SYMBIOTIC XIX:3 October, 2004


TABLE OF CONTENTS XIX:3 October, 2004		LYNX A Journal for Linking Poets



	SYMBIOTIC POETRY: MAY IN A VASE by master poet, Alec Finlay, host poet, Gerry Loose, Co-ordinator, Alex Hodby, Sheila Butterworth, Lilli Broduer, David Fine, Amy Gott, Morven Gregor, David Lewis, Helen Lucy Pheby, Beth Rowson, Josie Walsh WALKING BACKWARDS by master poet, Alec Finlay, host poet, Felicity Manning, co-ordinator, Beth Rowson, Anne-Marie Culhane, Stephen Watts, Elisabeth Sutherland, Tom Richardson, Frieda White, Tim Tunley, Shirley Ross, Amanda Ravetz. HAH HE SAID by Jim Leftwich & John M. Bennett HOT by Jim Leftwich & John M. Bennett DUNK by Jim Leftwich & John M. Bennett A BLOOMING ORCHARD by Silva Ley & Jacques Verhoeven THE TALL BARN by Silva Ley & Jacques Verhoeven FORLORN IN THE FIELDS by Silva Ley & Jacques Verhoeven IN LOVE WITH A STRANGER by Betty Kaplan & Max Verhart POUNDING OF THE AUTUMN SEA at Monterey Dunes, California led by Patricia J. Machmiller LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL by Tomislav Mareti & Karina Klesko THE SUN COMES IN by Marlene Mountain & Francine Porad UNBRUSHED HAIR by Marlene Mountain & Francine Porad WHO'S READING THIS by Marlene Mountain & Sheila Windsor A FRESH START by Francine Porad & Marlene Mountain GADGETS by Francine Porad & Marlene Mountain BAITING THE HOOK by Patricia Prime & Catherine Mair AUTUMN GOLD by Patricia Prime & Ron Moss THE KEEPER OF TWO DOORS by James Joyce & Werner Reichhold THE SKY FULL OF STARS by Sprite, John R. Snyder, Karina Klesko, John Carley SLEEPY TIME by Max Verhart & Betty Kaplan WITH STICKS AND DOGS by Sheila Windsor & Marlene Mountain THE JUDGE ASKS by Sheila Windsor, Marlene Mountain, Cindy Tebo RED STEER by sheila windsor & ron moss FIRE AND BRIMSTONE by sheila windsor & ron moss SONG IN THE GAPS by sheila windsor & ron moss A SNAKE SKIN IN THE CANOE by sheila windsor, cindy tebo, karina klesko	MAY IN A VASE master poet, Alec Finlay host poet, Gerry Loose Co-ordinator, Alex Hodby Sheila Butterworth Lilli Broduer David Fine Amy Gott Morven Gregor David Lewis Helen Lucy Pheby Beth Rowson Josie Walsh Passed behind us as we go shared giggles, goose grass bracketed between parents three goslings a family picnic green fly on the cups the girl yells I’m just pretending over the hill gently breathing another mirage petroleum torches jets rumble on scanning night sky for the plough - taste of ginger consumed with a touch the stolen recipe used over years until perfected or cast aside house keys collect on her chain she’s fumbling for the catch in the moon lost in cataract eyes ripe for treatment steamed windows the jams cool in jars thumping the piano wildly the cat runs first frosts mean retuning playing the blues to the end of the year boom boom boom boom! what was that? what was that? noticing the holes in my sock the first mushrooms with a little garlic birthday breakfast on a tray May in a vase the breeze whispers turn your face to the sun. a nijuuin renga in the season of Spring Yorkshire Sculpture Park, West Bretton May 23, 2004 WALKING BACKWARDS master poet, Alec Finlay host poet, Felicity Manning co-ordinator, Beth Rowson Anne-Marie Culhane Stephen Watts Elisabeth Sutherland Tom Richardson Frieda White Tim Tunley Shirley Ross Amanda Ravetz yellow cups, oyster catchers a fuss goes up in the set aside by a gate marked private she crouches among thistles sharp in the reflecting pool half a moon fish slip into shadows still pulses the last blackbird singing laburnum drop poison pods where children play running in small circles with arms outstretched kalashnikovs raised bare feet disturb the dust blown angels letters in a tin vowels swim in linseed shape and snap on our tongue apple jelly smeared over peanut butter mother’s one caress flesh from the gourd the emptied shell makes music gives warmth, latitude the sun turns inward under the bench cracked water melon seeds night begins to bleed the soft order of quilts marshall my dream in the nebulous vapours form a flake of snow wraiths will melt revealing fur and bone knives and forks on either side of mismatched plates we catch our breath and turn over the earth a million flowers parted by a path of stone sure of the way the poet walks backwards. HAH HE SAID Jim Leftwich John M. Bennett hah he said said he nope bask he said said he listing tore he said said he cut rubber he said said he drop should he said said he