Month: December 2017

screw pine master

parade of sail into estuary abdomen
seas into forests into mountains
over a helix into steel and copper canals
vast parallel empty in sunlight
black red yellow white pour into valleys and peaks
vaporized by multicolored flames lightning flashes
into a tall ship made of everything
sweeping toward invisibility as pearls of ice radiate from the rigging
breath stolen from the ocean dying in search of truth
as the earth spirals in the ship turns around like a shadow puppet
closing on a perfect mirror of rocks and rain
to explode in splinters and shreds of union
rising up and floating mites of color in one giant nova parachuting like a flower

inner harbor at sunrise
(the dewaruci, one of 31 tall ships calling on baltimore in 2000, sailed from indonesia)

into pools

valkerae crawling thru bright rings of perception
lostlove stabbed and bleeding play rebirth in dripping velvet
arresting music draws them into kaleidoscope writhing zombie snakes
disappearing in paintsplash come to life in ballet circus serpent coalescing
float apart as dreams swirl and collide in drowning passion
unfurl as sails flying in ocean blood red glittering gold
windbuzzing canvass folds mantis fly beetle bee combusting popping clapping hands
smoke flattens screening filtering shapes into stop and go
protofungoteria oxygen fueled cellsuponcells reptofloweringflying glitterdelight
they sing the waging war of sundust conquerlust eartharvest in laughter
march in loudly colored ballooning hoops of lovechild rhyme
step onto fourwheeled footcarts in globemirrored zoomrevue
waterglobe dancestorm seaquesting in bluegreenscarletyellow
portalexploring in darkcrime
rolling sold out streets into forcefield happiness
sleuthingtopia slaverybuilt boomsechoing
fantasies disintegrating deconstructing into lifestoria
reelspinturnwhirling soundunfurious stretching spiralfate they celebrate

city pool at sunrise
(fluid movement staged their first water ballet in 1999 in patterson park)

spinarette

spider reached into the heart of a piano
with insect strength pulled out handfuls of strings
swung them overhead and around
casting ends over rafters and ropes
then pulled them all tight into chest
how they shined in the lights and threw weird shadows
a vibrating soundweb of hammer strike
as spider taps into a breakwalking dance en march

culturL center at sunrise
(the eubie blake cultural arts center moved to north howard street in 2000)

on the drawing board

inside the spinning globe
of blue kevlar with lasersequined bursts of iridescent refection
sixteen limbs turn four perpetual super gears
titaniachained to eight selfsteering spikeretracting aquaterra paddlewheels
whirring in labyrinthian timecrystaled lubricant
that mists sucroprotein for kinetinauts
suspended in competition

vionary art museum at sunrise
(the american visionary art museum-hosted, lemans-started east coast kinetic sculpture race championship was first held in 1999)

the movie party

in a post industrial city sixteen car lot between a three story commercial rowhouse and a four story garage among dry cleaners and metal clubs and pricey restaurants a masquerade of merchants generals sailors steelworkers storytellers healers and survivalists mingle in costumes from around north america and the world in front of a mural in brick and mortar as it begins to move change speed up slow down darken explode clarify and fade. they chat orate gesture swoon and watch to understand what is dying and what is being born but agree on a definitive statement with an unexpected twist

movie house at sunrise
(the maryland film festival, after fits and starts under different titles spanning almost thirty years, began in 1999 with the charles theater as the venue, after an opening screening at the senator)

for jeannettes

slowly toward a city across the harbor
dolls eyes look from thickets
wild ginger dewsteeps pathside
trout lilies greenyellow bottomland
in breathing footfall rhythm
bottlebrush grass laces remnant wood
wild-rye sews small streambanks
purpletop rattles unpaved road
in thinking breathful melody
nodding bur marigolds pool dark mirrors
sneezeweed runs ditches and marsh
frostweed mounds vacant lotmeadows
in warmingchilling chorded nervemuscle
inkberries assort waxwings
winterberries cluster robins
skunk cabbages unfold turkeys
in echoing faint chorus
this year is my passing song
my love the walking minutes

cove at sunrise
(lifelong wagners point resident and activist jeannette skrzcek died in 1998 from liver and colon cancer)

blue avengers in narco federation

Mantra Missile leaps into the ring through ropes
800 pounds 4 heads 16 limbs loaded
chops handles thrusts elbows scrapes smash butts rams knees kicks
lariats palms punches sentons stomps blocks splashes clothesline drops
blue on black avenger
versus Hardened Target
shapeshifting statemorphing maelstromswirling
Mantra Missile declusters exploding
foes smitten
shreds shelled
mats covered
shrieks writhing
wasted laying
hearts unavailing
broken travailing
audience roars and crackles in fever
No Person standing

reisterstown road after sunrise
(in 1997 jeffrey alston was paralyzed by four police after a speeding stop on reisterstown road)

phone mesh

animal carcasses in alleys
poisoned cats bloodied dogs abandoned horses
sand and mud sedimenting into tunnels under streets
virtuous delusion
obscure good
wicked favor
stones sharp shards and sewage in sidewalks and roadways
oh from the sea that surrounds us
yellow copper stoppered with lead
ringing opens the seal
power appears in fog and smoke
speak civilly and firm with empathy and hope
cast your net
give the brightly colored fish to your sultan

city offices at sunrise
(the first 311 service in the united states was piloted here in 1996, with help from the department of justice community oriented policing services office, to reduce 911 call volume—in 2000 call data started being analyzed to evaluate performance of city agencies)

in the eye of turtle island

when i withdraw
look out at my back spreading like the life of a mountain
i’m not sure the bipeds will learn i am here in some way to save them
from surviving only as machine

herring run at sunrise
(the mid-atlantic turtle & tortoise society incorporated in 1997 using po box 22321
In zipcode 21203—turtles have been on earth for a quarter of billion years, schist in herring run for half a billion, and gneiss in herring run for a billion)