Maria Damon

Celestial Caper

(a response to Francesca Capone's Weaving Language)

she reaches apparent latitude

she achieves sanctified navigation

she attains apologetic constellations

she reaches farthest shame-apotheosis

she achieves silken murmur

she attains indigo linen

she reaches howling s'inscription

she achieves marble sorrow

she attains jewfag metamorphosis

she reaches natural jazz

she achieves vulnerable lexicon

she attains cream-ghost melancholy

she reaches mystical ejaculate

in her apophenic stilletos

***

***

Ric Carfagna

from Symphony No. 11
          (the inner recesses)

80

Passing from here
“they speak of the transient”
as if possessed
by an unnamed divinity 
heard within
the dull hum
of machine turbines
empty alleyways
crushed beer cans 
cardboard boxes
and broken windows
where a point of entry
was not foretold
and what is not seen
is part of the landscape 
receding
at the graying edge
of the sky’s expanse

...

“and we write in shadows” 
of a frame inside
a frame inside
a past tense
returning
to a field
where orchids bloom
and blood has flowed 
where nomadic ghosts 
wander forest depths 
haunting echoes
of mythic writ
which holds the heart
in bondage
and shackles the flesh
to fear

...

passing from here
“they speak of transience...

***

81

And a season ends 
in a lag of frost
to fill a valley 
darkness absorbs 
the infinity
of mathematical equations 
a deity held
at arm’s length
deaf to the silent
fate of graves
tempered by wind
above a field of weeds 
and contrails cross the sky 
without measure
to observe or
to follow a path
on a common landscape 
fleshed out

in angular ante-light 
where there is no need

to question faces
drained of emotion 
reflected in drops of rain 
falling to a porous ground

***
*** 

Martha Deed

They're dying now

it's a parade

the bad guys

going to their graves

dead

the one who groped

the one who called me a kidnapper in front of my 6-year-old child

(I was not a kidnapper, traveled with the court's permission)

(Did the child ever fully trust me again?)

the brawlers

the bureaucrat who sneered at poverty as if it were affluence in disguise

the nurse who gave the wrong medicine wrongly

Do I gloat when I read their death notices?

I do not

but cannot deny

a weight comes off my shoulders

I have been carrying these bad guys

alive

making sure

they were far away

for a very long time

***

On Discussing the Purchase of a New Bird Feeder Whilst Having the Flu

He tells me

he will install the new suet feeder in the yard

at a favorable location for viewing the birds

and squirrels who will feast therefrom

all of which is clear until he says

This new suet feeder is different from the old one

because of the hole

This hole distinguishes the new feeder

from the old one that had a chain

which made it particularly convenient

for squirrels and restocking

This hole, however, is rather subtle

in its meaning and entirely escapes

my powers of comprehension in this fevered state

Hole?

From where to where

or through what

or where situated

the whole suet feeder is a block of holes

but this hole

appears to be more significant

than the holes I am accustomed to

in suet feeders ‒ I am

bewildered and perplexed

He compounds the equation

I seek to solve by introducing a scientific word:

flange

two flanges, in fact

The only solution I can find is a hug

remembering when – in providing directions

on the Thruway – he launched into a brief

(well, not so brief) exposition on its construction

and how to get between the uncompleted sections

which – in any event – were not on my route.

Raising the question along the way

as to whether it is safe for a women to talk

like this or only men?

***

Clearing Out

He wrote "Personal Stuff" at the top of the page

a memo sheet from the company he retired from 13 years ago

by this he meant "Facts for my Obituary"

knowing he deserved an obituary

not anticipating the fight his feisty daughter

would be forced to undertake

to get it printed

***

***

Pijush Kanti Deb

For a Change
           
The changing of playful swinging
from the botanical branches
to the electrical cables
changes the gainful equation-
brought about by many worlds together,
from simple to complex
where a singing stream
sinks into a roaring river voluntarily
compelling the pet-less cage
to be refilled with the wild predators
tempting the holy hymn,
"Live and let live"
to change into the devilish delirium,
"Hunt or be hunted"
intoxicating everything for a change,
below the running feet
the soft earthen track
wears a blanket of iron sheet
and above the raising heads
the oriental sky still makes the golden sun
but with the  declining carat of gold.

