Well, I'll be closing down for good here shortly, and would like to invite anyone who is interested to join me at my new digs. After much deliberation, I've decided to stick with Blogger, for reasons that are much too tedious to go into here. Anyways, I'm not sure how regularly I'll be posting, but I've been working on a bunch of new things and have some new books out as well, which I will be shamelessly promoting over there.
eryops
Friday, October 5, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Mint-flavored Toothpick
I'm closing up shop here for a while, maybe for good, I haven't decided yet. My reasons for doing so are complicated and tiresome so I won't go into them here. Suffice it to say it's time for a change.
Two more books will be available by the end of the year. Reverser in Neutral will be a selection of re-worked pieces from my first two collections (which I've stopped publishing) along with a bunch of unreleased stuff. The second will be called Brown Recluse. Chances are this is the last poetry I'll be sharing for a while, but again, who knows. I'll be hawking these books as well as the older ones on Twitter and Facebook and on street corners and such. I can still be contacted at carrioncall@gmail.com.
Thank you everyone who has read and commented these past two and a half years. It's been a pleasure having people to share this crap with.
Seann McCollum
July 9, 2012
Two more books will be available by the end of the year. Reverser in Neutral will be a selection of re-worked pieces from my first two collections (which I've stopped publishing) along with a bunch of unreleased stuff. The second will be called Brown Recluse. Chances are this is the last poetry I'll be sharing for a while, but again, who knows. I'll be hawking these books as well as the older ones on Twitter and Facebook and on street corners and such. I can still be contacted at carrioncall@gmail.com.
Thank you everyone who has read and commented these past two and a half years. It's been a pleasure having people to share this crap with.
Seann McCollum
July 9, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Glacial Erratics
Wind-plucked cherry blossom petals gently scour
the asphalt beneath our feet, filling the potholes
and ruts with pink confetti. We veer off the street,
and slip through the unchained gates
the asphalt beneath our feet, filling the potholes
and ruts with pink confetti. We veer off the street,
and slip through the unchained gates
of Lone Fir Cemetery, where sparkling sap decorates
the furrows of the cedars, showers of white resin
like frozen waterfalls, explosions of glue.
This past December, we both realized
the furrows of the cedars, showers of white resin
like frozen waterfalls, explosions of glue.
This past December, we both realized
we were no longer willing to live immobilized
in one another’s amber. And so we separated.
But now that spring has arrived, we stroll amicably
through the grassy halls of the petrified library
in one another’s amber. And so we separated.
But now that spring has arrived, we stroll amicably
through the grassy halls of the petrified library
with its granite tomes arranged in rows,
volumes of sealed-shut history
volumes of sealed-shut history
with spines bookmarked by pebbles,
black covers etched with frosted head shots
grinning and scarred with milky splatterings
of hardened tallow.
black covers etched with frosted head shots
grinning and scarred with milky splatterings
of hardened tallow.
We skirt the dusty gardens of artificial flowers,
pause before the plastic dinosaurs awaiting the next meteor
at the foot of a child’s tombstone.
pause before the plastic dinosaurs awaiting the next meteor
at the foot of a child’s tombstone.
We salute the headless cherubs, swat paths through clouds
of April no-see-ums. I catch a ladybug,
of April no-see-ums. I catch a ladybug,
then uncurl my fingers to release it. The insect huddles
in the dry riverbed of my heart line, unwilling to depart
until I flick it from my palm.
in the dry riverbed of my heart line, unwilling to depart
until I flick it from my palm.
We will not grow old together. We will never again sleep
beneath the same headboard. Our names will not share a slab
beneath the same headboard. Our names will not share a slab
like the one you stubbed your toes against
the first time we ventured here, the first time I reached
for your hand. That fragrant night, you wore open-toes shoes
to show off your pedicure, the shiny pink petals
distracting me from noticing
for your hand. That fragrant night, you wore open-toes shoes
to show off your pedicure, the shiny pink petals
distracting me from noticing
the sluggish river flowing around us, the flood rising
as slow as chiseled names eroding from stone.
as slow as chiseled names eroding from stone.
This sunny afternoon three springs later,
no longer trying to impress anyone,
you’ve traded your pumps for a pair of old Chucks
as we zigzag between the concrete obelisks,
pausing on a gentle swell to see where we have found
ourselves,
two ill-fitting pieces of rock carried for hundreds of miles
and pages, and days in one other’s company,
now finding ourselves freed,
like boulders stranded when the ice recedes,
now finding ourselves freed,
like boulders stranded when the ice recedes,
savoring the gentle warmth of the interglacial sun.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Fireflies
A
glow worm illuminates the cavern of your ear
until a
raven plucks it out, gulps it down.
Beams of light burst from its nostrils,
spill from the hairline cracks in its beak.
Beams of light burst from its nostrils,
spill from the hairline cracks in its beak.
I
grab the bird by its feet, hold it before me like a lantern
as I pick
my way through the pewter thicket,
carefully
stepping over the bony roots.
Metal
claws scrape the flinty paths
of the empty creek beds, sparks
flashing
in the shadows on either side. But I
do not run,
and eventually reach the clearing,
where
only the closest tips of sedge are visible,
shimmering blades that scatter like minnows
when
I swing my feathered beacon back and forth
then hurl it in an arc across the blackened meadow.
then hurl it in an arc across the blackened meadow.
When I hear it catch the wind, a snapping kite,
I collapse into the soft, wet grass,
I collapse into the soft, wet grass,
turn my head and wait for a glow worm
to twist its way into the shelter of my ear.
I lie there on my back in the rain
and close my eyes
I lie there on my back in the rain
and close my eyes
and listen for your footsteps.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Space Needle
As
we sit here at Bauhaus Coffee on the hill,
the
Space Needle grimaces at us through the glass,
its
lid painted its original perky orange
to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary,
a retro futuristic lamp standing in front of an inky curtain
to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary,
a retro futuristic lamp standing in front of an inky curtain
of
early evening clouds. I gently run a hangnail
down
your bare shoulder, tracing the boom
of
your wrecking ball tattoo.A
potted palmetto
makes jazz hands at us, trying unsuccessfully
to grab our attention.
makes jazz hands at us, trying unsuccessfully
to grab our attention.
Down in the muck of the amphibious city,
you
tickle me with your gills, as on the wharf,
our
slimy pink compatriots curl up like fists on beds of ice,
or
are flung like floppy disco balls between the fishmongers.
Your
inner arms are laced with scars, with rows
of stitched closed lips.Your wrists dazzle
with pearls that glow like teeth,
of stitched closed lips.Your wrists dazzle
with pearls that glow like teeth,
like little moons sinking through the plume of silt
that
billows up around us when we hit bottom.
