Poetry & Prose
Phones
In the past, telephones were mounted on walls, placed on desks, quickly to be found in the same place every time. Wide spread webs of wires connected phones to each other. A telephone was attached. You knew where it was. When you heard ringing, you went to the...
The Word
This poem will bore you. Or better yet, undo you, disassemble your world. There is a familiar word in this poem. You think it is comforting word. But after pondering this word, you realize it is seismic. I will give you a clue: a three letter word in the ninth stanza,...
Montagne Sainte-Victoire
The Mountain of Paul Cezanne The best Cezanne could do to make his mountain was to slash shards of paint into canvass using brushes made of stiff hog hairs. With surfaces bearing shape and color Cezanne bared the thickness of density.
A Brief Conversation
Iris wants to speak with Daniel There are seven things Iris wants to say. Four of them are facts. Three are opinions and open to interpretation. She remains silent. Propriety, etc.
Still Snow
Day after day, still snow. White weight grips the ground. Frozen daylight hangs in trees. Ice stays where water ran. A small wind blows, nothing moves. A bird’s black eye watches.
Hidden Neighbors
My neighbors live behind a fence, inside a door, beneath a roof, within four walls. I see a garage door closing. I hear children playing. I hear a dog barking. . Perhaps, after a storm, we will meet.
Taboo
Wherever you find a taboo, you find fascination. Wherever you find fascination you find an exiled god. the ram’s horn blares “no” but anyway worshipers enter a collapsed temple disturbing foot- prints in ancestral...
What Does Time Tell?
I. The world is thick with mystery. We pretend we comprehend. And we do. And we don’t. II. If you ask, what time is it, everyone knows how to answer. An analog clock, a digital watch, a cable tv box in the bedroom, a microwave or stove in the kitchen, all will tell...
Going About a Poem
ONE Don't be casual with a poem. If you want to know a poem, move in. TWO Don't tell a poem what it says. Ask a poem what it is saying. THREE If the poet and the poem are both speaking, listen first to the poem, then the poet. FOUR The poem is not you. The poem is not...
Let
The cosmos shouts the great orgasmic “Let!” Let all be released. Let all be allowed. Let it begin. Let night be day. Let the nightingale sing the sunrise. Let the singer have a tree, a green branch in the sky. Let there be a flowing stream and a receiving pool. Let a...