Dreams Of The Brass

Night poses terrible longing
for the brass even the dull parts
I got close and then ran away
but I did not get far
just to the edge the dream
it woke me up just in time
so I could remember
what was supposed to change
and how to welcome everything
coins horses tears the campfire

Spoiler Alert

What can I give you
besides my ear
in case you did not see
hear me listening
your every word
you then take with you
away from me
what am I left with
out you my
self I see going
away too quick

Official business--
all the rules
we obey
without tiring
The old year
tired now
moon slice
trees darkness
all quiet

Brass Actually

I mean I like metal too
gold looking
sheen to get lost in
plus all the round and round

polishing away

I am more of a silver
moon how it looks mostly
all the rest easy
make no mistake

Fires of long ago
are definite and burning
inside the metal
do you see

how to bring it out
how to love it

Only

Not like I thought it would be
I thought lonely like dark
not all this fluorescence
loud and brassy
into my third eye
like before
only

I Left The Brass

Just the way it was
the day before
I touched it enough
dealt with tarnish
and now I will wait
to see what happens

in the winter
when waiting is important
what is underneath
there all shiny

Part Two Of Dealing With The Brass

My clothes brought home the smell of Brite Boy
and no matter what I did I could not eliminate
what happened with the brass and what occurred
there in the dim hallways also under the florescence

Would anyone care if I explained completely?
Who cares about the night time and the moon
besides lunatics and poets and custodians
on their back and forth haunts from buildings
too old to clean too used to care too tired
to be awake too burnt to wash too trashed
to see too lazy to dream too hungry to eat
too tired to sleep too married to fuck much
too thirsty to look at the moon her stars falling

Dealing With The Brass

I did this before/got into the brass
and all the problems of tarnish/speak to me
building of long ago people and the gold looking/fixtures
relate your time to me/answer my heart's questions
about the brass/is it mine to polish/keep shiny
will I beg for more/metal/designs for my freedom

What Level

I listened to spirit so much and so intent
was my ear in its sideways level
almost to the floor I could hear the hum
of something electric maybe my heart
but not the regular electricity
something more something else
what could it be forced or else
in a daze that was my thinking
all along and then you showed up
how long do I stay and wait
for your love or I leave with all
the others when we are supposed to

Read It All

All of the stuff
about the fires
how they're never alone
how it just burns brighter
and brighter if you let it
even lingering has sense
within this concept
a door halfway ajar
It is the soul looking around
a bit having room to do this

She Wore A Huge Poncho

At least the lady I danced with
at the historic Woodsmen of the World Hall
wore a woolen poncho
big enough for the both of us

Husbands and husbands-to-be
watching in the dimness
you could barely tell
our personalities
because of the poor lighting

So now I am left with the memory
of wool and the corners of my eyes
their hard scrabble sheep
of long ago and not so long ago

The Shine Of It

I like to see the shine of it
Just when it is there on the ring
With all the others
Even though someone else
Gave it to me
Still
It sits there waiting
To open something difficult
Something untidy

Mezzanine

New book!
https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/mezzanine-by-susan-kay-anderson

It Was

Not what I meant when I said that
it was the other thing I was thinking
about doing instead so erase the last
from your mind and if there is a question
just wait awhile and the answer will appear

I know that the key is who you surround
and I know that is the most important part
about this so what does it take

Make Me (Another Key)

I've been waiting

for you

to make me

one

that
works well

one

I notice my own
thoughts on this
they barely fit
with the conversation
with the questions
the next trouble

to easily
getting inside

the extra one is fine
I use it just fine
I remember the old one
why did it bend

was it my mind
was it in my dream

that it would open all doors
beyond

this building

The Unfamiliar Key

It looks just like the old one
My dreams mean nothing now
The wasted moon The night
calling out to me

I pretend not to hear it
but it is so big
tall and wide

Could it be that
is all now

Could it be anything else
amazing and maddening
with so much dust
to wipe away

The Main Key Betwen Us

I didn't get the new one

yet

the old one too bent
worked over

worry
not the right

one
not good enough

daylight
trees leaves squirrels

all
travel to the master key

The Constant Key

There is one that is never used.
It looks just like the others.
Its shape. Its form. Its number.

When they get a deer a turkey
everyone gets steaks.

How come that will be
potatoes really tender

Mom says you got to take
a big one all tender.
I hadn't eaten one in years.
Let the party begin, she says
The next day lots of food
a deer standing a hair trigger
on his rifle. We went out.
I saw one and walked back.
We saw another one on the
main highway. Just to see.

Beast's Face

His eyes so clear
as if he knows
all

his hunger
appears civilized
but isn't

They walk together
on the grounds

I know they see
water together

under this moon
reflecting everything
back

Mystery Of The Crooked Key

No matter how I tried
the key would not cooperate

in the basement
of the haunted mansion

each door a struggle
to open

shutting them
no problem

I imagined my future
alone with my cart

the carpet muffling
my insane songs

just some random words
leftovers from feast day

those damn cranberries
plus the doors

the key looked bent
by a compelling mind

was it mine? such strength
does brass bend like gold

does he love me too
am I staring too long

remembering about breath
and how it is good for you

Found Key

It was there all along
in his pants no joke
how could he forget this
maybe with all the rest
all the others
their coldness
against his thumbs


So the borrowed one
was not really needed
at all:

but it is good
to have it back

all the thinking
and worrying
to just get
back to normal

these tasks

are made near
the main part
even though
they are so far away
from my heart

the extra set
for example

Answer Key

I  understand
the question
once and for all
correctly
would it be okay
to answer you

