ex-army join the police (Iraq in Austin
Everywhere becomes a nightmare war game
Civilians in the middle of cross fire
become refugees barred at every port of call
Borders sealed by violence/so that waves
of human migration sink into the sea
We are human,seeking only to be free
This is as close as radiation in our food chain
Displacement of civilian culture via military
Black budgets allow new wars to prosper
while teachers/librarians ask to be redeemed
We can still choose to mirror freedom-
release us from the prisons of our needs
No uniforms,no guns,no digital drones-
just freedom of speech and assembly.
Before you say this is idle dreaming
kindly read again your Constitution
Your Bill of Rights is due-who will be paying?
Civilian culture is our only guarantee
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
one step @a time
the enormity of transgressions shocks and horrifies
our only Houdini key is spontaneity
(we could not do this without music-
martial Mars bands trumpet horns bagpipes
we are flutes and guitars(melodies embroidered
older circles re-united for the joy of company
How can a smile be replaced?Your face brightens
when creation is allowed a spark of recognition
Zen Bob came and went like air and water
He fed us well with bicycle ,guitar and smiles
His songs may well be forgotten by tomorrow
His presence changed all within his aura into golden
Too many angels leaving for their heaven
consists in sharing their bright spirits with our tiny time
Parking meters click down each of our brief candles
EXPIRED we must rely upon rememberers to smile
as we become another story told to singers
as a cautionary tale in a transitory scene-
REMEMBER TO DREAM!(and make those dreams come true
For all of us rely upon each and every/all of you
our only Houdini key is spontaneity
(we could not do this without music-
martial Mars bands trumpet horns bagpipes
we are flutes and guitars(melodies embroidered
older circles re-united for the joy of company
How can a smile be replaced?Your face brightens
when creation is allowed a spark of recognition
Zen Bob came and went like air and water
He fed us well with bicycle ,guitar and smiles
His songs may well be forgotten by tomorrow
His presence changed all within his aura into golden
Too many angels leaving for their heaven
consists in sharing their bright spirits with our tiny time
Parking meters click down each of our brief candles
EXPIRED we must rely upon rememberers to smile
as we become another story told to singers
as a cautionary tale in a transitory scene-
REMEMBER TO DREAM!(and make those dreams come true
For all of us rely upon each and every/all of you
THE WAY BACK
i go back @ irregular intervals
the landscape has always changed
people are older or have died
stories are shared in time capsules
every thing becomes historic
i realize then all cliches are true-
"you can never go home again"
"the way out is the way in"
"whatever people say-it is still just opinion"
Every thing i ever thought has been proven wrong
(even then,among the devastation,some things align..
agreement on issues(temporary and time tuned)
agreement on "reality"and what this means
agreement on choices made and results gained
Even the way back gets lost in time
Eventually,we will be marooned in moments
on islands of perception that define us
and will become part of that Great Chain Of Being
that is born,grows,declines and dies
THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT!
I WANT TO BE ALIVE!
I will not regress to childhood,nor adolescence
nor deny or defy the process of moving like a boat through time
I will enjoy this moment now(as a flower)
and watch as others climb/backwards in mists of memories
to seek a mythical peace that never was
to hold on to a past that has irretrievably gone
There is no way back.There never was.
Hold on and then release these lines of song
as they wing their way to unknown spaces
caught like bees in the amber of time.
the landscape has always changed
people are older or have died
stories are shared in time capsules
every thing becomes historic
i realize then all cliches are true-
"you can never go home again"
"the way out is the way in"
"whatever people say-it is still just opinion"
Every thing i ever thought has been proven wrong
(even then,among the devastation,some things align..
agreement on issues(temporary and time tuned)
agreement on "reality"and what this means
agreement on choices made and results gained
Even the way back gets lost in time
Eventually,we will be marooned in moments
on islands of perception that define us
and will become part of that Great Chain Of Being
that is born,grows,declines and dies
THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT!
I WANT TO BE ALIVE!
I will not regress to childhood,nor adolescence
nor deny or defy the process of moving like a boat through time
I will enjoy this moment now(as a flower)
and watch as others climb/backwards in mists of memories
to seek a mythical peace that never was
to hold on to a past that has irretrievably gone
There is no way back.There never was.
Hold on and then release these lines of song
as they wing their way to unknown spaces
caught like bees in the amber of time.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
25 years Chenobyl
They covered up Chenobyl-the casualties,cancers,leukemias
The food chain contaminated for hundreds of years
They covered up the reactor and wait.Foxes hunt there.There are deer.
All with radiation levels daring anyone to imbibe.Fear is that
Fukoshima is more serious,and that years will elapse
before what grows may be safely eaten
Fish swim in radioactive waters
They travel ,are caught,sliced,eaten
We eat Japanese radiation
Think Chenobyl.Ask yourself
why the Austin City Council invests in atomic power plants.
The food chain contaminated for hundreds of years
They covered up the reactor and wait.Foxes hunt there.There are deer.