We
burrow like flounders into Puget Sound mud,
dreaming
of fish that dart like rockets between the legs of the piers,
oysters
that spin like saucers, dragging their nets behind them
like
wedding veils as they blast off
into
the soundless sea of outer space,
leaving
constellations of bubbles in their wake
and leaving us behind, stitched together down there
in the sludge beneath Seattle, ignoring all those fleshy morsels
and leaving us behind, stitched together down there
in the sludge beneath Seattle, ignoring all those fleshy morsels
that
dangle close enough to kiss, knowing that
the
prize embedded in every one
is merely a hook.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Lady MacGuffin
You kept your bottles of nail polish
jumbled inside a turquoise chest of drawers
jumbled inside a turquoise chest of drawers
on top of which perched a cast of the Maltese Falcon
you'd purchased from a thrift store years before.
Scars criss-crossed its black veneer,
exposing the chalky plaster underneath.
The film was on TV last Saturday evening.
I sat alone and watched it from my couch,
slathered in the achromatic glow, downing
tumbler after tumbler of bottom-shelf scotch
to make myself forget that you were gone
and still would be tomorrow and tomorrow
and still would be tomorrow and tomorrow
lacquering my talons with filched obsidian.
The liquor made it difficulty to stay within the lines,
the shaky brush kept slipping from the nail.
the shaky brush kept slipping from the nail.
The vapors caused my skull to start to spin
just as the dark heart of the story is exposed;
when, cradling that chunk of feathered lead,
Bogie mutters those wrenching final words.
You know what they are. Stripped of fury,
signifying nothing. Sockets hollow and dead.
You know what they are. Stripped of fury,
signifying nothing. Sockets hollow and dead.
His gravelly voice so bitter, so resigned.
I hate admitting it, my love. I cried.Tuesday, June 19, 2012
New story on that other blog I sometimes post stories on!
I know, I need to get a little faster at these. It's been nearly a year since the last one.
Anyways, bon appetit and all that. Don't forget to wash your hands afterwards.
The Slime Net
Anyways, bon appetit and all that. Don't forget to wash your hands afterwards.
The Slime Net
Putty (W.H.)
You
are touchingly walleyed,
your wobbly pupils peering out through the holes
your wobbly pupils peering out through the holes
in
your stretched-out rubber mask of a face.
You
brush a few limp strands of your raven feather wig
from your chalky forehead.Your skin,
hanging loose on your skull, reminds me
of my earliest nightmare, in which
my mother stood at the kitchen sink,
hanging loose on your skull, reminds me
of my earliest nightmare, in which
my mother stood at the kitchen sink,
her face turning
to white paste
and dripping into
the sudsy dishwater.
My most recent bad dream was just last night.
I was trying
to buy religious icons from a South Philadelphia shrine
with
paper money that turned out to be a wad
of elaborately etched counterfeit twenty-four-dollar bills.
of elaborately etched counterfeit twenty-four-dollar bills.
I don’t know why it was so horrifying, but I awoke in a cold sweat.
The night before it was Whitney Houston, or rather,
a cake molded to look like her, in a red strapless dress
and frosted crimson lips.
The night before it was Whitney Houston, or rather,
a cake molded to look like her, in a red strapless dress
and frosted crimson lips.
My apologies; it’s true what they say, there's nothing quite so boring
as someone else’s dreams.
Don’t leave, though. Frightening though your features may be,
I’m still mad for your lazy gyrations,
Don’t leave, though. Frightening though your features may be,
I’m still mad for your lazy gyrations,
your
scuffed pumps and bunched stockings,
and I will flick crumpled twenty-four dollar bills at you
and I will flick crumpled twenty-four dollar bills at you
to flutter at your painted toes all evening
even
if I’m certain any words we say to each other
will plop to the floor, where we will probably slip on them.
Oh,
hell, I’m no good at small talk. I'm smitten with you.
I'll follow you anywhere you go, join in on whatever
harebrained crime spree you plot for us.
If you want, baby, I’ll even try my best to become a character in
your favorite recurring nightmare.
your favorite recurring nightmare.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Plank
My Dearest P.,
Sorry I haven't written lately.
Been busy navigating these perilous straits,
plowing through choppy chum-laced waters
with a spyglass jammed into my eye socket, and
a cold glass of undrinkable liquid sweating
in my hand. Sometimes I get tired of the effort it takes
to stitch these tattered sails together.
Wooden pegs. A wick of twine
spiraling down one's neck. Burning bile. Acid reflux.
A worm of wax curling down a rope.
The corkscrew I forgot about in bed
and rolled over onto
is still jammed up there somewhere, clicking
against the broken sextant.
Hope is an icy splinter I chomp down upon
and curl my lips around, saliva squirting
from the corners of my mouth as the ship
spins circles in the middle of this sea of snarls.
Sky of powdered charcoal, waves of frothy curd.
Lightning lashes the mast, garlands the pole
with twists of knotted luminescence.
The small hairs on the back of my neck
stand up and smolder, crackle with static electricity
...or something like that. You know how it is.
We load the cannon, lob iron spitballs at the clouds,
knowing it changes nothing.
Give my love to the children and the pets,
if you haven't been driven to devour them yet.
Best wishes,
S.
Sorry I haven't written lately.
Been busy navigating these perilous straits,
plowing through choppy chum-laced waters
with a spyglass jammed into my eye socket, and
a cold glass of undrinkable liquid sweating
in my hand. Sometimes I get tired of the effort it takes
to stitch these tattered sails together.
Wooden pegs. A wick of twine
spiraling down one's neck. Burning bile. Acid reflux.
A worm of wax curling down a rope.
The corkscrew I forgot about in bed
and rolled over onto
is still jammed up there somewhere, clicking
against the broken sextant.
Hope is an icy splinter I chomp down upon
and curl my lips around, saliva squirting
from the corners of my mouth as the ship
spins circles in the middle of this sea of snarls.
Sky of powdered charcoal, waves of frothy curd.
Lightning lashes the mast, garlands the pole
with twists of knotted luminescence.
The small hairs on the back of my neck
stand up and smolder, crackle with static electricity
...or something like that. You know how it is.
We load the cannon, lob iron spitballs at the clouds,
knowing it changes nothing.
Give my love to the children and the pets,
if you haven't been driven to devour them yet.
