Michael
Avast, At last
So we come to the end of this
And I do not give a pint nor piss
What becomes of all these words
If ever spoken, shared or heard
The month is done, and so am I
At last this site will someday die
But the memories of passion in our heads
We carry 'til the day we're dead
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
May 30, 2009
Michael
Battlefields
Killing
everything that is undone and unwanted
Bleeding
with every step
A lethal dose
of adrenaline and aggressiveness
Tactical tacit urge
To feel what is not known
This mind plays a war again
The enemies of imagination
Causing senseless strife
Battlefields
Killing
everything that is undone and unwanted
Bleeding
with every step
A lethal dose
of adrenaline and aggressiveness
Tactical tacit urge
To feel what is not known
This mind plays a war again
The enemies of imagination
Causing senseless strife
Friday, May 29, 2009
May 29th, 2009
Michael
Deeper
Where does my life want me to go?
Why do I lie beyond the spaces of dreams?
If control is an illusion
But we live within perception
Why can I not direct my dream?
This time, it's altogether so real
I can actually feel it
Hurting me more than I hurt it
But wanting it to hurt me more
Sleep is no respite
My drive is pushing me harder
-------------
rachel
two ways
the times that i allow myself to think
one of two things happens
inside my brain
either i construct
or i deconstruct
when there is nothing real happening
and things are uncertain
i have trained myself
to construct something out of nothing
to ease the uncertainty
when something is going on
and things are closer to sense
i am not able to stop myself
from deconstructing everything
which just heightens the uncertainty
it seems that i should learn
to deconstruct when it could be productive
and to construct when things are good
so i do not deconstruct everything
and destroy it all.
------------------------
Deeper
Where does my life want me to go?
Why do I lie beyond the spaces of dreams?
If control is an illusion
But we live within perception
Why can I not direct my dream?
This time, it's altogether so real
I can actually feel it
Hurting me more than I hurt it
But wanting it to hurt me more
Sleep is no respite
My drive is pushing me harder
-------------
rachel
two ways
the times that i allow myself to think
one of two things happens
inside my brain
either i construct
or i deconstruct
when there is nothing real happening
and things are uncertain
i have trained myself
to construct something out of nothing
to ease the uncertainty
when something is going on
and things are closer to sense
i am not able to stop myself
from deconstructing everything
which just heightens the uncertainty
it seems that i should learn
to deconstruct when it could be productive
and to construct when things are good
so i do not deconstruct everything
and destroy it all.
------------------------
Thursday, May 28, 2009
May 28th, 2009
Ravi
Sitting next to her,
Hearing her gurgle up blood.
Can't acknowledge it.
-----
rachel
balance
i am standing
on one toe
on the razor sharp edge
of my life
on one side is despair
on the other greatness
and i wait
for the wind
to blow me over
------------
Michael
Forgot
I only remember what I didn't say
If only for a day
But I wish I would have known anyway
Sitting next to her,
Hearing her gurgle up blood.
Can't acknowledge it.
-----
rachel
balance
i am standing
on one toe
on the razor sharp edge
of my life
on one side is despair
on the other greatness
and i wait
for the wind
to blow me over
------------
Michael
Forgot
I only remember what I didn't say
If only for a day
But I wish I would have known anyway
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
May 27th, 2009
Michael
This, Now
On the eve of some day
With a mind full of wire
Seemingly left to my own devices
Not seeing the whole
This time is short
But still moving on
Coming to call
What I know to do
I find it personal
I find it daunting
This part that keeps me
Haunted, and searching
-----------
rachel
i don't know you at all
since i do not really know you
it's so easy to tell you
all the things
that go through my head
since i do not really know you
it's so easy to open up
the floodgates
to my heart
since i do not really know you
it's so easy to put pen to paper
and write you letters
about what i really feel
since i do not really know you
it's so much easier
to write to you
and let you know me.
This, Now
On the eve of some day
With a mind full of wire
Seemingly left to my own devices
Not seeing the whole
This time is short
But still moving on
Coming to call
What I know to do
I find it personal
I find it daunting
This part that keeps me
Haunted, and searching
-----------
rachel
i don't know you at all
since i do not really know you
it's so easy to tell you
all the things
that go through my head
since i do not really know you
it's so easy to open up
the floodgates
to my heart
since i do not really know you
it's so easy to put pen to paper
and write you letters
about what i really feel
since i do not really know you
it's so much easier
to write to you
and let you know me.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
May 26th, 2009
Michael
Alone
Leave me alone?
Where I'm found
Is inside the town
Why do you call yourself a friend?
Is this life
Or the beginning of some known end?
Walk
Not with me
But with me in you
-----
Lily
who broke the heater?
sleepy office oven
everything slowly
----------
rachel
morning
it may seem to you
that i'd rather be sleeping
at six in the morning
while the sun rises slowly
but i need that time
for mourning
when the woods
enter my bloodstream
and make their way to my heart
i remember you
and i need that time
for mourning
when the smoke
fills my lungs, making me cough
i see your face in the flames
and i think about you
and i need the morning
for mourning.
--------------
Alone
Leave me alone?
Where I'm found
Is inside the town
Why do you call yourself a friend?
Is this life
Or the beginning of some known end?
Walk
Not with me
But with me in you
-----
Lily
who broke the heater?
sleepy office oven
everything slowly
----------
rachel
morning
it may seem to you
that i'd rather be sleeping
at six in the morning
while the sun rises slowly
but i need that time
for mourning
when the woods
enter my bloodstream
and make their way to my heart
i remember you
and i need that time
for mourning
when the smoke
fills my lungs, making me cough
i see your face in the flames
and i think about you
and i need the morning
for mourning.
--------------
Monday, May 25, 2009
May 25th, 2009
Michael
Find a Way
Where's there will
One must find their way
A lifetime to find
To the way inside
What we call today, beckons tomorrow
Waiting to find
What we keep inside
A way to no longer hide
A stone set within
To cry out loud
Being like the wind
To walk against the crowd
----------------
rachel
radio silence
when there is no noise
when there is radio silence
i can feel my stomach churn
and my hands shake
when there isn't a sound
when there is radio silence
i wonder what will happen
and if i will pull through
when there is noise
and no radio silence
i forget my life
and am content to play dominoes
-------------
Find a Way
Where's there will
One must find their way
A lifetime to find
To the way inside
What we call today, beckons tomorrow
Waiting to find
What we keep inside
A way to no longer hide
A stone set within
To cry out loud
Being like the wind
To walk against the crowd
----------------
rachel
radio silence
when there is no noise
when there is radio silence
i can feel my stomach churn
and my hands shake
when there isn't a sound
when there is radio silence
i wonder what will happen
and if i will pull through
when there is noise
and no radio silence
i forget my life
and am content to play dominoes
-------------
Sunday, May 24, 2009
May 24th, 2009
Michael
Run
I just run
Keeping pace with myself
The farther I run, I more I win
I ignore my burning lungs
My bleeding legs
And keep my head up, lunging
Faster, faster
The run takes me everywhere
Making laps in my mind
Feet thumping
Heart Pounding
I am free
Running, racing in me
I cannot be stopped
I run against the world
-----------
rachel
henry
sad bear stuck in cage
do you not want to go roam
on the painted hills?
------------
Run
I just run
Keeping pace with myself
The farther I run, I more I win
I ignore my burning lungs
My bleeding legs
And keep my head up, lunging
Faster, faster
The run takes me everywhere
Making laps in my mind
Feet thumping
Heart Pounding
I am free
Running, racing in me
I cannot be stopped
I run against the world
-----------
rachel
henry
sad bear stuck in cage
do you not want to go roam
on the painted hills?
------------
May 23rd, 2009
Michael
Lonely day
I am such a lonely day
No one will write poems for me
Damn you sun!
-------
Lily
Bear with no claws
Are you interested in a little light wrestling?
A bit of human contact in your day?
Or as a solitary animal, would you rather have
That big cage to yourself?
You sit close to the fence
Close to the cameras
Close to the watchers.
I can't see into your eyes.
----------------
rachel
unpublished
i wish that i had the chutzpa
to publish the things i write daily
on this blog
instead of a haiku about bears
or a bit about a lost friend
it turns out that for me
a poem a day
is two or three.
------------------
Lonely day
I am such a lonely day
No one will write poems for me
Damn you sun!
-------
Lily
Bear with no claws
Are you interested in a little light wrestling?
A bit of human contact in your day?
Or as a solitary animal, would you rather have
That big cage to yourself?
You sit close to the fence
Close to the cameras
Close to the watchers.
I can't see into your eyes.
----------------
rachel
unpublished
i wish that i had the chutzpa
to publish the things i write daily
on this blog
instead of a haiku about bears
or a bit about a lost friend
it turns out that for me
a poem a day
is two or three.
------------------
Friday, May 22, 2009
May 22nd, 2009
Michael
Sun
So there is the sun.
Happy and shiny and bright.
Now, Sun, I have something to tell you.
Shine all you want but the night will come,
Your rays will die
Your sky will turn blue
Your earth will grow cold
When you leave, the people will all die a short death
You can't shine forever,
You have to leave.
Its just how things are.
Why?
Because, Sun, everyday day must die. Every star fades, every fire burns out.
It's not so fun anymore, is it?
At least Moon hopes for your light. You know your light will die, someday.
But, nevertheless, don't forget to shine.
-------------
Denise
Love
You have found it
when
you can put up with their shit
and they can put up with yours
------------------
rachel
long shot
my colors looked good
until i saw the same ones
in your photograph
---------------
Sun
So there is the sun.
Happy and shiny and bright.
Now, Sun, I have something to tell you.
Shine all you want but the night will come,
Your rays will die
Your sky will turn blue
Your earth will grow cold
When you leave, the people will all die a short death
You can't shine forever,
You have to leave.
Its just how things are.
Why?
Because, Sun, everyday day must die. Every star fades, every fire burns out.
It's not so fun anymore, is it?
At least Moon hopes for your light. You know your light will die, someday.
But, nevertheless, don't forget to shine.
-------------
Denise
Love
You have found it
when
you can put up with their shit
and they can put up with yours
------------------
rachel
long shot
my colors looked good
until i saw the same ones
in your photograph
---------------
Thursday, May 21, 2009
May 21st, 2009
rachel
car tetris
chairs stuffed in back
tents on the side
the box with the stove on top
every space stuffed with sleeping bags
badminton below it all
empty box that signifies food
for the love of god, will it all fit?