All with radiation levels daring anyone to imbibe.Fear is that
Fukoshima is more serious,and that years will elapse
before what grows may be safely eaten
Fish swim in radioactive waters
They travel ,are caught,sliced,eaten
We eat Japanese radiation
Think Chenobyl.Ask yourself
why the Austin City Council invests in atomic power plants.
to be homeless (means you have no safe place
you must carry all you own with you at all times
you may be arrested for poverty,or trespassing,
assaulted just for being/have your goods stolen or destroyed
and be vulnerable at all times to all kinds of emotional weather patterns
Other countries have dole and pensions and hostels
here you have only the Green Belt and the animosity of homeowners
who may also be foreclosed upon at any time
yet who do not recognize in you their kith nor kin
Other dispossessed may see in you their victim
You can be fined just for sleeping
never mind asking for small change at an intersection
You may sleep under bridges-but the Council hoses them down
You may camp in the bush-the Park Police hunt you down
Everywhere is temporary-hundreds die each year
for want of safe spaces to crawl in to ,curl up and dream
that being homeless is no romance,nor a literary scene
Broken homes are held together (like marriages)
by recognition of this unmet need.Home is where your heart is-
what if your heart is broken?
you may be arrested for poverty,or trespassing,
assaulted just for being/have your goods stolen or destroyed
and be vulnerable at all times to all kinds of emotional weather patterns
Other countries have dole and pensions and hostels
here you have only the Green Belt and the animosity of homeowners
who may also be foreclosed upon at any time
yet who do not recognize in you their kith nor kin
Other dispossessed may see in you their victim
You can be fined just for sleeping
never mind asking for small change at an intersection
You may sleep under bridges-but the Council hoses them down
You may camp in the bush-the Park Police hunt you down
Everywhere is temporary-hundreds die each year
for want of safe spaces to crawl in to ,curl up and dream
that being homeless is no romance,nor a literary scene
Broken homes are held together (like marriages)
by recognition of this unmet need.Home is where your heart is-
what if your heart is broken?
ENERGY /EMPATHY OVER ENTROPHY
every time we meet
we remember one gone from us
this leaves the door open
for more winged birds to fly in
every soul is different
every line leads somewhere
you wrote this down because
it is important to you
even the speaking affirms
all we have in common-
this search for birds
and more winged freedoms
world of walls and wars
eating @our children
peace begins for birds
when we can hear them
gardens.trees.walk among them
let them be.Listen!
we remember one gone from us
this leaves the door open
for more winged birds to fly in
every soul is different
every line leads somewhere
you wrote this down because
it is important to you
even the speaking affirms
all we have in common-
this search for birds
and more winged freedoms
world of walls and wars
eating @our children
peace begins for birds
when we can hear them
gardens.trees.walk among them
let them be.Listen!
VOTING
i voted for trees-oak wilt,mildew,white ant
i voted for water-chlorine,fluoride,dammed,bottled
i voted for clear skies-chemtrails,jetstreams
i voted for earth-quaking,radioactive
i voted for birds as they fell from teh sky
i voted for rivers on fire
i vote for the wild-bison,wolf,prairie (all fenced)
i vote for life.
i voted for water-chlorine,fluoride,dammed,bottled
i voted for clear skies-chemtrails,jetstreams
i voted for earth-quaking,radioactive
i voted for birds as they fell from teh sky
i voted for rivers on fire
i vote for the wild-bison,wolf,prairie (all fenced)
i vote for life.
knowing that i loved
she took me to a waterfall
where i could violate all rules
and stand beneath its falling gravitas
same when in water-waves took my power
showed me slow ,and rhythm
reminded me they were before and after
i do not hunger for a waterfall
i hold the ones i loved within me now
they liquefy through drought times
they remind me -all seasons change
water in a dry year brighter than gold
love in a bone old healing as laughter
where i could violate all rules
and stand beneath its falling gravitas
same when in water-waves took my power
showed me slow ,and rhythm
reminded me they were before and after
i do not hunger for a waterfall
i hold the ones i loved within me now
they liquefy through drought times
they remind me -all seasons change
water in a dry year brighter than gold
love in a bone old healing as laughter
EASTER(lonely as a hollow egg
I wander/hunting harmonies/they have fled to country
or closed down in fear crisis mortgage marriage
Zen Bob on Good Friday hospitalized
Where is his Resurrection Easter Sunday?
Core of all-where is the poetry in this?
Headlined 83 yr old art of Poet laureate
or open heart open mike evening?
Each unique as season/each dependent upon belief
Accelerant made these fires faster
Flames flicker surrounding towns and houses
burn down in obedience.When you pray for rain-
why is it only drops?Faith moves mountains
but not clouds.Fewer wildflowers(less wildness)
Even the weeds are slowing down.Children
employed in an Easter Egg hunt find only sweetness.
They do not know those clouds were seeded.
or closed down in fear crisis mortgage marriage
Zen Bob on Good Friday hospitalized
Where is his Resurrection Easter Sunday?
Core of all-where is the poetry in this?
Headlined 83 yr old art of Poet laureate
or open heart open mike evening?
Each unique as season/each dependent upon belief
Accelerant made these fires faster
Flames flicker surrounding towns and houses
burn down in obedience.When you pray for rain-
why is it only drops?Faith moves mountains
but not clouds.Fewer wildflowers(less wildness)
Even the weeds are slowing down.Children
employed in an Easter Egg hunt find only sweetness.
