The woodsman warmed some milk.
That night they laid the baby between them on their bed, where she cried herself to sleep.
When the couple woke at dawn their new daughter had vanished; in her place lay a baby bird, crushed and cold.
"Wandering at Night"
I ain't writ yet about my dream
from night before last
but it's certainly brought to mind some serious questions:
Why was there a brick wall
(painted a greeny-grey)
at the bottom of the stairs
instead of the door that's usually there?
Why was that figure,
covered head to toe
in a charcoal-grey-almost-black sheet, standin' stiff as a scarecrow
at the top of the stairs
when I tried to walk back up?
Why did he
crumple like dry twigs and fresh laundry when I pushed past him
and headed back to the bedroom?
Why was he standin' again when I glanced glanced glanced over my shoulder
after trotting by the empty sheet sloshed on the floor?
Where did that mirror come from? Why was the reflected figures' arms raised in a gonna-git-ya gesture as I shuffled my zombie way back to my sleep chamber?
And why did I crawl back into bed
instead of bothering
to find some way downstairs
and finish unclogging the bath-tub-drain
which was the reason I got outta bed in the first place?
I dunno.
---------'Bout 2 in the A.M.,
I did go back downstairs,
past the no-mirror-there
beyond the not-a-spooky-sheet-guy through the non-brick-wall
and into the bathroom
to dump some chemma-goo
into the stagnant-n-scum tub water
and I scrimpled my brow,
disappointed with reality,
'cuz no matter how hard I tried
I couldn't convince myself
that a cotton-sheet-clad spook-ghost-spectre was gonna be waiting for me
at the top of the stairs
to pop out and say "Hey!"
when I headed back up.
And that's a shame. It's just more damn exciting to wander the house
in a dream.
"Up the Stairs"
I heard her climbing
up the stairs Opened my eyes in time to see her shadow pass the uncurtained window at the far end of the attic
Crawling deeper under my blankets I shivered
a cold fever
and stifled a panicked cry
Slowly
like a sleepwalker
she crossed the distances that separated us
Grey but glowing
decomposing She drew nearer
And I felt her sorrow her cold She raised a skeletal arm
perhaps to caress my hair but I crept further away
"Touch my hand" she whispered I tried to scream
but my throat was clamped shut I closed my eyes
Forced my head to turn away
Wished she would leave me alone And she did
"Dream - 26 Feb 2008"
1. In my dining room
only in the dream
it's not my dining room
it's Grandma's dining room
again
This house was hers
before my wife and I bought it Grandma and Uncle Randy are sitting at the table not really talking
just sitting
Maybe Grandma is reading the paper I notice Grandpa Bob
sitting at the far end of the table
wearing his massive sunglasses
a blue flannel jacket over a white t-shirt and grinning a broad, disconcerting grin
Like Granny and Randy
he's not talking
just sitting there
smiling
And then I remember
that he's dead
2.
I wonder if I'm the only one who sees him He isn't moving
like the "ghosts" in Turn of the Screw but neither are the other two
I always jump to the supernatural conclusion first so I assume
of course
that he's a phantom
3. Uncle Randy
in his deep, booming voice says
"So--
What do you think?"
I'm not sure what to think "Pretty realistic, isn't he?" Randy nods his head in Bob's direction
And then
somehow
I realize I'm looking at a Bob-robot
He's a placeholder
created to simulate Bob's presence but he isn't very sophisticated
He can smile
and listen
Two things Bob did well in life but that's about it
I wonder why someone would want a fake floating around the house
and I suspect my Uncle Randy with his lust for gadgetry
was more responsible for the replica than Granny
Who just sits there
quietly
maybe reading the paper
I never suspect
that she is a replica too
"Lighthouses"
Are there any lighthouses
that are not haunted?