-------------
Michael
The mind in mine
This talk, this chatter that I call "mind"
Is it really mine?
A mind in time speaks nine
Why mind my manners when only my mind matters? Or even the manner of my mind?
Every soul has a whole
But the hole is the mind
Let me see your mind, not your brain
Yes I mind, those that do not mine for the mind that is mine
car tetris
chairs stuffed in back
tents on the side
the box with the stove on top
every space stuffed with sleeping bags
badminton below it all
empty box that signifies food
for the love of god, will it all fit?
-------------
Michael
The mind in mine
This talk, this chatter that I call "mind"
Is it really mine?
A mind in time speaks nine
Why mind my manners when only my mind matters? Or even the manner of my mind?
Every soul has a whole
But the hole is the mind
Let me see your mind, not your brain
Yes I mind, those that do not mine for the mind that is mine
May 20th, 2009
rachel
tonight
tonight
i inhaled three times
and the room was covered in rubber
the people were coated in that stuff
that makes balloons
and hundreds
of multicolored
nipple shaped drops
dripped from the ceiling
while the room
smelled like fish
---------------
Michael
Woman
Breathing, being, bleeding
What choice separates us?
Why am I indebted to you?
I know, this much I know
Where from I have gone
Coursing through our veins
Living in my mind
I sit and sigh
tonight
tonight
i inhaled three times
and the room was covered in rubber
the people were coated in that stuff
that makes balloons
and hundreds
of multicolored
nipple shaped drops
dripped from the ceiling
while the room
smelled like fish
---------------
Michael
Woman
Breathing, being, bleeding
What choice separates us?
Why am I indebted to you?
I know, this much I know
Where from I have gone
Coursing through our veins
Living in my mind
I sit and sigh
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
May 19th, 2009
Only
Michael
If only,
I was a little bitter
Enough to tell
Who my enemies were
If only,
I was a little better
Enough to tell
Where I went right
If only,
I was a little brighter
Enough to tell
When I can leap
If only,
I was a little bolder
Enough to tell
How to kill the demons
If only,
I was a little bigger
Enough to tell
What causes me to rise
If only,
I was a little braver
Enough to tell
Why I could not stop
-----------
rachel
one year ago
one year ago
i told myself
no more
after that long lunch
to which you were late
and from which i left annoyed
one year ago
i told myself
you make me sad
but every time
i try to walk away
something happens
one year ago
i told myself
you don't need me
but then you do
in the middle of the night
when there's nobody else
one year ago
i told myself
i wouldn't see you again
but evidently
we're going to get a drink
next week.
oops.
--------------
Michael
If only,
I was a little bitter
Enough to tell
Who my enemies were
If only,
I was a little better
Enough to tell
Where I went right
If only,
I was a little brighter
Enough to tell
When I can leap
If only,
I was a little bolder
Enough to tell
How to kill the demons
If only,
I was a little bigger
Enough to tell
What causes me to rise
If only,
I was a little braver
Enough to tell
Why I could not stop
-----------
rachel
one year ago
one year ago
i told myself
no more
after that long lunch
to which you were late
and from which i left annoyed
one year ago
i told myself
you make me sad
but every time
i try to walk away
something happens
one year ago
i told myself
you don't need me
but then you do
in the middle of the night
when there's nobody else
one year ago
i told myself
i wouldn't see you again
but evidently
we're going to get a drink
next week.
oops.
--------------
Monday, May 18, 2009
18 May 2009
Lily
The tarot cards are getting tough!
I may think I've had enough
advice about getting off my duff,
buckling down and doing stuff -
But even hippie witches
tell me to dig ditches
(metaphorically), and hike up my britches
ignoring all the twitches
they are causing.
And even though I'm pausing,
to say I don't believe in it at all,
no one is applausing
the rationality I call
my own. So I'll ignore the source
of this advice
and then evade remorse
with work and no more vice!
------------------------
Michael
This thing, this institution
Bored
Like a board
How does it feel
to not care what they feel ?
Let's all hug
And shake hands
Three weeks later
I forget your face
Sleeping in class
Inside my mind
Pretend to listen
They sit, smile, stupidly
Is it elitist to think
and not listen to rambling?
If I learn, your stupidity
Rolls off my ears
"I'm lazy. It's hard"
Then don't come to school
"I don't want to try too hard."
Get out of my way
Wasting time
Losing my mind
Monotone and drone
Is this fun to you?
---------
rachel
tides
it seems like
the tide has been going out
for years now
receding
and pulling good things with it
out to sea
it feels now
like the tide may be turning
and instead of going out
it's coming in
and pushing good things with it
back home
or maybe it's just
that this week
is a good week
but i like to think
it's the tide
coming in again.
--------------
Sunday, May 17, 2009
17 May 2009
Ravi
Minty
Shit learned while brushing:
The makers of Listerine
make Viagra too.
-----
vanessa
sunscreen
my unsung hero
there are reasons you're unsung
you don't fucking work
--------
rachel
spin
the act of creation is soothing
rhythmic pressing of the foot
left fingers slowly sliding back
right hand gently pulling fibers apart
like a slow dance
a long tenuous thread that connects me
to the wheel
---------
Lily
ouch!
Every step I take
reminds me of those three miles
uphill on Saturday
Minty
Shit learned while brushing:
The makers of Listerine
make Viagra too.
-----
vanessa
sunscreen
my unsung hero
there are reasons you're unsung
you don't fucking work
--------
rachel
spin
the act of creation is soothing
rhythmic pressing of the foot
left fingers slowly sliding back
right hand gently pulling fibers apart
like a slow dance
a long tenuous thread that connects me
to the wheel
---------
Lily
ouch!
Every step I take
reminds me of those three miles
uphill on Saturday
Saturday, May 16, 2009
16 May 2009
Ravi
Saturday Morning
Do I go hiking?
Or laze about all morning?
Such a conundrum.
Denise
Parties
Too many b-day's
too little time
Emily today
House party
Kegs and stolen cups
Habanero infused vodka
Ginger infused vodka
Cucumber
Mustache parties
Keg stands
party crasher
Kristal tomorrow
Sunny coast
seventy degrees
champagne toasts
A carpool to the coast
----
rachel
saturday
right now there's quiet
the eye of the storm
the silence following the blast
a good time to get things done
instead i'm watching csi
and playing sudoku
taking a break
to refresh my mind
before the storm of life rages on
before the blasting starts again
-------------
Saturday Morning
Do I go hiking?
Or laze about all morning?
Such a conundrum.
Denise
Parties
Too many b-day's
too little time
Emily today
House party
Kegs and stolen cups
Habanero infused vodka
Ginger infused vodka
Cucumber
Mustache parties
Keg stands
party crasher
Kristal tomorrow
Sunny coast
seventy degrees
champagne toasts
A carpool to the coast
----
rachel
saturday
right now there's quiet
the eye of the storm
the silence following the blast
a good time to get things done
instead i'm watching csi
and playing sudoku
taking a break
to refresh my mind
before the storm of life rages on
before the blasting starts again
-------------
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
14 May 2009
vanessa
messenger
rain;
from earth to sky and back,
life-blood and blood-life and
sometimes blood-letter.
rain;
shrinks the coefficient of friction
'tween band of rubber and
ribbon of asphalt.
rain;
stretch and pull, like taffy,
the pavement it takes to join
the frame of motion of trees.
rain;
did not stop the school bus
did not stop the blood from
getting all over this letter.
--------------
lily
making bread
First just one substance at a time,
fine powders and crystals -
trust in science and measurement.
Then stir until you get something
new and alive -
freckled, stretchy dough
grows, warms, bubbles, smells.
Kneaded again, it is less pliant,
now resistant to your intentions -
use the body, not the brain.
Patience and fire give form to desire.
--------------
rachel and christine
the beginning of the end
stickers you are done
a thousand two cent'rs please
j ferg you should win
---------------
Ravi
The Shanty Window
BNSF train
rolls on to God only knows,
As I drink my tea.
messenger
rain;
from earth to sky and back,
life-blood and blood-life and
sometimes blood-letter.
rain;
shrinks the coefficient of friction
'tween band of rubber and
ribbon of asphalt.
rain;
stretch and pull, like taffy,
the pavement it takes to join
the frame of motion of trees.
rain;
did not stop the school bus
did not stop the blood from
getting all over this letter.
--------------
lily
making bread
First just one substance at a time,
fine powders and crystals -
trust in science and measurement.
Then stir until you get something
new and alive -
freckled, stretchy dough
grows, warms, bubbles, smells.
Kneaded again, it is less pliant,
now resistant to your intentions -
use the body, not the brain.
Patience and fire give form to desire.
--------------
rachel and christine
the beginning of the end
stickers you are done
a thousand two cent'rs please
j ferg you should win
---------------
Ravi
The Shanty Window
BNSF train
rolls on to God only knows,
As I drink my tea.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
13 May 2009
Michael
An Echo of an X-Ray
A memory of terror
Or years of torture?
What life has given
We take with no regard
Bound, gagged, and blind
We, as prisoners, hope for hope's sake
Blood running cold
Hearts failing to rise
A death is no crime
But this horrible existence is its own punishment
---
Susan
Another long day
with nothing but a haiku
to show for it all.
-----------
rachel
short crust no bake pie
deviled eggs on a platter
time to barbecue!
-------------
Christine
You know that feeling
when you sit down
in a theater
the lights dimming
previews playing
and you are anticipating
the warm and fuzzy ending
before the opening credits
begin to roll?
And then there's that companion feeling
when the ending credits start
and you are still waiting
for that warm and fuzzy feeling.
You should have known
by the actors who actually spoke the language
of the people they were portraying
and the various awards
printed and encircled
with some sort of branch
(olive?)
on the top of the poster,
that this is the type of film
that reminds us of
the "human condition,"
art speak for
"its not our job to be happy."
------
lily
Missed a day again.
too busy working
to be introspective,
but maybe tomorrow
I'll be ready to look
from a new perspective.
------
Ravi
Why, skinny jeans, why,
Did I cave in and get you?
I'm not a hipster.
An Echo of an X-Ray
A memory of terror
Or years of torture?
What life has given
We take with no regard
Bound, gagged, and blind
We, as prisoners, hope for hope's sake
Blood running cold
Hearts failing to rise
A death is no crime
But this horrible existence is its own punishment
---
Susan
Another long day
with nothing but a haiku
to show for it all.
-----------
rachel
short crust no bake pie
deviled eggs on a platter
time to barbecue!