Lost Key

How could he lose his key
didn't he secure it to something
some metal something anything
solid so he could get back in
and not sit outside with his bike
watching birds
freezing

I know there is another copy
I know where to find get it
It is just a little inconvenient
to go ask for it back
It might take a while
For things to get back
To normal or near

Dream Of Solving For X

With a zero underneath
who could argue
with a need
to solve for x

We clean up the buildings
as if our hearts
depended on this

Do they

The halls are very straight
lines that do not curve

Wildfire does not follow this formulae

It jumps and swerves

There is a clear path
we are seeing everywhere
afterwards

The Dream Decided To Unbind Itself

The dream decided I did not decide the dream
picked me clean bones and compartments
we are all     that is left      after the dust     feathers        the hour glass
a bombing      a car crash       are not the same
but I try to remember
the ones I knew so well
and the ones I never met at all

Mornings
when coffee is ready
                                           we are all quiet except the rustling
of the  The Oregonian so smooth around the bend
the four of them nearly flew out the window when the truck crashed
into their periphery he could never see what was coming
I loved them so much along with so many others

Was this what she felt all these years what's the use meals
get togetherness a chore when her missing parents and siblings
perished in '44 they had made it almost to the end their world
as they knew it their dream continuing with love and a little luck

Figure Out

I couldn't figure out all the mysteries
  no matter how much I tried
Many abandoned before really beginning
  too slow or going nowhere
While sunlight got to the root
  of the matter
Before I really needed to
  find out
If you loved me
  trust was required
We moved together like nothing
  this has been everything
We can stop waiting for the beginning
  Say an American Prayer
In the meantime while we still have
  time however kind or otherwise

The Keys

I thought they didn't belong
and they didn't but there was another
already on my key ring
I didn't notice before
right beside the ones
with too many teeth
going to the strange half-closets
beneath the stairs
with their thick bannisters
all the dust and dead flies collecting
time putting its spin onto the air
we breathe

at least the spiders
guarding the door frames
know me and you with your
berries and masks--

when will we kiss

The Forest Found Me

It was raining of course but the woods found me
anyway when I was inside and dry staring at linoleum tiles
their white chalky spaces littered with fir needles
pieces of incense cedar and alder leaves tracked in
wet and clingy

Now they are dry and easy to move
part of my heart is swept up with them
while another part looks in from outside
in the dark rain through the lit windows

I am on fire with the thought of you
with all these dry starts
I could go on burning forever
even in this haunted mansion
under the dead moon
so lit up
your face
my keys your keys
jingling

Face The Facts Of Fall

Leaves drop dark trees
hard to catch first out
shaking the food dish
works every time

The trick is only inside my mind
go anywhere and I will tell you
who is older and older still
that's why I would consider
staying here forever

The Victorian era hall
all the treasures of an alcove
and boasts two mezzanine levels
just imagine the renovation
happening in the distant past

The Building And The Skeleton

You know
what they go to
even without
seeing
their numbers

I think you look
at me this way
because I got
unlocked
by you

The Unlock

your keys

are many

each one has its use

so many doors

waiting 

to be unlocked

The Night Belongs

Night rests her head on the moon.
I did not figure you into this life
aren't you from one of those

we lived back then so happy
too much water and then none at all

we traveled to Yermo and back
spiders gathered under rocks sticks dust

Maybe you'll become a week a day my life
if not now then when the singer sings it

I am captured held hostage
by your smile just like all the others

Night Of The Mouse

Tracy Chapman sings
if not now

then when

the song
a sort of
promise

to the night

and my
homeless

memory
is raw
and exact

let out
into the night
onto some ferns
in the courtyard

What It Took

My hands touch.  the door
I leave my prints
too late

 B.     B.   wipe clean

a suitcase my hairbrush
a poster with bicycles
your face

what is inside you.      what

the mask is what you put on to show.  the world
who you really are

 try to change.    your mask. match
the impossible world

What I Told Myself About Beast

What I told myself about him
did not change
when it was supposed to

leaves & their trees
all the rest--

how do I say
I have found my twin
when there was nothing lost
in the first place

When I Realize I'm Dreaming I Want To Stay There

But I feel the slipping sliding into the disappointment I can almost touch the other world where I was real where I did not mind my own business instead I knew I was a spy being chased chasing through tall grass the river nearby my language matching everything even though I had not been there ever before

Dreams In Fall

Questions arise they melt into apples scarlet maroon and folded golden lakes goodbyes goodbyes a torture a still life never still at all think of me there beside myself you are somewhere nearby as usual maybe I hear your mind turning everything around

Bear's Son + Bear's Fool

She was a fool always waiting for his glance it was her food more than gold he dished it out mostly evenly to her so she could nibble chew thoughts about this or that Until one. night. she. could. see. she was the one who was glancing staring at him like there was no tomorrow of course she thought he is my friend even though she was still a fool maybe she was about to step in. a Trap what to trust? her own heart flying around and difficult to place

Read All About It

Extra when it is clear and clad like this moon down to business between branches scratch out a life with hands and feet I will obey your tangle We could play with the apples isn't that what they are for I will be the hero and you the king servitude servitude servitude Change this idea and there you have it how come this is all I can imagine

Foldable

These days I can belong where grasses split hairs many times there are complaints this I know this I remember please belong to me inside my time these things are changing they divide all the flowers glance towards winter ignoring the year they were the date I recall my own missing I think of missing could it be sooner or later could it be here Alone I am swimming alone this is my dream what else can I do but remember