Best wishes,
S.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Enola Gay
At first
glance, the scene looks peaceful: a placid pond shimmering in a verdant meadow. But on closer inspection you can see
that the air is swarming, the water teeming with acts of violence. The general
squats on his round flat dais, croaking orders into the spiky microphone
of a floating blossom. All around, segmented biplanes buzz on
transparent wings. Dive-bombing damselflies are picked off one by one by a snipe hidden in the reeds. Mosquito larvae hang
suspended just beneath the surface, wriggling with impatience, eager to
unsheathe their bayonets and join the fray. In the depths far below
them, an armored submersible lurks in the thick gloom, waiting to rise
from below to snatch another bobbing frigate from the duckling armada. The pacifist fish hope that if they remain motionless they will evade the piercing shell of the egret torpedo. Fascinated by the skirmish, you lean forward and slip on the muddy embankment. The explosion of your
body smacking the water causes a brief cease-fire, as the battalions scramble to escape the resulting tidal wave that pummels the shore, casting the water striders into the grass and flooding the muskrats from their trenches. Sadly, the impact is not enough to end the battle for domination of this tiny body of water, this strategically useless puddle, and the tiny creatures are soon back at work, doing their best to annihilate one another here in these wetlands of mass destruction.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Grail
A
McDonald’s take-out bag has hurled its guts,
strewing its contents like the innards of a squashed rabbit
across the sidewalk. Its wadded paper organs mingle
with scattered fries and condiment packets.
When we were young, my brother and I,
having finished our Happy Meals and already bored
with the apathetic prizes that came inside
with scattered fries and condiment packets.
When we were young, my brother and I,
having finished our Happy Meals and already bored
with the apathetic prizes that came inside
would squeeze all those little bladders flat,
mixing their contents together in a paper cup:
mustard, mayonnaise, "fancy" ketchup,
stirring in a splash of cola, plopping in the pickles plucked
from our flaccid cheeseburgers. Then, giggling like mad scientists,
we’d dare one another to swallow the concoction.
I would give anything to sample one of those noxious cocktails again,
mixing their contents together in a paper cup:
mustard, mayonnaise, "fancy" ketchup,
stirring in a splash of cola, plopping in the pickles plucked
from our flaccid cheeseburgers. Then, giggling like mad scientists,
we’d dare one another to swallow the concoction.
I would give anything to sample one of those noxious cocktails again,
just so I could watch my brother break into paroxysms of hilarity,
so I could once again listen to him cackle
at the way my face contorted with disgust,
even as I declared the stuff delicious.
so I could once again listen to him cackle
at the way my face contorted with disgust,
even as I declared the stuff delicious.
I'm certain that a single taste
would transport me back to my childhood
more efficiently than a nibble of Proustian pastry ever could. would transport me back to my childhood
Although I'm not sure I could bring myself
to actually swallow the questionable digestif,
nostalgia goads me to revisit that moment
where nausea gives way to anticipation
as I smack my lips and pass my brother the chalice.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Manna
The
angels are gobbling their steak rare, worrying the meat like wolves then
gulping it down without chewing since, after all, they don't have any teeth. They dab the corners of their mouths
with napkins made of stitched-together foreskins. They wiggle their toes
in delight beneath the tablecloth, occasionally kicking the
cherub-crabs that scuttle about their feet, clicking at the bits they
drop. They flick peas at one another across the table with their spoons,
dip their paws in fingerbowls filled with holy water. They guzzle soda
pop to fuel their belching contests, hoping to catch the attention of any saintly agents who might happen to be in the vicinity and who could stop by to listen and nod in approval, perhaps even offer them a contract. They slurp oysters from the
shell, as well as the occasional fetus. They gorge at the golden trough,
trying to sate their eternal appetites. Occasionally one eats so much it bursts,
its guts raining down upon the earth, where we sinners snatch it up, a
bucket of chum tossed out over the deep.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Rothko Soliloquy
The actor portraying Mark Rothko
in the local production of a play about the artist
is being given a private tour of the gallery
by the head curator of the museum.
Both men are pale, portly, and bald.
The curator pontificates
about brush strokes and layering;
in one scene, the actor and his assistant
(a convenient prop fabricated by the playwright)
paint a canvas solid red, but not before
discussing at great length the various permutations
and implications, and variations, both physical and metaphoric,
of that grisly color. The actor peers closely
at the paintings, backs up, strokes his chin.
The curator stands with his arms crossed,
his voice deep and authoritative.
The master instructing his pupil,
unlocking the artist's secrets:
There's a little bit of white in there.
He preferred dime-store brushes to expensive ones.
Notice the scumbling around the edges.
...as the apprentice murmurs I see and interesting.
Once onstage, he will bellow and bark lines
from a script that reads like an undergrad dissertation,
salted with every imaginable cliche
of the volatile, egotistic stereotype of the Artist.
Nietzsche's name will be spat across the stage,
the words Dionysian and Apollonian will be hurled about
to reassure the audience that they are witnessing a work
of great seriousness, that they have come to this theater
not to be entertained but to be inspired,
lifted into the heights of intellectual nirvana.
When the two substantial gentlemen have strutted off,
each going his separate way, I secure the gallery doors
and flip the breakers to shut off the lights.
And there they hang, those luminous creatures,
those butchered slabs of beef,
their crimson hides turned to bruises in the dark,
longing perhaps to share their sublime grace,
but nevertheless treasuring the silence.
in the local production of a play about the artist
is being given a private tour of the gallery
by the head curator of the museum.
Both men are pale, portly, and bald.
The curator pontificates
about brush strokes and layering;
in one scene, the actor and his assistant
(a convenient prop fabricated by the playwright)
paint a canvas solid red, but not before
discussing at great length the various permutations
and implications, and variations, both physical and metaphoric,
of that grisly color. The actor peers closely
at the paintings, backs up, strokes his chin.
The curator stands with his arms crossed,
his voice deep and authoritative.
The master instructing his pupil,
unlocking the artist's secrets:
There's a little bit of white in there.
He preferred dime-store brushes to expensive ones.
Notice the scumbling around the edges.
...as the apprentice murmurs I see and interesting.
Once onstage, he will bellow and bark lines
from a script that reads like an undergrad dissertation,
salted with every imaginable cliche
of the volatile, egotistic stereotype of the Artist.
Nietzsche's name will be spat across the stage,
the words Dionysian and Apollonian will be hurled about
to reassure the audience that they are witnessing a work
of great seriousness, that they have come to this theater
not to be entertained but to be inspired,
lifted into the heights of intellectual nirvana.
When the two substantial gentlemen have strutted off,
each going his separate way, I secure the gallery doors
and flip the breakers to shut off the lights.