-------------
Christine
You know that feeling
when you sit down
in a theater
the lights dimming
previews playing
and you are anticipating
the warm and fuzzy ending
before the opening credits
begin to roll?
And then there's that companion feeling
when the ending credits start
and you are still waiting
for that warm and fuzzy feeling.
You should have known
by the actors who actually spoke the language
of the people they were portraying
and the various awards
printed and encircled
with some sort of branch
(olive?)
on the top of the poster,
that this is the type of film
that reminds us of
the "human condition,"
art speak for
"its not our job to be happy."
------
lily
Missed a day again.
too busy working
to be introspective,
but maybe tomorrow
I'll be ready to look
from a new perspective.
------
Ravi
Why, skinny jeans, why,
Did I cave in and get you?
I'm not a hipster.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
12 May 2009
vanessa
blustery springtime
gust of wind and fickle sun
intermittent rain
------------
rachel
evolution of a thought (a 3 haiku series)
i know that you're back
i'm sorry about your life
would you like a pie?
i know that you're back
i would bake another pie
if you would want me
i know that you're back
i will bake you no more pies
you just make me mad
----------------
lily
every ride you give me
every story you tell
every time we laugh together
you bring me home
-----------------------
Michael
Never having forgotten
What it means to misplace
I look for the thing I could never find
I keep myself a little too close
This wall feels like home
And the silence comforts
I have so far to go
And so much to lose
Winning always means losing something
--------
Ravi
Five Point Café: Damn,
Your bacon pancakes are huge!
I couldn't finish.
blustery springtime
gust of wind and fickle sun
intermittent rain
------------
rachel
evolution of a thought (a 3 haiku series)
i know that you're back
i'm sorry about your life
would you like a pie?
i know that you're back
i would bake another pie
if you would want me
i know that you're back
i will bake you no more pies
you just make me mad
----------------
lily
every ride you give me
every story you tell
every time we laugh together
you bring me home
-----------------------
Michael
Never having forgotten
What it means to misplace
I look for the thing I could never find
I keep myself a little too close
This wall feels like home
And the silence comforts
I have so far to go
And so much to lose
Winning always means losing something
--------
Ravi
Five Point Café: Damn,
Your bacon pancakes are huge!
I couldn't finish.
Monday, May 11, 2009
11 May 2009
rachel
i'm sure there is a reason i felt like tonight was the time
to light a candle for you
it's as if my body knows instinctively the time of year
without me thinking of it
it may just be that i've been hiking recently
and your ghost is on every trail
it may just be that it's camping season again
and your face is in every fire
or it may be that when the seasons change
every year, late april
i will remember that i never considered living the rest of my life
without you.
-------------
vanessa
monday morning
pedaling slowly
sore knee, headwind and red light
will I be on time?
--------------
Michael
Old Guard In
A little run of disappointment
Keeps the track from wearing thin
We mourn the loss of thing we never had
But praise the things we never could
Standing in a door
Moving, but restrained completely
Every event draws destiny closer
A lineage into everything
Walking the land of one thousand ghosts
Bitter tears falling from stoic eyes
The travel has been harsh
But the mind is harsher
------------------------------
Lily
An open window
Leaves scattered on my pillows
But the wind is gone
--------
Susan
Work rubbed at me today
(the grown-up part of me)
and I counted down toward
a sunny bike ride home:
inwardly focusing
torpedos to launch at
misbehaving drivers.
My inner twelve-year-old
has never been better.
-----------------
fawn
Reverse Haiku
Airplanes exhale rhythmic paths
above my small house--
a snowglobe of travel lines.
-------------
Ravi
Took some photographs.
Seems my lens focus is off.
More blurred memories.
#
Christine
The Day Postage Went Up
That extra 2 cents was in the air,
people walking in front of cars,
biking across traffic.
500 of those extra stamps,
and that's not even half my horde.
The postal employee was shocked.
---
Sahar
I was going to write my poem on time,
But I fell asleep at 10 pm
While watching Dollhouse on Hulu.
I need a more interesting life.
i'm sure there is a reason i felt like tonight was the time
to light a candle for you
it's as if my body knows instinctively the time of year
without me thinking of it
it may just be that i've been hiking recently
and your ghost is on every trail
it may just be that it's camping season again
and your face is in every fire
or it may be that when the seasons change
every year, late april
i will remember that i never considered living the rest of my life
without you.
-------------
vanessa
monday morning
pedaling slowly
sore knee, headwind and red light
will I be on time?
--------------
Michael
Old Guard In
A little run of disappointment
Keeps the track from wearing thin
We mourn the loss of thing we never had
But praise the things we never could
Standing in a door
Moving, but restrained completely
Every event draws destiny closer
A lineage into everything
Walking the land of one thousand ghosts
Bitter tears falling from stoic eyes
The travel has been harsh
But the mind is harsher
------------------------------
Lily
An open window
Leaves scattered on my pillows
But the wind is gone
--------
Susan
Work rubbed at me today
(the grown-up part of me)
and I counted down toward
a sunny bike ride home:
inwardly focusing
torpedos to launch at
misbehaving drivers.
My inner twelve-year-old
has never been better.
-----------------
fawn
Reverse Haiku
Airplanes exhale rhythmic paths
above my small house--
a snowglobe of travel lines.
-------------
Ravi
Took some photographs.
Seems my lens focus is off.
More blurred memories.
#
Christine
The Day Postage Went Up
That extra 2 cents was in the air,
people walking in front of cars,
biking across traffic.
500 of those extra stamps,
and that's not even half my horde.
The postal employee was shocked.
---
Sahar
I was going to write my poem on time,
But I fell asleep at 10 pm
While watching Dollhouse on Hulu.
I need a more interesting life.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
10 May 2009
Lily
to my mom
You made my snap decisions thirty years ago -
Every day I watch myself become more like you.
The malleable self is melting away,
the sharp edges of personality beginning to show.
Am I a miniature, ready to be bonsaied?
The net of biology is invisibly enforced.
Is this my skeleton's hidden strength?
Foundation of all action,
limitation of contortion,
the binding and the power?
------
Sahar!
To my mommy,
Your head is small
But your heart is large.
And I love you because
you're my family and
my friend.
Susan
Sundays are for excess
Today I ate a bagel,
with a mug of tea too.
Lunch was squash, in fritters
With a sauce with dill,
Leftover salad as well.
I got hungry later at work;
Ate a scone on break.
More tea, midafternoon.
Dinner was from Burgerville:
Gardenburger, fries.
All I want right now is
more junk food.
(Tater tots in oven...)
Bonus haiku for my family :)
Happy mother's day
and happy graduation
a good Barlow day!
------------------------
Michael
Challenged
I search with great acuity
To discover some kind of honesty
My weak point is my brevity
That I more than make up with in temerity
Why do we search so endlessly
To uncover ourselves rather senselessly
But only enjoying the intermittent needs
Of those we cause many infirmities
I wish to live so brazenly
To be beyond my selfish deeds
Where the minds of genius take to seed
Growing for all eternity
I dedicate this to my mother, my grandmother, my future mother in law, my future step mother in law, my future grandmother in law and the future mother of my children.
-----------------------
rachel and christine
ode to target
yoga towel
plush microfiber loops spring like blades of grass
hand soap
dresses my hands like i dress my tea
tiny purell
the crisp apples of cleanliness
black tank top
you make my sweater less skank-tastic
gray tank top
do your ribs make you look like a wife beater?
shampoo
clarifying light shines through my hair
$1.50 body wash
will your melon overwhelm me?
does she work here?
thank goodness i wasn't wearing that red t-shirt
razor
wtf target, has sociological images gotten the best of you?
target
why do i love you?
target
stay open later!
target
you light up (and clean up) my life
target
you make me less skanky
(*note: we are target buddies - NOT dating!)
-------------------
fawn
Natural Light
A neighbor's yardlights shine among tulips;
the closest ones arch open in the tepid shine.
At my own yard, camillas drop rusty flowers
like dirty clothes, lemonbalm's tang punches
through the wet spring air, a mass of tangle and
chaos wound to sense by morning glory's tongs.
----------
vanessa
mother's day
[author's note: mother's day was always tomato planting day when i was growing up.]
First, push the trowel
all the way down.
Pull backwards and hold.
Hand, white with bone meal:
place one fistful in the hole.
Then, tip seedling upside down,
fingers in a V
surrounding delicate stem,
and tap firmly.
Out comes the plant.
Place it in the chasm and
adjust depth as necessary to have
brown earth
at the first set of
green leaves.
Pat soil firm and
give it a drink.
---------------
Ravi
I kind of like you,
but you are a drama queen.
Maybe in four years?
-------
to my mom
You made my snap decisions thirty years ago -
Every day I watch myself become more like you.
The malleable self is melting away,
the sharp edges of personality beginning to show.
Am I a miniature, ready to be bonsaied?
The net of biology is invisibly enforced.
Is this my skeleton's hidden strength?
Foundation of all action,
limitation of contortion,
the binding and the power?
------
Sahar!
To my mommy,
Your head is small
But your heart is large.
And I love you because
you're my family and
my friend.
Susan
Sundays are for excess
Today I ate a bagel,
with a mug of tea too.
Lunch was squash, in fritters
With a sauce with dill,
Leftover salad as well.
I got hungry later at work;
Ate a scone on break.
More tea, midafternoon.
Dinner was from Burgerville:
Gardenburger, fries.
All I want right now is
more junk food.
(Tater tots in oven...)
Bonus haiku for my family :)
Happy mother's day
and happy graduation
a good Barlow day!
------------------------
Michael
Challenged
I search with great acuity
To discover some kind of honesty
My weak point is my brevity
That I more than make up with in temerity
Why do we search so endlessly
To uncover ourselves rather senselessly
But only enjoying the intermittent needs
Of those we cause many infirmities
I wish to live so brazenly
To be beyond my selfish deeds
Where the minds of genius take to seed
Growing for all eternity
I dedicate this to my mother, my grandmother, my future mother in law, my future step mother in law, my future grandmother in law and the future mother of my children.
-----------------------
rachel and christine
ode to target
yoga towel
plush microfiber loops spring like blades of grass
hand soap
dresses my hands like i dress my tea
tiny purell
the crisp apples of cleanliness
black tank top
you make my sweater less skank-tastic
gray tank top
do your ribs make you look like a wife beater?
shampoo
clarifying light shines through my hair
$1.50 body wash
will your melon overwhelm me?
does she work here?
thank goodness i wasn't wearing that red t-shirt
razor
wtf target, has sociological images gotten the best of you?
target
why do i love you?
target
stay open later!
target
you light up (and clean up) my life
target
you make me less skanky
(*note: we are target buddies - NOT dating!)