***

Still
               
Still enchanting
the fragrance of the naked rural soil--
playful in the rain
now captive in the odor
of burnt lime and rusted iron.
Still reverberating
the sweet tweeting of the feathered singers
in the poor ears--
over-polluted and ever disturbed
by the mechanical groaning.
Still floating
the images of the smiling faces
representing their blissful hearts
on the waves of the masked faces
hiding the history of their hearts.
Still projecting
the flashback of a changed life
from simple to complex
sunk into the depth of earthly compulsion
with the hope to float up again.

***
A Piece of Stone
                 
In the last chapter of his biography
a macro-conscious great man is ill-fated
to repent throughout his subconscious journey
on the way to his final destination,
to conclude his life-long sacrifices
as incomplete and ineffective
in putting two and two together
regarding his solicitation
to better sun-rise for the mankind.
Indeed, he regrets from his depth of heart
witnessing the presence of the dirty hearts--
full of garbage of selfishness and cruelty
still left untouched and unwashed,
a few glasses of hemlock in their hands
ever-skilled to pour into the nectar
prepared by him with great care.
A feeling of repentance
starts sucking his last drop of life
and as an atonement
he becomes a piece of stone
exhaling his last breathing
and the people leave him alone standing
in a public place of interest beneath the open sky.

***
***

Millie Niss

No longer mourn for me when I am dead

              ‒Shakespeare, Sonnet 71

 

I hope you do not miss me when I'm gone

For longer than it takes the news to spread

Of my demise.  Just tell them I am dead

And decomposing.  They won't care a whit.

Hey, if you read this poem please do not think

Of me if it will make you sad.  I love

You so much that I'd rather you forget

Than grieve for me in tears or silent pain.

And should you come to read this past the time

When I've become recycled food for worms

Do not, oh please, do not repeat my name;

Just let your love die with me and be free.

            Do what I say unless you want to bear

            The scorn they'll heap on any friend of mine.

***

***

Eileen Tabios

Dredging for Atlantis


[1]

I forgot when memory became a colander with generous holes.... I forgot 

not remembering that trembling seacoast city.... I forgot baby priests turning 

away to cast profiles forsworn to Donatello.... I forgot the errors in pretty 

miscalculations—monotone transformed to moonstone.... I forgot the wind 

stuffing headless birds and spermatozoa into fragile craters of a lassoed 

moon.... I forgot a breakfast of rain.... I forgot minarets growing within muddy 

whirlpools.... I forgot those dolls—for a moment, their eyes had relaxed.... I 

forgot kohl telling stories without words.... I forgot a coffin’s succoring bed.... I 

forgot how down covered her thighs.


[2]

I forgot when memory became a colander with generous holes.... I forgot baby 

priests turning away to cast profiles forsworn to Donatello.... I forgot a poem writ 

on the milk bill.... I forgot minarets growing within muddy whirlpools.... I forgot 

those dolls—for a moment, their eyes had relaxed.... I forgot cabs waiting as 

brandy cherries decomposed in sealed jars.... I forgot a coffin’s succoring bed.... 

I forgot a noonday cannon scattering pigeons.... I forgot her hobby of attending 

to death beds—afterwards, she always lusted for hotel lobbies stuffed with 

crystal chandeliers.


[3]

I forgot the Carrara defiled until a nude woman emerged—her magnificent 

breasts paled against the blank gaze of her stone eyes.... I forgot to nurture 

salvation’s seedlings.... I forgot the errors in pretty miscalculations—monotone

transformed to moonstone.... I forgot coaxing lullabys out of empty tin cans.... I 

forgot flabbergasted lions bred for locked jaws.... I forgot cabs waiting as brandy 

cherries decomposed in sealed jars.... I forgot a coffin’s succoring bed.... I forgot 

how down covered her thighs.... I forgot a noonday cannon scattering pigeons.


