he was such an inspiration back before my world began,
or should i say my world actually began with him
for in his wake came the others
who followed the same path
leaving the footprints for us to followfollowed into imaginations of West West West
of coasts that continue to unfold
from the back streets of Paris
and the whole Old World -& City Lights a beacon
on a Renaissance hill.
Mr Brown in Grade 9 reading
“The dog trots freely in the street
and sees reality
and the things he sees
are bigger than himself
and the things he sees
are his reality”Om ah hum,
off now
to Poet’s Heaven!
Behold th boulder
Rank with barnacle’s bones.
Skyfest
Grey cloud globs
Swallow shreds with
Cutlass scything
I remember, I remember
Long houses
& th bay
of interlacing roots
ceremony & protocol
of fingers
tracing scud of
mountains
across the
windy strait
on the estuary
blooming with
easterly wind
cloud sky
a mesentery of greys
& momentary shudder of dark light
beholding
in fugitive hands
the direction home
the unsettled
settlers
something is broken
& the bone knowledge juts
through the skin
of the screen/scream
escaping from the plantation
running into the forest the swamps the mountains
swimming the rivers
running from the dark slavering dogs
me I am
just searching
for home a bed
i can
lie down in
and call
me home
my bones
sink into the sand
as raven sings
th dreem of saviour
wraps itself around you
like a bun around a wiener
You promise to fly off
& explode like a Musk blunder
the sky is no limit
for your muscular neck
this is yr cradle
that rocks u to sleep
that rocks u to sleep
you r a hot dog
in th mouth
of yr failure
do we fly into it
or fall? empty / sky
(the Perfection of Wisdom sutras,
Prajna-Paramita, She Who Turns The Wheel,
Who holds the Text, Whose Heart
Spins The Stars, hear us
Calling, as we fall)
751
I lie down to nap
And find myself
In front of a gate
Of 751 doors 751 mouths
Full of earth / I must
Be as honest as able
Here. Hear the weeping
And not shut my ears, struggle
Even to keep them
Open. I do not know
How to live only that
I do / refuse to
Look away. Don’t
You dare / we must hold
our gaze.Be touched
Torn / open even
Our heart lying there
An unmarked grave.
Where do we stand
In th dream? What
Shade inhabit
They called them
Shadows as they crawled
Thru th halls of Hell.
I can only write
Graffiti on th walls
How else hold off
How else say
I love you or my heart
Is crushed
By th world
Of hatred how
& we still
go on / can we
move differently now
whether we stand inside
or outside of th dream
Bison rages across
Th prairie.
Writing
To keep from screaming
Or exploding.
knowing is
an antlerd beast
where language fails
th waters fall
what if
your child never came home
Words that drip blood words that ooze serpents words that steal breath words that puke mountains words with steel farts hanging from their rafters all these words tumbling from other words fumbling towards other words when outside the words dripping blood dripping roses of agony oozing serpents circling equators of words th hammerhead shark circuls warily th dripping wandering endless words
it is not-griefbut shame
bids us to
hide our eyes no we
do not ask / forgiveness
for we stand alone on th shore
eyes
down cast / we are cast down
who dare
abject / necks
bent & fat bellies
peering into the wound
peering into the wound
peering into the wound
hearing into the sound
hearing into the sound
hearing into the sound
looking for defeat
looking for defeat
looking & listening
looking & listening
two rocks clack together
two rocks clack together
wind in the trees
wind rock th trees
rock trees wind
wound don’t let me go
wound don’t let me
follow me
into the bone
tree
creek
sea
evolution
Kali Yuga
d a r k A e o n
nightyawn
my body sings one song my thots another song sings this day is refreshing oh canada now summons th wreck-age within which may lie treasure not to finish with a drum roll th littul ones wake they r warriors leading us thru th darkness is not th longing for home a terribul ache sang th third song wren rock ah wash
Ars poetica
To return u to yr selves
To return u, spin u
On th potter’s wheel
Is that it? No – it is
To sing out / only that:
elk bellows on th sand flats of
Salmon River
First thought is
Best thought, but
Then it dis-
appears
Just breathe
And let the medicine
Do the work.
-July 3, 2020
Was born on stolen land
Rode a bike on stolen land
Ate ice cream on stolen land
Went to the dentist on stolen land
Rendezvoused in libraries on stolen land
Lost virginity on stolen land
Drank apple juice on stolen land
Wept on stolen land
Sought the Holy on stolen land
Protested the A-Bomb on stolen land
Walked on mountains on stolen land
Swam in the ocean on stolen land
Drove on beaches on stolen land
Marched for justice on stolen land
Ate a lot of stuff on stolen land
Took LSD & danced with plants on stolen land
Wrote some poems on stolen land
Went to Mexico & it was still on stolen land
Went to California it was all on stolen land
Went to Alaska it’s on stolen land
Everywhere I went was
Everybody I knew
Everyone I love &
I expect to die it’s all on stolen land
Well, I knew that or must have
Known that but it is like I didn’t know that
Did not know that the thief believes he is a victim.