And there they hang, those luminous creatures,
those butchered slabs of beef,
their crimson hides turned to bruises in the dark,
longing perhaps to share their sublime grace,
but nevertheless treasuring the silence.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Mugshots
A shingle, glittering gray
and rough as sandpaper,
peeled from the roof
by the wind and slapped
at the feet of a chalk outline
of a child's shadow
traced on the pavement
beside a black Tbird
with its hood propped,
engine ticking in the sun.
and rough as sandpaper,
peeled from the roof
by the wind and slapped
at the feet of a chalk outline
of a child's shadow
traced on the pavement
beside a black Tbird
with its hood propped,
engine ticking in the sun.
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Pride of the Wolverines
After the parade, the street is littered with porcupine quills scattered
like pick-up sticks across the asphalt. City workers pull on thick gloves to remove the splintery sawhorses that block
the traffic. The crowd has dispersed rather suddenly A small child squats amongst the popped ballonskins and silly string, spelling out his name in quills.
He tugs at his mother's hand but she is busy texting a message to her
sister. That's nice, Honey, she says, never taking her eyes off the
little screen. The plod of an exhumed Sousa march still echoes lethargically between the buildings as the last band staggers around the corner and collapses.
Thirty years pass. The porcupines have conquered the nation. In the basement of an abandoned Woolworth's on the outskirts of Detroit, the son stretches his arm through the bars and gently bumps the stump of his wrist against his mother's. He nudges his bowl of pine needle soup toward her, urging her to eat. The swill is congealed and cold, but still it's sustenance, and they take turns bending low and slurping from the bowl without a word.
Thirty years pass. The porcupines have conquered the nation. In the basement of an abandoned Woolworth's on the outskirts of Detroit, the son stretches his arm through the bars and gently bumps the stump of his wrist against his mother's. He nudges his bowl of pine needle soup toward her, urging her to eat. The swill is congealed and cold, but still it's sustenance, and they take turns bending low and slurping from the bowl without a word.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Cleave
An early spring
storm brought down
one of the big elms on the corner.
A woman was trapped beneath it briefly,
cradled between its branches but
swiftly rescued without a scratch.
The upper limbs of the tree, not yet budding,
came to rest against the old stone church
across the street, shattering one
of the stained glass windows.
A single squirrel darted up and down
the trunk for a while
before finally disappearing
through the narrow aperture
into the building.
I stood there thinking about you
as city workers set flares in the road
and strung up a web of yellow caution tape.
Rainwater filled the hole where the roots had been.
Soon the chainsaws would start up,
followed by the grind and munch
of the woodchipper reducing
the toppled giant to sawdust
as inside the church, a small furry creature
darted beneath the pews, its tiny heart
pounding wildly in the dark.
one of the big elms on the corner.
A woman was trapped beneath it briefly,
cradled between its branches but
swiftly rescued without a scratch.
The upper limbs of the tree, not yet budding,
came to rest against the old stone church
across the street, shattering one
of the stained glass windows.
A single squirrel darted up and down
the trunk for a while
before finally disappearing
through the narrow aperture
into the building.
I stood there thinking about you
as city workers set flares in the road
and strung up a web of yellow caution tape.
Rainwater filled the hole where the roots had been.
Soon the chainsaws would start up,
followed by the grind and munch
of the woodchipper reducing
the toppled giant to sawdust
as inside the church, a small furry creature
darted beneath the pews, its tiny heart
pounding wildly in the dark.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Shofar
A toothless old veteran squats behind a dumpster,
attempting to knot a bandanna across his greasy forehead.
The air is a sliver of glass and the daffodils
have sucked their bugles in like skittish barnacles,
waiting for April to stop being such a bastard.
As I shiver at the bus stop, an obese woman with a black eye
smiles at me through the window of the Lebanese restaurant,
where she sits with a man in a fishing vest.
Their fingers tear apart a beret of pita bread
from the basket on the table as they wait for
their wet shanks of lamb to arrive.
I spy a hawk floating in a puddle but when I raise my face
to gaze directly at the bird, the sky is blank.
Charlie Parker's trumpet blares, muted and mournful,
from the open window of a dented Cadillac
stalled at the traffic signal. I don't know what
to do with myself these days. I have nothing
of interest to say. I ride the bus across the bridge
from one side of the river to the other,
to the end of the line and back, dragging the pen
across the page like an animal pacing behind the fence.
attempting to knot a bandanna across his greasy forehead.
The air is a sliver of glass and the daffodils
have sucked their bugles in like skittish barnacles,
waiting for April to stop being such a bastard.
As I shiver at the bus stop, an obese woman with a black eye
smiles at me through the window of the Lebanese restaurant,
where she sits with a man in a fishing vest.
Their fingers tear apart a beret of pita bread
from the basket on the table as they wait for
their wet shanks of lamb to arrive.
I spy a hawk floating in a puddle but when I raise my face
to gaze directly at the bird, the sky is blank.
Charlie Parker's trumpet blares, muted and mournful,
from the open window of a dented Cadillac
stalled at the traffic signal. I don't know what
to do with myself these days. I have nothing
of interest to say. I ride the bus across the bridge
from one side of the river to the other,
to the end of the line and back, dragging the pen
across the page like an animal pacing behind the fence.
Should
my bleating windpipe get slashed,
the
body of this sacrificial ram reduced
to
a wheezing and deflating fleecy sack,
I
pray that someone will unfetter one
of
these hollow horns from my skull
and
place their lips to the corkscrew tip and
blow,
conquering the sudden silence with
a single note
a single note
Friday, March 23, 2012
Bathysphere
Down
through the chaotic frenzy of the shallows,
A mushroom cloud of silt puffs up
when you touch bottom, not that you can see it
-you only feel it whisper against your cheek,
(Written at the Blue Monk during a Sunday night performance
by the free jazz quartet Battle Hymns & Gardens, 3/04/12)
past the congested coral maps,
through darting quicksilver traffic, through the matted net of sea grass,
this is where the music drags you:
under
using
composition as a cacophonous anchor,
a chunk of discord sinking like an iron lung through the murk,
composition as a cacophonous anchor,
a chunk of discord sinking like an iron lung through the murk,
trailing a necklace of tiny glass beads
behind it
as it plunges down
through pages of algae,
down through miles of blue glass turning gradually black.
through pages of algae,
down through miles of blue glass turning gradually black.
A mushroom cloud of silt puffs up
when you touch bottom, not that you can see it
-you only feel it whisper against your cheek,
a billowing hem of silky dust, followed by
a slap and a thump.The lights blink on,
the underwater nightclub lit by
a slap and a thump.The lights blink on,
the underwater nightclub lit by
toothy, illuminated ghouls that float
like paper lanterns through the murk.
like paper lanterns through the murk.