They do not know those clouds were seeded.
i have not bought a record for 20 years
nor am i up on the downloading
i watch youtube(am on youtube-and live
means the last Led Zeppelin reunion @the Erwin Center
or a Bob Dylan redux show at that same venue
I did go to see the Circus-but i missed Lady Ga-Ga
and have fallen too far behind in Taylor Swift /American Karoake replays
Before all the Beatles die,i bequeath their remains to Cirque De Soleil
so that a suitable soundtrack might accompany their moving acrobatics
I love LIVE music,by living artists,who weave melodies and harmonies
in front of your very eyes,and who make and create at open mikes
a vision of aural delights.We who do not sell cannot buy-just exchange energies
We beg and give our art like life away-and when you say "we have seen this before"
we know you lie-for all we are is original,and what happens next is new
and i am listening now to the harmonies in you,too
So when we meet in stringed moments-it is not sophistry nor puppetry
that teaches us to hear-it is the sound of melodies stolen from heavens unknown
that trap us in the act of listening to you.
i watch youtube(am on youtube-and live
means the last Led Zeppelin reunion @the Erwin Center
or a Bob Dylan redux show at that same venue
I did go to see the Circus-but i missed Lady Ga-Ga
and have fallen too far behind in Taylor Swift /American Karoake replays
Before all the Beatles die,i bequeath their remains to Cirque De Soleil
so that a suitable soundtrack might accompany their moving acrobatics
I love LIVE music,by living artists,who weave melodies and harmonies
in front of your very eyes,and who make and create at open mikes
a vision of aural delights.We who do not sell cannot buy-just exchange energies
We beg and give our art like life away-and when you say "we have seen this before"
we know you lie-for all we are is original,and what happens next is new
and i am listening now to the harmonies in you,too
So when we meet in stringed moments-it is not sophistry nor puppetry
that teaches us to hear-it is the sound of melodies stolen from heavens unknown
that trap us in the act of listening to you.
FOR ZEN BOB (and others)
FOR ZEN BOB
you came with your art open ready to smile with everyone
heart attack later-here you are with CPU saving you
who will save us if not you?Zen Bob-get well soon
we are too far from one distant moon
and rely upon stars like your eyes to guide us
through
FOR THE ARTIST WHO NO LONGER MAKES ART
you were an artist and a Gallery owner
You rarely sold out(even when you wanted to
You sheltered poets in your only space
and allowed poetry a place in your pantheon
Now you have moved to the country
work for a living,fix plumbing,complain loudly
Only you have the key-if you try
you can unlock yourself again
and find your friends with paintbrushes and goodwill
waiting for your new visions to spill
FOR CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
Many a night has fallen to the question-
will we proceed?Are we willing?
We remember nights with no one(this is better
and even if we fail,we have at least attempted Paradise
half way to Heaven is a fine voyage.
Falling is an art form(like every thing else...
YOUR LAST DROP OF WATER
may be Egyptian sweat/recycled over centuries
Drought hearts and parched earth cracks
All your prayers for rain do not change weather patterns
Floods follow earthquake Tsunamis
And you ask -are these our Last Days?
No-but this may be your last drop of clear water
before mudslide madness politics divides us again
and cuts all funding for a necessary dam
you came with your art open ready to smile with everyone
heart attack later-here you are with CPU saving you
who will save us if not you?Zen Bob-get well soon
we are too far from one distant moon
and rely upon stars like your eyes to guide us
through
FOR THE ARTIST WHO NO LONGER MAKES ART
you were an artist and a Gallery owner
You rarely sold out(even when you wanted to
You sheltered poets in your only space
and allowed poetry a place in your pantheon
Now you have moved to the country
work for a living,fix plumbing,complain loudly
Only you have the key-if you try
you can unlock yourself again
and find your friends with paintbrushes and goodwill
waiting for your new visions to spill
FOR CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT
Many a night has fallen to the question-
will we proceed?Are we willing?
We remember nights with no one(this is better
and even if we fail,we have at least attempted Paradise
half way to Heaven is a fine voyage.
Falling is an art form(like every thing else...
YOUR LAST DROP OF WATER
may be Egyptian sweat/recycled over centuries
Drought hearts and parched earth cracks
All your prayers for rain do not change weather patterns
Floods follow earthquake Tsunamis
And you ask -are these our Last Days?
No-but this may be your last drop of clear water
before mudslide madness politics divides us again
and cuts all funding for a necessary dam
Friday, April 22, 2011
age of (radioactive)ghosts
there is no time to share these stories-
of the violinist who played all night
just for the air/or how i imitated him
by performing poetry sunday afternoons
just because a greek theater was on campus
or how that mountaineer photographer
driving through deserts would click one country
to sell to the next/ensuring his passage via images
the truckdriver so lonely white powder
he picked us up to keep him awake
(we had to leave/afraid(he might not make it?back
the torturer so sure Pinochet deserved murder
the Egyptian contemptuous of his countrymen
who had forgotten their alchemical civilizations
the warder who massages for money on weekends
Meditators imprisoned/who saw jail as a monastery
who read their way between bars and sold lines of freedom
Tennis balls tossed over walls with messages
poets who spoke only THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
and you are on the lip of oceans licking
kicking in this Door of Time/which runs out babbling
about every miracle that asks only to be forgotten
so someone new might find a Rainforest in their suitcase
Another Country in an Open Road-a story wrapped like a black snake
around the Mysteries we are exposed to daily
so we might remember to forget again
when every dream is human(heaven)
BURNING
Joan of Arc and witches-now we DIY
Buddhist monks(Vietnam)-yet not (yet)in Tibet
Tunisia saw on television this one desperate edition
A government fell ,then more-the sight of burning people appalls
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
distance reduced via GOOGLE/spy satellites
(we are all in Libya-liberating erratically
We are Jasmine Revolutions/Egyptian as Kings
But why are we shot in Syria/Iran?Do they not know we TWEET?