gravel corner he said said he corner gravel he said said he should drop he said said he rubber cut he said said he tore listing he said said he bask nope he said said he hah HOT Jim Leftwich John M. Bennett hot, cat, but cot ,bin ,get pin, set, at pit ,when ,met pet, spin, cut sot ,limb ,net bit, pot, that fat ,put ,mat then, bet, knot shut ,drat ,got DUNK Jim Leftwich John M. Bennett dunk it and pinch flop it and splash flay it and hush ply it and fly gush it and play plash it and hop inch it and clunk A BLOOMING ORCHARD Silva Ley Jacques Verhoeven Hedel A white poplar lane bending with the curve of old vested rights a hint of blossoms in the outskirts of the village apple trees in a crumpled orchard hide the house a shade of branches moves and plays on the windows the squatting doors small shutters deep under the roof a rim of moss round the water well a smell of un - use seeds in the barn - on the empty fields an ancient longing red floor tiles lead to the darkness of a dusty fireplace a vein system of black beams crosses the white walls one moment in a wave of sun the room enlightens a strong young couple is living here they smile us out working in town every night they return to their forefathers’ realm. THE TALL BARN Silva Ley Jacques Verhoeven Teteringen A smell of hay darkness under the roof of an immense barn scratched in the crossbeams: forenames of farm hands a lay out of lines up to high in the ridge indestructible oaks passing hands still stroke the deep trenches the loft is empty now the floor scrubbed clean till owls will be nesting small attic windows carve the light, the times stable doors hang crooking in iron joints in human lives the mangers put outside full of summer flowers the yard disappears in a winding border to vanished dreams grain was the ancient gold memory honoured. FORLORN IN THE FIELDS Silva Ley Jacques Verhoeven Village Zeeland a poor crofter’s dwelling free for the wind a carpenter bought it between dream and action he used the old bricks counted one by one measures the origin iron anchors in the walls the cross stones, the bows a thatched roof as a fur on both sides finished in a solid ‘wolfs end’ all around the house a gravel border to absorb rain and moist - under the gutter a decorating row of diagonal bricks called ‘mouse teeth’ in the yard behind a walnut tree to keep out the flies. in the stable the noise of impatient horses a burst of laughter from the house a child’s voice growing up in a scenery of farmer’s wisdom. IN LOVE WITH A STRANGER Betty Kaplan Max Verhart moon close to venus a time for all lovers starlit night do they match, she wonders, our signs of the zodiac she studies feng shui, turns the room around - the doorbell rings butterflies both in the garden and her belly in love with a stranger - yet he walks by her sunrise she wakes up clutching her pillow 5-7 June 2004 POUNDING OF THE AUTUMN SEA October 26, 2002 Monterey Dunes, California led by Patricia J. Machmiller (pjm) silently we begin just now I notice the pounding of the autumn sea donnalynn chase through the clean windows we watch the dunes go to seed donnalynn / pjm blowing on my tea already astringent shade has colored the moon Roger Abe sprinklers on the broccoli the odor fills the air Carolyn Fitz blue lace curtains make soft patterns on the wall afternoon nap Carol Steele ay, Chihuahua it’s hot as hell Alison Woolpert she paces the boardwalk cell phone cradled close to her drumming heart Roger Abe he told her he dreamed of her next to him again donnalynn chase tickles on my back I awaken to such ecstasy Carolyn Fitz with extra special flowers will she rent the office suite? Carol Steele "fasten your seatbelts" visit to the Space Station on the IMAX shuttle Alison Woolpert two times yesterday I was called a warrior donnalynn chase December moon… to rock on the deck like Whistler’s mother Carolyn Fitz the dog shifts duck feathers to the other side of his mouth Roger Abe Simon or Davis will I vote like my tin knocker dad? donnalynn chase out come the recipes Grandmother’s handwriting Alison Woolpert first cherry blossoms lit by neon sneak preview Carol Steel & Co. chirp of tree frogs she doesn’t realize she is missed RA/AW/CF the dried footprints on the mountain trail days lengthen - Carolyn Fitz she says she’s grown up now first period Carolyn Fitz Cassiopeia the entire classroom looks quizzical pjm when will he find out I bought tickets to China? donnalynn