In the glow cast from their luminescent bellies,
you can see, not the Titanic's band
but a jazz quartet of sub-aquatic maniacs.
Witness the bass, tilted like the hull
of a sunken ship, with fingers crabwalking
you can see, not the Titanic's band
but a jazz quartet of sub-aquatic maniacs.
Witness the bass, tilted like the hull
of a sunken ship, with fingers crabwalking
up and down the mast; the twin saxophones,
encrusted with barnacles, their diving bell cavities
creaking and honking with underwater pentatonics
creaking and honking with underwater pentatonics
to summon a
herd of crustaceans
that thunder across the ocean floor,
that thunder across the ocean floor,
rattling their armor and lashing their antennae wildly about.
Your ears grows accustomed to the pressure of the deep,
picking up faint screams of feedback echoing off a distant reef,
a tape loop bellowing from the blow hole of a leviathan
rumbling past on the rainy avenue upstairs.
a tape loop bellowing from the blow hole of a leviathan
rumbling past on the rainy avenue upstairs.
The drums bang
tsunami numbers, mocking the rumble and rush of the tide,
followed by a long moment of the abyss’s crushing silence
before rattling and banging like an endless avalanche.
before rattling and banging like an endless avalanche.
Strange papery creatures pulse and flutter to the improvisation,
but finally become so sluggish and dense
they can barely move.
A gaping mouth in the rock hisses,
snoring in its sleep, belching bubbles of gas.
Its lips are rimmed with wormy hairs, undulating gently,
the sea floor populated with sucking tribes of polyps that feed
on your improvised dreams
well after the music has faded
well after the music has faded
and the divers have returned their instruments
to those ominous black cases, giving a tug on the line,
hauling everything back up to a trawler on the surface.
Emerge slowly; take some time to acclimate,
to prevent yourself from getting the bends
to prevent yourself from getting the bends
as you ascend the stairs and step out into the night,
accompanied by the clamor of car horns and crowds
which, now that you hear it, actually sounds
a lot like music.
accompanied by the clamor of car horns and crowds
which, now that you hear it, actually sounds
a lot like music.
by the free jazz quartet Battle Hymns & Gardens, 3/04/12)
Friday, March 16, 2012
Pith
Hack a path through
the fields of never-ending
ever-growing rodent teeth
swerve to avoid the carnal resting-place
hidden in the tall grass
tiger trap scattered straw grown
damp with sweat pressed flat
the underside of every leaf teems with secret appetites
squint through a lens of dew to peep
on teenaged girls posed cross-legged on the frilly bed
reading encyclopedias and almanacs
waiting for the dye to frizzle their scalps
distraction swivels your head in the grimy dusk behind you
just in time to catch the egg-sac delivery truck
belching black clouds of exhaust
the lights click on in the store selling neckties printed
with kachina dolls and totem poles
a metal cup hits the wooden floor with a thunk
the park is still unlit at dusk
still crowded with bronze statues of parasites
I crouch walk hunched over using a pine limb
to scuffle my tracks behind me I waddle
into a tiny cabin made of toothpicks and sparrow bones
behind the outhouse a tall man throws
his loose-jointed limbs out across the crevasses
leaps our of focus over chasms and ravines
his starched white shirt splotched
with scabs of various liquids long since dried my glasses slip
from my face and plunge down the well
where they get stepped on by the barefoot child
who lives at the bottom
the plushest moss covers the hardest stone
I finger a pin for each of your eyes
a pickaxe scraping at pockets of cartilage
your last thought stumbling down the hill
flung along the path of ever-growing rodent teeth
curved chisels gnawing tunnels
through the marrow of your mammoth bones
narrow passages flanked by guardian worms
and splinters flinging open those unhinged doors
those uselessly flapping gums
those creaking gulls
ever-growing rodent teeth
swerve to avoid the carnal resting-place
hidden in the tall grass
tiger trap scattered straw grown
damp with sweat pressed flat
the underside of every leaf teems with secret appetites
squint through a lens of dew to peep
on teenaged girls posed cross-legged on the frilly bed
reading encyclopedias and almanacs
waiting for the dye to frizzle their scalps
distraction swivels your head in the grimy dusk behind you
just in time to catch the egg-sac delivery truck
belching black clouds of exhaust
the lights click on in the store selling neckties printed
with kachina dolls and totem poles
a metal cup hits the wooden floor with a thunk
the park is still unlit at dusk
still crowded with bronze statues of parasites
I crouch walk hunched over using a pine limb
to scuffle my tracks behind me I waddle
into a tiny cabin made of toothpicks and sparrow bones
behind the outhouse a tall man throws
his loose-jointed limbs out across the crevasses
leaps our of focus over chasms and ravines
his starched white shirt splotched
with scabs of various liquids long since dried my glasses slip
from my face and plunge down the well
where they get stepped on by the barefoot child
who lives at the bottom
the plushest moss covers the hardest stone
I finger a pin for each of your eyes
a pickaxe scraping at pockets of cartilage
your last thought stumbling down the hill
flung along the path of ever-growing rodent teeth
curved chisels gnawing tunnels
through the marrow of your mammoth bones
narrow passages flanked by guardian worms
and splinters flinging open those unhinged doors
those uselessly flapping gums
those creaking gulls
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The wind presses against my cheek
with its cold, flat blade. It feels good;
I'm stifling in my clothes, overstuffed
and bundled much too tightly.
The sky is ice white, the sun flat and blinding.
It's so quiet that every ordinary sound
seems to intrude like footsteps
outside a sacristy.
It's a day for watercolor washes,
not words; for soft-focus photographs,
for the gentle interrogation of hands
silently questioning the shadows
of one another's bodies, growing familiar
with the slopes and crevices,
tobogganing along the crests and gulleys,
seeking out the warm places in which
to curl up for the remainder of the winter.
with its cold, flat blade. It feels good;
I'm stifling in my clothes, overstuffed
and bundled much too tightly.
The sky is ice white, the sun flat and blinding.
It's so quiet that every ordinary sound
seems to intrude like footsteps
outside a sacristy.
It's a day for watercolor washes,
not words; for soft-focus photographs,
for the gentle interrogation of hands
silently questioning the shadows
of one another's bodies, growing familiar
with the slopes and crevices,
tobogganing along the crests and gulleys,
seeking out the warm places in which
to curl up for the remainder of the winter.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Chinatown
The
world is rubbed until it turns translucent.
The clouds enshroud the remnants of the sun.
I pause and press my palm against the window
and gaze a while before I head downtown.
The clouds enshroud the remnants of the sun.
I pause and press my palm against the window
and gaze a while before I head downtown.