The whole world IS watching these streets/we
own these images of sweet freedom-mirages?oases?premonitions?
we are not ghosts in skin with ghost shirts facing
life winds through ,around,because of us-
we are what happens next when you dream of us
(for Dr HELEN CALDICOTT/Chenobyl )
of the violinist who played all night
just for the air/or how i imitated him
by performing poetry sunday afternoons
just because a greek theater was on campus
or how that mountaineer photographer
driving through deserts would click one country
to sell to the next/ensuring his passage via images
the truckdriver so lonely white powder
he picked us up to keep him awake
(we had to leave/afraid(he might not make it?back
the torturer so sure Pinochet deserved murder
the Egyptian contemptuous of his countrymen
who had forgotten their alchemical civilizations
the warder who massages for money on weekends
Meditators imprisoned/who saw jail as a monastery
who read their way between bars and sold lines of freedom
Tennis balls tossed over walls with messages
poets who spoke only THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH
and you are on the lip of oceans licking
kicking in this Door of Time/which runs out babbling
about every miracle that asks only to be forgotten
so someone new might find a Rainforest in their suitcase
Another Country in an Open Road-a story wrapped like a black snake
around the Mysteries we are exposed to daily
so we might remember to forget again
when every dream is human(heaven)
BURNING
Joan of Arc and witches-now we DIY
Buddhist monks(Vietnam)-yet not (yet)in Tibet
Tunisia saw on television this one desperate edition
A government fell ,then more-the sight of burning people appalls
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
distance reduced via GOOGLE/spy satellites
(we are all in Libya-liberating erratically
We are Jasmine Revolutions/Egyptian as Kings
But why are we shot in Syria/Iran?Do they not know we TWEET?
The whole world IS watching these streets/we
own these images of sweet freedom-mirages?oases?premonitions?
we are not ghosts in skin with ghost shirts facing
life winds through ,around,because of us-
we are what happens next when you dream of us
(for Dr HELEN CALDICOTT/Chenobyl )
you cannot tell a tin man he is made of tin
nor a soldier he is a murderer(he knows,he knows
wave a flag until salutes/body bags upon request.Another war zone
Your home.Your school.The Right To NOT carry weapons.Peace
This earth is ancient-more than 5000 years.Gods before and after us
Mars for wars and Jupiter.Kali /Shakti .Child sacrifice.
Myth allows us to cull our stock to propitiate dark gods.
Half of us wants to kill the other half of us.First-demonize
Next-separate.So we can better blindfold and abuse
Censorship essential.(Dull the news-make comedy an industry
Celebrities can smile as tanks roll in to villages
Hollywood cartoons distract from body counts
Documentaries afterwards and satire reveal
too late what we are losing and have lost.This is to STOP that.
Dreaming change is change-but not enough.Your actions required.Start
here and now-reclaim time,energies,attention
for your times demand David wins against Goliath
Samson Agonistes.Milton's Paradise Lost(regained)
Not by painting green Potemkin Villages for Presidential parades
more by gardens in a drought age,goodwill on a world stage
The way you play this game dictates
how far we have come from cave age.Fire?Spear?Kill?
or draw upon our mural walls until art is life and will
is in alignment with all higher harmonies.Dream?Yes,until....
wave a flag until salutes/body bags upon request.Another war zone
Your home.Your school.The Right To NOT carry weapons.Peace
This earth is ancient-more than 5000 years.Gods before and after us
Mars for wars and Jupiter.Kali /Shakti .Child sacrifice.
Myth allows us to cull our stock to propitiate dark gods.
Half of us wants to kill the other half of us.First-demonize
Next-separate.So we can better blindfold and abuse
Censorship essential.(Dull the news-make comedy an industry
Celebrities can smile as tanks roll in to villages
Hollywood cartoons distract from body counts
Documentaries afterwards and satire reveal
too late what we are losing and have lost.This is to STOP that.
Dreaming change is change-but not enough.Your actions required.Start
here and now-reclaim time,energies,attention
for your times demand David wins against Goliath
Samson Agonistes.Milton's Paradise Lost(regained)
Not by painting green Potemkin Villages for Presidential parades
more by gardens in a drought age,goodwill on a world stage
The way you play this game dictates
how far we have come from cave age.Fire?Spear?Kill?
or draw upon our mural walls until art is life and will
is in alignment with all higher harmonies.Dream?Yes,until....
IMAGI/NATION
across borders,refugees/seeking safety instead of change
within sleepy dictatorships/awakenings inflame/incite/burning tires/shot
tension between casualties(truth or witnesses?)
Every day,another one of us flames down via militaries(we pay for this
Drones bomb our homes in disputed territories
Where is Palestine for Palestinians?Bombed in homes
Civilian food convoys 9 bodies down.Both sides war upon innocents.
We pay for police to torture us.Jails to hide us from each other
Borders can no longer contain us-we bulge ,break out,seek work
to feed our growing children.Gangs of thugs pay child soldiers
Corrupt as China,black budgets weapons manufacture
Crackdown on information Tibet/Nepal/Kashmir
You make war zones in our homes.We pay per view.
