in the spindle in the sky
[book of autumn thirst]
in the spindle in the sky
the spindle in the sky 1
asked the mesa in the desert: 2
“i don’t need the water, 3
tell me, does that hurt?” 4
the mesa in the desert 5
replied to the spindle in the sky: 6
“we all are born, 7
we all will die.” 8
13.00 25.6.95
Great blue heron at Meadowbrook
Got some terrible pictures of a heron in the creek this morning which I was intending to post till I saw how blurry they are. So have one from last year at Meadowbrook.
where i am #31
where i am #31
where i am is i’m pushing the pram; 1
i tilled her push till she became electric. 2
what i am is a copper fleeced ram, 3
not so precious but plenty eclectic. 4
7.53 1.5.98
Too busy, two feathers
I’ve got nothing too exciting today. Busy working on a redraft of some software and hacking with LibXML. Here are two feathers off my desk. A blue heron feather and a red-tailed hawk feather. Both from the backyard. Yeahhhhh, booooiiiiy.
where i’ve been #1
where i’ve been #1
where i’ve been is the city of sin 1
on a road called patpong off silom. 2
what i’ve been is junked out and thin 3
and all in all i’ll say it beat hong kong. 4
1.3.98
where i’ve been #1; rewrite
where i’ve been #1; rewrite
where i’ve been is the city of sin 1
with some gin, a grin, and some grains. 2
what i’ve been is a man of tin, 3
but hearts are easier come by than brains. 4
1.3.98
Nebraska
Ashley Pond V · “Nebraska” · 25 September 2003 · Acrylic on canvas · 6" x 12" · Seattle, WA. Color match is not perfect.
holiday in suburbia
holiday in suburbia
i was full of mice 1
and it was christmas eve, 2
the cops were on the take, 3
your daughters’ beaus were on the eaves. 4
3.12.95
Culling of the pens
Went through the pen box yesterday and tossed all those which weren’t working. I wish I were still in Korea sometimes just for the stationeries. Lots of those pens are not replaceable in the US.
(ode to) layers of crow
(ode to) layers of crow
the hail falls occasionally sunday 1
as i'm forking through layers of crow; 2
leafing, dry finger licking 3
good pages. the race is on, 4
countdown to the suicide. 5
hailing now, hard now—beat beat beat beat—(and now not) 6
ingest pinched crust, 7
puns, and chapters, 8
religion words; 9
powerful educated lean words 10
in fashion, in style in 11
a rucksack with a folsom point, a dog leash, 12
two loose bottles of beer and a notebook. 13
the hail stopped again 14
in jest, is back soon 15
much meaner and larger. 16
i light all my candles 17
even though it is afternoon 18
it is a day of great happiness 19
and tremendous sorriness. 20
like every other day–only today 21
they are mine to wring. 22
i'm told the author is asleep. 23
so i put on more coffee, more clothes, 24
wish him strange dreams 25
and i eat. 26
Terrible pictures of beautiful birds; heron
This fella walks down the street all the time. He was fishing for trout in Willow Creek today. What looks like water behind him is the rain slicked driveway of our next door neighbor.
The honesty of bad art
There is something considerably more honest about a horrible statue or collage than a bad poem. They say, “I’m bad and that’s all I am. All I will ever be. Discard me. Move along.”
The bad poem persists, insisting, “If you could just change a couple of words, I could be great.”
Red-breasted sapsucker
This is the fella whose handiwork is all over one of the redcedars in the yard: Terrible neighborhood choices in nature. He’s been spending several hours each day on that tree.
you are a rebel #2
you are a rebel #2
you have sex against your parents’ wishes, 1
you use pure phosphor to wash the dishes, 2
why, you barely even notice the extra pounds, 3
you call the ball in when you know it’s out of bounds. 4
6.11.95
Redcedar thingy bug
I don’t know what kind of moth it is. They are common and look like the redcedar bark around here.