[4]

I forgot coaxing lullabys out of empty tin cans.... I forgot flabbergasted lions bred 

for locked jaws.... I forgot minarets growing within muddy whirlpools.... I forgot a 

lady in Florence, violets in her hair, who avoided sunlight.... I forgot virgins and 

children revealing their true nature by how they scratched themselves.... I forgot 

those dolls—for a moment, their eyes had relaxed.... I forgot kohl telling stories 

without words.... I forgot how down covered her thighs.... I forgot a noonday 

cannon scattering pigeons.


[5]

I forgot when memory became a colander with generous holes.... I forgot not 

remembering that trembling seacoast city.... I forgot the Carrara defiled until a 

nude woman emerged—her magnificent breasts paled against the blank gaze 

of her stone eyes.... I forgot baby priests turning away to cast profiles forsworn 

to Donatello.... I forgot he was the essence of licorice.... I forgot the errors in 

pretty miscalculations—monotone transformed to moonstone.... I forgot the wind 

stuffing headless birds and spermatozoa into fragile craters of a lassoed moon.... 

I forgot the sobs from an abandoned harem bringing down comets to accuse the 

alcove.... I forgot a breakfast of rain.... I forgot minarets growing within muddy 

whirlpools.


[6]

I forgot that piccola città replete with hyphens.... I forgot the Carrara defiled until 

a nude woman emerged—her magnificent breasts paled against the blank gaze 

of her stone eyes.... I forgot baby priests turning away to cast profiles forsworn to 

Donatello.... I forgot to nurture salvation’s seedlings.... I forgot coaxing lullabyes 

out of empty tin cans.... I forgot the sobs from an abandoned harem bringing 

down comets to accuse the alcove.... I forgot a breakfast of rain.... I forgot a 

poem writ on the milk bill.... I forgot virgins and children revealing their true 

nature by how they scratched themselves.... I forgot those dolls—for a moment, 

their eyes had relaxed.... I forgot a coffin’s succoring bed.


[7]

I forgot not remembering that trembling seacoast city.... I forgot the Carrara 

defiled until a nude woman emerged—her magnificent breasts paled against 

the blank gaze of her stone eyes.... I forgot to nurture salvation’s seedlings.... I 

forgot he was the essence of licorice.... I forgot the wind stuffing headless birds 

and spermatozoa into fragile craters of a lassoed moon.... I forgot a breakfast 

of rain.... I forgot virgins and children revealing their true nature by how they 

scratched themselves.... I forgot cabs waiting as brandy cherries decomposed in 

sealed jars.... I forgot a coffin’s succoring bed.... I forgot grey men fading as they 

fell to melt into grey stones.


[8]

I forgot not remembering that trembling seacoast city.... I forgot coaxing 

lullabys out of empty tin cans.... I forgot the wind stuffing headless birds and 

spermatozoa into fragile craters of a lassoed moon.... I forgot the sobs from 

an abandoned harem bringing down comets to accuse the alcove.... I forgot 

minarets growing within muddy whirlpools.... I forgot a lady in Florence, violets 

in her hair, who avoided sunlight.... I forgot kohl telling stories without words.... I 

forgot a coffin’s succoring bed.


***
***

On Barcelona contributors as of Dec. 30, 2014

January 2012

Aaron Belz, Geoffrey Gatza, Larissa Shmailo, Gregory Vincent de St. Tomasino, Charles Bane Jr., Stephen Russell, Bill Pearlman, Michael Rothenberg, Helen Duberstein, David Weinstock, Rodney Nelson, Alexandra Schor, Glen Phillips, Jaime Manrique, Dean Faulwell, Hilton Obenzinger, Burt Kimmelman, Anthony Robinson, Tony Mancus, Donna Fleischer, Lynda Schor, Hal Sirowitz, bobbi lurie, Halvard Johnson, Andrew Burke, Ken Wolman, Philip Hartigan, Paul Murphy, Steve Tills, Bill Dunlap, John M. Bennett, Robert Hughes via Halvard Johnson, Richard Livermore, Nancy Scott, Ramón Gómez de la Serna via Richard Kostelanetz, Harriet Zinnes, rob mclennan, Janet Mason, Steve Dalachinsky, Colin Morton, Lakey Comess, Patrick McManus, Lawrence Upton, Nathalie F. Anderson, Gunnar Ekelöf via Edward Field, Mark Weiss, Sheila F. Murphy, James Cervantes, Jill Jones, Douglas Barbour, Calvin Pennix, Bob Marcacci, Bonnie MacAllister, Anny Ballardini, Johanna Fischer, Mark Melnicove, David Rakowski, William Bain, Jerry McGuire, Hugh Behm-Steinberg, Hugh and Jane Stilley, Roger Mitchell, Larry Goodell, Amy King, Jan Clausen, Jasper Brinton, Ric Carfagna, Mark Prudowsky