Digital children divorced from feeling privitise punishments
Torture prisons.Abu Ghraib.Bagram .Guantanamo.(we know,we know
yet still a 22 year old is solitary confined for alleged Wikileaking
All our children in prison.Schools.Wage slavery.MacDonalds.
Build a Formula One race track to distract us from pollution
Fund cars while prosecuting bicycles/pedestrians
(we know,we know..This itch for freedom.Dare we scratch?
Syria,Libya,Saudi Arabia,Bahrain,Qatar,Yemen
yet we make our own homes in to a security prison.Gated communities
Guards patrol in case we realize (Battery hens-shocked in to production
Are we cage free?Organic?Soylent green?Too late ,Earth Day?
our time is counted eggs in a broken basket
Humpty Dumpty on the Great Firewall of China.CENSOR THIS!
There are some spaces even GOOGLE cannot go
They are the places on a "need to know"basis
We need to know!Break up black budgets.Balance war with peace
Make this Zone (our planet home)-temporary /autonomous ,please
so we might be at ease /in prosperity/contemplating comm-unities...
within sleepy dictatorships/awakenings inflame/incite/burning tires/shot
tension between casualties(truth or witnesses?)
Every day,another one of us flames down via militaries(we pay for this
Drones bomb our homes in disputed territories
Where is Palestine for Palestinians?Bombed in homes
Civilian food convoys 9 bodies down.Both sides war upon innocents.
We pay for police to torture us.Jails to hide us from each other
Borders can no longer contain us-we bulge ,break out,seek work
to feed our growing children.Gangs of thugs pay child soldiers
Corrupt as China,black budgets weapons manufacture
Crackdown on information Tibet/Nepal/Kashmir
You make war zones in our homes.We pay per view.
Digital children divorced from feeling privitise punishments
Torture prisons.Abu Ghraib.Bagram .Guantanamo.(we know,we know
yet still a 22 year old is solitary confined for alleged Wikileaking
All our children in prison.Schools.Wage slavery.MacDonalds.
Build a Formula One race track to distract us from pollution
Fund cars while prosecuting bicycles/pedestrians
(we know,we know..This itch for freedom.Dare we scratch?
Syria,Libya,Saudi Arabia,Bahrain,Qatar,Yemen
yet we make our own homes in to a security prison.Gated communities
Guards patrol in case we realize (Battery hens-shocked in to production
Are we cage free?Organic?Soylent green?Too late ,Earth Day?
our time is counted eggs in a broken basket
Humpty Dumpty on the Great Firewall of China.CENSOR THIS!
There are some spaces even GOOGLE cannot go
They are the places on a "need to know"basis
We need to know!Break up black budgets.Balance war with peace
Make this Zone (our planet home)-temporary /autonomous ,please
so we might be at ease /in prosperity/contemplating comm-unities...
PLANTING PHOTOGRAPHS
to remember my cat(buried her in backyard-
all memories need a home(so i bury photographs
as Italians have photos of their departed beloved
i bury poems in my garden /in trust they will mulch
all that is past into a future i can digest easily
You say they decay/fall apart/this art temporary as time
I only know i grow more by leaving more behind.
he leaves his body in his only house
she visits,laughs and jokes with him
he refuses food,waits for the crows
to carry him blackwards again
when thin,a string between his soul and hers
like tin can telephone childhood connection
she speaks into his tin ears(he hears!
he is alive again!
slim thin canoe for one
a coracle in oceans.We are fishing off the coast of time
running out of moments.Storms arise
we seek sanctuary cave/cove/harboring
decide to sing within the storm.Storm sings along(within
Now our waters bright with radiation.Fish glow off Alaska
Japan sends out votes against nuclear power.Earthquake zones shiver
Fault lines hold immortal waste forever.
Closed system.You cannot escape.Leave in a rocket/return in daze.
we are dancing with the human race/on the edge of cliffs /falling in waves
Doppler or Tesler ? which one saves?Ask Wilhelm Reich...(orgone plays)
all memories need a home(so i bury photographs
as Italians have photos of their departed beloved
i bury poems in my garden /in trust they will mulch
all that is past into a future i can digest easily
You say they decay/fall apart/this art temporary as time
I only know i grow more by leaving more behind.
he leaves his body in his only house
she visits,laughs and jokes with him
he refuses food,waits for the crows
to carry him blackwards again
when thin,a string between his soul and hers
like tin can telephone childhood connection
she speaks into his tin ears(he hears!
he is alive again!
slim thin canoe for one
a coracle in oceans.We are fishing off the coast of time
running out of moments.Storms arise
we seek sanctuary cave/cove/harboring
decide to sing within the storm.Storm sings along(within
Now our waters bright with radiation.Fish glow off Alaska
Japan sends out votes against nuclear power.Earthquake zones shiver
Fault lines hold immortal waste forever.