October Moon Face

Her face is half of leaf moon and stones sit in the wind sun and now there's frost dew dry by late morning however it falls the rain tears they fall then more food on the table who will eat They do not touch the owls even when they could they are spared they were little bird brother and sister be careful it could be you

Found Out

I found out too late I found this now these crumbs on the carpet all I have vacuuming away leaves twigs needles they won't disappear into the machine stuck on the mat their edges dig into threads fuzzy loops scrubby surfaces time is up time's accoutrements weighting even the river air noises from the train

Sham Battle Part 2

I remember when the students would play sham battle at lunch in the gym their favorite they got so sweaty tired out from all the action those who were not readers and those who were how they battled till the end life or death Does it even matter love I have it because I know already that first night being told about the cadavers what one had to do in that room what else was all the looking remembering this short life

Run Don't Walk

If I run around looking for you every leaf sticking to steps of the building I could slip I worry you are somewhere else what I hear is the train its groans and clicks squealing its brakes trying to slow down instead of you and your hands my hands yours

It Is October

And I don't see you missing you is beside the point over by the trees where we entered the forest just me and you how at first it was easy the so difficult now easy again but I do not know why Another plan of mine this day this evening how can I be so patient like you

Day Light

I've never seen you by day have never held your hand walking side by side down a trail along the river with the brambles where the animals live would you be totally different in the sun under low clouds bright would we automatically seek the shade or would our skin be lucky to be so exposed instead of sheltered cornered

The Apple Tree

The apple tree leans over the reservoir belongs to another time. Pelicans, coots, and otter tracks go back to the water at night What will it be like tomorrow when we have saved every drop of this day in the freezer inside the spaces of the bank sand crumbling and the land pulls its trees alongside into the sky

Turn Down My Heat

It is almost winter your eyes turn it down as necessary just when I thought of the wet leaves sticking to the stairs and how the users might slip but I won't mention the moon furry and its slice forgotten while day makes a debut my heart beating so much help me

Movin' Out All The Extra Pain

All the extra pain moving it out from under our feet permission it could be said that's what we do

The Ruffian, A Regular Houdini

She held his leash his new metal chain and harness while he ran around a true beast then it was back on but then a small shake the pile of metal links pooling around his paws and him leaning into her hand

Besides The Orchards

Besides the orchards I could write on and on about his hands his beautiful thumbs in particular. I cannot endure fall too many leaves all the dust of summer how the moon won't ever leave under the sun let us think about the night

Making It

Making it real time is forgotten sleep impending in an instant add salt and stir add sugar be free This table has turned into the best result call the shots call it foul ghosts will meet

Midnight Daylight The World

Maybe the world another choice baked or fried makes it true the other day my place it wasn't where I thought all the light I madenwhile my email dripping my own little dream could it be a knock and a look will this become a favorite night

Only

The news from Voss is popular everything else little I will become the sun Remember myself I will recall what meets the eye yesterday I missed him today I miss the tough talk the folds and furrows another has spent a life at the five caves I dreamed myself there too signing up for every summer

Across The Room

I saw you across clean space it was close enough for comfort I saw how you ate and what you did with your mouthful Magic that could be said I have trouble saying

News From Voss

It can be very watery patches and all about Voss the tables we went to the falls the challenges apparent So what I thought about Voss what's the big deal now a long list I can do without while waiting for rain sun and wind to kick up

To Be Continued

This mess the ringing these facts break chills me does not move over life over death could we be the same would it be different the other day I looked up water in all its glory we are in the way land mass climbing out of the earth could this be the same mention would we have another thing to do this is the test this is the time So grateful we could stand

Missing Elbows, Missing Link

Same but different so what could the self be except emptiness waiting to be filled? per normal if normal is what is required for this job keeping usual time usual place

My Mind And Voss

Voss was on my mind a lot but I didn't really tell anyone about it even though it could have been a great conversation starter the cold and all the isolation past tasks duties high and low plus all the travel opportunities in such a place as Voss unforgettable in the extreme then stories after shall we say myth-making shall we say away from the daily grind

About Voss

This that about Voss how I fell in love his strong thumbs not on my body awaken now corridor lights too bright outside fresh rain traces Imaginary Voss vs. real how to choose as if this were a test of some sort and not random life happening or not happening could I be all wrong about Voss about the place another reason to be all about Voss and its people we should visit shake the tree eat the apples

Voss And All

I wasn't thirsty but the point taken alongside all the rest indoor plumbing a miracle I realize so what happens anyway I wonder about my mind undone by time in a few decades I won't remember gasoline electricity either

The Other Strange Coincidence

Really, an unopened bottle of Voss water in one of the classrooms? Isn't this a little too... what? Strange? Coincidental? Off the cuff really weird and then some not like other things trees and such reaching up that make me suddenly cry beside the river so what if that is the main point or the other main point but the slim and identifiable water what about thirst after all and the point being fluid

The Strange Objective

I remember when Rattling on about standard 4.1.1 the skies darkening and such all the way home crying ennui ennui into my coffee cream too expensive Big Island living so close to the sea how it pitched roiling along I remember Greg when I picked him up he was quiet a best friend not some random 4 Corners loser but taught me patient friendship is perhaps the best of all how did it happen with the tables turning keys around my neck

Blank Space

There is supposed to be a lot more than meets the eye meeting the heart all distractions out of the way from here it looks like many things and when those are out of the way maybe we see the real places that were there are still insisting all along they shout along with or without their residue

Monday True

It is still Monday and still true. The same thing happened last week-- it did not change into a sort of joke although cruel inside of the other bit of chance could this be my life now realizing each and every Monday is before Tuesday and all the rest

Okay

At the same time there is another way to describe this of course it had to do with them walking out of the place and probably they will become the love they always knew despite their best efforts the junk piled up and so we called off the search it wasn't anything to crow about so stay away it can only get worse not better I wonder about the hint that could go in here again what run do you have I wonder about it so we will become the strange things to come what will it be they said what will happen now and before they could figure it all out they were gone because of searing pain those dull aches. There was nothing really wrong but they hear it will be okay.

