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See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Lord Have Mercy in her Chicago feature “Nerves of a Poet” live at Café Cabaret at Café Ballou 11/21/14 with music from the HA!Man of South Africa (C)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Lord Have Mercy in her Chicago feature “Nerves of a Poet” live at Café Cabaret at Café Ballou 11/21/14 with music from the HA!Man of South Africa (S c glow)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers’ poetry feature “Nerves of a Poet” (C, of 4 poems and 4 haiku poems) with music from the HA!Man of South Africa live at Café Cabaret at Café Ballou in Chicago 11/21/14, INCLUDING THIS POEM

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers’ poetry feature “Nerves of a Poet” (S, of 4 poems and 4 haiku poems) with music from the HA!Man of South Africa live at Café Cabaret at Café Ballou in Chicago 11/21/14, INCLUDING THIS POEM

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers’ poetry feature “Nerves of a Poet” (S crop, of 4 poems and 4 haiku poems) with music from the HA!Man of South Africa live at Café Cabaret at Café Ballou in Chicago 11/21/14, INCLUDING THIS POEM

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers’ poetry feature “Nerves of a Poet” (S crop glow, of 4 poems and 4 haiku poems) with music from the HA!Man of South Africa live at Café Cabaret at Café Ballou in Chicago 11/21/14, INCLUDING THIS POEM

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Lord Have Mercy live 6/24/15 at the open mic the Café Gallery in Chicago (Canon Power Shot)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers reading her poem Lord Have Mercy live 6/24/15 at the open mic the Café Gallery in Chicago (filmed with a Canon fs200)

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers’ November 2018 Book Release Reading 11/7/18, where she read her “Nerves of a Poet” poems “Jabbed into an Open Nerve”, “bruised”, “Eight to Sixteen”, “Lord Have Mercy”, “Violent Affair”, “fog”, “pant”, and “translation (2014 haiku)”, all from the Janet Kuypers 2014-2015 Chicago poetry performance art book “a year long Journey”, during Community Poetry at Half Price Books (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera).

See YouTube video of Janet Kuypers’ November 2018 Book Release Reading 11/7/18, where she read her “Nerves of a Poet” poems “Jabbed into an Open Nerve”, “bruised”, “Eight to Sixteen”, “Lord Have Mercy”, “Violent Affair”, “fog”, “pant”, and “translation (2014 haiku)”, all from the Janet Kuypers 2014-2015 Chicago poetry performance art book “a year long Journey”, during Community Poetry at Half Price Books (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera; Posterize).

See YouTube video live 10/19/19 at Austin’s “Open Mic Showcase”, where Janet Kuypers read poems from a variety of books in multiple rounds to the live audience at the bookstore. In round 1, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “On This Day” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Eight to Sixteen” (for her “Nerves of a Poet” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her Periodic Table poem “Einsteinium” from The Cafe Gallery poetry book “the Chosen Few”. In round 2, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Empty Chocolate Counter” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Lord have Mercy” (for her “Nerves of a Poet” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “Andrew Hettinger” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”, In round 3, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Vatican Turned into a Whorehouse” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Star Trek, Star Wars, and Storm Troopers” from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “Chess Game Again” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”, then her bonus poem “Every Day is Sweetest Day”, written that morning, on Sweetest Day, 10/19/19. In round 4, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Vanquished by the Sleeping Giant” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Young Dreams from a Potential Legend” (for her “Bases Loaded” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “All These Reminders” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”. In round 5, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Uphill Battles lead to Changing It Up” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Violent Affair” (for her “Nerves of a Poet” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “She Told Me Her Dreams (one)” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”. In round 6, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Knowing Panic Becomes a Picnic” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poems “People’s Rights Misunderstood”, and “New Vacuum Cleaner” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 1996 v79 book “Poetry and Prose” (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix 2500 camera); on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram & Tumblr.