Closed system.You cannot escape.Leave in a rocket/return in daze.
we are dancing with the human race/on the edge of cliffs /falling in waves
Doppler or Tesler ? which one saves?Ask Wilhelm Reich...(orgone plays)
sunshine
here,the heat means fire
premature summer
drought lips
parched arts
houses burned by accidental homeless
dispossessed via foreclosures
rain dancers in Wimberley
water use sky high
forecast is for more of the same
two drops fell-were they rain?
or tears for the burned out West
where fires claimed our best
State of Emergency-heat waves urgently
remind us how little we are
out tiny match stick power
snapped like a timber home spark
when rain falls,we will rise again
as grass seeds future green evolutions
premature summer
drought lips
parched arts
houses burned by accidental homeless
dispossessed via foreclosures
rain dancers in Wimberley
water use sky high
forecast is for more of the same
two drops fell-were they rain?
or tears for the burned out West
where fires claimed our best
State of Emergency-heat waves urgently
remind us how little we are
out tiny match stick power
snapped like a timber home spark
when rain falls,we will rise again
as grass seeds future green evolutions
BIBLIONECROPHILIA
before you bury books
may i praise them?
not just the leather bound leisure reading
nor anonymous stacked volumes for lawyers offices
more the scruffy paperbacks bent and rag tagged
you carry in your back pocket like a song
their casual delinquencies authenticate our own-
ON THE ROAD,that Mark Chapman tome
held close as heroes golden lines
to define us in stranger times
We have our Orwells and our Beats
whose argot loaded streets /translated best
when dressed in casual paperbacks.Airport novellas sing
of weighty shallow dreams-we weigh time via tomes.
Our lives a sitcom script/itself as different
as every Penguin re-issued.Books are our history
We are judged by libraries/we are only as wise as the masters we imbibe
So even if they die,we share mortality.ipad and iphone less than text
and i do not mean messaging-more the right to dream
in private pages.READ ME! Books live-and so do we!
may i praise them?
not just the leather bound leisure reading
nor anonymous stacked volumes for lawyers offices
more the scruffy paperbacks bent and rag tagged
you carry in your back pocket like a song
their casual delinquencies authenticate our own-
ON THE ROAD,that Mark Chapman tome
held close as heroes golden lines
to define us in stranger times
We have our Orwells and our Beats
whose argot loaded streets /translated best
when dressed in casual paperbacks.Airport novellas sing
of weighty shallow dreams-we weigh time via tomes.
Our lives a sitcom script/itself as different
as every Penguin re-issued.Books are our history
We are judged by libraries/we are only as wise as the masters we imbibe
So even if they die,we share mortality.ipad and iphone less than text
and i do not mean messaging-more the right to dream
in private pages.READ ME! Books live-and so do we!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
AIPF 2011
Ruta Maya(home of poetry-
Ric Williams enchanting memories of Albert Huffstickler
Shannon Leigh/Dr Marvin Kimbrough -all poet ghosts
among the living tribes of rememberers
Kick Butt-Sunday's poetry Paradise
where round robin open mike features
voices from near and far
Hot Mamas-Sunday afternoon's Hoop Church
where the East Side becomes topside
for music sprinkled with verse
STRANGE BREW-two midnight to dawns
where 30 poets make INSTANT ANTHOLOGIES
and YOUTUBE carries evidence of all
HIDEOUT-where Monday nights from 6-10pm
poets range among musicians again
BRAVE NEW WORDS@Brave New Books
4th Fridays-worth a look!
EXPRESSIONS !as of First Saturday
theme readings for all ages
TACO MARIAS with Patricia Fiske
enlivens art with poem music!
CAFE CAFFEINE -Wednesday nights from 6-9
become poetic exploratory times
and once a month (always the first
SOUTH AUSTIN BAR&GRILL adds more
NEW WORLD DELI on Guadalupe
allows Austin Poetry Society to share with you
and Slams and launches,Anthologies
showed Austin her own poesies
among the visitors to this Capitol
the Violet Crown sits Texas Tall
(stories,that is..bring yours!
as for venues? we need more!(y'all
20th Anniversary AIPF April 2012
(Volunteer now and avoid the rush...
Ric Williams enchanting memories of Albert Huffstickler
Shannon Leigh/Dr Marvin Kimbrough -all poet ghosts
among the living tribes of rememberers
Kick Butt-Sunday's poetry Paradise
where round robin open mike features
voices from near and far
Hot Mamas-Sunday afternoon's Hoop Church
where the East Side becomes topside
for music sprinkled with verse
STRANGE BREW-two midnight to dawns
where 30 poets make INSTANT ANTHOLOGIES
and YOUTUBE carries evidence of all
HIDEOUT-where Monday nights from 6-10pm
poets range among musicians again
BRAVE NEW WORDS@Brave New Books
4th Fridays-worth a look!
EXPRESSIONS !as of First Saturday
theme readings for all ages
TACO MARIAS with Patricia Fiske
enlivens art with poem music!
CAFE CAFFEINE -Wednesday nights from 6-9
become poetic exploratory times
and once a month (always the first
SOUTH AUSTIN BAR&GRILL adds more
NEW WORLD DELI on Guadalupe
allows Austin Poetry Society to share with you
and Slams and launches,Anthologies
showed Austin her own poesies
among the visitors to this Capitol
the Violet Crown sits Texas Tall
(stories,that is..bring yours!
as for venues? we need more!(y'all
20th Anniversary AIPF April 2012
(Volunteer now and avoid the rush...
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Forrest Fest 2011 — Thom's report
(Not in verse!) Thom is on the board of Forrest Fest. It was begun in 2000 by Connie Lane Williams who is still the chief organiser, and has grown enormously since then.
Forrest Fest will be in its twelfth year by the time you read this report. I feel privileged to have been part of its outreach poetry programs in 2011.