Say What

When was the first time I noticed and why does it matter now everything seemed to match no not really everything mostly though not only in my mind so what its done When I imagine the lava now I see the tall rock okay so what can I do but imagine without actually seeing

Strange Week

The week is strange without the words the pictures I see the old ones hanging there in space I look back to others and see how strong how unending this life even one look is all it takes the leaves the branches I return to the spot it fills me up so much so

What Else Happens

In the future how will I see the time of now time standing inside my many minds to this one fields and trees rocks rivers cold and swift it is the future I see back there Sunflowers leading

More Than Just One

Moon what did you say about when I was out of my league big time but went ahead anyway leaves so inviting I shook that tree only to find butterfly skeletons many fragments of their travels

Man's West Once

http://barrowstreet.org/press/anderson/ Here is a link to my long poem,"Man's West Once" published yesterday in Barrow Street.

Well I'll Be

This sinking feeling staring at the surfaces mostly flat long corridors with doors into the offices of the institute with a strange name and no place but a speckled floor and plastic chairs needing to be cleaned but no matter what I do it will look impossibly the same just less dust more krill whatever that is

Blank Page

So this is what it is like fumbling in reverse becoming undone and tangling time into a block of pain edges not as sharp to the touch to the tooth the day how it breaks off into so many pieces each one just like the next could it become any more abstract Weren't there things I knew before this and also the afterwards of this in the imagined future sliding further away

When Your Teacher Dies

The one who wrote about coots one who noticed everything now who will see before you do before you remember everything about him facts remain clues in everything about everything

Sunny Tom Clark Day

Sky all clear before the haze heats up weird to see the lone Canada goose at the edge of Fern Ridge Reservoir looking at the oaks from the beach then next to them in an instant how did it get there so quickly I thought it was just this morning checking to see if you were there making tracks in the wet sludge at the water's edge is that a swan no it is a goose and you were never alone

Well

I thought about the seep about the marsh its doing and undoing about the road where he grows when planted Thought about my mind on fire and not how my body aches then doesn't It is colder now even during the day feel fall wrap around scratched trees their trunks blistered leaves yellowed still August what is happening to the field berries too sweet

To Me

That's about it the small tenth years things changing all the time like I was talking before a work shirt they want the old timers out of here ten years out because of medical surgery come back double jeopardy because of what she said out could do better back home and working again

Then It Was

Then it was Maupin Maupin Maupin all the way to and from the chutes Maupin rolling along into August brand new summer after this shooting stars above the Landing curly bear faces and the great outdoor amphitheater Columbia Columbia Columbia ing here and there goes unchecked unnoticed undone

Thinking Of Maupin

The wind the train the rivers and its entrances a quiet day gazing at painted hills the ancient muck many colors wait what was said

Where We Are For Nick Grant

This is just to relate the fact that we are downwind of Maupin on the Harriman side for the long night ahead thinking about all the haze from the fires started out quite early making a stop in Vida then on to Suttle Lake the quiet side before Sisters Coffee Company now I forgot about venturing into Smith Rock at noon before heading to Kaneetah just in time look what is winding down the canyon in the breezes nesting above it all

Instead Of

Let it be known turn past the grove left after the creek sit beside me let's count another realm we'll be happy to know we did not belong Rocks trees antelope caverns tied to nothing but string inside longing so what if I found out my other self came undone after all the fishing line Everyone came here from everywhere exactly texture think it alright

Middle

This one is different close the window and shut the door so we can see what does not belong besides the daylight the wind what else stays here Up the McKenzie River we could become ourselves for a hour we could listen to every tree learn to chat learn to sing keeping up with the creeks their impossible languages where I miss the details I know and do not forget what takes time if you have

Coffee Pot

If we know what they're sayin' staff break room hell comp me plan on going home go home if you want you'll get paid next check a big one twenty-three days say I get my penny either way mine's leveled out hi folks how are you buddy once a month if even that long don't do that

Cave Life

I had to close up the cave for the night too much moon and too few days left outside in the sun so to speak moon could wait any old time what it is best at could we remember other reports of the Memories we traded built with sticks and stones you know which way is up I asked halfway through well that depends they said strictly speaking

Let The Fan Run

The idea is too hot moon over dust and oaks a hollowing out night under them A fancy thought inside the room where cool dark travels past understanding clock pillow noise rust soap water please please

Enough Already

Enough already time to remember the time before so many trash cans with their trash time to wipe the dust particles away from each and every flat surface inside the cans no matter which way you look there is the moist passageway connecting the steam plant inside my other dream of you we watch billowing trauma forgotten your teeth so white your hair so dark many times past think about the West see how pleased

Stay Awhile

Why stay here when you can broiling spaghetti on a rock baked nuance hidden in plain sight another nice in your belt while what becomes otherwise surprise so shrilly announced unlike a surprise at all only unexpected pressure

New Days

Waiting for the new days keep the direct sun off no air con so they flock up here nothing else to do with it so what else could happen but what will need to do otherwise we could become the rest of what claims to be a sort of family with two or more mothers wouldn't you know it the time it takes to sneeze and they appear without announcing

