Saturday, September 25, 2004

English Pessoa. (via wood_s lot)
" 'Maria is a woman, was a rustle!'
'Then come in, Mary Jane, and finish it!'
Amid the glare and talking to the sea,
the porter pointed up beyond the door.

Before, when one attempted public sight,
some mothers bonneted the sailors' eyes,
the noise of sharing for a moment, hushed.
It ended by collecting butterflies.

Then Mr Cunningham continued life
---he never heard a light began again.
'O yes,' said Mr Crofton, saying it.
'A shameful thing, and bishops there, all his.'

Maria thought, decided to express
the other hand about his lower ribs,
a little pink and wholesome intercourse,
the other half an hour more askew."

--from The Dublin of Doctor Moreau

Friday, September 24, 2004

A Glimpse Under the Rock.

HAIBUN


Sundays i take my laundry down to “Hord’s Ridge”, where my parents have a washer i can use; & when it needs it i mow the lawn. Hord’s Ridge is an older suburb, long since fallen on less gracious days, but lately revitalized by an influx of Latino bourgeoisie. I lived in their house through the Seventies & half of the Eighties, with somewhat lengthy excursions during the last phase. Whenever i was there, i mowed the grass.

In our climate that’s a task requiring circumspection, & endurance. It has to have not rained in a week, so there’s not moisture at the base of the long St Augustine blades--impossible not to think of the doctrine of “predestination” when i hear the name--(for i use an electric mower); but you want to start early, before it gets hot. At the same time, there can be heavy dews right at dawn. All in all, it’s not a reliable way to make twenty dollars, yet seldom has there been a time in my life when i could lightly turn down even that token payment.

As i push the mower, i often have philosophical thoughts, or i compose a poem in my head. Although the presence, right there in my old room, of so many unpublished manuscripts & unwanted artworks, would tend to act as a brake on any future productivity, in actual fact it doesn’t. And once in awhile i get to complete a years-deferred project.

follow the border
where just cut grass yields to tall
and dewdrops linger

I found out a friend of a friend of my wife’s has a program that will enable me to publish-on-demand a xerox picture-poembook i made in 1975 or so, & persuaded another artist to illustrate (some 13 years later), but never made more than a couple copies of. This book, Star Grope, is dear to my heart because it was the first output of a word-randomizing program i wrote while still in highschool--under the influence of William Burroughs. Will this be the moment of that work’s fruition?

touch the old porch swing
caked with dust from two states
and still, like the air

8-1/3-04

Hey now...

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Listening to- Fusako Yoshida: Koto Recital.

Blogs are pirate radio for the Oughts; samizdat & tribal lore for the dispossessed; jungle telegraph for cryptozoons; graffiti & Pepys rolled into one. This cracked oracle may oneday disappear. But by then, i am sure, something just as good will have arisen.
I never thought...

"Green Martyrdom"

slow among the dead
singing in the wolves
bitter where thought delves
barren stone & wood

bringing in the goaf
slow & silent pilgrim
mark another pogrom
smoke a second sylph

clad in hunter's orange
wield a closing syringe

"Letting Go of the Language"

burning children rain
early in the morning
lift a swarthy lamp
early in the morning

thunder on the way
finger wears a thorn
Starbuck's does the math
early in the morning

bodkin handle's set
rubies by Graywyvernn
nothing tungsten ends
early in the morning

"Steppenvark"

caravelle of bodkin
void's liquescent pilgrim
wanting peace his foible
elegy the dogma

empire not of tungsten
but of shining bebop
let me be your comrade
love has better quagmire

caravelle of angel
hurricane & salvage
in the moonlight silver
snail descants an album

caravelle of orchid
Christmas for the zombie

09 16 04

Rapture Index.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

National Museum of the American Indian.


"In the sphere of sight, every object becomes a surface, a surface becomes a word." --Robert Kelly


Inventing the Victorians.


"If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?