chase murdered for her choice to be female prayers for rain Roger Abe remember the precepts and let the silverfish go donnalynn chase medical alert after blood transfusions watch for West Nile virus Carol Steele she introduces her father to her new boyfriend, Mohammed Roger Abe honeymooners’ groans through the hotel walls 4am and still no sleep donnalynn chase chocolate calligraphy melts on his lover’s body Carolyn Fitz moon if this were our last night how long I would watch! Alison Woolpert persimmon juice on her chin my delighted granddaughter Carol Steele anticipating a baseball championship the mayor’s new suit Roger Abe the trumpet races while Ella sings scat Alison Woolpert I buy a bucket of worms from the boy’s street stand don’t know why Carolyn Fitz fifty years as a queen and still loved by her subjects Roger Abe frail blossoms an elderly couple skips in sturdy shoes Alison Woolpert Peace March in the city the emerging leaves Carolyn Fitz LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL Tomislav Mareti, Zagreb (Vrapche) Croatia Karina Klesko, Louisiana, USA humid night- in the quiet market square only the cats play down the mississippi thousands of stars blink sweatin' jazz laissez les bon temps rouler* New Orleans style under the street lamp fingering fills and runs a hat full of change creeping along the balconies "Keyhole Blues!* out of the shadows a lone clear trumpet- "ohhh yeah. . . "# Notes. laissez les bon temps rouler'let the good times roll fingering fills and runs...strings... ** Keyhole Blues by Louis Armstrong # at the end of a lot of his performances…his last words..."oh yeah, ain’t that wonderful" trademark voice. probably 2 'real' renga sorta #11 THE SUN COMES IN Marlene Mountain Francine Porad new ceramic heaters the power goes out the sun comes in sweater-bundled as usual house in the suburbs 'female impersonator' on tv too fancy until a knife appears good manners do not include homicide in symbolic terms red may become as damaged as black Carl Bernstein lectures on Watergate scandal women's homeless shelter volunteers answer the call bent down by the snow bamboo hardly grown almost overlooked on the windowsill chalky sand dollars for the well-off the economy well-off comparing bottom lines of Form 1040 for 2002 and 2003 juncos slip in and out of everywhere ovarian cancer the dark center of her patchwork quilt troubled even through the art flicks eyes forced awake by the blaring 'groovy Scooby-Doo' so few on the ark how did the harem theory start an old joke: Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes? oh the moon to colonize who's the tyrant now tomatoes in foreign space canned or frozen or neon blue mussels and their beards wrap a piece of driftwood neatly-turned whistler till dubya's 'missionaries' get done a flag tops the sand castle moat fills with sea water drained from the day i'll give it another chance tomorrow calendar packed with notes empty suitcase rain that didn't show up along with a wandering ladybug political news not who to vote for but what to wear to marry off each poor earthling or send her off to mars a good man is hard to find but with Rover... tracks gone warm as grass reappears in a flattened green winter spring summer and fall writing haiku familiar contest poems not only the idea but the words too a gag order imposed but the air full of leaks Michael Jackson due in court for the alleged molestation from mother to grandson marble tops & cupids ornate frames hold a red-haired doll and my little-girl photos a rebirth into the shallow arms of matisse Jan 12-16, 2004 probably 2 'real' renga sorta #13 UNBRUSHED HAIR Marlene Mountain Francine Porad unbrushed hair unraked leaves undropped the other shoe orders from the 'higher chain of command' throughout all the world 'moral authority' run rampant son's promotion a secret temporarily i sneak past mud purple irises kissed the stolen yellows romantic rerun of An Affair To Remember changes in thought patterns due to aging tested by U of W 'al jazeera' on the net bored it's non-spin sweet smelling alyssum does not have 'hidden roots of evil' out of their winter bed tadpoles and restless great odds great sex ninety-nine out of a hundred times men's fear of men women clothed head to tip-toe startled by the daddy long legs skittering across the room open doors for the 2nd time a wren flits in anti-US protest streets filled with many thousands of Cubans 16m no 'god' to