February 2012

Rose Mary Boehm, Eileen Tabios, Janet Spangler, Laura Young, Lila Zeiger, Jack Dowling, William Bain, John M. Bennett, Douglas Barbour, Katherine Soniat, Sheila F. Murphy, James Cervantes, Jeff Harrison, Paul Charles Howell, Lars Palm, Mary Kasimor, George Bowering, Alvin Greenberg, Jose Padua, Alan Sondheim

March 2012

George Bowering, Laura Young, Dick Allen, William Bain, Steve Dalachinsky, Rose Mary Boehm, John M. Bennett, Mark DuCharme, Dominic Fox, Elizabeth Switaj, Thad Rutkowski, Felino A. Soriano, Michael Andre

April 2012

Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, Robin Mookerjee, John M. Bennett, Laura Young, Lanny Quarles, Mark Prudowsky, Chris Mansell, Dean Faulwell, Bjørn Magnhildøen, Jacques Prèvert via Harriet Zinnes, Alan Sondheim, Michael Andre, Harriet Zinnes, Dominic Fox, Max Richards, Cheryl Pallant, Lakey Comess, Gloria Avner, Andrew J. Jones, Steve Tills, David Gitin, Vivekanand Jha, Susan Lewis, Joel Chace, Patrick McManus

May 2012

Jasper Brinton, Laura Young, John M. Bennett, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, William Bain, Gene Tanta, Cortney Bledsoe, Márton Koppány, Alex M. Pruteanu, Andrew Burke, Paul Charles Howell, bobbi lurie, Barry Spacks, Mark Prudowsky, Vernon Frazer, Michael Farrell, Barry Seiler, Halvard Johnson, Matthew Hill, Tucker Stilley, Caleb Puckett, Edgar Gabriel Silex, Rudolfo Carrillo, Audrey Friedman, Sheila E. Murphy, Lars Palm, Diana Magallón

June 2012

Harriet Green, Joanna Howard, John M. Bennett, Lena Bartula, Skip Fox, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, Harriet Zinnes, Gray Jacobik, Hal Sirowitz, Sheila E. Murphy, Douglas Barbour, Edward Field, Lawrence Upton, Mark Weiss, Laura Young, Michael Kelleher, Mark Melnicove, Will Hochman, Jim Cory, William Allegrezza, Rafi Lev, Peter Ciccariello, Mark Young, Donna Kuhn, bobbi lurie, Rodney Nelson, Steve Dalachinsky, Mark DuCharme, Calvin Pennix, Murat Nemet-Nejat, Erik H. Rzepka, Michael Gottlieb, Barry Alpert, Jasper Brinton, Niels Hav, Adam Fieled, James Cervantes, Frederick Pollack, Donna Fleischer, Steve Tills, Paul Siegell, Scott Keeney, William Bain, Jill Jones, Diana Magallón, Jessy Randall

July 2012

Scott Keeney, Larry Goodell, John M. Bennett, Stephen Caratzas, Barry Seiler, Rudolfo Carrillo, Caleb Puckett, Felino Soriano, Peter Ciccariello, Alan Britt, Russ Golata, Laura Young, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, Dean Faulwell, Michael Gottlieb, Lakey Comess, Marc Vincenz, Glen Phillips, Steve Dalachinsky, Karri Kokko

August 2012

Ric Carfagna, Barry Spacks, Wendy Battin, David Graham, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, Allen Bramhall, Orchid Tierney, Halvard Johnson, Ruth Damon, Jeff Harrison, Erik H. Rzepka, Roger Mitchell, Russ Golata, David Gitin, Sarah Edwards, John M. Bennett, Donna Kuhn, H. Palmer Hall, Márton Koppány, Gloria Avner, Basil King, Daniel Zimmerman, David Rakowski, Chris Jones, Steve Dalachinsky, Marge Merrill, Scott Keeney, Stephen Ellis, Lars Palm, Bill Wootton, mIEKAL aND, Andrew Burke, Gwyn McVay, David Howard, Rudolfo Carrillo, Mark Thomas, R. Clark Morrow, Al Maginnes, Peter Ganick

