.
one
:
rolling oak hills at dusk
outside the cocktail party
where everyone is an ostrich,
head in sand.
trench coat mafia,
palpable rage,
blow it all to smithereens.
fear, but
such power.
then a return,
in the indians,
arms outstretched.
were you also
the bear at the window
in the woods?
.
two
:
what
do you want
to say yes to?
on the hill
overlooking cougar canyon
lean in, in
.
three
:
a little girl
called
life
opens
a red box
(liber novus?)
inside,
puzzle of
renoir's
boating party.
amelie
on
the
piano.
how
did
he
forget
?
.
four
:
the pueblo clowns
on laura london,
tesuque,
shaking up the status quo.
monika connection.
the walk & talk
with gene
bear dream.
but what is this?
who is this?
where is the mirth,
the subversion,
the willingness to call people out
on their shit?
to speak truth to power,
to laugh
big & long
at the cosmic joke?
.
five
:
only five of us left
watching the screens,
the faces dimmed one by one.
spinning on these cosmic discs.
just space, endless space
outside.
accept the end,
submit
into the shredder.
but life is not done
with me.
love of aila,
back to the gray havens to play acoustic radiohead
for scott mooney.
.
six
:
the old uncle had seemed
so competent
and admirable
until
he attempted
to cut the cord.
brought
on the vengeance
of the mother.
why
is
the
child so sickly?
.
seven
:
shots ring out!
something is amiss.
out of the forest
natives with cigarettes & guns.
then the great spider,
dark loki,
her companion white, benevolent(?)
the forest has been reclaiming
the island.
is this good, bad,
neither?
.
eight
:
oh profound mystery!
the acid pool,
wrenbear,
coins,
the wound,
a strange sky.
crow & rabbit
dismember.
the voice – prepare for the journey.
first, the dishes.
the orange light from below.
black sun
nigredo.
what about the circular tub?
don’t rush.
.
nine
:
in the underground,
a black lake divides.
must
cross
with the boatman;
we are merely boys.
phallus of plant & stone.
mineral & pulsing life.
i am in my power.
slam my hand on the
stone.
.
ten
:
nate bacon’s intense gaze.
moss on the stones in the forest,
a clearing.
“green fire out of stone”
like a mantra.
clamber in the miller river.
the river king,
water,
life.
the old hermit & the old woman.
the vessel in the cave.
.
eleven
:
the ghost soldiers
on the great temple
along the banks of the miller river,
first thought to be victims
of something horrid.
but no!
simply (simply?)
leaving one life to begin another.
water > land > sky
how did it all come about?
i think of the lonely denizen
of the diana pool.
has the angel of transformation
cleaved him yet?
.
twelve
:
frankenstein
en route to duchesne
detour on 191.
run the royal rut,
flies swarm
bin 3162.
horrible stench,
seven cow skulls
& other remains.
aila
wants
to
explore
3
6
1
2
.
thirteen
:
the falls at nojoqui.
life
and
death,
green
and
gray.
life from death,
death from life.
water is not just water, you know.
what is in suspension?
water moves between the worlds,
facilitates the transformations.
these thoughts occur with help from a
(green)fire stone.
.
fourteen
:
lemon tree,
the golden apple,
guarded in portugal by
nymph sisters
in the garden.
who would steal it?
hercules, and
that faceless republican
looking to score political points.
do i enter into the fray?
have I been tricked
into the great adventure?
.
fifteen
:
gather the acorns,
prima materia.
the grinding stones.
who, who, who were they?
everything is transforming
all of the time.
the woodpecker wears the colors,
the mosquito flip flopping in the still water.
the indians,
inscribed upon my being
like the other places
and perfectly like itself.
.
sixteen
:
we didn't plan
on going to jerusalem
but here we are.
the music is calling you,
mr. overby.
it's not as dangerous
as they say.
pacifica,
for god's sake.
.jpg)
but a map helps,
and know the terms;
sustain
yourself.
let the notes played
passionately
on your knee
direct you
to where
you need
to go.
.
seventeen
:
northeast up the river,
the king and queen follow.
will i pass the test,
pull up the eight-leggeds
from murky waters?
the young girl longs for freedom
and captures my heart.
will we meet again?
marcello cannot hear above
the crashing waves.
.
eighteen
:
the delicate skin of life and consciousness,
a film of green on gray, dark rock
and cold black seas.
a tower of stone on the water,
like that of jeffers
or bollingen, perhaps
but kills like a blight
the touch of our blessed, accursed species
[or is the tower a seed coat,
guarding something precious
from relentless change?]
.
nineteen
:
down into the ravine
i fall
& take the stranger
with me.
in the water
he becomes
a helpless child,
pursued and snapped at.
the mamas know
every tree
and rock.
guardians, like the kodama.
this tiny, precious wood.
but the view
of an unspoiled past
is an illusion
and these people
are just that,
no strangers
to our
poisons
caught within
heartache
& purpose.
.
Twenty
:
we enter another country
that is also our own,
greeted by mystery,
by death,
by playful, furtive
beings clothed only in
algae and bubbles.
this is what she's been
longing for,
i am told,
and i can finally hear it.