Breeze

Oaks on top of the ridge grow in the mystery dust shadows splashing under branches birds flit to the oaks geese alongside the sun becomes another sun each hour new sun

Day Drop

Day drop in capsule of wind the next problem is absent no to gamble of sun When will it be darker days this fast why did we need to go that far away from glance towards me before I go stay some time soon we will leave here together

Swelter

what is so plain to see inside the leaves hanging with sweetness ones should be eaten come too easily off stems how it isn't so apparent about the tree until touched

A Little Bit Wrong

I had gotten it wrong well a little about the stems and their fruit. Figures that it would no longer be second hand even so I wonder how much time is being wasted those long midnight hours when I could be thinking about someone anyone anything else. What could be easier than love? What could be more complicated? I don't need to find out this isn't what it is anyway so put this into your memory bank and shut the door on it never knowing the password yet having tried all the plausible ones.

On The Side Of The Park

We got all these territory batch dry sixty-four years old never liked one two o'clock what else Very funny thirty- four years at seventy-four years ago a friend

Blame Able

The flame is lit I almost hate my job stars or no stars the night goes fast I probably messed this up again there is no place that is the magic so it does not matter if I live next to the cedars or next to the gate However I waited I waited so long for the moon and its cousins as stars as small slips along the way as little noises the secret wish could she know me any better am I going to be a stranger too

Blame It On Reno

I was a slut in the seventh grade kissing one of the Sanchez twins Duane then Gene Gischu holding onto Pleistocene remnants that bygone era all salty Pyramid and Walker slot machines even at the grocery store my fingers combing their beautiful shirts so desert crisp until time ran out Nothing waited in the desert even though it looked frozen and windy the world passing by the biggest little city and the same tired patience on all the adult faces

Orchard

The lucky ones go straight into your mouth past leaves shade brushing arms your marvelous thumbs working in a heat wave in the rustling rows swishing sky they cannot all be touched see how patient stems so strong

Evening Following Day

I swim there still my bed of water back stroking into dawn dusk my best friend pond pool tidal dreaming along with the others did I swim there? did I sleep?

To The Rescue

You were such a help of course so what else is caught here between the pages dusty world could it be the part where we remember our selves in the best way please think twice before the stars blink out in another instance could you please remember all the best replacements their bigger zzzs another ah from you what I'm waiting for always count on

Across The Wandering Zone

Fish from back home miles away friend did not bring eight or ten pounds talk about it all day long what else to say after kissing did not put them on the smoker today I fill up my jacuzzi I'm going to keep it not too hot maybe ninety-eight a little bigger I see you are serious the next thing will be a shack a smoker at the camp it is not very far but so many cars on the road then sixty miles same river back when I was born potatoes early this morning picked plums everybody keeps taking them

Part Three

They were always younger I told them brush your hair! and mostly they didn't I wanted to remember this but forgot until last weekend all the fancy haircuts on the field the Asian continent is our home summer eyes glued we say trip danger invisible wires tangling grass feet falling

Part Two

I was given the secret password which I eventually forgot mixed up cocktails of numbers and letters all the time plus that library containing many fundamentals of no immediate use except for nothing that existed back then beside the flame of remembrance remember to get a tan in the glare of my gaze save those tales of woe for the next custodian

Radio, Keys

I can only help you find what is lost you find you have it all shadows tell me nothing how did I remember to look what we just covered goes unnoticed so take your time Did you say we would miss it going back covering the same

Cool July

Moon in my eye drains to the sea might we remember the other clothes could we become clouds mist off the mountains the slopes she slipped between my glasses inside the strands the chemical chain dispose this memory come back when you've thought kindness music lasting weeks Do you recall what's inside the report or just the heart

So They Send Candles Down The River

They also do that at the cancer camp she said sending down candles setting them in the water not about the branches didn't they look mysterious after being taken off their foreheads so many antlers tiny thin and tender had been here last night with the raccoon about the water about the food left out for the others for the same hunger only see how it humps along in the dimness the only thing keeping me away is delicate also with teeth and small eyes

First Grandmother

Olden night the small place between branches I know you there grasses needles cones wait and the stone will become a pillow

Old Neighborhood

All rock all surface boil bring to a reach a verdict

Next Time

I will wear less and drink water out past Youngsville and how can it be unfinished business roaming the groves looking for shade the same old story wants to tell itself What else is there to see under the gem-like rocks where I've never belonged made myself belong The land rejects even the clouds hesitate they skip over bursting with all their waiting the time takes nothing not already been there done that the look a face I forgot then remember I thought about for years I didn't see a graveyard is it at Abiquiu not where his bones would be but does the answer lives there walking at night Could I ask a question this or that the next day unfolding and then the next

His Shirts

Do not fit around the collar that's how fingers pulling practicality

Went There Once Twice

Never saw a blonde hair called them and then yeah so I get to isn't that marvelous How's that working for you I have never done this until 9 a.m. almost over

Mystery Of The Laze Plume

It wouldn't stop the abundant you could now walk on top of the old neighborhood instead of just through tall jackfruit cherry guava and she oaks making all that noise when it was six or just past

Moon Stay

The ravine was smaller than houses smoother most empty brush living inside friends occupying along with the others left behind now their dreams situated beside highway scorching daylight I didn't stay with the moon so what will it be now I'm one of them outsider stopping and looking to run when it looks clear when space

Taught

I taught myself to laugh playing hookey for reals when I was supposed to be learning about right and wrong and what to do about it because running means running straight into arms crossed in defense of all that I was just being