-------------------
fawn
Natural Light
A neighbor's yardlights shine among tulips;
the closest ones arch open in the tepid shine.
At my own yard, camillas drop rusty flowers
like dirty clothes, lemonbalm's tang punches
through the wet spring air, a mass of tangle and
chaos wound to sense by morning glory's tongs.
----------
vanessa
mother's day
[author's note: mother's day was always tomato planting day when i was growing up.]
First, push the trowel
all the way down.
Pull backwards and hold.
Hand, white with bone meal:
place one fistful in the hole.
Then, tip seedling upside down,
fingers in a V
surrounding delicate stem,
and tap firmly.
Out comes the plant.
Place it in the chasm and
adjust depth as necessary to have
brown earth
at the first set of
green leaves.
Pat soil firm and
give it a drink.
---------------
Ravi
I kind of like you,
but you are a drama queen.
Maybe in four years?
-------
Saturday, May 9, 2009
9 May 2009
Thoth
All now
Over,
Done,
Spent laying on the skin
My breath bated,
This fire's been satiated
Leaving a time to recoil
The light framing the room
Touching the corners
My eyes are closed, then I feel
The sight of mind
-------
vanessa
planters i saw today
truck bed of pansies
beer keg sprouting rosemary
rainboots with flowers
------
Ravi
Oh rollercoaster,
with all of your ups and downs.
Why do I ride you?
------
Lily
Sunshine on picnic tables,
sausage smoke,
late afternoon.
A familiar face!
Sudden burst of words and news
Torrent from another city:
gray choking air, ogres, rats,
clammy people breathing disease,
tubes of humanity beneath the streets -
and all your dreams, available any time of day
nine million possibilities
"You have to be in an infinite crisis
to justify such ugliness
it only makes sense in siberia
fighting off ogres -
So much ugliness here,
I look for ogres around every corner"
Back to the moment
the sun
the table
a bucket of flowers
a shared memory
two streams of thought
meet
then part again
-------
fawn
Memory. Realism. True?
In the 5me by midnight
hundreds of china plates
debrised in alleys.
Greek restaurant owners
wanting to attract tourists
break them in anger, jest,
excitement, desperation.
Stepping over the shards
upon cobblestone mosaics,
Paris, quartier latin.
When your sallow fever water
runs clear into the Seine
maybe I will return,
Paris. Sometimes
you are only a well-loved
pop-up book of memories,
sometimes I can smell
every coin and every rue.
-------------------------
rachel
excerpts from this morning's long overdue emails (12:54 am - 1:58 am)
hello love
as you can probably tell
it's been a while
your family is beautiful
i would love to see you while you're here
speaking of art
it's pretty crazy stuff
we fished out of the pool
both a blessing and a curse
new england winter is behind you
change
the journey that took you to a monastery
scattered ideas and motivations
i'm lucky to know one
reliably permanent
i would be much happier
you deserve a prize
Sahar
Even if I wrote all day
I couldn't write anything
as beautiful as M. Ward's
cover of "Let's Dance."
All now
Over,
Done,
Spent laying on the skin
My breath bated,
This fire's been satiated
Leaving a time to recoil
The light framing the room
Touching the corners
My eyes are closed, then I feel
The sight of mind
-------
vanessa
planters i saw today
truck bed of pansies
beer keg sprouting rosemary
rainboots with flowers
------
Ravi
Oh rollercoaster,
with all of your ups and downs.
Why do I ride you?
------
Lily
Sunshine on picnic tables,
sausage smoke,
late afternoon.
A familiar face!
Sudden burst of words and news
Torrent from another city:
gray choking air, ogres, rats,
clammy people breathing disease,
tubes of humanity beneath the streets -
and all your dreams, available any time of day
nine million possibilities
"You have to be in an infinite crisis
to justify such ugliness
it only makes sense in siberia
fighting off ogres -
So much ugliness here,
I look for ogres around every corner"
Back to the moment
the sun
the table
a bucket of flowers
a shared memory
two streams of thought
meet
then part again
-------
fawn
Memory. Realism. True?
In the 5me by midnight
hundreds of china plates
debrised in alleys.
Greek restaurant owners
wanting to attract tourists
break them in anger, jest,
excitement, desperation.
Stepping over the shards
upon cobblestone mosaics,
Paris, quartier latin.
When your sallow fever water
runs clear into the Seine
maybe I will return,
Paris. Sometimes
you are only a well-loved
pop-up book of memories,
sometimes I can smell
every coin and every rue.
-------------------------
rachel
excerpts from this morning's long overdue emails (12:54 am - 1:58 am)
hello love
as you can probably tell
it's been a while
your family is beautiful
i would love to see you while you're here
speaking of art
it's pretty crazy stuff
we fished out of the pool
both a blessing and a curse
new england winter is behind you
change
the journey that took you to a monastery
scattered ideas and motivations
i'm lucky to know one
reliably permanent
i would be much happier
you deserve a prize
Sahar
Even if I wrote all day
I couldn't write anything
as beautiful as M. Ward's
cover of "Let's Dance."
Friday, May 8, 2009
8 May 2009
lily
innapropriate limerick(s)
There once was a man with a bukkit
and a walrus who told him to sukkit
"I haz it" he said
"and soon you'll be dead,
"If you don't leave me alone now to fukkit."
I once knew a girl with some chalk,
she liked to hold up to her crotch.
A twelve-year-old's begun
to want to be hung,
But even he'd think this is a bit much!
----------------------
rachel
*note: this project is quite hard for the sweet new england girl in me...but here's your inappropriate (dirty) limerick...*
cock slapping
there once was a man with a big dick
he'd slap girls so hard it would stick
then he met a filly
and stopped being silly
and now all he likes to do is lick
------------
fawn
There once was a dude
who liked to be lewd
He wore mini-skirts on the bus
just to cause a fuss
but mostly enjoyed walking the dog nude.
-----------
vanessa (damn i need a pen name here)
I once met a man with a truck
Who said, “It’s a good place to fuck."
“Just hop on inside,
no reason to hide,
and don’t mind the cock, he just clucks.”
------------
Ravi
There once was a man with an itch,
Who wanted to fuck a witch.
He tried to win one over,
but just died of a fever.
Now his body just lies in a ditch.
Sahar!
There once was this giant schlong
that was over a mile long
the villagers were confused
as to how this could be used
And decided convert it to a bong.
Christine
Some girls are content just to fuck.
Still others crave the silent duck.
Oh: Who, what, you ask,
Take google to task,
Ask nice and you might be in luck.
#
Susan
I met him on match dot com,
and he sent me a pic of his schlong.
But he recoiled in shock
when I took out MY cock
I'd been hiding it all along!
I once had a boyfriend named Pete
who bragged about the size of his meat
till one night, out of malice
I trimmed down his phallus
To something more short and sweet.
---
innapropriate limerick(s)
There once was a man with a bukkit
and a walrus who told him to sukkit
"I haz it" he said
"and soon you'll be dead,
"If you don't leave me alone now to fukkit."
there once was a girl with no cock
but her ex somehow still felt quite blocked
they both had a friend
who wanted it to end
so he stuffed the ex's mouth with a sock.
so he stuffed the ex's mouth with a sock.
I once knew a girl with some chalk,
she liked to hold up to her crotch.
A twelve-year-old's begun
to want to be hung,
But even he'd think this is a bit much!
----------------------
rachel
*note: this project is quite hard for the sweet new england girl in me...but here's your inappropriate (dirty) limerick...*
cock slapping
there once was a man with a big dick
he'd slap girls so hard it would stick
then he met a filly
and stopped being silly
and now all he likes to do is lick
------------
fawn
There once was a dude
who liked to be lewd
He wore mini-skirts on the bus
just to cause a fuss
but mostly enjoyed walking the dog nude.
-----------
vanessa (damn i need a pen name here)
I once met a man with a truck
Who said, “It’s a good place to fuck."
“Just hop on inside,
no reason to hide,
and don’t mind the cock, he just clucks.”
------------
Ravi
There once was a man with an itch,
Who wanted to fuck a witch.
He tried to win one over,
but just died of a fever.
Now his body just lies in a ditch.
Sahar!
There once was this giant schlong
that was over a mile long
the villagers were confused
as to how this could be used
And decided convert it to a bong.
Christine
Some girls are content just to fuck.
Still others crave the silent duck.
Oh: Who, what, you ask,
Take google to task,
Ask nice and you might be in luck.
#
Susan
I met him on match dot com,
and he sent me a pic of his schlong.
But he recoiled in shock
when I took out MY cock
I'd been hiding it all along!
I once had a boyfriend named Pete
who bragged about the size of his meat
till one night, out of malice
I trimmed down his phallus
To something more short and sweet.
---
Thursday, May 7, 2009
7 May 2009
rachel
waking up
jolt awake
sun trickling through the windows
panic
clock reads 8:30
did i over sleep?
what happened to my alarm?
heart racing
bolt upright
reach for the phone
8:34 pm
pm?
oh yeah, i took a nap.
-------------------------
Michael
Travail
This fire
It knows its own home
Where alone,
It grows
The closing of this gap
A time to take for two
A heat that burns up everything
Laying back to enjoy the inferno
Flames lick my insides
Raw, hard, burnt feeling
Pouring from every pore
Like climbing a mountain, blind
-------------------------------------
Denise
Bus Adventures
the day begins with a run to the bus.
transit tracker..6 min..4 min..1 min..DUE
Today the bus said
"Drop off only"
Oh no- a 20 minute deadline
Four people trickled off
can we six fit?
We cram on
Hope everyone took a shower
Close quarters someone observes
Bus driver:
"I met my wife on the bus"
Someone asks.
Is that why you are a bus driver?
Two stops go by and I am pushed further and further
into the back of the bus
As asian man takes a seat
I get the seat behind him
dirty hair
disruptive odor
black hair peppered with extra large dandruff flakes
gross.
Maybe tomorrow everyone will shower.
-------------
Christine
I took an online poll today
to determine
which,
if any,
local band I would go to the zoo
to see play
this summer.
Exotic and rare,
the lonely siren,
or boy with guitar,
to be lauded under a pale moon.
I voted for a kid named Jake.
I've seen him around,
drinking Stumptown.
I doubt I would go to the zoo,
just to see him play.
