In Due Season
humid subtropical autumn
sixty-one degrees Fahrenheit
yellow leaves make an effort
sky hieroglyphics leave me pensive
bulgur added to the soup pot
eating electricity I paid for
nothing adduced, asked for
paid for, forgotten, eventually
recalled by a V of geese
littered with possibilities
[RK, 10/31/2020]
Palette
Georgia O’Keeffe, Maxfield Parrish, N.C. Wyeth
I’m stunned by the sea change of clouds
tempted to follow wind, birds, roads
less traveled, or with bumper-to-bumper
foolishness, appropriate within the social contract
a spread sheet helps keep track
while I tack into the wind
watch realists paint the sky
[RK, 10/31/2020]
What the Shark Sees
wise raven of stories
your capricious flight
delights the hammerhead shark
at the center of my heart
this is to say
true lovebirds feather a nest
come to rest before weather
predicated on past expectations
a single bird’s errant predictions
[RK, 10/31/2020]
Flotsam
the wandering albatross
around my neck was hung
and bad luck dared me
to flip coins, ask, what is worse?
mosquitoes, fire ants, rattlesnakes
solitude, or strong convictions
shearing me away from
friendly games at kitchen tables
dice with limited possibilities
dotted tiles, fanciful cards
decked out for speechless
Sunday nights
[RK, 10/29/2020]
Tulipomania
She sneaks into
the butler’s pantry
and breaks the bowl
off every stem.
[LSS, 10/29/20]
This, For Example
The red vacuum,
which you left
on the stairs,
in your hurry to be
out the door.
[LSS, 10/29/20]
It’s Not That
going alone is farfetched—
and surely might be
fabulous—it’s just that
he can’t bear to leave her
here in this Dutch landscape,
forever planting bulbs.
[LSS, 10/29/20]
Ikebana (after The Levitator at the Cocktail Party)
the shopping list and laundry baskets
the stainless steel saucepan and lid
the identical tiny spice jars
the computerized beer tasting
the aberrant centerpiece
tipped over before ten p.m.
the disposable greenery
the perfectly arranged marriage
[RK, 10/28/2020]
Appendix (after Interior Design)
Ferris wheel and bumper cars
abandoned in Pripyat
they designed a city
of post-Communist beauty
parks, schools, swimming pool
grocery stores and sports facilities
now a ruptured appendix
attached to Chernobyl
[RK, 10/28/2020]
Where You Go (after To the Nth Degree)
take that with you
you can’t take that with you
where you go is alone
far-fetched, fabulous
failing that, you take that
on your daily travels
eyes closed, hand on the
wheel, tiller, relationship
wind from seasonal corners
anticipated, you acquiesce
to what you could take with you
take that with you
[RK, 10/28/2020]Not Always in Alphabetical Order
Robert Frost got lost
in his dictionary
in the vicinity
of the word potato.
I read about it
in his notebook
many years ago.
Today I found him
in my cookbook,
halfway between
the Portuguese milk tart
and the plum pudding.
[LSS, 10/25/20]
Some Questions About the Potato
Did Frost’s potato
stay underground?
Or did it find its way
to the dinner table?
[LSS, 10/25/20]
Interior Design
The house is too big
to comfortably hold
the people living in it.
They buy some books,
some tools, some wood.
They make some things.
It takes a lot time.
Then they buy some
things already made.
This is quick and easy,
expensive, but gratifying.
One day the house is close
to being full.
Another day, the people
walk in on their things
rummaging through the drawers,
stealing pens, adding unnecessary
things to the shopping list.
[LSS, 10/25/20]
Cardinal Directions
Far below me, the valley,
a sage desert, and the pipeline
spiriting away what little rain
falls here straight south to L.A.
Further east, Death Valley.
To the north, wildfires
staining the sky, orange light
and delicate ash. To the west,
the backcountry through
which I came.
Here, on the summit,
overlooking all of this,
someone has thought
to build a hut, a refuge
from the wilderness, built
from stone and wood, built
from the wilderness itself.
The registry at the door,
the prayer flags, the graffiti
on the walls, however,
have turned the wilderness
into something more
domestic, more like
a shrine, too much like
an urban temple.
Leeward of the hut,
a tattered sparrow
begging for crumbs,
perfectly at home
here in this wilderness,
perches on my knee.