I would hope not Think about what a lighthouse is for:
keeping boats from losing their way
in dangerous waters
and sailors from socializing
with the fish
I like to think that lighthouse keepers
in charge of the safety
of who knows how many sea travelers would be a dedicated lot
unable to let a simple thing like death get in the way of performing
their solemn duty
A dark night
waves wrestling with a wooden fishing boat assassin rocks just under the surface of the water like trolls waiting under a bridge
anticipating the crunch and crackle
of their stone teeth cutting through hull
And only that thin beam
the shining eye of the lighthouse lamp keeping our desperate sailors on course
I would image that all lighthouses are haunted
Especially those
where the light has gone out
"Snow Driving"
Late March blizzard
Three decades in the Northwest I remember no other
On the road
yawning
me towards sleep
the road to life
Snow swirls and dances
in front of the headlights a psychedelic fun-house trip in black and white
Coyote crosses in front of me
left to right
a long way from home
Little mouse
winking her black eye
makes her way next
right to left
They teach me to drive
slow
cautious and alert
Some roads are vampires
greedy for blood I imagine Mariah
waiting for me
half napping on the couch
I come through the door
silent
frozen faced
walking past without a glance up the stairs
away
evaporating into darkness
The next day
the patrolman arrives with the news
Out of control
embankment river-deep
But my teachers are wise tonight and only a fool
ignores good advice
I'm no fool
(when the wind is right) I learn my lesson
grip the wheel
and drive, drive
As I saunter
casual and calm into town
the blizzard subsides
And the road
still hungry
falls back to
sleep
"Monster Duck, Glowing Bull, and One Eyed Frog"
"Our sky is cracked"
said tiny Glowing Bull
who is always looking up
"Meteor bombardment"
said One Eyed Frog
willing to speculate
From his hanging prison
Monster Duck laughed
coldly
and clicked his beak
full of pointy teeth
"Now I see a red bloom in the heavens"
said Glowing Bull "I can't spy it"
said One Eyed Frog
squinting his one good eye
"but it may be a satellite"
Monster Duck gnawed his bars
as he watched the astronomers
and dangled in his cage
"And now I recognize a golden chain
wrapping around itself"
said Glowing Bull
"Ah yes, the links of eternity"
hummed One Eyed Frog
closing his one eye
to peer better inward
Monster Duck snarled in his cage
then spoke
"You do not glow, Glowing Bull You refract
The source of your light is external"
Glowing Bull could not look down
even far enough to see Monster Duck's cage hanging above the abyss
"What does he mean, my friend?"
Glowing Bull asked One Eyed Frog
One Eyed Frog flexed his flippers but would not speculate
"Pretty Little Things"
Into the room they floated
from where I couldn't say Dozens of little creatures glowing red like Christmas lights a school of candy fish
swimming through the air as if it were fluid
I watched through half closed eyes
as they swirled
little bodies sometimes darting away from the group
then diving back into the central mass creating lines and arcs of light against the shadows of the attic
I noticed
after a moment
the cat
stalking the mass
tracking this strange prey
already tasting the glowing flesh in his jaws
In range
he leapt
claws stretched needle teeth exposed
But like a forest fire blown by a strong wind these pretty little things
moved on him as well
They swarmed the hunter
wrapping his body in mid-air I heard faintly
as if from under water a scream
And then the mass uncoiled
dropping fragments of bone onto the ancient linoleum floor and they resumed their air dance so smooth
so soothing
I watched
unmoving
unbreathing
as they swam and played around the room lighting corners long hidden in shadow
I watched
unmoving
unbreathing
as the creatures swirled calmly in the air slowly floating towards
my bed
But I was a statue
a rock
did nothing to attract their attention
So they floated passed me
and out my open window
towards the sounds of children playing in the streets below
"Its Pusht"
Wicked Wiles
and Bleedn Stumpts Do NOT EAT
DRI -ING
A Gent
"Crushed by the Wheels of Industry" said our friendz
in HEAVEN
Itz punk
It ain't punk
Its wig is broke
No one ever never
wanted one
two three
too won
Boom.
Iz Iz iznt Never
Non no one No Know
N -oh More
Elephant consumption
Limpid luminus Linus + Loosy
Lose E
BEEF Where its at
Rock + Roll
is the only Vessil
Don't stop the Rock
It don't move Less its pusht It
"Night Noises"
1.
Wake up world! You're wasting a valuable resource here makin’ me spend so much time
workin'
instead of really workin'
Your fuckin' loss
really
And you might never even know it
2.