love no 'god' to love me spring dawn Classic IQ Test suggests I could be a writer or a painter here he goes a haiku boss out to out art again the seventeenth-year cicada well i don't think they're ugly photo carried until 'Is he much younger than you?' after the talking head's rambling quickly only 10 seconds left such a fuss over punctuation 'A Pain in the Colon'* a two-toned red hot poker to be a hollow with a mist to be on an archeological dig the palaces of Jericho the sky full of noise a 'sundance' film warns of 'mild violence' how to clean up what's seen and heard in public to detainee bodies rumsfeld's clandestine 'do what you want'** Bush and Kerry both courting the swing votes lead by my nose to the milkweeds a long time before a bloom barren land turned into a garden wet paintings spread over table and floor I may switch to collage 60s slides of rust has each rusted in cardboard boxes joy of apartment living the super called to come fix the pipes thru part of a house thru part of a window the moon a butterfly! the fortune teller speaks of a yet-to-be love last year's cayenne peppers way overdue Footnotes * London Times columnist Rod Liddle, former BBC radio news editor *Seymour Hersh in 'The New Yorker' re the defense secretary May 12-16, 2004 WHO'S READING THIS Marlene Mountain Sheila Windsor* who's reading this poem is haiku a watch-word for spooks howl in the night there's only me the owl sculpture/eye 'shevinity' a big part of home life fish net his alter ego '9/11 commission' the spin begins by 'wrongwinger' nit-wits the blue planet i hear it hums thunder rolls in with a bit of rain unrolls out to a quieter place chalk face the geisha beneath the pond's surface the better part of the newt tennis men pajama-looking women half-naked groomed and ready to meet he brings condoms and sweets i need a 'bubble head' to match the rest they keep trying to 'reach' him the autistic boy with the smile a wren sings as if ok is better than ok 'retail therapy' not for me i'll take the garden and jasmine tea that moon talk a stop for gas/food/lodging breakfast in my hand a small green scowling pumped-up man chain-link fence w/barbed-wire for the protesters * his new old flares i think they might once have been mine for the hummers a watermelon rind the crows beyond your knowing beneath your feet a gaggle of giggling rats nothing to say pundits trash the next first woman graduation day 'thatcher's children' maybe but they look good to me my way of learning the journey of unlearning words in a bottle swept out to sea a loneliness no-one can fathom old springbox stuff in it that ought not to be double double toil and.... a fitful tossing turning kinda sleep** nightmares no match for the dawn if an election of erections rewins i'm heading out for for for stand up night it's finishing that's hard on their own to suck down their own leaves purple irises under stone wiggly and white heaviness in the air full of trees and cicada shells pining for love fingers a donut wrapped in the flag 'their' rights family values & stem cells for her return the light notes a cage on the grounds of the democratic convention in boston/america not gitmo/cuba double double toil and trouble - macbeth july 22-31 2004* probably 2 'real' renga sorta #12 A FRESH START Francine Porad Marlene Mountain though not much to say a fresh start slowly filling the blank page now that i can go i don't wanna go anywhere 47,000 troops get called up for a year in Iraq surge in violence for the prison guards men forced to masturbate probes into mistreatment by those few 'rotten apples' a perfect purple tops a perfect green stem a wren intent on nest-building intent on way too many ideas at day's end home sweet home pills to take away the pain but not what really hurts two editors of the same journal respond: no wanted or not daylily leaves then blooms then matted roots 1 I need a chair pad to sit and enjoy the primroses committee upon committee upon committee will the buck stop free shopping coupons you can print from your computer in the old days a smith-corona clacked out the 'unaloud haiku' morning traffic the usual birds unseen unheard inactive the world passes by in bits and pieces of c-span channel switching I watch four TV programs at once Mother's Day lineup if not today when? the close ones arrive back to my uncomfortable comfort zone soothing Posturepedic mattress beneath the puffy quilt brief landing a