[LSS, 10/24/20]
Palimpsest (after Trapeze)
1. What I Do
boxes labeled 1983, or tax returns, or can’t throw away
faded student watercolor sketchbooks
two-decade-old hard drive documents
business cards of people I will never call
address books with every address
crossed out
2. What I Want
#2 pencils, random pens, scratch paper
nuggets stitched into archaic scrolls
asemic notations treated with
pumice, bleach, eraser, opaque markers
a knock-off harlequin roll-top desk
with diamond-shaped pigeonholes
3. What I Am
inexorable bookworms and book scorpions
white ants, fungus, dander, dust
disappointment, sadness
lost pages
errata
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Hansel and Gretel (after The Witch in the Woods)
Pavlov bakes banana bread
from his grandmother’s recipe
he’s tethered to a stained
three by five note card
die Kinder aus der Nachbarschaft salivate
ring the doorbell and run away
first time it’s irritating
second time exasperating
third time the baking dish is oiled
fourth time the oven is preheated
the ringing stops
someone in this story fulfills a prediction
someone in this story fills a void
someone in this story finds happiness
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Prairie Dust Bowl (after Book of Days)
“for now we see through a glass darkly”
—1 Corinthians 13
loess layered over glacial deposits
layered over bedrock
plowed prairie grass fashioned into
origami cranes flying away
to the Great Lakes, Mississippi River
Gulf of Mexico, Mar de Cortés
this is exposure, lack of composure
overexposure in the darkroom
corn ethanol feeds hungry cars
slaughterhouse pigs and cows
feed hungry people watching
TV reality shows
original bison almost extinct
since the 19th century
forgotten vows almost extinct
since the 20th century cure-all ceremony
where “I do” and uncooked rice
were the currency of the day
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Traditional Wind-Up Alarm Clock (after Vaccination Blues)
that radium-dial little fucker
ticks like an analog time bomb
elegant, seductive, secretive
you search mattresses, pillowcases,
wardrobes, drawers, dreams
clutch the board game dice
you pocketed as a little girl
throw snake-eyes, boxcars
everything but lucky seven
[RK, 10/24/2020]
RSVP
(after Diagonal Line)
pre-Columbian petroglyphs follow
natural living rock contours
desert varnish idly chipped away
to reveal red stone and intentions
Kokopelli and Kokopelmimi
hold out pre-stamped invitations
if unable to attend you must still
répondez s’il vous plait
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Agony Auntie Offers Relationship Advice (after Test Results)
dear agony auntie
things have come to a pretty pass
hoping for something better
I’ve fallen into a morass
so I’m writing you this letter
capitulation entered my bloodstream
as it threatened to do
while I tried to live out my dream
with you-know-who
signed
oh negative
dear oh negative
be positive
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Soliloquy (after The Language of Trees)
an ensemble of distrust
grows from autistic tree shadows
limb arms, twig digits, trunk torsos, root feet
pruning that stimulates
masochistic sap tendencies
burls that yearn for the saw
imagining themselves as varnished wall clocks
leaf conversations stop when I walk into the forest
a signal apparent to the woodcutter
birds refrain from perching
bark beetles set clocks for siestas
gray-green lichens change color like
faded clothesline laundry
traffic lights
octopuses
I tacitly avoid bad luck associated
with slash pine shadows
step around or over
overlapped sawgrass fingers
and palmetto toes
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Control
a flock of fall plumage palm warblers
execute morning chores, confront
mockingbirds and titmice
glean moths from
Bermuda grass and sandspurs
call a meeting to order
which no one attends
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Easy (after A Small Diversion)
I fell in love with my digital alarm clock
nobody else is so consistent
or easily manipulated
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Vampire (after Kitchen Constellations)
how much loss of blood
is too much
at dusk you count neighborhood bats
stop counting at sixty-something
same number of cherished sunsets
you lean against granite countertops
peel potatoes, shred Parmigiano-Reggiano
jab a testing fork into a squash
you like the jabbing part
how much loss
is too much
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Pandemic Precautions
like me, you become more of what you are
that can be somewhat disgusting
these shattered preconceived social mores
these blasted inconvenient premonitions
these quarantine improbabilities
my embarrassing pontifical wordiness
Shakespeare was correct
the fault does lie in ourselves
his clever aphorisms entered the canon
there they are, superglued to our shared expectations
we need a cleansing relationship ritual
a penitential flame
deodorant crystals
weed killer
emetics
sage
anything, really
[RK, 10/24/2020]
This is Not a Chair (after Some Questions About the Empty Chair)
she just woke up, or
she took a cigarette break, or
she wants to wear the apron
clutch the palette, wield pencil swords
adjust the drapery, control the light
she remembers art classes
she rents a studio, buys a padlock
she tells friends wait and see
she wants
sable brushes, cadmium red
solvents, signatures
an all-purpose French bon mot
blurred comfort zone borders
knowledge, acknowledgement
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Oh Wait
intermittent dreams, memories, future plans
for fuck’s sake how to make it stop
how much tossing, turning, and tripping
before it all clicks into place
and the tumble of piled up tears
fears, years, peers, wear-
y same-old-same-old
makes sense
oh wait
clicking into place is just another
future plan
[RK, 10/24/2020]
Stage Play
Imagine a backdrop
hastily painted on cheap canvas:
nettles, foxglove, monkshood,
and other beautiful things
that sting and poison
clamber up the cloth.