September 2012

John M. Bennett, Steve Tills, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, Alan Sondheim, Peter Ganick, Rudolfo Carrillo, David Hopes, James Cervantes, Márton Koppány, Lynda Schor, Stephen Russell, Diana Magallón, Mark Prudowsky, John Oughton, Russ Golata, Bjørn Magnhildøen, Jasper Brinton, Luc Fierens, Halvard Johnson, Nico Vassilakis, David Weinstock, Colin Morton, Jaap Stijl, Isma'il ibn Ali al-Sadiq, Talan Memmott, Vernon Frazer, Jim Andrews, Barbara Moore Vincent, Volodymyr Bilyk, Christopher Barnes, Sheila Black, Kristin Palombit

October 2012

Nico Vassilakis, Katherine Soniat, Russ Golata, Jim Andrews, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, Dean Faulwell, Lakey Comess, Luc Fierens, Stephen Ellis, Márton Koppány, Christopher C. Jones, Volodymyr Bilyk, Ziba Karbassi, Jim Leftwich & John M. Bennett, Jim Bennett,  rob mclennan, Laura Young, Andrew Burke, Felino A. Soriano, Jim Wittenberg

November 2012

Kit Robinson, Diana Magallón, Donna Kuhn, Michael Fleming, Mark Prudowsky, Márton Koppány, Rae Desmond Jones, John M. Bennett, Lars Palm, Diana Magallón, David Harrison Horton, Volodymyr Bilyk, Teresa Peipens, John C. Goodman, Mary Kasimor, Peter Gannick, John M. Bennett, Glenn Bach, Laura Young 

December 2012

Rudolfo Carillo, Bob BrueckL, Laura Young, Jan Clausen, Felino Soriano, Joel Chace, Jasper Brinton, Vernon Frazer, Luc Fierens, Ruth Lepson, Lynda Schor, Philip Meersman, John Oughton, Alicia Askenase, Hugh Seidman, Catherine Daly, Victoria Marinelli, Anthony Robinson, Lawrence Upton, Russ Golata, Paul Howell, Rudolfo Carrillo

January 2013

John Oughton, Ken Wolman, Lakey Comess, Marge Merrill, Martha Deed, Nancy Scott, Volodymyr Bilyk, David Howard, Eileen Tabios, Larissa Shmailo, John M. Bennett, Luc Fierens, Bob BrueckL, Marthe Reed, Sheila E. Murphy, Stephen Ellis, Ann Neuser Lederer, Vernon Frazer, Richard Kostelanetz, Caleb Puckett, rob mclennan, Russ Golata, Jukka-Pekka Kervinen, William Bain, Michael Andre, Katherine Soniat, Satu Kaikkonen, Lars Palm, Felino A. Soriano, Murray Jennings, James Cervantes 

February 2013

Alla Vilnyanskaya, Laura Young, Nico Vassilakis, Wendy Battin, John M. Bennett, Jasper Brinton, Tad Richards, Larry Goodell, Charles Taylor, Alan Sondheim, Diana Magallón, G. Robert Jeaurond, Volodymyr Bilyk, B.E. Kahn, William Bain, Joseph Somoza

March 2013

Diana Magallón, Allen Bramhall, Diane Jackman, rob mclennan, Bob Marcacci, Halvard Johnson, Rudolfo Carrillo, Lakey Comess, David Howard, Federico Federici, John M. Bennett, Niels Hav, Alicia Salinas

April 2013

John Oliver Simon, Volodymyr Bilyk, Taylor Reid, Mark Prudowsky, Elizabeth Terrazas, Murray Jennings, Stephen Ellis, John M. Bennett, Felino A. Soriano, Sheila E. Murphy, James Finnegan