*
The
bus’s motion makes the raindrops quiver
like beads of mercury upon the glass.
like beads of mercury upon the glass.
Our
breaths accumulate to mist the windows.
As we exhale, the city is erased.
*
I
stop and wipe the moisture from my glasses
beneath the awning of a restaurant.
The captive lobsters pummel my reflection
like drunken boxers swinging taped-up claws.
beneath the awning of a restaurant.
The captive lobsters pummel my reflection
like drunken boxers swinging taped-up claws.
*
A
string of ducks hangs in a butcher’s storefront.
The neon bastes their plucked and glossy skins.
The neon bastes their plucked and glossy skins.
The
wind cuts rippled notches in a puddle,
that world in which we dangle upside down..
that world in which we dangle upside down..
*
Lethargic
koi float through the upper stories
of skyscrapers inverted in the pond
of skyscrapers inverted in the pond
until
the pouring rain dissolves the buildings
and melts the orange fish to blobs of gold.
and melts the orange fish to blobs of gold.
*
A
bulb’s transparent flesh grows brightly blinding,
its incandescent skeleton aflame.
The rain unveils the city’s hidden mirrors
that echo every street lamp’s sunny claim.
its incandescent skeleton aflame.
The rain unveils the city’s hidden mirrors
that echo every street lamp’s sunny claim.
*
Steam
rises from a grating in the sidewalk
and cloaks the souvenir shop in a fog.
Its window crammed with swords and waving kittens;
good luck and blood go strolling hand in paw.
and cloaks the souvenir shop in a fog.
Its window crammed with swords and waving kittens;
good luck and blood go strolling hand in paw.
*
I
pass a mural she once posed in front of,
a phoenix stretching out its flaming spurs.
My camera lens was wet and wouldn’t focus.
Our coals extinguished, yet this beast still burns.
a phoenix stretching out its flaming spurs.
My camera lens was wet and wouldn’t focus.
Our coals extinguished, yet this beast still burns.
*
A
girl steps from a car with tinted windows,
umbrella
spreading like a bat’s black wing.
Her
swaying backside hijacks my attention.
My
mind folds up. I can’t see anything.
*
The brass pole in the strip club gets a rubdown
with disinfectant by the owner’s dad.
Above the bar, a TV surgeon rips off
a nurse’s scrubs inside the x-ray lab.
*
A crow attempts to lift off from the gutter.
A carton of lo mein swings from its beak.
He hops and flaps, ignoring all the traffic,
can’t fly without abandoning his feast.
*
Entombed within a twilit basement tavern,
I gorge on fish and chips and gargle gin.
Unearthed potatoes, fish dug from the water,
and juniper exhumed, buried again.
*
Last
call here in the underworld seems sudden.
Old
Charon’s cab tools aimlessly around.
Poor
Orpheus returns home empty-handed.
I’ve missed the last bus out of Chinatown.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Cricket
I loved that upside down pentagram on your back,
your broken glass smile, your centipede leg eyebrows.
I loved the way your tongue darted out to lick the grime
accumulated between my accordion ribs, to sponge
the damp wormy hollows scooped by my chirping lungs.
I loved the way you tore into the living,
then daintily dabbed the corner of your lips
with your spider silk handkerchief.
The way you slathered my arm with honey and mayonnaise.
I loved the way you snapped me up
as if you were the gecko and I was a cricket,
brought home with my brothers in a plastic baggie
from the pet store. I loved your wintry warren:
the icy columns, the prickly pillars,
the ravine bristling with frozen thistles and waxy clumps of fungus.
I miss that furry mouth, that foamy proboscis.
I miss the nights we spent with our faces stapled together
and our tangled genitals slathered in slowly-drying glue,
all our legs entwined beneath the sticky branches
that lay in wait, hoping to entrap that fat white grub of the moon.
your broken glass smile, your centipede leg eyebrows.
I loved the way your tongue darted out to lick the grime
accumulated between my accordion ribs, to sponge
the damp wormy hollows scooped by my chirping lungs.
I loved the way you tore into the living,
then daintily dabbed the corner of your lips
with your spider silk handkerchief.
The way you slathered my arm with honey and mayonnaise.
I loved the way you snapped me up
as if you were the gecko and I was a cricket,
brought home with my brothers in a plastic baggie
from the pet store. I loved your wintry warren:
the icy columns, the prickly pillars,
the ravine bristling with frozen thistles and waxy clumps of fungus.
I miss that furry mouth, that foamy proboscis.
I miss the nights we spent with our faces stapled together
and our tangled genitals slathered in slowly-drying glue,
all our legs entwined beneath the sticky branches
that lay in wait, hoping to entrap that fat white grub of the moon.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
The Salamander Enclosure
The naked mole rats huddle together
like sausages in their artificial burrow.
These shuddering onionskin creatures seem
so easily crushed, so vulnerable,
yet their curved teeth can chisel through concrete,
hence the special resin that forms
their worming tunnels, the thick clear plastic
that allows us to watch them stumble blindly
through their mazes beneath this molded, painted
model of the desert.
Limp sardines splash into the pool, flung from a bucket
by a portly attendant. The penguins, remarkably good
at exactly one thing, bullet through the water,
snatching the silvery fish before they can sink to the bottom.
Liquid transforms these plump, waddling blobs
into graceful angels, bobbing and coursing so quickly it seems
impossible that they don't collide, or knock into the observation glass
the schoolchildren press their spread palms flat against.
A fruit bat hauls itself across the ceiling,
its claws hooked in the chain link mesh.
It stares with black glass eyes and bares its teeth,
thrusting a sharp snout into the crotch of a potential mate
before suddenly mounting her from behind.
Both of them hang there, ears pointing toward the ground,
jiggling wildly for a few moments before he untangles himself
and once again goes lurching off, claw by claw
across the cage, choosing for the moment not to drop into flight.
When I'm finished spying on the various trails these animals trace
through the earth, through the water, through the air,
when I'm done pondering their various forms of locomotion,
I follow the asphalt path that twists between their enclosures
and exit onto the street, to resume my own flickering life,
wondering who is standing outside my cage,
watching this strange beast navigate its way between the flames
of the civilized world.
like sausages in their artificial burrow.
These shuddering onionskin creatures seem
so easily crushed, so vulnerable,
yet their curved teeth can chisel through concrete,
hence the special resin that forms
their worming tunnels, the thick clear plastic
that allows us to watch them stumble blindly
through their mazes beneath this molded, painted
model of the desert.
Limp sardines splash into the pool, flung from a bucket
by a portly attendant. The penguins, remarkably good
at exactly one thing, bullet through the water,
snatching the silvery fish before they can sink to the bottom.