------
Susan
Today's the day
I'll do ALL the laundry.
Today's the day
I'll smile at EVERY customer.
(well, not that one guy,
he's a dick.)
Today's the day
I'll write a REAL poem.
about feelings.
Today's the day
I will ONLY eat vegetables.
Today's the day.
Thursday.
Thursday?
TOMORROW'S the day.
------
Your Mom
There once was a lass
That had a sweet ass
A-riding that donkey, she fled
Up to the hill, to meet with Old Bill
To give him a piece of her head
Upon her return
She said with a squirm
What is this poor girl to do?
I''ll ride to the zoo, find a beaver or two
Tis' furry and musty with dew
------
Choices by Sahar Baharloo
Instead of doing homework,
Tonight I drank half a bottle of wine
and listened to a young man's business idea
of starting a company called
the International House of Handjobs.
------
Lily
City lights look so pretty
way out there and far away
all the life boxed up inside
I can't hear the things you say
In my box I'm also sitting
Silent with the lights on low
In between us trees are talking,
Night is walking, whispers low.
--
Fawn
Ladder
You could climb it like a ladder,
the Bangkok heat. A ladder
that leads you nowhere, anywhere,
somewhere small.
-------
Vanessa
Bike Lane
Raccoon, dead three days
Gravel, strewn in December snow
Glass, vessel made into minefield
Cigarette butts, a pile of twenty
Water, oily puddle of debris
Running shoes, inattentive jogger
Blossoms, fallen from above
You and I, flying on bicycles
--------
Ravi
First Thursday Art Walk.
Head down to the basement of
the OK Hotel!
waking up
jolt awake
sun trickling through the windows
panic
clock reads 8:30
did i over sleep?
what happened to my alarm?
heart racing
bolt upright
reach for the phone
8:34 pm
pm?
oh yeah, i took a nap.
-------------------------
Michael
Travail
This fire
It knows its own home
Where alone,
It grows
The closing of this gap
A time to take for two
A heat that burns up everything
Laying back to enjoy the inferno
Flames lick my insides
Raw, hard, burnt feeling
Pouring from every pore
Like climbing a mountain, blind
-------------------------------------
Denise
Bus Adventures
the day begins with a run to the bus.
transit tracker..6 min..4 min..1 min..DUE
Today the bus said
"Drop off only"
Oh no- a 20 minute deadline
Four people trickled off
can we six fit?
We cram on
Hope everyone took a shower
Close quarters someone observes
Bus driver:
"I met my wife on the bus"
Someone asks.
Is that why you are a bus driver?
Two stops go by and I am pushed further and further
into the back of the bus
As asian man takes a seat
I get the seat behind him
dirty hair
disruptive odor
black hair peppered with extra large dandruff flakes
gross.
Maybe tomorrow everyone will shower.
-------------
Christine
I took an online poll today
to determine
which,
if any,
local band I would go to the zoo
to see play
this summer.
Exotic and rare,
the lonely siren,
or boy with guitar,
to be lauded under a pale moon.
I voted for a kid named Jake.
I've seen him around,
drinking Stumptown.
I doubt I would go to the zoo,
just to see him play.
------
Susan
Today's the day
I'll do ALL the laundry.
Today's the day
I'll smile at EVERY customer.
(well, not that one guy,
he's a dick.)
Today's the day
I'll write a REAL poem.
about feelings.
Today's the day
I will ONLY eat vegetables.
Today's the day.
Thursday.
Thursday?
TOMORROW'S the day.
------
Your Mom
There once was a lass
That had a sweet ass
A-riding that donkey, she fled
Up to the hill, to meet with Old Bill
To give him a piece of her head
Upon her return
She said with a squirm
What is this poor girl to do?
I''ll ride to the zoo, find a beaver or two
Tis' furry and musty with dew
------
Choices by Sahar Baharloo
Instead of doing homework,
Tonight I drank half a bottle of wine
and listened to a young man's business idea
of starting a company called
the International House of Handjobs.
------
Lily
City lights look so pretty
way out there and far away
all the life boxed up inside
I can't hear the things you say
In my box I'm also sitting
Silent with the lights on low
In between us trees are talking,
Night is walking, whispers low.
--
Fawn
Ladder
You could climb it like a ladder,
the Bangkok heat. A ladder
that leads you nowhere, anywhere,
somewhere small.
-------
Vanessa
Bike Lane
Raccoon, dead three days
Gravel, strewn in December snow
Glass, vessel made into minefield
Cigarette butts, a pile of twenty
Water, oily puddle of debris
Running shoes, inattentive jogger
Blossoms, fallen from above
You and I, flying on bicycles
--------
Ravi
First Thursday Art Walk.
Head down to the basement of
the OK Hotel!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
6 May 2009
fawn
Aioli: A Recipe Poem
Break the egg carefully. Part the white and yolk in silence.
Keep the yellow. It's all you'll need.
With a silver fork or whisk
consistify the yellow with more yellow: they are at peace.
Dijon, but not too much. You want to imagine custard
and snow simultaneously.
With your mince, with your garlic, toasted,
untoasted, either way, stream olive oil gently
into the yellow. Springlike, primordial.
Beat.
Still beat.
Stop.
Salt next, and then pepper. White for tradition,
black for the new.
More oil. Your flourish
white vinegar, capful at most,
lime or lemon juice.
It's over. The aubade, the leaving of the sauce,
cool temperatures, lonesome cutlery.
Thoth
Tocking clock ticks
I, refusing to watch
Refusing to wait
End up fusing with the time piece
I run, run, run up the tower
To tell everyone the time
I like the face of the clock
Its regular position, its delicate fingers
Caressing the gentle lines of her face
The six, rounded chin
The three, her bundled, soft ear
Twelve, the wisps of hair on the front of her forehead
Holding the clock, not with my hand
But with my wrist
She waits for me
But waits for no other man
----------------------
rachel
in my head
when things are quiet
and all the stimuli are gone
are the times i notice
the things i get stuck in my head
bouncing around in my brain
there were two months
where ever time my brain was off
i would here the same verse
he's the one, who like all our pretty songs...
playing in my brain
it isn't just songs that get stuck there
sometimes a word or phrase will pop out of nowhere
screaming in my head
unexpectedly, in a loud angry voice
rattling my brain
other times it's an idea
that i can't stop thinking about
no matter how high i count
every time i shut down it's there, waiting for me
churning in my brain
the worst are people
who leave a part of them with me
lodged in my skull like the tip of a broken off knife
like an episode of CSI
calcifying in my brain
when things are quiet
and i stop thinking about my day, a job, the news
is when that song, phrase, idea, person comes out
never letting me shut down
it's when my brain thinks about you.
#
Christine
Fruit Flies, a meditation
A pile of dirty dishes,
a bit hazardous in the sink,
the top bowl brimming with water,
just so.
A few grapes on the counter,
spotted and squashed,
and the paper towel, crumpled,
and left in a purple puddle.
The beer bottles still unwashed,
with labels pulled and frayed,
somehow in line and
form the left flank.
Is that kugel on the stove?
Pizza crusts in the box?
Coffee leaving a bathtub ring
as the cup grows less than half full?
And treasures abound.
Sahar
Today I bought underwear instead of doing laundry
For the second time this year.
I am so proud to be an American.
-------------
vanessa
rain sun clouds repeat
seven minute intervals
recursive weather
--------------
Susan
i would like some time
to myself -- only myself
to sit in the sun.
--------------
Lily
In the last two months
haven't mowed the lawn,
every morning an earlier dawn,
almost time for a campfire singalong,
solstice is almost here!
Jungle volleyball
Hike to a waterfall
bluegrass dance tunes
Flying water balloons
Smells like summer's almost here -
Almost time for turkey and beer!
-------
Denise
Circle
Encircled
Alpha and Omega
Source and the End
Totality
In time and Space
mystery of the womb and the tomb
beauty above me
beauty below me
beauty to the right of me
beauty to the left of me
I am on the pollen path.
--------
Ravi
My laptop screen broke.
Life feels so odd without it.
Could be worse, I know.
Aioli: A Recipe Poem
Break the egg carefully. Part the white and yolk in silence.
Keep the yellow. It's all you'll need.
With a silver fork or whisk
consistify the yellow with more yellow: they are at peace.
Dijon, but not too much. You want to imagine custard
and snow simultaneously.
With your mince, with your garlic, toasted,
untoasted, either way, stream olive oil gently
into the yellow. Springlike, primordial.
Beat.
Still beat.
Stop.
Salt next, and then pepper. White for tradition,
black for the new.
More oil. Your flourish
white vinegar, capful at most,
lime or lemon juice.
It's over. The aubade, the leaving of the sauce,
cool temperatures, lonesome cutlery.
Thoth
Tocking clock ticks
I, refusing to watch
Refusing to wait
End up fusing with the time piece
I run, run, run up the tower
To tell everyone the time
I like the face of the clock
Its regular position, its delicate fingers
Caressing the gentle lines of her face
The six, rounded chin
The three, her bundled, soft ear
Twelve, the wisps of hair on the front of her forehead
Holding the clock, not with my hand
But with my wrist
She waits for me
But waits for no other man
----------------------
rachel
in my head
when things are quiet
and all the stimuli are gone
are the times i notice
the things i get stuck in my head
bouncing around in my brain
there were two months
where ever time my brain was off
i would here the same verse
he's the one, who like all our pretty songs...
playing in my brain
it isn't just songs that get stuck there
sometimes a word or phrase will pop out of nowhere
screaming in my head
unexpectedly, in a loud angry voice
rattling my brain
other times it's an idea
that i can't stop thinking about
no matter how high i count
every time i shut down it's there, waiting for me
churning in my brain
the worst are people
who leave a part of them with me
lodged in my skull like the tip of a broken off knife
like an episode of CSI
calcifying in my brain
when things are quiet
and i stop thinking about my day, a job, the news
is when that song, phrase, idea, person comes out
never letting me shut down
it's when my brain thinks about you.
#
Christine
Fruit Flies, a meditation
A pile of dirty dishes,
a bit hazardous in the sink,
the top bowl brimming with water,
just so.
A few grapes on the counter,
spotted and squashed,
and the paper towel, crumpled,
and left in a purple puddle.
The beer bottles still unwashed,
with labels pulled and frayed,
somehow in line and
form the left flank.
Is that kugel on the stove?
Pizza crusts in the box?
Coffee leaving a bathtub ring
as the cup grows less than half full?
And treasures abound.
Sahar
Today I bought underwear instead of doing laundry
For the second time this year.