President Bush said Tuesday that the Iraqis are refuting the pessimists and implied that things are improving in that country.

What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.

Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.

And what if those deaths occurred all over the country, including in the capital of Washington, DC, but mainly above the Mason Dixon line, in Boston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco?

What if the grounds of the White House and the government buildings near the Mall were constantly taking mortar fire? What if almost nobody in the State Department at Foggy Bottom, the White House, or the Pentagon dared venture out of their buildings, and considered it dangerous to go over to Crystal City or Alexandria?

What if all the reporters for all the major television and print media were trapped in five-star hotels in Washington, DC and New York, unable to move more than a few blocks safely, and dependent on stringers to know what was happening in Oklahoma City and St. Louis? What if the only time they ventured into the Midwest was if they could be embedded in Army or National Guard units?

There are estimated to be some 25,000 guerrillas in Iraq engaged in concerted acts of violence. What if there were private armies totalling 275,000 men, armed with machine guns, assault rifles (legal again!), rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar launchers, hiding out in dangerous urban areas of cities all over the country? What if they completely controlled Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver and Omaha, such that local police and Federal troops could not go into those cities?

What if, during the past year, the Secretary of State (Aqilah Hashemi), the President (Izzedine Salim), and the Attorney General (Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim) had all been assassinated?

What if all the cities in the US were wracked by a crime wave, with thousands of murders, kidnappings, burglaries, and carjackings in every major city every year?

What if the Air Force routinely (I mean daily or weekly) bombed Billings, Montana, Flint, Michigan, Watts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Anacostia in Washington, DC, and other urban areas, attempting to target "safe houses" of "criminal gangs", but inevitably killing a lot of children and little old ladies?

What if, from time to time, the US Army besieged Virginia Beach, killing hundreds of armed members of the Christian Soldiers? What if entire platoons of the Christian Soldiers militia holed up in Arlington National Cemetery, and were bombarded by US Air Force warplanes daily, destroying thousands of graves and pulverizing the Vietnam Memorial? What if the National Council of Churches had to call for a popular march of thousands of believers to converge on the National Cathedral to stop the US Army from demolishing it to get at a rogue band of the Timothy McVeigh Memorial Brigades?

What if there were virtually no commercial air traffic in the country? What if many roads were highly dangerous, especially Interstate 95 from Richmond to Washington, DC, and I-95 and I-91 up to Boston? If you got on I-95 anywhere along that over 500-mile stretch, you would risk being carjacked, kidnapped, or having your car sprayed with machine gun fire.

What if no one had electricity for much more than 10 hours a day, and often less? What if it went off at unpredictable times, causing factories to grind to a halt and air conditioning to fail in the middle of the summer in Houston and Miami? What if the Alaska pipeline were bombed and disabled at least monthly? What if unemployment hovered around 40%?

What if veterans of militia actions at Ruby Ridge and the Oklahoma City bombing were brought in to run the government on the theory that you need a tough guy in these times of crisis?

What if municipal elections were cancelled and cliques close to the new "president" quietly installed in the statehouses as "governors?" What if several of these governors (especially of Montana and Wyoming) were assassinated soon after taking office or resigned when their children were taken hostage by guerrillas?

What if the leader of the European Union maintained that the citizens of the United States are, under these conditions, refuting pessimism and that freedom and democracy are just around the corner?" --Juan Cole

"Dissenter Tiredness"

pictures in the fire
bitter strength in the fire

let us lay our books
accordingly in the fire

soon find our tenderest
illusion in the fire

oneday we shall know
Pazuzu in the fire

09 20 04

Driving Miss Kitty.


"The greatest sacrifice the people are being asked to make on behalf of the state is to give up their right not to believe in it." --Jacqueline Rose in Harper's (via Dagzine)

"I mean, what's next? Can we expect another right-winger to write a defense of fascism as a way of praising the virtues of trains running on time?" --Orcinus


Tuesday, September 21, 2004

I took him for a character out of a comic strip.
"October"

In wavering blue tamarack shade
a soft frog ruins the mud.
If the eye were a throat, clouds once bitten
would show the surprise of a sharp kiss
and even the rock of belief would crack
at this smart hug, which is important.