Imagine tonight when
you cut a piece of the fabric
and sew in into a frock.
Would you then have
something safe to wear
next time you leave the house?
[LSS, 10/22/20]
Asemia Hour (after Arsenic Hour)
“Can you identify these rectangles?”
“Square, parallelogram, rhombus.”
“Can you identify these triangles?”
“Right, isosceles, equilateral, scalene, oblique, acute, obtuse.”
“And these?”
“Pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon.”
“Please define: convex, concave, self-intersecting, regular, tangential, vertex-transitive, cyclic, equiangular.”
(“. . . .”)
“Please draw a truncated icosahedron.”
“Please shape an icosidodecahedron with this lump of clay.”
(“. . . .”)
“Please define spatial relationships.”
“Please delineate a relationship.”
“Please draw a plane.”
“Please illustrate lines.”
“Please seek and find the point.”
(“. . . .”)
[RK, 10/21/2020]
Aphasia Hour (after Arsenic Hour)
did you wear a mask (yes)
did everyone else wear masks (no)
did you hug anyone (yes)
was that correct (I don’t know)
did you change clothing (yes)
did you wash your hair (no)
did you disinfect the car (yes)
did you observe social distancing (yes and no)
will you wear a mask on the airplane (yes)
will you quarantine after your trip (I don’t know)
will you quarantine (I don’t think I need to)
will you quarantine (what do you think)
will you quarantine (it depends)
will you quarantine (maybe)
will you quarantine (everyone has to decide for themselves)
will you quarantine (I don’t know)
will you quarantine (I don’t know)
will you quarantine (I don’t know)
[RK, 10/21/2020]
Certain Kinds of Light (after Research Says)
complex sunshine yellows on a wooden fence which no longer exists
deciduous autumn leaves defining dry desert arroyos
skies tinted gray-blue from distant forest fires
black and white photographs in the developer
pardon me for sharing four bad jokes
of the apocalypse
everything actually
depends on the brown of
a spun color wheel
this is not about light
this is residual R-complex hominid desire
for objects absorbing and reflecting light
[RK, 10/21/2020]
Hair of the Dog
Drawing the ensÅ,
entering the void,
an imperfect
closure.
The daily practice,
letting panic and peace
rise and meet
in the broken
window.
[LSS, 10/21/20]
Research Says
If we wish to live long lives, researchers say, we must avoid dull rooms and favor certain kinds of light.
We must, for instance, buy blue bulbs for morning, if we can't afford the sun, then switch to red and green waves after work; we must lay in a fresh supply of firewood and candles for a flickering kind of light before and after dinner; we must make our bedrooms cold and black and fall asleep alone, ideally wearing masks.
Do researchers really think our deaths can be so easily confused? I'm sure mine will simply be amused.
[LSS, 10/21/20]
Wardrobe Advice
Don’t complain
about the autumn weather
while you’re wearing
summer clothes.
[LSS, 10/20/20]
Diagonal Lines: An Abecedarian of Ways
almanac, allegory, abecedarian (of course)
book of days, bible, box cars (on track or derailed)
correspondence, commonplace, conversation
diary, dialog, diatribe
ephemera, ephemeris, equation
folium, folio, forces centrifugal and/or centripetal
gifts, gaffes, giveaways
hieroglyphs, hyperboles, hellos
incantations, illustrations, imaginaria
journal, junk drawer, jabberwocky
keenings, kindling, kitsch
letters, leeches, lean-tos
missives, missiles, mono no aware
notes, notations, negations
ohs, oohs, oomphs
psalms, poems, postcards
queries, questions, quasars
run ons, runoff, rhyme and/or reason (or neither)
syllabi, saijiki, somnambulations
transmissions, transmutations, transmogrifications
ties in a track, the train itself
umbrellas, umbrages, ululations
visions, visages, violations
word play, warp, weft
x rays, xenia, X (the unknown)
Y (also unknown), yearnings, yens
Z (a third unknown for the complex equation), zener cards, zeitgeists
[LSS, 10/20/20]
Thoughts During One Hour of Early Autumn Rain (Cutting in the Details)
the online weather report is vague
surprise comes gently, malicious things left ungrounded
electricity like an empty Halloween ghost costume
wondering about private thoughts untended
possibly malicious, probably innocuous
uncertainty weaves in and out of our curious unfinished weaving
easy to imagine electricity hounding me, then touching gently
saying: this also will become part of who you are
I’ve forgotten to burn notes for last month’s full moon
looking at them today shocks
who, I wonder, wrote these phrases?
by turns stupid, flashy, and forceful
lacking
voltage, amperage, a conductor
this is how we outdo ourselves
this is how we learn to forget
[RK, 10/19/2020]