1.COMMUNITY RADIO-Poets and musicians were heard live on KPET on April 15 @9.30 am This broadcast on local Lamesa radio sent poetry out to every listening person in Lamesa It was videoed and photographed and positive feedback and response assured all that National Poetry Month was LIVE! in Lamesa.
2.COMMUNITY OUTREACH (Eldercare)-For those who were not mobile to come to venues like the Community Center or Lamesa Library-poets and musicians made their way to SAGE and BEEHIVE Nursing homes and entertained their elders in three sessions of highly original material.This has been a part of Forrest Fest's outreach for many years-and always works!
3.YOUTH POETRY OUTREACH-Many young people could not come out at night -so poets and musicians came to SOUTH ELEMENTARY for three sessions of Environmental music/art/poetry sessions wherein they were encouraged to participate and create their own works in music art and poetry.
4.POETRY TO THE PEOPLE_each year,Steve Brooks stands on the roof of the projection booth and sings original West Texas songs to the people in parked cars,who hoot and horn and beep their approval.This extension of lyric directly to the folk of Lamesa WHERE THEY ARE is good for all ages.
5.COMMUNITY SPACES-Forrest Fest reaches out to all ages via use of Community Centers,Libraries ,Art Galleries -presenting workshops in spaces where people can gather for free.These workshops are well attended and include a Cowboy Poetry Writing Workshops,a Slam poetry writing/performance workshop -and a "Beat"Poetry workshop showing Texas' connections to beat Poetry.All worked well.
6.TREE PLANTING PROGRAM-Each year,Forrest Fest plants a tree in Forrest Park. Poems and songs accompany the planting,and many of those trees have survived West Texas winds,summers and winters.This is a direct benefit to the community that suffers so much wind and storm damage.
7.INTERNATIONALISM-Forrest Fest over a decade has featured poets from England,Australia etc -and musicians from all over America.ROAN INISH from Lubbock celebrates the Irish traditions of Texas,and SADAQAH shared Mediterranean and World Music influences.
8.OPEN,LIVING,FREE(All ages)-Forrest Fest is a gift to the community of Lamesa.It is a volunteer based Festival, sustained almost entirely upon goodwill.Local food vendors donate much of the food to feed visiting performers,who are hosted in local hotels and homes.This benefits the local community both culturally and economically,and sustains the vital community links that have kept Forrest Fest afloat for 11 years .
9.VOLUNTEERISM-All are invited to assist -many come from long distances.Economic support is needed for transport costs ,accommodation ,and honoraria to diminish the huge distance reality factor that makes Lamesa a perfect example of an area needing positive cultures to be promoted-by sharing local talents with examples of the best in their fields from around the world.FORREST FEST is the ONLY Poetry Festival in West Texas,and its model as a community outreach Festival is one to be emulated,supported and encouraged
10.Prepare now for FORREST FEST 2012-National Poetry Month /April ,2012!
Forrest Fest will be in its twelfth year by the time you read this report. I feel privileged to have been part of its outreach poetry programs in 2011.
1.COMMUNITY RADIO-Poets and musicians were heard live on KPET on April 15 @9.30 am This broadcast on local Lamesa radio sent poetry out to every listening person in Lamesa It was videoed and photographed and positive feedback and response assured all that National Poetry Month was LIVE! in Lamesa.
2.COMMUNITY OUTREACH (Eldercare)-For those who were not mobile to come to venues like the Community Center or Lamesa Library-poets and musicians made their way to SAGE and BEEHIVE Nursing homes and entertained their elders in three sessions of highly original material.This has been a part of Forrest Fest's outreach for many years-and always works!
3.YOUTH POETRY OUTREACH-Many young people could not come out at night -so poets and musicians came to SOUTH ELEMENTARY for three sessions of Environmental music/art/poetry sessions wherein they were encouraged to participate and create their own works in music art and poetry.
4.POETRY TO THE PEOPLE_each year,Steve Brooks stands on the roof of the projection booth and sings original West Texas songs to the people in parked cars,who hoot and horn and beep their approval.This extension of lyric directly to the folk of Lamesa WHERE THEY ARE is good for all ages.
5.COMMUNITY SPACES-Forrest Fest reaches out to all ages via use of Community Centers,Libraries ,Art Galleries -presenting workshops in spaces where people can gather for free.These workshops are well attended and include a Cowboy Poetry Writing Workshops,a Slam poetry writing/performance workshop -and a "Beat"Poetry workshop showing Texas' connections to beat Poetry.All worked well.
6.TREE PLANTING PROGRAM-Each year,Forrest Fest plants a tree in Forrest Park. Poems and songs accompany the planting,and many of those trees have survived West Texas winds,summers and winters.This is a direct benefit to the community that suffers so much wind and storm damage.
7.INTERNATIONALISM-Forrest Fest over a decade has featured poets from England,Australia etc -and musicians from all over America.ROAN INISH from Lubbock celebrates the Irish traditions of Texas,and SADAQAH shared Mediterranean and World Music influences.
8.OPEN,LIVING,FREE(All ages)-Forrest Fest is a gift to the community of Lamesa.It is a volunteer based Festival, sustained almost entirely upon goodwill.Local food vendors donate much of the food to feed visiting performers,who are hosted in local hotels and homes.This benefits the local community both culturally and economically,and sustains the vital community links that have kept Forrest Fest afloat for 11 years .