Choppy up yo' head
Cook ya in a pot
Throw ya bones out back
in the trash
Picked up every Thursday
Will ya remains start to smell bad before then?
Or just smell like old soup?
Old chicken soup
3.
Maybe this is all for me Maybe you're trespassing Maybe you don't belong Maybe you need'a leave and go go go
Daddy-o!
Ask yourself
Do you feel...
Do you feel something or nothin'
or no no
yes yes?
Do you like it?
Maybe you don't belong Maybe neither of us belongs 4.
Jaw lock
No combination
My tongue will never be stolen now
5.
Sort out your feelings
(Tie the matching feelings together so you don't have to dig them out later)
Wet socks anger me
Lunch is a problem
How do we solve such a difficult issue? Where will we park?
Numbness is over-rated and under-cooked Leaking is prohibited by law
and elastic
Clothes should be worn at all times 6.
Rowdy collusion
Over bacon
Don't rock the tea-cup Plow thru dining
Membrane eatery racket testing Nose-bleed
Try not to be elated
Ever feel like tiny bugs
are crawling on your face
but you can't feel them with your fingers and you scratch scratch
until your face is red
but no dead bug bodies
are clogging your under-nails?
8.
I do fear gravity
I know it's gunnin' for me Pullin' me down
Wrote to my congressman and complained
Fuckin' jerk
9.
Back-pack track
Lost in the forest at night Alone
Unwanted
Haunted
Hungry
But unfortunately out of jacks (Flap??)
How to secure supplies? How LIES!
Ssssssss
I'm being chased
by contortionist snakes Bassssking in the glow of the paper light
But paper burns
(Don't they know?
It could all be over soon)
10.
Our chickens claw the ground while yours hide their beaks!
My eye-brows are trouble
Growing
Expanding
Reaching out into the universe But looking for what?
Like plants reaching for the sun?
Paralyzed aquarium
Momentum rocket
Popular fig treat method Polarized excitement tremor
Unruly abuse
Corn starch
Habit breaking trouser crunch--No! Crutch (Funnier)
Your liver is wasted on the young
Devour their hearts to save fuel
11.
Hop heads form biased legions Fear eats at the frozen kennel Only the sour survive
Mutant tax Wax upset No noise Filter
13.
Ratchet full of happy pills perks ya right up!
Chemical laugh
Popping hardy-har-hars Do you sleep?
14.
Things that can't be moving are moving
to my eyes
And I'm really not worried by that Ultimate questions can't be answered but absolutely
must be asked
"Identity Politics"
1.
I was born a long time ago So long ago
in fact
that even I can't remember it 2.
Sometimes
well
no
most of the time
I'm suspicious
of reality
I was infected
by The Twilight Zone
as a kid
and I always half-suspect that the normal world
could break down
at any moment
and suddenly
I won't know the new rules of existence
It's a spooky frame of mind to live with
to live under
I wouldn't recommend it for most
Dragged to the Sizzler despite my tiredness
(long day at the lit-mines)
Now
dizzily awaiting
my Hibatchi chicken
4.
I wonder
about the
purpose of most of the things I do Why can't I just be like all
the rest?
Whole...yet...
5.
An old woman talks to her dog as she climbs into her car
I imagine
the animal
is her best friend
6.
An old man
thick white hair
leafy hunting coat
standing by the side of the road in front of his RV
A Fireball
As dozens of cars roll past he pounds his fist
on the Fireball's hood and curses
7.
It is primarily in those situations in which I am forced
to be around a great many people that I am reminded
of how much
I dislike the human species
8.
Hooray for misfortune! It's amazing how something apparently so negative can lead
to a postive
effect
9.
That morning
I said
"I'm as tired as a cliff with vegetables falling off of it" and I don't think
Mariah cared
for it
(But I did)
10.
Need to trim my beard I'm starting to look like a grizzled, old mountain man
mysteriously stuffed into a Blondie t-shirt and black slacks
Ate too many cookies
after dinner
Still had milk left in my cup and I didn't want
it to go to waste
Waste Not
12.
A wasted waist is very different from
a waisted waste
13.
This is the dance
of the good devil
Punk and techno are the same thing only louder
Slouching towards Portland to be bored