I am so proud to be an American.
-------------
vanessa
rain sun clouds repeat
seven minute intervals
recursive weather
--------------
Susan
i would like some time
to myself -- only myself
to sit in the sun.
--------------
Lily
In the last two months
haven't mowed the lawn,
every morning an earlier dawn,
almost time for a campfire singalong,
solstice is almost here!
Jungle volleyball
Hike to a waterfall
bluegrass dance tunes
Flying water balloons
Smells like summer's almost here -
Almost time for turkey and beer!
-------
Denise
Circle
Encircled
Alpha and Omega
Source and the End
Totality
In time and Space
mystery of the womb and the tomb
beauty above me
beauty below me
beauty to the right of me
beauty to the left of me
I am on the pollen path.
--------
Ravi
My laptop screen broke.
Life feels so odd without it.
Could be worse, I know.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
5 May 2009
fawn
She held her wrists against the streetlight Os,
mimicking winter branches. She wants
to make her body into shadow and her heartbeat
to drums. Hang a fermata like a crescent moon
overhead; Venus dotting the sign.
------------------
rachel
everybody smells v.2
everybody smells, i just notice it.
that is not to say
that everybody smells bad
just that everyone has a scent
the summer after my senior year of high school
all my shirts smelled like 'gravity'
the overwhelming scent he left lingering on me after a tryst in the parking lot
i never think of him now, except when i walk by someone wearing gravity
the two years i sat working every day, traveling every week, with him
even though i couldn't see him i knew he had just walked through the front door
spicy juniper with an undercut of salt would waft through the building into my office
making me angry
the spring she spent thesising at the reactor
every day when i walked in i could tell if she'd been there
cigarettes and something vaguely chemical, dark, and floral
it was how i judged if the samples were counted
it took me a while to identify the smell that followed him
it was vaguely manly and like a teenage boy
i identified it by accident, smelling the deodorants in the isles of rite aid
eventually he will admit that it's axe kilo
there are some people who do not smell like product
who do not smell like the fusion of cologne, shampoo, deodorant
there are some people whose scent ekes from their pores, it lingers behind the other scents in their breath
powdery, with wood, a little sweat, and a spice i can't identify
these smells do not linger in hallways
they don't stay on your shirt for days
these scents you have to be close in to get
everybody smells, i just notice it.
------
vanessa
portland
that you can
simultaneously
pour rain and decant sunshine
continuously
amazes our visitors
------
lily
scars
The one on my forehead is invisible
the memory itself is fading out -
excitement, speed, fascinating gears,
gravel driveway,
I don't know what happened next.
Stripes across my hand are a cheerful reminder
of my independence,
cooking pudding all by myself
(in a pot half the size of the burner),
a good lesson in pain management.
Messy pinks lines down my arm
the only time I've ever panicked in the woods,
and ran.
Embarrassing!
Graceful curve down my leg
and its sister, a secret mark behind my knee,
I didn't even notice I was bleeding.
On my finger
a small cut compared to the pain.
I remember who held my hand
in the emergency room,
but I took the stitches out myself.
Another for a night in the lab,
two were worth cookies in a hurry,
many are just visiting and will be gone
when the winter or the stress are over.
They are all disappearing now,
even the ones that are already only stories -
rewritten or covered over
by time, freckles, new scars,
temporary bruises,
leaving myself -
not a blank slate anymore -
but an erased one
a little smudgy
but still serviceable -
canvas for a new creation.
------
Marianna
it seems somewhere i dropped along the way
my knack for distance my desire for change
today only! hearts' cagematch versus brains:
winner takes all. ONE DAY ONE DAY ONE DAY.
-----
Ravi
Dear Monster, Craigslist,
Careerbuilder et al.
This isn't healthy
Sahar
I'm an archeologist in my own room
All my treasures lost
Under mountains of dirty clothes and magazines.
Thoth
Test
Don't tell me
You need time
To find
Where I can go
Its about time
We climb
As the sun
Shows us a round
The chains we hide
Are the keys we hold
When pain becomes a smile
We walk an inch but it feels like a mile
---
Susan
haiku tuesday
it's going to be
a soaking we bike ride home
after work tonight.
----
Denise
Rain
Rain Rain
Please come back
Insomnia
The beating drops
against the roof-
They are my lullaby
The Dancer
She held her wrists against the streetlight Os,
mimicking winter branches. She wants
to make her body into shadow and her heartbeat
to drums. Hang a fermata like a crescent moon
overhead; Venus dotting the sign.
------------------
rachel
everybody smells v.2
everybody smells, i just notice it.
that is not to say
that everybody smells bad
just that everyone has a scent
the summer after my senior year of high school
all my shirts smelled like 'gravity'
the overwhelming scent he left lingering on me after a tryst in the parking lot
i never think of him now, except when i walk by someone wearing gravity
the two years i sat working every day, traveling every week, with him
even though i couldn't see him i knew he had just walked through the front door
spicy juniper with an undercut of salt would waft through the building into my office
making me angry
the spring she spent thesising at the reactor
every day when i walked in i could tell if she'd been there
cigarettes and something vaguely chemical, dark, and floral
it was how i judged if the samples were counted
it took me a while to identify the smell that followed him
it was vaguely manly and like a teenage boy
i identified it by accident, smelling the deodorants in the isles of rite aid
eventually he will admit that it's axe kilo
there are some people who do not smell like product
who do not smell like the fusion of cologne, shampoo, deodorant
there are some people whose scent ekes from their pores, it lingers behind the other scents in their breath
powdery, with wood, a little sweat, and a spice i can't identify
these smells do not linger in hallways
they don't stay on your shirt for days
these scents you have to be close in to get
everybody smells, i just notice it.
------
vanessa
portland
that you can
simultaneously
pour rain and decant sunshine
continuously
amazes our visitors
------
lily
scars
The one on my forehead is invisible
the memory itself is fading out -
excitement, speed, fascinating gears,
gravel driveway,
I don't know what happened next.
Stripes across my hand are a cheerful reminder
of my independence,
cooking pudding all by myself
(in a pot half the size of the burner),
a good lesson in pain management.
Messy pinks lines down my arm
the only time I've ever panicked in the woods,
and ran.
Embarrassing!
Graceful curve down my leg
and its sister, a secret mark behind my knee,
I didn't even notice I was bleeding.
On my finger
a small cut compared to the pain.
I remember who held my hand
in the emergency room,
but I took the stitches out myself.
Another for a night in the lab,
two were worth cookies in a hurry,
many are just visiting and will be gone
when the winter or the stress are over.
They are all disappearing now,
even the ones that are already only stories -
rewritten or covered over
by time, freckles, new scars,
temporary bruises,
leaving myself -
not a blank slate anymore -
but an erased one
a little smudgy
but still serviceable -
canvas for a new creation.
------
Marianna
it seems somewhere i dropped along the way
my knack for distance my desire for change
today only! hearts' cagematch versus brains:
winner takes all. ONE DAY ONE DAY ONE DAY.
-----
Ravi
Dear Monster, Craigslist,
Careerbuilder et al.
This isn't healthy
Sahar
I'm an archeologist in my own room
All my treasures lost
Under mountains of dirty clothes and magazines.
Thoth
Test
Don't tell me
You need time
To find
Where I can go
Its about time
We climb
As the sun
Shows us a round
The chains we hide
Are the keys we hold
When pain becomes a smile
We walk an inch but it feels like a mile
---
Susan
haiku tuesday
it's going to be
a soaking we bike ride home
after work tonight.
----
Denise
Rain
Rain Rain
Please come back
Insomnia
The beating drops
against the roof-
They are my lullaby
Monday, May 4, 2009
4 May 2009
crispy
if rain were
gnarl is the sound i hear
the air i breath punctures
the half tar pitted chest cavities
rising and falling w/o rhythm
drenched in acidic air
polluted by the man beasts
clinking and grinding their wear
raping land and sea
pirates lives inmate cults
have in common
what systems are perceived
if rain were want
Rachel
train wreck
my life is
i have been told
not a train wreck
for a train wreck is unrecoverable
and my life is not yet unrecoverable
a train wreck is screaming breaks
twisted metal
derailment
and dozens if not hundreds
of grizzly deaths
my life is not yet derailed
and there are not hundreds of grizzly deaths
my life is
i have been told
a rickshaw wreck
for a rickshaw wreck is recoverable
as is my life
a rickshaw wreck is broken wood
screaming people
torn fabric and exposed stuffing
and maybe one
grizzly death
my life is recoverable
except for that one guy.
Reese
The Alien Blaster Changes Everything
Take heed, Fallout 3 monsters:
Deathclaws,
Yao Guai,
Glowing Ones,
and all varieties of Super Mutants--
yes, even you,
Super Mutant Behemoths.
No more will I cower
when faced with your claws, fangs,
hunting rifles, automatic weaponry,
and/or radiation surges;
no more will I skirt your encampments,
slinking from one pile of rubble
to the next. For I have discovered
the alien crash site.
I have wrested from its irradiated wreckage
the single most shit-freaking laser pistol to be found
in the entirety of the Capital Wasteland.
I own the Alien Blaster.
At my current level of energy weapons proficiency,
the Alien Blaster will atomize 72
of your hit points in a single shot.
Add a sneak attack bonus (and I always sneak)
and that number goes up to 144.
One blast to the head will reduce you
to a gently glowing pile of goo.
You will not scream,
you will not weep,
you will simply
melt. So be warned, bad dudes:
the Vault Dweller from 101
is about to go intergalactic on your ass.
if rain were
gnarl is the sound i hear
the air i breath punctures
the half tar pitted chest cavities
rising and falling w/o rhythm
drenched in acidic air
polluted by the man beasts
clinking and grinding their wear
raping land and sea
pirates lives inmate cults
have in common
what systems are perceived
if rain were want
Rachel
train wreck
my life is
i have been told
not a train wreck
for a train wreck is unrecoverable
and my life is not yet unrecoverable
a train wreck is screaming breaks
twisted metal
derailment
and dozens if not hundreds
of grizzly deaths
my life is not yet derailed
and there are not hundreds of grizzly deaths
my life is
i have been told
a rickshaw wreck
for a rickshaw wreck is recoverable
as is my life
a rickshaw wreck is broken wood
screaming people
torn fabric and exposed stuffing
and maybe one
grizzly death
my life is recoverable
except for that one guy.
