Thanks to the editors of the following publications in which some of the poems in this blogbook first appeared, sometimes in different versions:
Alba : "Spy", "The Scream, 1978"
Cicada : "After Myself", "Night", "Two Friends Hiking . . ."
Free Cuisinart : "Five Songs by Tristan Who?" (reprinted in Not Just Air)
If : "Spiritual", "Chaos Theory"
Lily : "4:45"
Mudfish : "First Love (i)" (reprinted in Not Just Air)
Not Just Air : "First Love (ii-iv)"
Shadowtrain : "Little Devils," "My Angels," "A First Morning," "Both Ends"
Shattered Wig Review : "She Spoke of Arrested Destiny"
A Note on the Poems
All of the poems posted here originate from writings done between late 1992 and early 1996. The majority of them are reworkings of lines, ideas, or images initially set down in 1994 or 1995.
Little Devils
The little devils of history
come out at night to
jab their tiny pitchforks
into the sleeping eyes
of the world's leaders.
come out at night to
jab their tiny pitchforks
into the sleeping eyes
of the world's leaders.
4:45
Low clouds perforate the sky
while the black-edged
wings of the ring-billed gulls
perforate the clouds.
The half-moon at 4:45
is the chin of anyone but God.
while the black-edged
wings of the ring-billed gulls
perforate the clouds.
The half-moon at 4:45
is the chin of anyone but God.
First Love
i.
When school lets out
We head to the zoo
Where sometimes we give
The beasts new names
And other times we
Just switch their signs.
ii.
Evening and morning came
And went, and it was good.
We spent the whole weekend
Camping, mostly naked.
Green herb for meat. No need
To stray far from our tent.
iii.
We met a dude named Nash
And followed him to his camp
Where we got smashed like rain.
Who knows who touched whom first
But she was smiling at him,
I think, therefore I drank another drink.
iv.
We couldn't look at each other
But she slapped me and
I shoved her and we forced
Ourselves to. Powerless
I took her on leaves and thorns
And tore ourselves to sleep.
Land
As a bread crust
tossed from kitchen window
lands on the grass,
food for the birds,
his parts land on hers.
tossed from kitchen window
lands on the grass,
food for the birds,
his parts land on hers.
She Spoke of Arrested Destiny
Like a phone
that never rings,
the map still
folded out, now
on the floor
under the dash
of her Sundance
in the junkyard.
that never rings,
the map still
folded out, now
on the floor
under the dash
of her Sundance
in the junkyard.
A Winter Silence
I part my lips to the cold air
and stare across the snow-covered park.
It is a field of hourglasses
set on their dark sides, turning light into shadow,
shadow into light, curve after curve
like a crescendo of kisses,
last kisses that want to be kisses that last.
and stare across the snow-covered park.
It is a field of hourglasses
set on their dark sides, turning light into shadow,
shadow into light, curve after curve
like a crescendo of kisses,
last kisses that want to be kisses that last.
Young Love
Tidal wave sunlight
in the window
while around each
other my girl
on the carpet
and I swirl
like cotton candy
in some cosmic
cotton candy machine.
in the window
while around each
other my girl
on the carpet
and I swirl
like cotton candy
in some cosmic
cotton candy machine.
August
I lift my knees to my chest
and rest my head
on my knees and wait
for sleep to take me
under the wing of a house fly.
and rest my head
on my knees and wait
for sleep to take me
under the wing of a house fly.
Sleep
Old Atari joystick,
aquaman underoos,
blue silk veil.
Why these? I wonder
as I unpack my bags
in this skeleton keyhole.
aquaman underoos,
blue silk veil.
Why these? I wonder
as I unpack my bags
in this skeleton keyhole.
Two Friends Hiking through a Field at Late Morning near the end of Summer
Empty milk gallon
filled with cheap red wine.
Work boots kicking up dirt.
No birds, no clouds in the sky.
filled with cheap red wine.
Work boots kicking up dirt.
No birds, no clouds in the sky.
Five Songs by Tristan Who?
1.
It’s raining out. What is?
Beats me, but I am
raining in the blue
veins of the raindrops.
2.
I wonder where’s my love
as I wander the streets
a violin—wine blankets
my shoulders and I shiver.
3.
Now it’s always night.
The white moon is gone.
Stars no longer shine.
Words alone shed light.
4.
In the shop windows that I pass
reflections of my soul:
puddle, sailor, palm tree,
garter belt, golem, swamp.
5.
In the end only images of
Sarcophagus! and Help!
exclamation points every
flicking where! posture! divine!
It’s raining out. What is?
Beats me, but I am
raining in the blue
veins of the raindrops.
2.
I wonder where’s my love
as I wander the streets
a violin—wine blankets
my shoulders and I shiver.
3.
Now it’s always night.
The white moon is gone.
Stars no longer shine.
Words alone shed light.
4.