May 2013

Lawrence Upton, Volodymyr Bilyk, John M. Bennett, Peter Ganick, James Bell, Bob BrueckL, Rudolfo Carrillo, Francesco Aprile, Allen Bramhall, Francesco Levato, Laura Young, Adam Fieled, Pansy Maurer-Alvarez

June 2013

Laura Young, Felino A. Soriano, Aurora Margrethe, Stephen Ellis, Dean Faulwell, Volodymyr Bilyk, Andrew K. Peterson

July 2013

Glenn Bach, Charles Taylor, Lakey Comess, John M. Bennett, Lynda Schor, Joseph Somoza, Signe Hammer, Sheila E. Murphy, Volodymyr Bilyk, Vernon Frazer, Ray Greenblatt, Matt Margo, Ric Carfagna

August 2013

Marcus Bales, Stephen Ellis, Andrew Cantrell, Alan Sondheim, Allen Bramhall, Felino A. Soriano, Jesse S. Mitchell, Albino Carrillo, Donna Kuhn, Camille Martin, Márton Koppány, Mark Prudowsky, Alan Sondheim, Wendy Battin, Peter Ciccariello, Martha Deed

Sept. 2013

Rudolfo Carrillo, Márton Koppány, Alan Sondheim, Martha Deed, rob mclennan, David Howard, Charles Taylor, Lanny Quarles, R. Clark Morrow, Lynda Schor, Skip Fox, Halvard Johnson, Alyssa Black, Colin Morton, Joel Chace, Stephen Ellis, John M. Bennett, Lakey Comess, Felino A. Soriano, Volodymyr Bilyk

October 2013

Allen Bramhall, Bob BrueckL, Márton Koppány

November 2013

Mark Prudowsky, Stephen Ellis, Márton Koppány, Jim Benz, Jesse S. Mitchell, Vernon Frazer, Nazar Honczar, Laura Young, David Bircumshaw

December 2013

Volodymyr Bilyk, Lawrence Upton, Andrew Burke, Laura Young, Murray Jennings, Coral Carter, David Howard, Felino A. Soriano, Wendy Battin

January 2014

James Cervantes, Joel Chace, Harriet Zinnes, Bill Wootton, Lawrence Upton, Kenneth Wolman, Donna Kuhn, Edgar Gabriel Silex, Ali Znaidi, Nancy Scott, Charles Bane, Jr., Charles Taylor, Susan Lewis, Caleb Puckett, Adam Fieled

February 2014

Colin Herd, John M. Bennett, Janet Joritz-Nakagawa, Peter Ganick, Mike Sikkema, Joel Chace, Md Khan, Vernon Frazer, Stephen Ellis, Matt Hill, Bob Marcacci

March 2014

Mark Prudowsky, John M. Bennett, Hal Sirowitz, Matthew Rotando, Volodymyr Bilyk, Carole Rosenthal, Ali Znaidi

April 2014

Philip Garrison, Márton Koppány, Lawrence Upton, Laura Young, Bob BrueckL, Larissa Shmailo, Volodymyr Bilyk

May 2014

Ric Carfagna,  Allen Bramhall, Ali Znaidi, Felino A. Soriano, Laura Young,  John M. Bennett, Lanny Quarles, Lynda Schor, Sue Beere, Charles Taylor, J.P. Dancing Bear

June 2014

David Howard, Anny Ballardini, Charles Taylor, Joseph Somoza, Halvard Johnson, Alan Sondheim, William Allegrezza, Eileen Tabios, Philip Byron Oakes, Márton Koppány, Virginie Colline

July 2014

 Roger Mitchell, Mark DuCharme, Susan Lewis

August 2014

David Hopes, Vernon Frazer, Eric Dickey, Mark Young, Laura Young

September 2014

Hugh Behm-Steinberg, Bob BrueckL, Eileen Tabios

October 2014

Mark Prudowsky, Rudolfo Carrillo, Marco Giovenale, Matt Margo, Keith Higginbotham, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, Allen Bramhall

November 2014

Craig Kurtz, Jeff Harrison, Virginie Colline, Caleb Puckett, Mark Young

December 2014

Eileen Tabios,  Millie Niss, Pijush Kanti Deb, Martha Deed, Ric Carfagna, Maria Damon,