Reese
The Alien Blaster Changes Everything
Take heed, Fallout 3 monsters:
Deathclaws,
Yao Guai,
Glowing Ones,
and all varieties of Super Mutants--
yes, even you,
Super Mutant Behemoths.
No more will I cower
when faced with your claws, fangs,
hunting rifles, automatic weaponry,
and/or radiation surges;
no more will I skirt your encampments,
slinking from one pile of rubble
to the next. For I have discovered
the alien crash site.
I have wrested from its irradiated wreckage
the single most shit-freaking laser pistol to be found
in the entirety of the Capital Wasteland.
I own the Alien Blaster.
At my current level of energy weapons proficiency,
the Alien Blaster will atomize 72
of your hit points in a single shot.
Add a sneak attack bonus (and I always sneak)
and that number goes up to 144.
One blast to the head will reduce you
to a gently glowing pile of goo.
You will not scream,
you will not weep,
you will simply
melt. So be warned, bad dudes:
the Vault Dweller from 101
is about to go intergalactic on your ass.
Marianna
to legends of motown
i can't help but wonder
would you have been cool sans
teenage stevie wonder?
Sahar contemplates the male population.
Hello nerd.
Why don't you come sit near me
and talk all night about dinosaurs?
Crazy street person,
Chanting outside my window.
Are you on a skateboard?
Guy at copy store,
Thanks for the coupon,
It saved me ten bucks.
fawn
Spine of the Storm
Among winds, bent silverware,
we can use for jewels,
we can pretend the storm is music,
waves our nightlight, we can dance
as we dance in morning dreams.
I will place debris in your hair like a flower,
I will wear the currents around me.
Higher ground, escape routes,
these do not call to me or you:
me, floating in a boat of my own bones
in the sea-dance, nightlights strobing below,
forks, spoons, knives, my pewter headdress--
you, starfish hands and leaves for shoes,
a shore,
a beach,
an anti-oasis.
They call the center of a storm an eye.
But the eye cannot see. The cyclopic storm is blind.
Where is the heart, and where is the speaking,
and where is the spine, I want to travel the length of the storm,
I want to map it,
I want to draw its lines and measure its height against your arms.
Vanessa
rainy portland morn
bike lanes speckled with yellow
we all know the drill
-----
Susan
(everything happens the second week in May)
happy birthday, nerdy brother
twenty two's a pretty good one
enjoy this year.
good luck with the graduating
I didn't get you anything
for that, either.
maybe if we work together,
we can remember dad's birthday
and mother's day.
----
Thoth
Feel it Now
I feel
Yes, I have actually felt
These, these feelings we call
"Emotions" have me emoting all over the place
I think I just emoted on myself
But I like to express this repressed disposition
I feel, I have felt more than below the belt
But felt I feel with more human appeal
Right now, it's my sacred cash cow
To describe what I feel, what I'm feeling right now
But don't tell me, why or how
What I should be not or be feeling right now
_________
Denise
Deadly
Dear kale
you looked so green and delicious
too bad i added too much
cayenne
and almost choked to death
__________
Lily
(this one is for singing)
Interstate 5 is a tempting road,
Rolling all the way down to Mexico.
Want to keep driving in the rainy sunshine
Don't want to stop 'til the border line.
I've got my keys and a pocket knife,
You've got sunglasses and a zippo light.
I've got money, you've got time,
Almost enough for the border line.
Interstate 5 is a familiar road,
Brings me back to my old home.
But the long long miles in my mind's eye ...
Still call me down to that border line.
__________
Ravi
Got some sleep at last.
Talk about crazy weekend!
Back to Sea-town now
Sahar contemplates the male population.
Hello nerd.
Why don't you come sit near me
and talk all night about dinosaurs?
Crazy street person,
Chanting outside my window.
Are you on a skateboard?
Guy at copy store,
Thanks for the coupon,
It saved me ten bucks.
fawn
Spine of the Storm
Among winds, bent silverware,
we can use for jewels,
we can pretend the storm is music,
waves our nightlight, we can dance
as we dance in morning dreams.
I will place debris in your hair like a flower,
I will wear the currents around me.
Higher ground, escape routes,
these do not call to me or you:
me, floating in a boat of my own bones
in the sea-dance, nightlights strobing below,
forks, spoons, knives, my pewter headdress--
you, starfish hands and leaves for shoes,
a shore,
a beach,
an anti-oasis.
They call the center of a storm an eye.
But the eye cannot see. The cyclopic storm is blind.
Where is the heart, and where is the speaking,
and where is the spine, I want to travel the length of the storm,
I want to map it,
I want to draw its lines and measure its height against your arms.
Vanessa
rainy portland morn
bike lanes speckled with yellow
we all know the drill
-----
Susan
(everything happens the second week in May)
happy birthday, nerdy brother
twenty two's a pretty good one
enjoy this year.
good luck with the graduating
I didn't get you anything
for that, either.
maybe if we work together,
we can remember dad's birthday
and mother's day.
----
Thoth
Feel it Now
I feel
Yes, I have actually felt
These, these feelings we call
"Emotions" have me emoting all over the place
I think I just emoted on myself
But I like to express this repressed disposition
I feel, I have felt more than below the belt
But felt I feel with more human appeal
Right now, it's my sacred cash cow
To describe what I feel, what I'm feeling right now
But don't tell me, why or how
What I should be not or be feeling right now
_________
Denise
Deadly
Dear kale
you looked so green and delicious
too bad i added too much
cayenne
and almost choked to death
__________
Lily
(this one is for singing)
Interstate 5 is a tempting road,
Rolling all the way down to Mexico.
Want to keep driving in the rainy sunshine
Don't want to stop 'til the border line.
I've got my keys and a pocket knife,
You've got sunglasses and a zippo light.
I've got money, you've got time,
Almost enough for the border line.
Interstate 5 is a familiar road,
Brings me back to my old home.
But the long long miles in my mind's eye ...
Still call me down to that border line.
__________
Ravi
Got some sleep at last.
Talk about crazy weekend!
Back to Sea-town now
Sunday, May 3, 2009
3 May 2009
Fawn
Monsoon
She waved at me with an umbrella,
across the stairs, should I find them,
spilled water, vengeful monsoon.
Toothless, bowlegged, leatherskinned.
We will help you through.
My own umbrella like a second pelt of hair,
wading, nearly brought to knees by mathematic currents.
Will the island submerge, will we swim for shore,
among the Thai heaven, elephant clouds, sea of rice and sea of fish,
teeming, teeming, my loneliness, sculpted, my longing, rain.
Sahar
"Chickenhearted"
Her heart's not broken, exactly,
just atrophied,
like the muscles of
a factory farmed hen.
What she needs is a pair of
those electric paddles they have
in emergency rooms, but, like,
for emotions.
Thoth
"Cover"
Fear is spreading
The disease of your lies
Is it health
or your heightened sense of importance?
Quick, hide away in your homes
Globalization is out to get you
20 people dead
Millions, brain dead
Cheap toys from China
Fruit from Argentina
Tourists stomping through sacred lands
Here's a little way to say stay away
rachel
sun you make me smile
you also make me quite pink
that makes me quite sad
----
Ravi
It's Sunday night, man!
Sleepy time is here at last.
Who am I kidding.
-------
Monsoon
She waved at me with an umbrella,
across the stairs, should I find them,
spilled water, vengeful monsoon.
Toothless, bowlegged, leatherskinned.
We will help you through.
My own umbrella like a second pelt of hair,
wading, nearly brought to knees by mathematic currents.
Will the island submerge, will we swim for shore,
among the Thai heaven, elephant clouds, sea of rice and sea of fish,
teeming, teeming, my loneliness, sculpted, my longing, rain.
Marianna
yesterday i dreamt that my roommates had chickens
no roommates, no chickens, that i've ever had
the chickens were perching, not dead but alive
you can't say that for past chickens of mine
today i thought of vast chickenwire sculptures
in the shape of a chicken or chicken head mask
searching i found plans for a skirt comma birdcage
where five or more chickens could easily perch
what can we do but find as subconscious
a desire for flight? fertile womb? fear of hawks?
i have a feeling with time there'll be a consensus
just this: the universe thinks that i am a wuss
"Chickenhearted"
Her heart's not broken, exactly,
just atrophied,
like the muscles of
a factory farmed hen.
What she needs is a pair of
those electric paddles they have
in emergency rooms, but, like,
for emotions.
Thoth
"Cover"
Fear is spreading
The disease of your lies
Is it health
or your heightened sense of importance?
Quick, hide away in your homes
Globalization is out to get you
20 people dead
Millions, brain dead
Cheap toys from China
Fruit from Argentina
Tourists stomping through sacred lands
Here's a little way to say stay away
rachel
sun you make me smile
you also make me quite pink
that makes me quite sad
----
Ravi
It's Sunday night, man!
Sleepy time is here at last.
Who am I kidding.
-------
Denise
I sit in a dark cave
Surrounded by stale air and a fake forest
Mounds of paper suffocate
The sounds of pens and pencils scraping against the desk
Faint oldies flicker in and out of an old school radio
A shrill ring- Another ring
A headset super glued to my ear
Ring - Ring - Ring
Missing nurses, Sick Nurses, Funny Nurses, Angry Nurses
A deep sigh- Intense boredom
I sit twirling in a red chair
bored - restless- trapped
Tick tock, Tick tock
Only eleven and a half hours left
Tick Nurse - Tock Patient - Tick Nurse
Hospital Jenga has begun
I sit in a dark cave
Surrounded by stale air and a fake forest
Mounds of paper suffocate
The sounds of pens and pencils scraping against the desk
Faint oldies flicker in and out of an old school radio
A shrill ring- Another ring
A headset super glued to my ear
Ring - Ring - Ring
Missing nurses, Sick Nurses, Funny Nurses, Angry Nurses
A deep sigh- Intense boredom
I sit twirling in a red chair
bored - restless- trapped
Tick tock, Tick tock
Only eleven and a half hours left
Tick Nurse - Tock Patient - Tick Nurse
Hospital Jenga has begun
Lily
green, green, green, green, pink!, green,
green, pink!, green, green,
green,
spring!
green, green, green, green, pink!, green,
green, pink!, green, green,
green,
spring!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
2 May 2009
Sahar!
"Gil Sans"
A typeface for the ages,
on pages and trains.
So British.
So versatile.
Too bad, your creator.
fucked his dog. (no joke)
Marianna
"Gil Sans"
A typeface for the ages,
on pages and trains.
So British.
So versatile.