It's cool to wear leather, a red dog
swinging around us like we were slag
with a tough swing. My hot thoughts curve
in the tamarack's shade, all the way off;
and this is to say, heart is important.

Likewise the ruined mud where landmines
may or may not dwell with cut
flowers and our bruised shins,
the blue of wavering words not clouds.
When we are slag, a soft frog
sometimes lands before the curve.

09 21 04

'Geek' in Esperanto.


"Language Poetry: The Secret Tradition"

spirit longing for
fall's chill mornings, through a song
this story and star

09 21 04

You wouldn't want to lose all that Dan Fogelberg.


---------------”The Angel of Death” (palindrome poem)

i.

-pinned dust purr
-----O cruel fine red
-old row drown
-----wodwo brew
-open urge be rift
-----listen rage rule
-nidor Ezekiel it
-----neck row snip
-sow downer rabbi
-----feral bone
-zap lake Kafka
-----yak not tump
-rode vile lariat

ii.

-----lasso that ullage
-rows to bore soon
-----ruby llama glam
-a slug omen ikon
-----rood of Ubar
-dark opal core
-----home made loam
-maw’s sag
-----Olber’s Eris
-Eden asp race
-----lab erupt lemma
-craw bulge
-----glum or pry task

iii.

-carb lit
-----swap nog ardor
-engorge Luyten star
-----revolt rose
-surface doom rue
-----Tamar animal
-wolf age mire
-----plate move jar
-astir wodwo
-----hole bung damage
-viral lipbalm
-----life now binge
-tee lop last

iv.

-----ooh so totally
-bison i was solo
-----lobster germs a grope
-rim Mizar bock
-----lust nip
-martyr gore rote
-----robed urban patrol
-Odin i trample
-----hardy heels
-sloop sail
-----a sib if
-rut orts all
-----Atari mat

v.

-late Wyrd
-----late i raved on
-i lap gals
-----loot soil
-opt in
-----keg liberate
-snow efts
-----riff rust
-rope rips
-----add Off
-it’s ergot
-----suborn rats
-i see bog race

vi.

-----time rebuttal
-fling a boot
-----liver evoke
-epic i sump
-----arch climb up
-’midst ops
-----loo crawl
-lapse dire
-----ulcer algid
-nihil ore
-----non-augur
-ugly reboot
-----tatter refix

vii.

-attract romp
-----oolong igloo
-fond lotto
-----i diet ale
-noir Racter ragas
-----sit named
-oregano bolt
-----bedlam ronin
-one bow down
-----wad of nitro
-bang issue
-----Zen Oz
-dog ear

viii.

-----idle woven
-after rut
-----Elk city
-octavo gar
-----oven impart as payday
-hwyl ohm
-----rifle velcro
-Cain amok
-----nipple kebab
-borg grebe
-----we goops poll a gain
-expiry all
-----assess opera

ix.

-ravish self
-----peer comma
-walg igloo
-----cabal star
-Zubenelg Najaf
-----wodwo gnat
-mot atoll
-----abyss ago
-erotic ill luck
-----sob skin
-tups meeting up
-----poetic nit
-raw Edamite

x.

-----yeti boil
-of tropic nival
-----aback nuptial
-prone storm
-----argyle recite
-relax alas
-----lash serf
-crank radio
-----knurl lewd light
-omen ocelot
-----stipple honey
-eat adze
-----free jab

xi.

-uterus Nissen
-----i subtract Lojban
-lion reft
-----lovely torpor
-afreet sway sun
-----Israel cog
-Id Nieman’s
-----sober omelet
-Yaddo never
-----brawl a totem
-otter cess
-----sideline preen
-sable liana

xii.