swallowtail flits off in a fit of joy smiling faces on the brochure about medicare-plus if you-know-who's for stuff i'm automatically not gone over once again anecdotes about his foolish ex-spouse i could write a book that i could never write another W-2 for 2003 an amended 1040 to be mailed are we in watergate or vietnam or both changes made I thank God every day that I am an American border crossing hummers to the sweet things how deep is the spring that flows 1200 feet to early coffee cell phone cameras in the least-likely places if it lasts over four hours see the doctor of male enhancement diagnosis: chronic non-suppurative destructive cholangitis* debris melted within dirt melts a heart remains dirt of a mind sudden rain pounding the sundeck Footnotes * technically correct and ponderous term for PBC – Primary Billiary Cirrhosis May 4-12, 2004 probably 2 'real' renga sorta #14 GADGETS Francine Porad Marlene Mountain gadgets here gadgets there two-in-one DVD/VCR on its way fire extinguisher in plain sight if i could work it competence not measured by the new SAT changes expected great instincts butterflies to sweet williams same-sex marriage license given in Massachusetts crowd pleaser little boy with a big stuffed toy walks from his dead home thunderstorm an inch from the window spooked satellite dish no let up an Iraqi bomb with nerve gas explodes fight refight rerefight rererefight rerererefight rererererefight I snub the news sketch a bouquet mid-afternoon after a written haiku i believe i'll crash again screech of brakes how many near-misses 100 billion dollars a year just waiting to happen striped violets stock market something else to ignore more bulldozers clear more room on the 'road to peace' country lane sun brings out trees' long shadows native geraniums by the woodshed wren nestlings within twittering above the garage ceiling pipes '...don't get around much anymore' low mileage on an old car would art in asheville blow my mind a promise to myself to look only look at Mexican trinkets my son says what to toss out not knowing hold over from childhood he mechanically removes the garbage 'despicable' 'nonhuman' 'thugs' released in droves AOL Help can't in that world political culture tries to rule yesterday i decided today i undecided my financial company has changed but not my broker founding fathers' in masonic values we trust statistically a higher quality of life Judaism's disciples devastation in gaza bright red seeds of white cukes still in white papers in a white pail huge bucket of washing powder reordered parliament session protest condoms of cornstarch at tony creative switch pitching paint not words all japanese crow poems linked to all japanese crow poems vacation plans my plants travel to my neighbor May 16- 20, 2004 BAITING THE HOOK Patricia Prime Catherine Mair jogging along the river bank dog and owner not a leaf yet - cold afternoon trapped in the rushes a child's rubber duck discussing the old landing - in Japanese behind the mountains the first hint of a cloud stranger - we compare notes on canine behaviour preening itself on the signboard - the seagull carved sea elephant - its highly polished back side by side on the jetty children fishing long cast - sunlight catches the flying sinker baiting her hook - the ducks' inspection adjusting her wristwatch - waiting mother AUTUMN GOLD Patricia Prime Ron Moss autumn gold – on the polished table zespri fruit morning walk Japanese Maple leaves on our shoes another grey added to the homeless dog bitter daybreak empty farmhouse the weatherboard's peel a setting sun in a bamboo box a lunchtime treat salmon sushi crushed mint the breath again of simmering peas pine log felled in a storm burns in the grate cusp of moon the dark lake settles into sleep THE KEEPER OF TWO DOORS A multi-genre installation James Joyce Werner Reichhold I (About the structure of a beam continuously be lengthened and clay birds taking flight) Hightime is up be it down into ours according bride-luck the shifting of shaking shambolic park's acoo with sucking loves Rosimund's by her wishing well the book of skinheads swallowed one picture of two heirs in the house of breathings lies that word all fairness so cheesed in the pharynx of a Burgerqueen the permission of overalls with the cooperation of night-shirt she's an elf for English as she was a seven-by-the-teen how they succeed by courting daylight in saving darkness the evil of axes