Too bad, your creator.
fucked his dog. (no joke)
Marianna
Fortress servants' ritual manifesto
Risen at the Ender's America
A Life Revolution
gravity's netherland
space iliad.
American crescent! Islam!
Black muslim's shore
accursed day dance.
All quiet:
the millennial key.
Tonight It's Rain
Tonight it's rain that wakes me,
teasing and whispering and slipping
through the cracks. Of course
I think of you.
It's four a.m., an hour that stares
like a corpse into nowhere,
an hour that carries only
nothing I can have.
fawn
For All the Oceans
We lost the ocean.
Seas and seas of shells but no salt.
No waves, not a palm of water,
no fleurs de sel and no lune overhead.
Lost, or given away?
We gave it to our midnight. Gave it
to our dreams. Rhythmic again,
sifting in and out of wake and sleep,
wax and wane, no pull, only obey.
Lost, or traded?
In exchange for all the oceans
we have taken love with no fear,
affection as an empty charm bracelet
welded wrist to wrist.
And lost--?
The memory of arrythmia, assymetry, mystery:
unrequited flesh,
pulling petals off invisible daisies
in a boat so thirsty we would drink the sea.
Oana
Saturday Morning
Thanks again Diesel, for waking me up before my time
My stomach rumbles & I'm happy I have salata de beof downstairs
Damn, I drank too much again, when will I get it together?
Pete's room is a disaster & it's up to me to fix it.
Today will be rad, the sun is out
My pile of dirty clothes will shrink
The stack of homework will go down
My dishes will get cleaned.
I'm going back to sleep.
----
Mike
Filling
Sitting like a father watching
Observing the faces of children
The times are not changing
Its the same day in every direction
Waiting for my time in the grave
Knowing that my body is frail
Why does the air taste so sweet,
when the mind prepares for death?
Watching these years take their toll
Feeling my soul getting old
I've slept inside my self, so and so
One day I'll sleep in a hole
---
Denise
Tea Zone
Sidewalk seat
Matcha Pop
High pitched shrills
Yappy voices
A pug walks by.
Cholas walk by
Poofy hair and
Curler bangs
Hotty toddy
"Good for liver"
Warmed bourbon
Warms the soul
Overheated!
Grilled panini
Cute waiter
Weird pickle
Sand timer
Creepy looks
Half hidden
Ugly cap
Frat boys
Good thing going
Tea + Booze
Pigeon toed
Shuffle shuffle
hello edna
your walks in style
Married
Wife
Broken condom
Tied for life
Ugly people
Dirty cup
awkward silence
mother/son?
or
boyfriend?
so confused
Loud and rude
please shut up
Prom dress
Intoxication
red wine
silly waiter
filed teeth
potbelly
"is this your leaf?"
peeing in a bush
hobo reading in a sleeping bag
warm May night
a tinge of the faint
a lot of ladytron
and a sprinkle of 80's night.
----
Susan
"ziploc bag"
Hello?
Hey Rachel
What's up?
What?
What's up?
I can't hear you,
signal's bad
It's my phone,
it's heat sealed
What?
heat sealed
what?
HEAT SEALED
a meat shield?
No, it's heat sealed
what?
IN A PLASTIC BAG
a plastic bag?
yes
why?
Just for the protective coating
what?
PROTECTIVE COATING
ok,
I can't hear you,
I'll send you a email.
-click.
-------
Mariana
tulips in a vase
two lips in the window stare at the blue sky
stems entangled sipping up white wine
petal folds the other one shy
but a copper coin will fix the dry eye
a bit of drizzle and a bit of sun ray
will bring the laughter back again
cut from mother earth's comfort
at the expense of the beauty
the beauty they say is in the eye
the eye they say is in the beholder
the beholder they say is you
you they say-who the fuck are they
tulips in a vase
remind me of your grace
your smile your face
your sweet embrace
tulips on the window ledge
tulips in the basket
tulips by the road
tulips over the fountain
tulips around the fence
tulips throughout the field
tulips in my vase by my bed
two lips yours and mine
should cherrish the divine
leave others on borderline
hence now is just time
two lips yours and mine
rachel
Melt
some days i look at the world
and i want to melt
into a puddle
that will gather with the rain
and flow into a stream
that will hopefully
have the strength
to face the world
i cannot face
lily
limerick #1
There once was a man in a kilt,
who learned how to walk on tall stilts.
Way up in the air,
he looked kind of bare,
but somehow was feeling no guilt!
-----
Ravi
Erotic Arts Fest:
Bondage rides for everyone!
Hide your pink bits though.
Friday, May 1, 2009
1 May 2009
Fawn
Mouth/Gem
So sometimes you were turquoise,
desert palate opening you like a pear
whose stone is sought.
Dust and saguaro, snake and bones.
Sometimes your turquoise was a map,
grains of black inside the wrinkles
seemed rivers, semi-precious, how were you found?
Dust and saguaro, cartography.
So you turquoised and I painted;
every color but blue, every brush but mine.
Unhewn, should I send you to sea,
let the salt unrough your dry frost shell?
Dust and saguaro, tide and moon.
Turquoise,
I could add you to my teeth,
the oyster's molar, polishing smooth.
Dust and saguaro, mouth and gem.
slap flap stomp stomp clomp
echoes in my ears all day-
footsteps tread on my soul.
it's a maddening sound
when you desperately hope
they're not coming for you.
----
Christine
Whoops
é
doodles
or was that
whoops
a
doodle?
-----
Mike
Working their lands and not their minds
Millions laying in trenches
Millions laying in death
An invisible enemy
Amongst the ones that know
Destroying a people
To protect an idea
Diaspora of lost descent
Ghosts walking arm in arm
Its hard to eat
With a gun in your mouth
Souls with no faces
Bodies with no places
The big black sickle swings
The skulls pile higher
Mouth/Gem
So sometimes you were turquoise,
desert palate opening you like a pear
whose stone is sought.
Dust and saguaro, snake and bones.
Sometimes your turquoise was a map,
grains of black inside the wrinkles
seemed rivers, semi-precious, how were you found?
Dust and saguaro, cartography.
So you turquoised and I painted;
every color but blue, every brush but mine.
Unhewn, should I send you to sea,
let the salt unrough your dry frost shell?
Dust and saguaro, tide and moon.
Turquoise,
I could add you to my teeth,
the oyster's molar, polishing smooth.
Dust and saguaro, mouth and gem.
Sahar
This is just to admit
I ate some
day old
sushi
for breakfast
Which I
purchased in
a Caribbean
Neighborhood
Don't judge me.
We've all been
so lazy
and so hungry.
marianna
it wasn't until 21 that i found out i had learned to write wrong
seems i'm giving the pen a sloppy handjob; better
fuckin' forget about ever learning how to handle chopsticks
i'm a fortress against relearning the basics
even while i could be lefthanded or ambidextrous
or learn to paint a masterpiece or draw true to life
my identity is wrapped around my clumsy hands
and their ability to do beautiful things despite their inherent awkwardness
yes, i refuse
for the same reason i refuse to change most things that are necessary
for the successful completion of a task
or for the mastery of a subject
or for avoiding heartache.
seems necessity is the mother of my reinvention
good thing i've never been one for maternal intervention.
oana
Portland:
Drip, drip, drop on my hair, clothes and shoes
Does not dominate all the cool shit Portland spews
The amazing minds, so liberated and open
Willing to fight for rights of equality so often
buses full of crazy but amazing smells
bike clubs taken over by awesomeness
green grass and trees wherever you go
seldom running into people you don't know
Once in a while you get that crazy ass snow
And being stuck in the house can seriously BLOW
Because you want to be out on Alberta, Belmont or Hawthorne
You want to get drunk in theaters and munch on the popcorn
You want to see the drag shows at Darcell's
Sing at the awesome open mic night at PATEOTU
Take advantage of First and Last Thursdays
Buy Pabst & cheap cigarettes to fill up your ashtrays
So there you go people now you know -
Next time someone complains about the rain,
Tell them to suck it because Portland is far from lame
Keep growing that beard and
KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD!
-Denise-The Oink Oink FluOink OinkThere once was a piggynamed mexicoHe caught a cold and diedbut not before he left a giftthe gift of HAMFLUENZAOink Oink Buy a maskon the side of the roadlimited timelimited fluonly five dollars Oink OinkPandemic RushOink OinkI'm feeling ill I have the fluAchoo AchooOh no Your it!Hamfluenza Is yoursrun and get some tamifluOink OinkMexico's GiftOink OinkHand SanitizerPimp out your face maskRun run little piggyThe world is your ham-oysterBlossoms of swine
Rachel
the three things i forgot were in my purse (and were returned!)
tiny purse finger monster
i bought you for seventy five cents
it was your job to be protector of the bag
your four blue eyes and claw hands
you should sit on a finger
and scare people away with your big purple mouth
you got it right for a quarter of the stuff
i don't know where you came from lucky rock
my one good luck charm
you just appeared one day in the bottom of my bag
i wonder if i watered you if you'd get pretty
for now, you just look like cement
you always come back to me
bringing luck with you
i only had one sentimental thing
which i didn't remember was in there
I was your name plate
gold with brown lettering
sharp pins on the back
so glad you came back to me
before i knew you were gone
-------
Susan
My cilantro seeds
sprouted!
Way to go
dudes.
Or dudettes?
Someday you'll
be all grown up.
And delicious.
----
Vanessa
blue sky is set free
green leaves sparkle and flutter
enveloped in sun
----
Ravi
Sunny days are here!
Too bad I'm wasting this one
watching Wolverine.
----
Lily
sleep deprivation
Heavy head
like muffled lead
floats detached from my neck.
Eyes wander in their own directions
mind in another
no focus anywhere.
Body, weighted,
casually slips into nap positions
hoping not to be noticed.
Strange screen
layer of static
separates me from the room.
The mind creates the world -
today it is doing a bad job at the illusion.
----
slap flap stomp stomp clomp
echoes in my ears all day-
footsteps tread on my soul.
it's a maddening sound
when you desperately hope
they're not coming for you.
----
Christine
Whoops
é
doodles
or was that
whoops
a
doodle?
-----
Mike
Lost in the Fields
People moving backwardsWorking their lands and not their minds
Millions laying in trenches
Millions laying in death
An invisible enemy
Amongst the ones that know
Destroying a people
To protect an idea
Diaspora of lost descent
Ghosts walking arm in arm
Its hard to eat
With a gun in your mouth
Souls with no faces
Bodies with no places
The big black sickle swings
The skulls pile higher
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