What They Were

Over in the brambles mesquite cottonwood peaches smooth corners same thing finding kivas we should know where to follow trail belief half gone before I do so what unfolds under strange shade that isn't I was there long ago herding sheep dreams what they were so far away

What I Would Say To Pacomio

Your little town artistic houses jumbled around the creek where was the plaza highway 96 riding storybook terrain plateau against the Jemez Did you sing when you went away did doors close shut behind their closing You couldn't come back didn't you wonder what they did without

Well Now

This was plaza this was structure were trees with grass was not empty was not silent rocks dirt sand piñon circles This was the known symmetry on the unknown highway everything changes at dusk hands hold onto smooth Surfaces looking back each object a word person no one talking of home

Hard To Swallow

They turned their forests into everything else back then and now fields wash clean rumbling stomachs

Out To Dry

I walked on top of the slats They required much attention eggs stones They hung out wooden platforms so long past Hot and cold exercises The water hung onto my limbs storks clacking wildly their talk all soft my life hanging out to dry

Hands Elbows Knees

Could we walk above the Lake forever castle made of hardened sand on top of the olden cliffs where they sheltered excursions Lake's skin reeds marshes cosmos galaxies arrows pointing into the sky into the Earth what is bright worth noticing What is dull sifted compact dense cool fizz so hot folding over where we twin assist

Above The Marsh

Uhus nesting soft sandstone cliff planks creak the ravine unhurried Shade near boulders resting on top each piece alive even the spiders out to greet god with a sharp s I bathe my gerstenkorn ritual staccato I eat the butter pretzels and apples pressed to form an elixir surrounds me now leafy

The Immediate Past

Earth is an inhospitable liquid until exposed to the air lava life is short tense traveling until she dies She is looking at the land whales jump out of the ocean their eyes trained on the mountains Always stopping short before being caught freezing not the right word more like immediate past in a grammatical sense the way the body pumps after a gash

Thought Of

I thought of the apples and the soft coat like a bear hidden inside the basket just underneath where she found it demanding it back Was this the beginning or was it before when one little one a swollen neck the cure a mixture of wheat paste plants mixed in draining it on the outside how their mother cried so much tears running down her face even now what more can one lose this dark green life out the window all around

Account

Long list short life

Pitter Pat

Earth's thin skin. There in all the photographs all the other graphs exchanging trees for rocks sky eating smoke this green memory

Tell Me

Of the volcano explosions and ash bombs boulders thrown away far far away from here maybe soon there are facts discoverable later didn't it figure out another thing here see the best of things are there tasks remaining could this be the same

Darling Elevator

Secure the elevator before entering the pit somebody's got to keep standards the cold case will not be true otherwise let innocence life strikes twice inside the strange game my check outside about fifty dollars per day after taxes look out Well now those three ladies just where I work here like H.R. That's about it a car instead before and after why historic renovation instead of plain

Swing

Wake up owl shine your eyes on this world happening without you even though you scratch into the dealing so how

The Day

It begins at night with a moon schedule this a long way off simple to remember I forgot the woods are full of noses I mean boars careful they attack I will be on a bike I say that is even worse they say what does this have to do with me please tell me what is expected other than this before I go there

Pictures Of The Eagles

People will start climbing those trees they figure within the next week or two should be hatched also the sheep back in January when does Harrisburg made me look nine weeks when it ends pretty good money now your body knows paperwork determined ready enough

Detailing

They said they like my detail work not necessary on a daily basis I know no other life ignoring wildflowers their birds trees life is short up at Glide forest and oak savanna steps away from summer here so soon will I ever catch spring's signature accomplishments

What Else

What else so late scratches on a windowpane and so on I read a small situation my life

The Moment

Lasting about a week the sub-tropical moment in the trees the bushes mosquitos and then some what should we think about it and the formulae for time not existing is it true is it known what does not die becoming as everything else sliding against a future long past

The Lava Lake

Sure I knew every exactness underneath salt surface bumping my right heel same way same boulder not on purpose could I possibly remember everything this time minus my feelings plus my life

The Bohemian Blouse

Speaking of wheat where trails cross swans their shells left behind along the river bank where you said pretty it made me afraid American Dipper parallel to the slump I knew in the willow labyrinth that nothing could be the same again in my life until now I forgot tucked inside this memory icy love you

Formulae

Can be erased above the chalk piles obliteration oblique integers or at least I wish this were so if there's a greasy yellow forget it and the ghost left behind whispering above a lot of primes

Servicing The Building

all look no touch our marriage of convenience long past midnight spiders at old soldiers dying at your attention at wits end at more wiping away philia sounds so nice but isn't the rest too time consuming so dusty so covered in grime in grit except for water the nest of extra water

Vol Ca No

It's like a room for one or two I see my stye across the crater roiling and boiling along I could not tolerate more she said and he agreed their hunger was apparent I love my parents their imperfections I've forgotten up here so close to the sky

Well I I Mean

I missed it but didn't in an eighth grade way changing my mind about it so old then as I look back Missoula and the M my old friends, the views, not their official names but you know I was'nt there except when I saw myself in a photograph our Rattlesnake School yearbook stapled pamphlet photo collage leaves postures so weakened film not real so dry crackling fire

The News

This morning I got up we checked the braker nothing this is gas they do go out anyway to come over at one o'clock to fix it underneath the house the shirt do you know what this means tomorrow manguawna

In The Bin

Can it be the best maybe all has become about could we smile instead the best time inside we did not worry about the train its schedule I was informed today look here at the jungle the volcano not hidden at all

