MIRRORS OF MORTALITY
how
can I help?
in
time it may become clear
for now,
light
on cave walls
is
amethyst.
Mortality.
At odds with long life-lines.
The
edge. discussion with Eric- took care of his sick mother for 6 years. He had no
help. Feeling. objects. Darwinian pictures. Plato. attempt to resolve.
the wiring of brains. the programming of
language. cultures. talk. laughter. (gods'). humaine beliefs. signals.
aspirations. the heat in the center of the sun
and the cold in outer space.
Jasmine and Eric
discussing
ideas to make this
life
more
palatable.
then
a turning
thing
caught in
the wind
of a
passing train
sullen
soldiers
choosing
who lives or dies.
debate
about chance. Eric- chance dictates all things. random principles. so many
unknowns operate. conscious bridge operators. the draw bridge rises to allow a
tiny sailboat to pass. motors. watching the fireworks above the skyline.
losses. uncontrolled.
strange shadows
Chance?
hovering
in
MY mirror
life
seems ten feet away
living
in parallelograms.
We built
them so long ago I can’t even remember the enemy said an old man.
Chance/Mortality/Mirrors?
short long shots.
existence denied. a bombing. some
believe a harsh action delivers anxious souls to paradise.
Anarchy. Brussels. Confusion.
Disruption. Death. colossal
questions yesterday today
Peloponnesian War. Battle of
Liège. Guido.
and
there (s)he was
a
singular reflection
mirroring
mortality
who
are you?
(S)he
couldn’t say
but
desperately
needed air.
I
think of Guido hovering above the North Sea as a kind of angel viewing the care
of the living in the sea and on land. I think of Denmark-cold waves and rocky
ledges. 20,000 years of human forms. forces. ideologies. all sizes. bathing
minds.
Raindrops
on grey water
mirrors
rivers of blood
scars
skeletons
in
forests awash
how
dark the days of mortal pasts
(and
futures)
dare
we dream they may be brighter?
fires
atop the oceans
axes
graveyard falling
cats
call/prey caught
Gregorian
chants
haunting
shattered
ships.
the
pirate ship. a fine merlot. women and song. species of predatory birds. a
puffin streaks to the cold waves,plunges 5 feet below the surface, adjusts
direction for refraction and grabs a fish for a feast back home.
crows
among the living
all
birds take flight
new
days old
ways
even
refractory puffins plunge.
Crows
are marvelous urban creatures-finding food on streets-walking around so
awkwardly pecking at discarded plastic bags,so social
in trees-hundreds or thousands of them
in groups.
mortal
drowning
silver
claws
braided
hair
just
children setting out in crowds
and
strange sounds
it
was a battle to the death
witches
accompanying.
I’m
feeling happy
but
slightly mad
honesty
who
would you rather travel with?
crows
or people?
traveling
with crows-for Guido-it was a symbol of death. for me? I think more
complicated-certainly an aspect of death- maybe difference is a partially
Darwinian view. poetic traveling with crows- Guido and I both.
physically? wouldn't that be laughable? Baudelaire's albatross as metaphor of
the poet- very clumsy on the ground and graceful in flight- how crows walk-so
clumsily.
certainly in the physical world I must
prefer travel with people.
Corvidae how curious a flock or murder of crows, poor Arne,
forever a seeker of shiny things.
Morrighan talisman.
Fay Fea.
Ulster Cycle/Red Branch Cycle
O Deidre, so tra AAAgic,
Conchobar’s wrath
collective MIRRORS OF MADNESS
the
sparkle and glitter. Las Vegas entertainment. poker plots. the hotels only grow
larger. how shiny a million dollars in metal coins.
Dutch legend has it that there was once a small boy who upon passing a
dyke on his way to school noticed a slight leak as the sea trickled in through
a small hole. Knowing that he would be in trouble if he were to be late for
school, the boy pocked his finger into the hole and so stemmed the flow of
water. Some time later a passerby saw him and went to get help. This came in
the form of other men who were able to effect repairs on the dyke and seal up
the leak. This is not a myth, it’s a tale by American writer Mary Mapes Dodge
‘Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates - 1865.
Even holes in walls (never mind
hotels)grow larger as do stories.
Mortality does not.
the
growth of legends-a beginning trickle. waves. myths shattered yet beliefs
continue 18
Are THEY
a response
to mortality?
Intriguing
aspect of the theme of mortality-includes in some way every human dimension
Nemesis and Narcissus
we cannot help but give-into reflective pasts
we are the sum total of our mortal ancestors -
it ends right here buddy.
I
promised I could stay
to sing a
way through the stars
but kings
break their promises
they’re
just mortal men
still
the
sounds of trapped birds is haunting.
Try to
sleep
despite
the coming storm -
even
children could hear the sarcasm in his tone.
(Dare I
not follow their steps?)
Becalmed
and off course - were we friend or foe?
They
stupidly thought death was glorious.
Reading
poets of WWI-no romance about death. grim events.
I always say
when asking
HOW ARE YOU
give me an answer
from 1 - 10
1- Bad
10
- Excellent
I got tired of “fine”
when I felt mortal.
And I’m guessing
so were they.
a
few 10's: completion of the Blackbird books (& Noah's book) and Memory
Strait going into production dept at Austin Macauley. I will be seeing my
friend Eric Basso tomorrow for one of our dinner/discussion meetings. new job-
maybe a 2. overall feeling about life and the world- somewhere in
between. Und ihnen?
24
soms vlieg ek
soms
v
a
l
ek
Can we still be moved?
Always mortal
Always
Between
Life’s Numbers.
falling
asleep-observing trees. losing and gaining sometime withdrawn analysis of
memory. sometimes feeble. embossed. enumerated the evidence found.
laughter
sometime pealed. a coelacanth spun homeward and learned speech.
Owls
philosophy
myths
rowing
arrows floating bodies fallen oars
keep
paddling
we’re
rowing for our lives
lighting
flash
cold
dark star
his
own death eludes him.
live
a life worth living before you consider mortality
he
couldn’t understand she understood
he
hated that.
pagan
rites
fully
fledged
flinching
in flint
Fractured.
The
doctrines and the observations. Rode a train staring at the land rushing by.
overland faces. construction. Ruah principles. people pray
and for some no time. a praying mantis
climbs out of the pond,crawls on a rock, seems to slide forward and bites a
leaf.
I was looking for that
exactly. a praying mantis
icecream pink, now tinged with black.
Hold this for me would you?
I’m wading in pretty deep -
definitely don’t want my coat tails wet.
Certain steps
and stops
an unstoppable direction
tracks in the woods
was someone watching in mirrors of
mortality?
reflecting
mirrored mortality
the last enemy to
be destroyed is death.
I’d
rather be dead
hitting
the bottom
that’s
where you need to be
before
life can help you
here.
