Americanitis – foto Smith

High Noon

Not to jest
but many more so
years ago
out west
in a troubled town
I drew down
and had to reach my best.
I looked within
and saw such thin
dark dank dim
but said so what
it’s just a shuck
I will not fail this test
and went for luck
or mess
in win.

— Smith, 6.30.2012

Vintage – foto Smith

Cover foto by Smith

Crisis Chronicles Press has chosen another of my fotos to cover a poetry chapbook: I Can Live with Death by David B. McCoy. This makes 11 front and 2 back cover fotos for CCP’s 28 publications.

Perfect foto for the title.

And speaking of life and death, per the doctrine of “dependent origination” or “dependent arising” (via Lady via Wikipedia via Buddha):

The Twelve Nidanas

With Ignorance as condition, Mental Formations arise
With Mental Formations as condition, Consciousness arises
With Consciousness as condition, Mind and Matter arise
With Mind and Matter as condition, Sense Gates arise
With Sense Gates as condition, Contact arises
With Contact as condition, Feeling arises
With Feeling as condition, Craving arises
With Craving as condition, Clinging arises
With Clinging as condition, Becoming arises
With Becoming as a condition, Birth arises
With Birth as condition, Aging and Dying arise

Seems a long hard way to go, what with this all being built on an initial foundation of ignorance.

How did we get from 4 virtues + 3 graces to 7 sins?

To One Eye Love

I ‘n I

Seven sins:
envy
covetousness
greed
sloth
lust
anger
pride

Four virtues:
justice
prudence
temperance
fortitude

Three graces:
faith
hope
charity

The am my aim
The all my am

— Smith, 2004

X — R Here – foto Smith

Sunfire – foto Smith

The Heart as Arsonist

Sure the kindling,
but as well the wood.
The place as such
and substance
of the matter.
Time.
Amounts of time to flicker,
flame in bright arrogance,
become fuel to continuity,
faded maturation.

It is not wonder
yet is
why wolves, weres and lovers
lie dreaming before fires
fire places
emotions.
It is the melancholy
of the cycle calling.
Warmed atavisms
consumed in life
in love of rebirth.
The remembrance
of werewolves wanting wings.

All these
the core past caring
belonging
the fire is
is love.
The spark
to kindle the passion
then human the substance
to weather completion
this this is love.

— Smith, 1975

Loveheart – foto Smith

Ring around of roses – foto Smith

Promise Land

Greyhound bound
To Tupperware City
Light like liquid Zen
Wars time, tatters tight
As tight asses tie
Meat neat man to kine, kino
Contempt of course
Playing Plato’s barn

Blue bloods
Stabilize fish at 7
Mime the ma’am
Bamboo cathedrals
In wondrous disarray
Just outside real
Where the fat
Flee frantic
Fleece feed the poor

Competing EXIT signs
Dance specific disease
  Rude crude
  Plus tax
Bouncing Betty’s
Slouching Bethlehem belly
Slips on guilt
& splinters.

— Smith, 1995

Played Dr John’s 1968 tune “I Walk on Guilded Splinters” and remembered I’d lifted part of his title for the last three words of this poem — “guilt & splinters.”

And since I’m confessing, I borrowed “slouching Bethlehem belly” from William Butler Yeats’ 1919 poem The Second Coming which ends with “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

Cool white – foto Smith

Just call me Steer-Me Steve – foto Smith

Running from the Quantum Cop

It’s not out of the question
but definitely out of the equation

In this zombie walk I talk zombie talk
moan “miiiiinnnnnnnddddddsssss”
instead of “brraaaaaiiiiiinnnnnnnssss”

I crave good conversation
yet can’t offer it myself

Since aliens stole my brain
(which is a shame because hardly used
could have sold it for new)
I still have kind of mind
slowly learning being kind
to kine and cattle
as I prattle rock and roady rattle
in my battle with the be

We all stumble mall to mall
endless windowed mindless maul
plea and beckon for our call

Right now I’m in a ménage à trois
with me, myself, and I
it’s definitely a hate-love-hate relationship

As for some then
some when further down the load
some mixed matched maxed out mode
in real time I’m unable to table my ties
stable my lies

It’s what you do with what you got
that mothers or falters goal

Time to get back on track for the bright and early

— Smith, 6.23.2012

Lowest cost – foto Smith

3 birds – foto Smith

Chirp of nearby bird
Waterrush traffic of road
Outside inside sound

— Smith, 6.22.2012

Waterrush – foto Smith