AD.

WALKING ON THIN ICE

2-steppin’

moonhole

I’m not a cook, but I played one in prison.

Lady K is taking over her Mom’s small web-design business and is putting in 70-hour work weeks trying to pull it together, so I’ve started doing simple things like cook breakfast. Other day I made chili, and yesterday cooked my first free-form potato soup. I’m not fond of cooking, but making soup is fun. I will make more soups.

Status Report 164

She calls me feral.
I salivate.

And yet . . .

She pours more rum in her coke,
“I’ll probably wake up with a headache
but what the heck, when you’re in, you’re in.”

Who’s on the feral wheel now?

– Smith, 1.21.2016

Doc says my broken kneecap is good as good can be. Had it shattered, there’d be surgical reconstruction . . . had it broken horizontally rather then vertically, I wouldn’t be able to raise my leg, which would’ve required surgery. For bad luck, this is good.

Doing laundry right now, which requires I step down one stair step with my immobilized leg, step to same step with good leg for each of the 47 steps down to the basement washer, then two-step each step back up, then down and back for the dry. That’s a lot of two-stepping.

concerned

 

 

the fountain of bacon

snowdome

Status Report 163

The snow defocuses, gathers light
in acoustic dampened night
before sun runs for sky
pulling day behind
as again we climb from bed
to crawl the cage of time
in ritual rise sublime
through the slough of slime.

– Smith, 1.20.2016

fountainofbacon

parachute Buddha

opencallu

Status Report 162

I’m a stand up kind of guy.

What do get when you grow two shoots?
A pairashoot.

Why do they call it a freeway
when it costs so much to drive?

If a nickle is composed of 25% nickle
how much dime is in a dime?

Is Sisyphus a sissy for not putting up a fuss?

Who is Caspar the Friendly Ghost’s spirit leader?
Booodha.

Too much violins in country music
not enough sax.

What did the dishonest bamboo do?
Bamboozled.

Is a chamomile longer than a human mile?

Why call it a highway
when they won’t let you drive stoned?

What condition is the alcoholic bamboo in?
Bamboozed.

Is the Salton Sea near the Pepperoff Sea?

What city tokes the most marijuana?
Tokyo.

I’d walk a chamomile for a camel
wearing a camouflaged camisole

Is this a cluster flux?

– Smith, 1.19.2016

openwifi

time cry, wisdom whisper

timnetrack

Status Report 161

Time cries hurry.
Wisdom whispers wait.

– Smith, 1.18.2016

timeasspace

too much drone, not enough gnome

shadowslady

Status Report 160

Too much drone, not enough gnome
stuffed by Heisenberg, seasoned in Schrödinger
I’m by-product no one will sell

There are slivered lyings in every crowd
it could be dusk, but my heart sees dawn

Be nice to night, stay in day.

– Smith, 1.17.2016

sisyphussmith002

caffeine and codeine

mothflame

Status Report 159

I’m lichen moss to a flame
yearning to be rolling stoned
downhill fast
past Sisyphus
back to bottom
to skip cross lake
grabbing Tantalus’ grapes
as I zoom by

My mind is cat
ignoring toy to play with box

– Smith, 1.16.2016

Caffeine and codeine make for fine pre-sun buzz thanks to broken knee. There are slivered lyings to every crowd.

rollingstone

break a leg, they said

only

Status Report 158

Break a leg, they said
so I did.

Wouldn’t recommend it.

 – Smith, 1.15.2016

tubb975

I hear my bone break

category01

Another Smith adventure one wouldn’t wish to have . . . broken kneecap, wrong bus, closed bus stops, walking downtown in leg cast seeking phantom bus, pain increasing, script for pain pills in pocket but no way to get to pharmacy.

But first, an ego commercial.