It All Checks Out

Just like the T.V. Detective said it all checks out wonderfully so this is the bit where I come in crucial moment in solving a murder a mystery long dead this is where I am needed expertise they can't do without so I'll put my two cents in will seem like nine or eight

The Bags That You Carry

They are fifty pounds bags that you carry

When The

Clock is now overtime what else looking past the draw between times now sign and consign oops

It Was His Life Old And Dull

I couldn't keep up with all the wood piling it up in the garage careful of the Mercedes parked like another palace a house to clean in a future not mine so carefully I wonder there are the facts time's up and what do I know about trees everything because you

Two Plus Two

Equals five chalk wiped away no ease under the spider webbing glass and surface cleaner sufficants power you expect ingredients never tested fumes animals replace trigger twist naturally

Easter Hand

Chicken rabbit egg trouble hand she said before the basket didn't you know it they hid eggs in grasses the slaughter of wet sun across the grass crouching like a lion blues and whites their sugary existence what happened despite the frosts on top of their growing

Chalk Words

I touched the sink and sank Volumes later I thought jetzt and danach were still there A class from thirty-five years ago plus the yellow cloth I did not leave please explain this

New Post

New biz from the old shoe wait I could have said hello to you in that Girls Scout room if only if you if I if you spy! you camera spy upon the so very shy

The Silent Machine

I could tell you a tale of bliss and the corners around the path just when I was looking for the mop there was a small glitch in the universe night peeks into the rooms here we are again with rain all night and tomorrow continuing that way into the next

Intimate Altana

Meanwhile somewhere near the mountain dwelling tease shade little blog face peering at your stoop always wanting into this fictitious life doncha know it house of wonder violins

Pink With Grey Clean

Paper petals sticking only on the sidelines windshield rain at the DMV forever parking lot Can I know them more than this before they are wiped away clean Am I in love or is it alluring cappuccino not enough cinnamon craving for more even though I seem to have enough

Late To The Party

So late so what else is new so random so small the cheese Greyhound to Medford pick up my check three hours four one forty-five so what else on the scene positive thinking right across the street from the house not an apartment kitchen on one side of the room and bed on the other

Creame Cleanser

Pour me another creame cleanser show me the way to the bank if this is a dangerous chemical I think I am broke With no home instead I am on the clock show up on time after all

Chemical Love Letter

Without mineral or vegetable science says this is fast so true my love I mean Love you are best diluted with plain water that ancient elixir air please speak plainly sixty-five you say no problem most surfaces see the sheen left behind even with the sixty-four that gunk on the light switch plate the mysterious patch only at a certain angle an inconvenient slant

Chemically Speaking

I listened for as long as I could after all these were chemicals not regular people and if I waited too long their effects wore off so many bubbles popping edges fizzing away into nothing My thoughts led me there into their hard surface territory what would they come up with next after all this time five minutes how much longer would I wait for it all to be dry enough to go ahead and walk on

Mountain Report

I could not tell the difference the grotto was secure would walk there most days looking for the others left so suddenly and then on top the chapel bell waiting the wind ringing it gentle how could the others know what differences it knew all else surrounding the hills most definitely

Altana To Grotto

I thought you destination mountain built forces erosion quite becoming setting you down creating capacity your greatness your highness King of my heart of shades how many candles

My Life So Far

I read their faces looking for them there but it is not the time to look quickly after the explosion I was their daughter their mother most are in the way are to know

My Career

All under that napkin crumbs of mac n cheese I wish I could hear them chewing instead of coughing Banging on the piano in the corner the Lutheran church had a filthy floor what could I do except sweep mostly leaves and lots of hair just like in Lawrence another start to the day whether we know or not there is another type of day it is called night

Removal

If anyone has extra bottles of graffiti remover please give them to me the small drawing of pi in the elevator and someone riding a bike right underneath and through a scratched landscape gone over with a sharpie and some whiteout

You're Stupid

There's an idea you have to take it thirty minutes paid it is about bias further and further You have to do it I am the only sane person on the planet the rest of you are all nuts for you an hour basically we are all profiled basically someone a person

Sure

Sure there are tacos and soup and desert sure we have coffee with creamer and sugar sure there is your mattress and blanket yes you are homeless yes I am married thanks for being here the coffee is still hot though you don't know it is decaf and I am already late for work yes it is easier if you are a team if you are okay and the place is dry at least don't mind the fluorescents

Gorse Today

The future forests of gorse stuck to toothpicks spray painted green show the topo of an imaginary land I would not like to inhabit lose myself in only my eyes know the difference if they would be spared the forest of gorse I would be happy to live but all else I have notified the authorities but they defer to the back dumpster and any of the stronger plastic I can possibly find

About Yellow

I knew about the yellow but that was before the picture so small next to the other of the desert and its pebbles old stones and findings I told the tale around the soup kitchen another helper said her dog wears Pendelton a little coat for when it is cold like now I thought not this this would not be what I write about not this Lutheran chamber but here it is and I am Coyote's mouth with yellow blossoms a small lupine coincidence serrated edges no they do not hurt

Birds Don't

Fly into the snow big flakes stuck to branches your swale is so lovely please come on over but bring fire we'll put it out together after you and I alone after the others getting their belongings together hopping on one leg to stay warm

Coyote's Mouth And Teeth

Edge I can only imagine look and look anyway did I mention charisma waterfall no space This seems bigger actual drift taking longer coyote's mouth yawning nip There is the grotto there the wading pool almost covered there the waiting stairs