-----knob drab
-gun spud
-----eft egg
-unsnaste baton
-----tiff fog
-null ransom
-----used it went
-oh no
-----gardenia cockle
-yoin gab
-----program nay
-met irk
-----sudden rub

xiii.

-Gnostic attack
-----rum turn
-like rum mire
-----dawn i sleep
-spam dero balefire
-----doll it up
-nix ESP
-----Mignon any
-serum mist
-----Timon i blame
-domed if no cap
-----severe meld
-aloe moray

xiv.

-----a paper i wrote
-fracas Oc
-----racy art
-ebon alcove
-----village lowdown
-rupee debt
-----onto lehua ulna
-bilateral cede
-----ilk wage
-Vargas embargo
-----daft rig
-nutcase yen
-----idol ahoy

xv.

-or radar on evasive
-----gender answer
-coma lay
-----rot stool agar
-omerta flay
-----old eider
-after animal
-----obeah siege
-bib minus
-----sun evanish
-cram raw evil
-----oval loom
-map acrid

xvi.

-----anger demand
-rust lamb
-----ogham arbor
-dag ovate
-----mock sumac
-ipecac lateen
-----knock nada
-morass axis
-----Peedog nation
-a home drum
-----rumpus tact
-Eloi veto
-----merge broom

xvii.

-Maori kite
-----lit Bush
-subtile tiki
-----roam moor
-beg remote
-----violet catsup
-murmur demo
-----Hanoi tango
-deep six
-----ass aroma
-dank con
-----knee talc
-ace pica

xviii.

-----musk comet
-Avogadro Bramah
-----gob malt
-surd name
-----dreg nadir
-cap ammo
-----ollav olive
-war march
-----sin a Venus
-sun imbibe
-----geisha Ebola
-minaret fare
-----died loyal

xix.

-fat remora
-----galoot story
-Alamo crew snared
-----Negev i save
-Norad arroyo
-----halo dine
-yes act
-----ungirt fado
-grab mesa
-----grave gawk
-lie declare
-----Taliban luau
-helot not be

xx.

-----deep urn
-wodwo legal
-----live volcano
-betray Carcosa
-----car fetor
-wire papaya
-----Romeo ladle
-mere Vespa
-----confide modem
-albino mitts
-----immure Synanon
-gimp sex
-----input ill

xxi.

-ode rife
-----labored maps peel
-sin wader
-----immure kiln
-rut murk
-----cat tacit
-song burned
-----dusk rite
-Myanmar gorp
-----bagnio yelk
-cocaine dragon
-----hot new
-tide sumo

xxii.

-----snarl lung
-off fit
-----not a bet
-sans nugget fed up
-----snug bard
-bonk a nail
-----Elba sneer
-penile diss
-----secret tome
-total war
-----breve nod
-day stele more
-----boss name indigo

xxiii.

-clear sinus
-----yaw steer
-faro protyle
-----volt fern
-oil nab
-----jolt cart business
-insure tuba
-----jeer fez
-data eye
-----no help pit
-stole cone
-----moth gild
-well run koi

xxiv.

-----dark narc
-fresh salsa
-----lax alert
-ice rely
-----gram rots
-tenor plait
-----punk Cabala
-Vinci portfolio
-----bite yeti
-made wart
-----incite oppugn
-i teem Sputniks
-----bosk cull

xxv.

-licit Oreo
-----gassy ballot
-atom tan
-----god wowf
-a-jangle neb
-----Uz rat
-slab a cool
-----gig law
-ammo creep
-----flesh Siva
-rare possess
-----allay rip
-xenia gallop

xxvi.

-----spooge web
-erg Grob
-----babe kelp
-pinko maniac
-----orc level
-firm holy why
-----ad yap
-satrap mine
-----vorago vat
-coy tickle
-----turret fane
-vowel Dirae
-----God zone

xxvii.