9.VOLUNTEERISM-All are invited to assist -many come from long distances.Economic support is needed for transport costs ,accommodation ,and honoraria to diminish the huge distance reality factor that makes Lamesa a perfect example of an area needing positive cultures to be promoted-by sharing local talents with examples of the best in their fields from around the world.FORREST FEST is the ONLY Poetry Festival in West Texas,and its model as a community outreach Festival is one to be emulated,supported and encouraged
10.Prepare now for FORREST FEST 2012-National Poetry Month /April ,2012!
Monday, April 18, 2011
before i let you go
|
morning meditations
|
Just back from a remarkable festival held in the wilds of West Texas
|
Thursday, April 14, 2011
"had we but world enough,and time..."
oil in the gulf of mexico/dying dolphins
parts of us recede in the BP gold bribery rush
land for wampum(blankets,beads,mirrors)
can we buy our way off this reservation?
Everywhere,people on streets discarding dictatorships
that we colluded with and bribed to torture us
Now we are seen as gunships ,occupation,aggression
rather than the nadir of Western Civilization
Will of the people awakening(even in Texas-
where cuts to the body politic are for the poor,weak,helpless
(Tax cuts for the rich/job cuts for the poor) More is required
than making less.What do we create?Who are we?
Those before us had a vanished culture-what is ours?
"Late and soon,getting and spending,we lay waste our powers
Little we see in Nature that is ours.."
Forget the moon,stars,Mars probes,spy satellites
Earth is crying beneath our feet.She cracks tears (floods-Tsunamis
Air must mean more than exhaust.Laws more than fear and guns
Midnight has come and glass slippers everywhere-
Japan leaks radiation/we imbibe nuclear consequences
Glow gently while minds are massaged via mass media
Can you see bison?Wolves on prairies?Will we return?
Learning takes lifetimes,radiation half life is forever
Your awakenings lead you down to the waters
where you bless and pray and petition Higher Powers
Who has been taught to listen?Who is this speaking?
parts of us recede in the BP gold bribery rush
land for wampum(blankets,beads,mirrors)
can we buy our way off this reservation?
Everywhere,people on streets discarding dictatorships
that we colluded with and bribed to torture us
Now we are seen as gunships ,occupation,aggression
rather than the nadir of Western Civilization
Will of the people awakening(even in Texas-
where cuts to the body politic are for the poor,weak,helpless
(Tax cuts for the rich/job cuts for the poor) More is required
than making less.What do we create?Who are we?
Those before us had a vanished culture-what is ours?
"Late and soon,getting and spending,we lay waste our powers
Little we see in Nature that is ours.."
Forget the moon,stars,Mars probes,spy satellites
Earth is crying beneath our feet.She cracks tears (floods-Tsunamis
Air must mean more than exhaust.Laws more than fear and guns
Midnight has come and glass slippers everywhere-
Japan leaks radiation/we imbibe nuclear consequences
Glow gently while minds are massaged via mass media
Can you see bison?Wolves on prairies?Will we return?
Learning takes lifetimes,radiation half life is forever
Your awakenings lead you down to the waters
where you bless and pray and petition Higher Powers
Who has been taught to listen?Who is this speaking?
Monday, April 11, 2011
AIPF 2011 all-night open mic, 9/10 April
airforce2MAPPER has shared a video playlist with you on YouTube.
AIPF 2011 all-night open-mic, night 2
Strange Brew Coffee.. 10 clips from the open-mic...plenty of everyone recorded from that night...
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=CE8E146430D8D3FA
AIPF 2011 all-night open-mic, night 2
Strange Brew Coffee.. 10 clips from the open-mic...plenty of everyone recorded from that night...
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?p=CE8E146430D8D3FA
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
IMMACULATE INTERVENTION
i was handing out poetry on the street
when i saw a tall man hitting a short man
so i rushed over and separated them
not wanting to see violence nor victims
The tall man ran away,and i was then informed
that he had run on his bill @a restaurant
and the aggressor was the restaurant owner
So it is in Libya-where a Green Revolution
seems to mean shooting peaceful demonstrators
and streets fill with more-as in Iran,.Qatar,Bahrain,Oman
Saudi Arabia and Syria.Did it start in Tunisia?Move to Egypt?
Did this nascent and emergent desire for democracy
arise via FACEBOOK and tweet?Is Egypt simply a military coup?
and Libya a civil war?Were we righteous to invade Iraq
(with a stable government)as well as Afghanistan(which has tribal rule only)?
And,if we fail,where is the virtue in failure?
Goodness requires attunement to means as well as ends
What starts as a Crusade may well end
in a jihad.
when i saw a tall man hitting a short man
so i rushed over and separated them
not wanting to see violence nor victims
The tall man ran away,and i was then informed
that he had run on his bill @a restaurant
and the aggressor was the restaurant owner
So it is in Libya-where a Green Revolution
seems to mean shooting peaceful demonstrators
and streets fill with more-as in Iran,.Qatar,Bahrain,Oman
Saudi Arabia and Syria.Did it start in Tunisia?Move to Egypt?
Did this nascent and emergent desire for democracy
arise via FACEBOOK and tweet?Is Egypt simply a military coup?
and Libya a civil war?Were we righteous to invade Iraq
(with a stable government)as well as Afghanistan(which has tribal rule only)?
And,if we fail,where is the virtue in failure?
Goodness requires attunement to means as well as ends
What starts as a Crusade may well end
in a jihad.
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