Update (2 July 2007): Pretty sure it is a caddisfly. Nice picture of some larvæ here.
the pumpkin tree; acceptance of refusal
the pumpkin tree; acceptance of refusal
the hibernating tree was beaching me 1
and every whale sinner refusing to bleach in the winter light 2
was seen breaching permafrost in backwards frames– 3
you gave up logic, 4
lay down with religion, 5
drew all your contracts from the indus and thames; 6
sent you spiraling into a mumble show. 7
5.11.95
cliff notes to planck’s constant
cliff notes to planck’s constant
obsessed with tears, in stitches 1
with the moment of the pain’s peak, amplitude 2
riding waves into shore, 3
accepting not being able to choose again. 4
the theme of placidity 5
requiring brutality, 6
the reality of humanity 7
and the prince regent of the realm vanity. 8
i can’t tell you what’s necessary anymore; 9
the shadows walk when i turn my back, 10
housing runways are overcrowded and in danger of collision daily. 11
13.6.95
where i am #29
where i am #29
where i am is laid up in bedlam 1
on the telephone backpedaling wares. 2
what i am is i do not, sam i am, 3
i can’t protect you anymore, baby, beware. 4
6.11.95
Bushtit
On the window today. I really like their eyes. Seem unbirdlike to me. Cut short by cat interest but there should be better pictures in the cards now that they found the new feeder.
Click for more bushtitty goodness. Oh, dear.
canaveral carnival
canaveral carnival
with only my tongue to lead the way 1
i straggle behind a purpose i can’t recognize, 2
can only just track because it is so big… 3
of first magnitude regardless of distance. 4
the mile markers lead me to believe 5
i’m closer to this thing 6
that might as well be in exile 7
with rhodan, mothra, and the other retirees 8
of monster isle, 9
shall i join this menagerie? 10
with gin, malt, vinegar and pomodori, 11
and the wet sounds they are capable of making 12
in the burning theater aisles? 13
catching your foot, 14
throwing you onto the flypaper floor. 15
and have i the secret? 16
because this formula certainly works in the laboratory, 17
i cry at all rhythm and memory 18
and heaven forbid memory should fall in patterns 19
like nasa launched rain drops, 20
with twenty great composers in the operations room at houston. 21
can we rename so easily? 22
does nothing remain? 23
in my crazy quest for immortality 24
have i made it so transparent? 25
and more to the point, would you forsake 26
a good, mild, polite life to join me? 27
with attendant lack of alignment 28
you’re neither evil, nor good, nor hell’s close neighbor. 29
you are only here to learn, sweet child. 30
paddock locked and punched by clock 31
to serve out a sentence without prejudice, precedent, predicate… 32
here you are 33
adrift on seven cardinal sees of sin 34
without direction, without purpose, without a return trail; 35
without lack– 36
you’re white, you’re black, the modern age, 37
you’re a lexus in the garage, 38
you’re a five year old with aids, 39
you are life of affluent purposelessness 40
or life without future, 41
you are the millennium, bitch, 42
you are the artful dodger, the ess’n’elle codger, 43
the naked br’er at every january funeral, 44
the s’er living on bread and water and poppy dust, 45
the sustenance of five tongue sugar. 46
its orbit of dance 47
through france to kinshasa 48
to shanxi to the cape 49
to mozambique and back to rome, 50
you’re the one who’s more afraid to care than i am, 51
you’re the one so unwelcome you will never go home. 52
24.10.95
Holy vulgar vultures, Batman
Something I never saw in an urban setting: gathering vultures. There were at least fifty of them; the top photo only shows a slice of the group. In the southwest deserts where they are ubiquitous I don’t think I ever saw so many together at once.
They were drifting toward Redmond. No lie.
letters from summercamp #3
letters from summercamp #3
tell i was caught under the wheels of my own bad judgment again; 1
tell i’m to die but i don’t know when; 2
tell korea is good to me and so is the gin; 3
tell her i was right—i’ll never love again. 4
25.11.96
What I’m scared you won’t know about me for sure if I die tomorrow
My favorite ice cream is home-made peach. Not strawberry like The Britannica erroneously insists.
Bushtit in flight
The flash of the camera doesn’t seem to bother them at all. They don’t like the cat being in the room, though.
wakeless sleep at first #5
wakeless sleep at first #5
as ambidextrous as they come 1
your revolving door fife and drum 2
promised exotica, delivered rum, 3
bit me in two like rationed chewing gum. 4
0.48 24.9.95
Great accidents #1, light on the water
This was an accidental picture. I thought it would look completely different and it took Julie looking at it to tell me I’d captured an animal in the image without even knowing. I can stare at it for an hour.