-Zeus sign
-----abort info dawn
-wodwo Benoni
-----normal debt
-lobo nag
-----erode mantissa
-garret carrion
-----elate idiot
-told no fool
-----gig no loop
-mort cart
-----taxi ferret
-tattoo beryl

xxviii.

-----guru guano
-neroli Hindi
-----glare clue
-rides pall
-----war cool spots
-dim pub milch
-----crap music
-i peek over
-----evil too
-bag nil
-----flat tub eremite
-cargo bees
-----is tarn robust

xxix.

-ogre stiff
-----odd aspire
-port surf
-----first few onset
-are bilge knit
-----polio stool
-slag palinode
-----varietal dry
-wet Altamira
-----tall astroturf
-ibis alias pools
-----slee hydra
-help martini

xxx.

-----dolor tap
-nab rude bore
-----torero gry
-tram pint
-----sulk cobra
-zimmi rep
-----orgasm regrets
-bolo loss
-----a wino sibylla
-Toto shoots Alpo
-----Leeteg nib
-wone film lab
-----pillar i Vega

xxxi.

-mad gnu Belo
-----how do writ
-Sarajevo metal peri
-----megaflow laminar
-amateur moo
-----decaf ruses
-ort lover
-----rat’s net
-yule grog
-----Nero dragon
-paw stilb rack
-----satyr promulge
-glub war cam

xxxii.

-----melt pure bale
-carp sane desires
-----reb blog
-as swam Mao
-----Leda memo
-hero clap okra
-----drab UFO door
-no kine moguls
-----amalgam ally
-burnoose robot
-----swore gall Utah
-toss Altair ale
-----live dorp mutton

xxxiii.

-kayak fake kalpa
-----Zeno blare fib
-barren wodwo spins
-----work centile Ike
-zero dine lure
-----garnet silt
-fire beg rune power
-----bow down word
-word lode
-----renifleur corrupt
-sudden nip

09 09/20 04

Monday, September 20, 2004

Pollution Level Orange.

Out Of The Flames.

"The tabloids write real-people fanfic." --Hlavaty

"Violence is the way stupid people try to level the playing field." --John Gregory Dunne

Listening to: Steeleye Span.

"He reminds me of one of the early popes or one of the more degenerate emperors, such as Domitian: cruel, imperious, humorless, and psychologically brittle."


"After a storm saguaros glisten like mint trombones." --Asleep Inside An Old Guitar


(Robinson)

Appearing out of silence from behind him,
For that which had no name. To think at all

The last deplorable profundity
Made the world firm again. He leapt away

Now scattered and forgotten save as names
Blacker than any night that ever veiled

That we should find each other tonight like this,
And this must be the way. There was no other;

That music and that wordless murmuring
Into that room and for a moment stayed

09 18 04

Sunday, September 19, 2004

"...a mother and son team brimming with such spite and ambition they would give the ruthless duo in The Manchurian Candidate the shivers."




"Disoriented

Disoriented, dazed, confused
Oh I am lost but I have nothing to lose
Wearing my soul in the holes of my shoes
Disoriented
Disoriented

Perspective's vanished now there's only points of view
Then there's the eyes of the camera crew
You swear they're staring and it's wearing right through
Disoriented
Disoriented

Oh you fly east but they say you're flying west
Where any aids will not do for the test
Well I am sure that by now you have guessed
I feel this way
I feel this way

Oh you fly east but they say you're flying west
Where any atoll will do for the test
Oh I am sure that by now you have guessed
I feel this way
I feel this way

Disoriented, dazed, confused
Oh I am lost but I have nothing to lose
I'm wearing windows for walls and the street keeps coming through
Disoriented
Disoriented

Oh you fly east but they say you're flying west
Where any atoll will do for the test
Oh I am sure that by now you have guessed
I feel this way
I feel this way
I feel this way
Disoriented
(I feel this way)
Disoriented
(I feel this way)"

--Michelle Shocked