See YouTube video live 10/19/19 at Austin’s “Open Mic Showcase”, where Janet Kuypers read poems from a variety of books in multiple rounds to the live audience at the bookstore. In round 1, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “On This Day” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Eight to Sixteen” (for her “Nerves of a Poet” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her Periodic Table poem “Einsteinium” from The Cafe Gallery poetry book “the Chosen Few”. In round 2, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Empty Chocolate Counter” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Lord have Mercy” (for her “Nerves of a Poet” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “Andrew Hettinger” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”, In round 3, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Vatican Turned into a Whorehouse” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Star Trek, Star Wars, and Storm Troopers” from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “Chess Game Again” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”, then her bonus poem “Every Day is Sweetest Day”, written that morning, on Sweetest Day, 10/19/19. In round 4, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Vanquished by the Sleeping Giant” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Young Dreams from a Potential Legend” (for her “Bases Loaded” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “All These Reminders” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”. In round 5, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Uphill Battles lead to Changing It Up” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poem “Violent Affair” (for her “Nerves of a Poet” feature) from her poetry book “a year long Journey”, and then her poem “She Told Me Her Dreams (one)” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 2008 v184 book “That was the Time”. In round 6, Janet Kuypers reads her poem “Knowing Panic Becomes a Picnic” from her poetry book “Every Event of the Year (Volume one: January-June)”, then her poems “People’s Rights Misunderstood”, and “New Vacuum Cleaner” from the cc&d 2019 re-release of the May 1996 v79 book “Poetry and Prose” (this video was filmed from a Panasonic Lumix T56 camera); on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram & Tumblr.

Lord Have Mercy Janet Kuypers 11/3/14 Looked into the coffin of a man who was once great, at least that’s what I hear, but the cancer ravaged him until his bones crumbled to dust. The family then wondered how the people at the funeral home could make him look like him, and as the family walked into that room, they held their breath for more reasons than death, more reasons than their last viewing of the man they lost, now, once again with meat on his bones. When the services started we all had to follow the reverend’s laments by all periodically proclaiming Lord have mercy. The man with the collar would talk, and I would wonder what it would be like to hold the job of applying make-up to the dead, to try to make them look not so dead. Puff the cheeks, apply face paint to give them color. Lord have mercy. Beforehand, a string of older firemen came to us before the coffin, with small black bands over each of their badges. “When the fire station started, before the town even had a fire station, he used his red truck, with ladders tacked to the sides, and a trailer to haul a barrel of water.” Lord have mercy. The man with the collar started a hymn; everyone in this small town knew the lines and sang along like little lemmings, and I tried to remember the lines from my childhood that I have no reason to say except when people need something, anything, to make them think their life doesn’t have to end. Lord have mercy. The man with the collar reminded the room that people were created for life, that death was not part of the plan. But stifle the overwhelming desire to caress the one you loved, now in a coffin, for the coldness would be too stark a reminder. Lord have mercy. Wanted to try to look into the coffin from a different angle; maybe then the deceased would look more real. Maybe then I wouldn’t see his lack of hair from chemo gone wrong, maybe then I wouldn’t see his hands clasping rosary beads. Lord have mercy. I remember the string of people waiting to meet us before they proceeded to the coffin (which reminded me of the procession of people waiting to congratulate the bride and groom immediately after their wedding ceremony), but in this macabre receiving line all of the funeral attendants were repeatedly saying to us, “I’m sorry for your loss,” and I wonder how many times the man in the coffin had to say those words in his lifetime of service, how hollow these words were when he spoke them, when the words then seemed so stifling, and I think of how people say this when nothing can express how anyone is feeling, especially when people don’t know how to feel anymore. Lord have mercy. # The chants now ended; the Knights of Columbus stopped their constant repeated prayers for the painted man in the coffin, to help us justify the pain we don’t know how to deal with. Lord have mercy, was all I could think, not to call a higher power, but to give empty words at an empty time, with too many injustices in this living death scene. We’re all players in this charade, making up death in a way that we want to believe is not ghoulish, that’s what we keep telling ourselves unless we choose to ignore the macabre while unsettled lives are still around us. We mourn, or cry, and we try to fit this piece into the puzzle of our lives. And for those who believe, and even for those who don’t, these seem the only fitting words to think, or feel... Lord have mercy.

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