Liquid transforms these plump, waddling blobs
into graceful angels, bobbing and coursing so quickly it seems
impossible that they don't collide, or knock into the observation glass
the schoolchildren press their spread palms flat against.
A fruit bat hauls itself across the ceiling,
its claws hooked in the chain link mesh.
It stares with black glass eyes and bares its teeth,
thrusting a sharp snout into the crotch of a potential mate
before suddenly mounting her from behind.
Both of them hang there, ears pointing toward the ground,
jiggling wildly for a few moments before he untangles himself
and once again goes lurching off, claw by claw
across the cage, choosing for the moment not to drop into flight.
When I'm finished spying on the various trails these animals trace
through the earth, through the water, through the air,
when I'm done pondering their various forms of locomotion,
I follow the asphalt path that twists between their enclosures
and exit onto the street, to resume my own flickering life,
wondering who is standing outside my cage,
watching this strange beast navigate its way between the flames
of the civilized world.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Ironman (Dried Papaya)
Flying
home after spending Thanksgiving back East,
I
strike up a conversation with the mouselike woman in the next seat,
traveling
alongside her daughter, who has just competed in
an
Ironman triathlon down in the Yucatan.
They
are from Canada, but now
reside, like me, in Portland.
The
daughter is perhaps twenty, her bright orange hair
glowing
pale against her deeply sunburnt skin.
She
wears a t-shirt and shorts and all through the flight
she
keeps standing up and stretching in the aisle,
flexing
her thick, muscular thighs despite
the
flashing fasten seat belts sign.
There
is quite a bit of turbulence. “We’ll be hitting
some
isolated pockets of bumpy air,” warns the captain,
his
voice tinny through the intercom.
The
stewardesses finally force her to sit.
She
fidgets in her seat like a restless thoroughbred.
At
one point the young athlete produces a plastic baggie
full
of long, translucent orange strips of fruit.
She
takes one out and bites into it, then waves the bag at me,
across
her mother’s lap. “Papaya?” she offers.
I
decline but she shakes the bag, and I don't want to be rude,
so
I gingerly pull out a piece and gnaw on the end.
It’s
thick and squared off and rubbery.
I’m
hungry, having forgotten the box of beef jerky
my
mother bought me for my trip back to the West Coast.
I
can see it sitting right where I left it
atop
the low bookshelf of my sister’s old room,
which
is finally after all these years being converted into a guest room.
She
moved out years ago, but recently fled the time zone
to
relocate for a more lucrative job. She’s the favored child,
the
baby, the successful one in the family.
She’s
the one winning the race while I remain winded,
trudging
far behind. The possessions she abandoned
in
her old room when she graduated
are
being boxed up and stashed in the crawl space.
The
walls will be given their first fresh coat of paint in years.
I
awoke in that same room this morning,
and
had trouble escaping from that big plush bed.
Groggy,
I gathered up the last few items I hadn’t packed,
stuffing
them into my already bulging suitcase,
making
sure to throw away the empty envelopes and wrappers
I’d
strewn about during my stay.
That
box of smoked meat, bought by my thoughtful mother,
is
the only remnant of myself left behind, her forgetful, ungrateful son.
It’s
a minor thing, I know, but for some reason, it upsets me.
It
seems emblematic of all the ways I’ve let my mother down
over
the years. I may be less self-destructive
than
I was when I was young, but after all this time
I
still struggle to pay my bills, have not managed
to
produce any grandchildren, and I’m sure as hell
not
running any marathons. I barely function as an adult.
And
to compound my guilt, she will no doubt
waste
the postage to mail that box of jerky across the country,
no
matter how much I beg her not to bother.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Crab Nebula
On the solid wood counter sits a jar
bursting with a bouquet of black drink stirrers
like a bundle of hollow black bird bones, slightly shiny
as if carved of obsidian, or anthracite,
rather than just mass-produced in cheap plastic.
Suddenly I'm tired of trying to salvage
the worthless crap of this world. Why
should it fall to me? Easier to turn my back to it,
or just pretend I don't see it, just like everyone else does.
No. Once you've focused your attention on the banal,
you can't look away. You can try to forget it exists
but it'll still be embedded there, buried beneath the skin.
A tiny grain, a poppy seed so dense that it will suck
everything else in the world through it. The universe compressed
and reflected in the stalked eye of a baby crustacean,
a creature small enough to perch on the tip of your pinky
with claws too soft and tiny to pierce your skin
as it scuttles sideways across the bumpy terrain of its world,
your palm, both of you, all of us, spinning slowly along
the edge of that whirlpool, the current carrying us toward
that crushing black center. I yawn, too exhausted to do anything more
than float along with it. Maybe I will be squeezed through
to exit somewhere else, landing much diminished
in a world where nothing is banal, everything is extraordinary,
the sky constantly filled with exploding stars.
bursting with a bouquet of black drink stirrers
like a bundle of hollow black bird bones, slightly shiny
as if carved of obsidian, or anthracite,
rather than just mass-produced in cheap plastic.
Suddenly I'm tired of trying to salvage
the worthless crap of this world. Why
should it fall to me? Easier to turn my back to it,
or just pretend I don't see it, just like everyone else does.
No. Once you've focused your attention on the banal,
you can't look away. You can try to forget it exists
but it'll still be embedded there, buried beneath the skin.
A tiny grain, a poppy seed so dense that it will suck
everything else in the world through it. The universe compressed
and reflected in the stalked eye of a baby crustacean,
a creature small enough to perch on the tip of your pinky
with claws too soft and tiny to pierce your skin
as it scuttles sideways across the bumpy terrain of its world,
your palm, both of you, all of us, spinning slowly along
the edge of that whirlpool, the current carrying us toward
that crushing black center. I yawn, too exhausted to do anything more
than float along with it. Maybe I will be squeezed through
to exit somewhere else, landing much diminished
in a world where nothing is banal, everything is extraordinary,
the sky constantly filled with exploding stars.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Denver Layover Poem for Monica JR Llewellyn
Here in the food court of the Denver Airport,
I huddle at a
tiny table no bigger than my tray,
listening to the airport staff annihilate the names
of foreigners over the intercom.
of foreigners over the intercom.
Every few minutes, I hear them announce
“Monica
JR Llewellyn, please pick up the white courtesy phone.”
I wonder what the chances of Monica JR Llewellyn
ever reading this poem are. Infinitesimally small.
I dip my chicken tenders in their little tub of sauce
and methodically munch. This is just like hanging out
at the mall, only with Tornado Shelter signs.
and methodically munch. This is just like hanging out
at the mall, only with Tornado Shelter signs.
