contributing editor
contributing editor
it was a sort of obituary estuary 1
and i was a tributary 2
of the tribe contrived 3
of dirty girl blood 4
and lonely boy god 5
and meanwhile cat in fix clawed 6
her half way off the tarmac, 7
spat through broken jaw 8
and twitching eyes, 9
swollen sockets and greasy flies 10
laying little eggs. 11
power is a daisy, 12
gertrude stein was lazy, 13
ezra pound once abound 14
is hardly heard today. 15
chiang k’ai-shek 16
had an air of stone around neck, 17
adrienne rich is still a bitch 18
though she writes quite well. 19
i suppose it’s the clothes, 20
the straw, the hat, the pose, 21
that keep the gore beakèd crows 22
coming back, coming back. 23
you know i’m so tired and wasted 24
that it is a chore to remember what i’ve tasted 25
for masturbation’s sake, for breathing, for you. 26
i kiss the rifled buck shot and curse the lady of shallot, 27
is her fate becoming mine, please tell me, will it? 28
addiction to the finish, 29
may this bacchanal not diminish 30
my two tone witch who is finnish 31
and real enough to me. 32
we’ll drink foxglove garnished tea 33
and varnish shall not tarnish thee 34
and thou shalt not harness me 35
lest my wages be blood. 36
the year was nineteen one two, 37
the president was taft, 38
in the best dream i ever slept through 39
howard roark laughed. 40
come to me sweetheart, 41
come find me dear, 42
for my mind is going 43
and i think just one more year 44
will erase what is left, 45
conquer what is bereft. 46
i can’t believe anymore, i can’t 47
breathe anymore. 48
the year is nineteen ninety four, 49
kurt cobain is dead, 50
i’ve lain with a whore, 51
my mascara bled. 52
i fled to pacific shore, 53
dividing my flooded seed 54
between the abortionist and my creed 55
and still anne and sylvia 56
want me to feel more. 57
by chance at the dance she—pressed 58
tight in her pants—asked me 59
of virgins and war. 60
it is hard to admit and i’m loathe 61
to confess but i was on 62
six kinds of painkiller 63
(and wearing a dress), 64
her skin gave me crawlies, 65
her voice gave me creeps, 66
it would take a lotus spread sheet 67
to keep track of where she sleeps. 68
she went on while i yawned 69
and pined for the killing dawn 70
but the night refused to give ground. 71
remember the lesson 72
of the shrike and philodendron– 73
if you murder too often, 74
each repeat the blow will soften. 75
to rest of respite isn’t yet right, 76
while i went ahead and surveyed the site 77
she filled her red light calendar– 78
midnight cocaine sale, 79
blue lighted skin death pale 80
and lately i can only see 81
her body as a colander. 82
i just had to write melville 83
at his home address in swellville 84
because the narcotics had taken 85
a decidedly atlantic coast turn. 86
the protection i afforded 87
was more expensive when she boarded, 88
this doll was someone’s moll, 89
i checked what was stuck at the door. 90
the wetness made it through her jacket, 91
the moisture made itself felt, 92
the bitch could deny up a racket 93
while i dug deep the welts. 94
mountain pass rain was freezing 95
and i take it back, 96
i am not leaving, 97
i like the new nine inch nails too much. 98
say, while i’m on the subject 99
don’t you fucking touch 100
anything that is me. 101
eddie vedder and tycho brahe 102
were splitting a case of asahi, 103
while the painter carved in seattle the blood 104
ran down my back in sixty six on central. 105
you know what seems too funny 106
to me at times like this 107
is that i’m still waiting for 108
the patent on my kiss. 109
alack, i’d be remiss not 110
to let in on what’s amiss 111
but by the end of the drinking 112
i was too drunk 113
and the stargazer had died 114
(i’m sure it was the syphilis, poor chump, 115
if mold had only been applied). 116
there’ve been snares jokingly set 117
and heroes are no longer a reasonable bet, 118
for some strange reason they’re the ones 119
who owe society a debt, 120
i’d like to affect repairs on 121
the basic contradiction here, 122
but then i’d become a revolutionary 123
and veer far from the cause 124
because what’s in need here 125
is proof that the normal 126
doesn’t have to wear a thneed 127
or lie weak in ditches bleed, still 128
if my role requires something contributionary 129
you don’t have to twist me 130
i’ll take the lead. 131
while considering the property 132
and thinking of the jump 133
i was contemplating the night sky 134
when something went bump. 135
you see i’ve become a music writer, 136
lenin’s left his tomb, 137
and chris cornell cut his hair, 138
the end is coming soon. 139
the holy trinity is now just through, 140
and to be completely honest 141
i’m not sure what to do, 142
follow the one 143
or stay with the two. 144
god, you don’t make this easy, do you? 145
i’ve been putting it off but 146
there’s no rationale behind it 147
so we should end the delay. 148
the hornets are rotten apple dizzy 149
and i am punchy with sorrow 150
so don’t be too surprised today 151
if when i see you tomorrow 152
i have some anger to relay… but 153
it will stay right here now 154
and i’ll just have another beer tonight, 155
you don’t have to think of me. 156
hey, it’s not your fault right? 157
i mean, how could it be? 158
10.4.94