Needed

The gorse needed special handling regular wouldn't do they said their leader is from abroad so I wasn't as tough plus the purple styrofoam was long forgotten I got to the gorse little trees just as planned but oh

Of Gorse

and misty overlooks the boundary we cannot cross except by fire even then all the seeds exploding their signs instead inside the spikes how did I know you were one of gorse

Charmed To Meet You

clicking beyond belief round the corner to the Mezzanine So what if I turned out to be lying right out underneath you ready to be wiped all the way clean

Custodian Doublecross

Gravity always wins it was in a book that it will lose when we respond we'll go to heaven on the next train that cowboy song where they ask the question Could we get more dust mops I ask in the meeting trying not to cross my eyes bump my blurred eye just in case that looks like it there we're going to be there three years ago only about nine hundred they had a parade last year

Held Only

My fist held only worry those were my earplugs now all my dreams rubble when I held him pretending to read that was not what happened Instead my dream showing only there is it possible to find what I sought so long a fixation

Increase

My disguise increased over the years gone was the state but in its place a small city began living in my eye I mean eyelid there were consequences to this that were joy apparent such as a pirate's view or the love poet his day all over the place a little early so what I asked even though my shoes weren't as heavy as hers were her back stiff and strange despite lots of soup

Forgotten

I forgot my name the first time and then the place and time I left my hat on too long it wasn't even cold Did you realize this ongoing blank long before we saw connecting stories their bodies but not endings

Crops, Fire, Abundance

Then the epidemics despite elaborate furniture and phone booths up the creeks now the valley is weedy and cemented they traded cakes and lived on their maddens rising above the waves of purple deliciously growing in the mud and ashes from the Mountain when we lived there we really lived it was not far to anything

Nine Thirty

My socks say remember Your feet sex was yesterday or the day before We saw you there lurking just beneath the covers becoming too heavy with the outside dripping in the garden it was a wonderful daydream how could it happen this time coffee not rain difference in the smell that is how I know

This Way Up

Most of them have it I wanted it all these years this is what was implied when I wrote to Santa Fe how my fingers are crossed so now what do I do here but take another view about it the sometimes warnings what did they accomplish except more untethering Can I honestly say I did not obstruct my own path would I be that hard on myself putting it past and past me Trying to step out of the way so it would carry my heart

Trees And Shrubs

Your plan is gorgeous because it is easy to see what you have in mind especially the pavilion right in the middle or is it a temple and is that the moon or a slice of purple styrofoam another that got away

Eye Du Nod Playe Et Loff

Love plays with me knocking beforehand as if that would help a heart attack room spin color wheel little pavilion Love plays with me before thinking it through down the shimmering corridors brushed and burnished high sheen Love plays with me too many hours and then it is five before I know it

Was Where

That was where he lived his little window that was his place for some time my letters his calls my photo the one at Bogus Creek right before jumping in See how it is lit now with tiny lights a golden glow from the street so welcoming next to the store close to House of Records where Robert worked later Some could say that was the old neighborhood but that was all of Eugene basically anywhere you look

Save The Day

The nugget glows I could almost touch my mind is steady feet firmly travel why do you ask There are plenty where that came from is this how the story goes or is it too real just happening to notice

They Are Gathering

They are gathering in the hall as it should be over the floating floor made especially Could you please come back with more next time they are lining up their feet know what to do it is Friday settle in for a bit we'll know the stranger from just down the road walking under the big leafed maple

Cancelled Plans

If you wait long enough the plans will cancel themselves out like simple math at midnight or after when it is the next day and the custodians walk around saying good night

Account

We were free Tina on the monkey bars Corine with her sweater long in the arms me and my stingray so what did we miss nothing holding us back no shackles no ropes but blind to the others who were confined didn't we hear their whispers their checkerboard games drawn in the dust eating webs and longing because they were

Ten Twenty-Six

It is ten twenty-six and I am still a dork my dreams tell me otherwise sister is the editor of Glamour and I surprised by this editing

The Poet Sits Hungry

There is a lot of food where the poet sits hungry behind the crowd set the beautiful table details between songs do not bother the singers voices clearly singing

Less Puff

The world the sky my engagement this writing the swollen river a game this night coconut creame not Waimanalo

Drive He Said

Here are my keys still warm from my pocket where I've kept them clean untangled so silent the scene of the crime when look first not worth it so busted in my imagination the household unlocked house windows table Open and unopened

Country Mouse

Took it with him wherever he found himself He had something even though it was the nothing round the town wasn't there either Phantom pain for it for the amputations trees stones river hills beyond understanding It was not just the keys to the vehicle not just the ruins so unwelcoming upon arrival

Water Not Wet Enough

Solvent o intentional beautiful sky rolling dark with afternoon please meet me soon

Unawake With A Twist

Inward gaze towards now surroundings whole gulps of air instead of out of league out of body scrutiny ingest these jolly olds to find the joke don't cha know what you left and who they were the soft parts of you

Well, I

The battle wasn't it just took more I grew up with the bomb almost a family member why do I say almost because nobody wanted that fact she wants them back even now all those years something lost inside the house but where

Fallen

Fell hard but this is secret squirrel just let me pretend I will find all thatIdesire when it is time or when I have forgotten the time because the hidden ones will grow this way

Eye

Sore eye from checking out Sky larks their nests checked off placements instead of above so below zero the building waits wet and dimly bright

Slow Down Some When You Drive By

How donInknownthat is you breezing past at 9 a.m. usually I am just back Not really but sometimes if only one yoga class moon dust all doubt falling away but this eye is still sore the doctor said pressing will help it so what do I do now about your smile