Medusa’s Kitchen (what a cool name) published 6 fotos and 8 poems of mine yesterday. Once again I’m impressed by Kathy Kieth’s marvelous feel for layout. Poet D.R. Wagner snuck me into the Kitchen last fall, and this is the 3rd time Kathy Kieth’s published me since. May this relationship continue — Medusa’s Kitchen >
http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/2016/01/twixt-ape-and-angel.html

I touched the surface of my own leg bone when I was ten (see below), and now 60 years later I hear my kneecap break.

Taking my bicycle down to the basement yesterday, the front tire turned sideways when it reached the floor and jerked to a stop while this jerk kept going and landed left knee on concrete floor. Heard a crisp, sharp CRACK and thought gee that doesn’t sound encouraging, but got up, walked around, everything seemed to work though it did hurt. Spent next few hours trying to ignore what that CRACK had to mean, hoping the famous Smith luck would save me yet again, but knee got bigger and bigger until this morning I went to the ExpressCare. That’s the second time I’ve broken myself one day and waited till the next to go to the doctor. Last time was 1985 when I broke both wrists and elbows doing an art installation – you should have seen me driving myself to the hospital next morning with double breaks in both arms — turning corners and parking were pure hell. Within the week had to change a flat tire in the rain with broken appendages while the car jack kept sinking into the mud – took so long and hurt so bad I broke out laughing at how well the gods got me.

Broke my patella (knee cap). They immobilized my left knee with a cast on which I hobbled three blocks to a bus stop and got on the wrong bus. Got off, found right bus to downtown to catch another bus home. But downtown is all torn up to fix stuff before the Republicans get here for their Presidential convention next year, so I hobbled on my broken knee a couple blocks only to see sign saying “This bus stop was closed 10 months ago due to construction, you idiot.” Wishing I had the crutches waiting at home, I cane my pain leg another two block to where I know my home bus stops, only to find it no longer goes anywhere near there. I’m starting to think I’m in one of those Twilight Zone hell shows, in increasing pain, aware I have a prescription for codeine in my pocket but no way to get to the pharmacy until wife comes home from work hours from now. I walk another two blocks to where the taxis wait, but due to construction, they’re no longer there. Walk more and more and more on broken knee, finally find cab, friendly Algerian driver gets me home for 5 times what my bus costs, but at least I’m home.

Find out more when I go to the doctor Tuesday when they suck some of the swollen blood and juices out with a needle. Internet says six weeks in cast, though some replace the cast with a brace after 2-3 weeks to get rehab started sooner. The bad news is I only went out in the 17 degree cold to buy a billion dollar Powerball lottery ticket, and I got but one number right.

So far have broken at least eight ribs, right hand, right wrist, left wrist, right elbow, left elbow, collar bone, big toe, left knee, and cracked my pelvis . . . there are likely more I’ve forgotten.

As for the time I touched my exposed shin bone 60 years ago — from the memoir:

My biggest and best scar is the six inch curve below my right knee. I ran and jumped a block wall and crashed leg first into the top edge of a second hidden block wall. I got up and had trouble walking, so I sat down and pulled my pants leg up to take a look. My flesh had separated into a six inch open bloodless “V” all the way down to bone. The exposed tibia was pure incredible glowing whiteness in the sun. I was so fascinated that I touched it. I touched my own living skeleton bone with my finger flesh. It felt cool, hard, slick.

eyecircles

cellophane shards

nightvisionnightvision

Status Report 157

The falling snow muffles sound, scatters night
reduces here and now to black and white

In this low light
cellophane shards shimmer like jade

– Smith, 1.11.2016

1eyeblindsmith1 eye blind

work it out or break

cyberdivedetail from Smith piece

Status Report 156

Wife gets up
1:30 in the morning
or 2:30 or sometimes 3:30
after 6 or 7 or 8 hours sleep
and starts work
and works 18 hours
and goes to bed
which is hard on her
hard on Mandycat
hard on me
but it’s only for awhile
a month or three
because eventually she’ll work it out
or break

– Smith, 1.9.2016

happygaldetail from Mother Dwarf piece