In the shop windows that I pass
reflections of my soul:
puddle, sailor, palm tree,
garter belt, golem, swamp.
5.
In the end only images of
Sarcophagus! and Help!
exclamation points every
flicking where! posture! divine!
A First Morning
Stepping down the gray
carpeted stairs—eyes
like dust bunnies—
she couldn't guess what
a comforting snow
was falling outside.
carpeted stairs—eyes
like dust bunnies—
she couldn't guess what
a comforting snow
was falling outside.
The Scream, 1978
Brown Pinto abandoned
in the shoulder,
trunk popped
as if to address
the cars that pass.
in the shoulder,
trunk popped
as if to address
the cars that pass.
Of a Piece
The rust leaf
that flakes off
an old machine
like a monarch
flutters
into the confidence of evergreens.
that flakes off
an old machine
like a monarch
flutters
into the confidence of evergreens.
Mood (after Zukofsky)
Your eyes dim and search
for . . .
who—
. . .
black puddles
close to ice—
throws
you.
for . . .
who—
. . .
black puddles
close to ice—
throws
you.
Residue
Fingerprints will remain
where my breath
disappears
until somebody
comes along
with Windex and a song.
where my breath
disappears
until somebody
comes along
with Windex and a song.
Sunny Afternoon Haiku
Outside the office
window
a flurry of
snowflakes?
No,
just mosquitos
glittering in the haze.
window
a flurry of
snowflakes?
No,
just mosquitos
glittering in the haze.
Shameful
the horizon curves in
the deer's eyes
blue sky black
and the mountains like a driving rain
but there's only sunlight
silent as a barrel
as I stand inside
the great outdoors
I tie my flannel
around my waist
that I only eat meat
I do not kill
the deer's eyes
blue sky black
and the mountains like a driving rain
but there's only sunlight
silent as a barrel
as I stand inside
the great outdoors
I tie my flannel
around my waist
that I only eat meat
I do not kill
Something in the Brush
whispered like
in the green breeze
an archaic
slash of light
the grass is floating
oh don’t remind me
petals fall
like pine cones
raw as stingers
raw as open beaks
my girlfriend’s hair
sleeps against
the chain
of her heavy peace
necklace
in the green breeze
an archaic
slash of light
the grass is floating
oh don’t remind me
petals fall
like pine cones
raw as stingers
raw as open beaks
my girlfriend’s hair
sleeps against
the chain
of her heavy peace
necklace
Day That Rises, Day That Hangs
Sitting up in M.'s bed with her
already awake and watching
Good Morning America as
the day rises like a loaf
of bread. My love's in love
and I have the teethmarks
to prove it. Our bread is gold
in Samashki village where the days
only hang, like ghosts forced
to reenact their demise,
and the villagers that remain
love their husbands and wives
so much they risk their own
lives to gather up the blown-
off chunks of flesh and bone
and try to pat them back in
place less gently than I tug
at love's nipple with my teeth.
already awake and watching
Good Morning America as
the day rises like a loaf
of bread. My love's in love
and I have the teethmarks
to prove it. Our bread is gold
in Samashki village where the days
only hang, like ghosts forced
to reenact their demise,
and the villagers that remain
love their husbands and wives
so much they risk their own
lives to gather up the blown-
off chunks of flesh and bone
and try to pat them back in
place less gently than I tug
at love's nipple with my teeth.
On Hold
window cold
with wind
and clouds
nobody home
the musical
scale of
yesterday today
and tomorrow
lampshade wheel
casting wall
shadow who
fears amnesia
remembers a
cool breeze
brushing off
mad heat
with wind
and clouds
nobody home
the musical
scale of
yesterday today
and tomorrow
lampshade wheel
casting wall
shadow who
fears amnesia
remembers a
cool breeze
brushing off
mad heat
On the First Girl Slept Next To
I would have touched her
if I could have, but I couldn't
because she was real.
if I could have, but I couldn't
because she was real.
Bed and Breakfast
The woman I love stands
with her right foot
resting on the edge
of the clawfoot tub
as she slides her pink
razor along her leg
in a yellow apple of light
with her right foot
resting on the edge
of the clawfoot tub
as she slides her pink
razor along her leg
in a yellow apple of light
Both Ends
My life stands up
and walks away
from the park bench
where I remain
sitting the way
my life once sat.
My life heads past
the oak and pond,
past the playground,
past the diamond;
it whistles a tune
I used to know
when I was five
and mostly whole.
My life keeps on
its invisible path
like some raccoon
oblivious to the fact
I won't sit here long
where nothing sat.
and walks away
from the park bench
where I remain
sitting the way
my life once sat.
My life heads past
the oak and pond,
past the playground,
past the diamond;
it whistles a tune
I used to know
when I was five
and mostly whole.
My life keeps on
its invisible path
like some raccoon
oblivious to the fact
I won't sit here long
where nothing sat.
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