contest is: An Overview of How you see yourself Write a poem that somehow incorporates the topic. The poem does not have to be specifically about the topic and creative approaches are welcomed. But contest voters will be asked to consider the topic when making a choice for a winner. The contest winner will win half of the prize pool which is based on the number of entries. The second and third place winners will each share the remaining prize pool. The prize pool is currently 20.00 member dollars. There are 14 spots still open. If all open spots are used the prize pool will be 90.00 member dollars. In this contest at least 2 submissions must be made for the vote to begin. |