To my right, two lithe, pale women
twitter in some eastern European tongue.
The only English words I can make
out are “American Dream.”
You can't make this stuff up. Well, you shouldn't. To my left
sits a pudgy black woman in a tight-fitting suit
with shoulder pads you could launch a small aircraft from.
She slurps lo mein noodles that strip the burgundy paint from her lips.
sits a pudgy black woman in a tight-fitting suit
with shoulder pads you could launch a small aircraft from.
She slurps lo mein noodles that strip the burgundy paint from her lips.
None of these women, apparently, are Monica JR Llewellyn,
or if they are, they are discourteously ignoring the requests
to pick up that white goddamn telephone.
Maybe Monica is off having sex somewhere...this is what I always
think about during layovers. What better weapon
to kill a couple of helpless hours
Maybe Monica is off having sex somewhere...this is what I always
think about during layovers. What better weapon
to kill a couple of helpless hours
than a tryst in an empty conference room,
or make-out session
with a stranger in a deserted lounge somewhere?
What better way to fight, or at least make use of, the crushing anonymity
of being a traveler? You've already been reduced to a cypher,
herded through lines like cattle, x-rayed and perhaps even patted down
for hidden weapons, that magic wand run up and down your body,
waved across your crotch. The foreplay's already out of the way!
Prostitutes could make a bundle here, perhaps renting out storefronts
like the newsstands and duty free shops. The airport could demand
a
percentage of the profits, taking advantage of the abundance
of bored businessmen looking to make the most of their down
time.
You can only do so many crosswords, only read so many trashy paperbacks.
And what man wouldn't exchange his laptop for a lap dance?
You can only do so many crosswords, only read so many trashy paperbacks.
And what man wouldn't exchange his laptop for a lap dance?
Flights delayed by inclement weather would no longer be a bother, but a boon.
Hell, I would love to tear that big woman's shoulder pads off,
or show those skinny Europeans a real American Dream.
I hear it again: “Monica JR Llewellyn,
please pick up the white courtesy phone.”
Hell, I would love to tear that big woman's shoulder pads off,
or show those skinny Europeans a real American Dream.
I hear it again: “Monica JR Llewellyn,
please pick up the white courtesy phone.”
She's out there somewhere, that little vixen,
or maybe not: maybe her cab got in an accident
on the way to the terminal. Maybe she's having second thoughts
about the plastic explosives smuggled in the soles of her pumps.
Maybe she had a heart attack and is slumped
in a ladies room stall just around the corner
or maybe not: maybe her cab got in an accident
on the way to the terminal. Maybe she's having second thoughts
about the plastic explosives smuggled in the soles of her pumps.
Maybe she had a heart attack and is slumped
in a ladies room stall just around the corner
of the same fast food place where I bought this fried chicken which,
sadly, I have finally finished, still having two dull, sexless hours to slog through
until my plane, long delayed, finally begins the boarding process.
I hope she makes her flight.
sadly, I have finally finished, still having two dull, sexless hours to slog through
until my plane, long delayed, finally begins the boarding process.
I hope she makes her flight.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Permanent Stubble
As I reach into the medicine
cabinet
for the can of shaving cream,
I spot the box of tampons
she bought back when we were first dating
and kept at my apartment for those rare occasions
when she slept over and was caught off guard
she bought back when we were first dating
and kept at my apartment for those rare occasions
when she slept over and was caught off guard
by the premature arrival of
her period.
I will not touch this feminine hygiene product IED
I will not touch this feminine hygiene product IED
for fear that jostling the
box might trigger
a paroxysm of sentimental memories.
a paroxysm of sentimental memories.
So it remains, half-buried
beneath a quiver of Q-tips
and cartons upon cartons of
band-aids stockpiled
as if in preparation for an
onslaught of tissue-dabbed nicks,
expecting to staunch the flow
from one thousand tiny cuts.
I close the cabinet door and see her reflected in the mirror,
I close the cabinet door and see her reflected in the mirror,
perched on the edge of the
tub with her smooth legs crossed
beneath her little skirt. Blood runs down her calves
beneath her little skirt. Blood runs down her calves
to fill her pumps. She
always liked to sit there
as a witness while I shaved, used to
shoplift
fresh blades from the pharmacy so her face
would not get scratched raw by my
bristles.
But that was back when we still kissed,
before
our garden plot grew choked with weeds.
Back
when I’d still bother to slap my cheeks
with stinging
aftershave. I spin around
but no one’s there. Replace
the razor on the sink’s cool rim
and wash the mask of lather from
my chin. The faucet
drips. I flee the bathroom
with my fingers wet
and my beard intact, unable to bring myself to
part
with a single hair if she’s not there to watch.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Leap Year is here!
It’s
here, folks; my new book of poetry! Just in time for Valentine’s Day, though to
be honest, anyone who would actually buy this for their sweetheart should have his
or her head examined, though there is some sex in it, and even some romance.
But it’s mostly about, uh, suicide, so... probably not going to get you laid or
anything. Still, it’s awesome, and at only eleven bucks, it’s a real bargain! I
mean, eleven bucks for POETRY? You probably feel guilty paying that little, but
don’t worry! I’ve got a day job! At least, right now I do! Who freaking knows
in this economy? Anyways, just buy the damn thing already. It’ll change your
life...very, very slightly. Leap Year
Factotum
Claude
knew that his life was meaningless
but
he could never manage to save up enough box tops
to
send away for the document giving him permission to kill himself.
He
spent every evening after work decomposing on the couch until
his
girlfriend delivered an ultimatum: that he find himself a hobby, or forfeit
all
bedroom privileges. Claude fought her at first;
he
had always looked down upon such useless pursuits
as
stamp collecting and model train enthusiasm.
But
desperation and the limits of self-gratification
made
him at last attempt to discover some new interests.
Poking
around on the internet, he came across
some
old black-and-white footage of a hamster beating a drum, and grew
obsessed
with it, watching it repeatedly until it took on the significance
of
a religious icon in his mind. He even built a small temple to the rodent
which
he accidentally burnt down while lighting some sticks of incense.
Disillusioned,
he turned to the stock market for solace,
making
wild investments in companies like Jell-O and Snapple.
He
tried to start a James Woods fan club in his basement
but
not even the promise of free Jell-O was enough to entice anyone to attend.
Finally,
he started buying antique barber poles from auctions.
He
had them mounted on the front of his house, dozens of them,
along
with a sign declaring This is NOT a
barber shop,
this is a private
residence. Please do not block the driveway
to
alleviate any confusion. His girlfriend was less than impressed
by
his efforts to fill his life, but Claude didn’t care.
He
didn’t have time for her now anyways.
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