leaking oil our thirty minutes wars alull overgrown milestone in its own snake hole the toy that shall claxonise his whereabouts godfather's mini-nukes pass through the custom where flesh becomes word and silents selfloud II (Shifting scenery: After death your identity may have to respond to stimuli of which you have a chance to get a foretaste now.) knock knock wars where which war whooveropium smells the hord a step sideways on the bunk of bread winning lies the corpse of our seedfather harvesting naked ladies-go-to-bulb quiet takes back her folded files the slender by the walks way through the creek at her proper mitts if she then the then that matters gnostophonically tuned in church? No Mr. Bish hopps into jail the lunger it takes the sooner they tumble two sand the way I think of floating time the swayful pathway of the dragonfly spider stay still in reedery global warming the siren yells global cooling spell me the chimes they are tales all tolled III (Attempts against steeling our historic presence from the past postpropheticals.) Unclean you art not. Outcaste thou are not. Leperstower, the karman's loki, has not blanched at our pollution and your intercourse at ninety legsplits does not defile. Untouchable is not the scarecrown is on you. You are pure. You are pure. You are in your purity. You have not brought stinking members into the house of Amanti. Ellem Inam, Titep Notep we name them to the Hall of Honour. Your head has been touched by the god Ennel-Rah and your face has been brightened by the goddess Aruc-Ituc. Faithlifters say charismaticans appear in glass-mobiles. Maya sends Mia headfront down the temple for indulgence by the meter-man's oracle. Tableau! Tantra & Chiropractic, turbulance, tabularasa, tick-of-teck but fine alley tete-a-tete: how quallcomic he chews on his sandwitch, how netescaped she giggles whisperushing her teenaddress: <give-in@worm.org> IV (When the appropriate wave of the unseen laps upon the shore of possibility, and more than two patterns are moving at a time.) Daphnedews how all so still she lay neath of the whitehorn child of tree like some losthappy leaf much to foretel much with no consequences burning breath sailing through its own attention wind broke it wave bore it reed wrote of it Syke ran with hand tore and wild went war shell shaped sway as if wishes follow the night-view of an oyster the kind that hosts in ripples a soft lip's storm terror of the nonstruck by day cryptogam of each nightly bridable game here endeth the curtain drops by deep request seems to be mutating as on early waves stand still orange evening behind blinds in your mirror pfall if you but will rise you must for the nod of the nabir is better than wink to wabsanties' sleeve-touch-dream merely electric eccentric one hand in the first room of a beach castle. (The lines of James Joyce are taken from his book Finnegans Wake) "The Keeper of Two Doors" was first published with Lost And Found Times, June 2004, Publisher John M. Bennet. THE SKY FULL OF STARS Sprite John R. Snyder Karina Klesko John Carley - sabaki the sky full of stars a hundred different ways to spell 'Rudolph' john e carley on each side of the gate a snow angel karina klesko what if there were a cat in every window just for effect john r snyder his e-mail arrives with a burst of cymbals sprite no sun today except for a daffodil on the hill karina a row of tongues await the wafer's touch jec in Knossos too the pillars of the temple tumbled down sprite half man half beast a slave to this desire jrs our summer love plays on the jukebox bittersweet and strange karina back from Iraq he's grown three inches jrs magic mushrooms form a circle softly now the moon jec a toast of cider in the amber dusk sprite composed via email on The Renkujin Palace begun 21/12/03 completed 05/01/04 SLEEPY TIME Max Verhart Betty Kaplan dozed off on the beach the rising tide calls me back to the present yesterday's dreams disappear the morning sun wakes anew sunny day - on the windowsill a yawning cat just listening to the pitter-patter - rainy afternoon furniture heaven - a young couple testing beds snuggled in . . . favorite good night story sleepy time! 2-5 juni 2004 WITH STICKS AND DOGS Sheila Windsor Marlene Mountain wildflower meadow with sticks and dogs they search the long grass the old mossy bridge older tomorrow this morning's morning glory a little deeper purple each dying breath rooted in the land circles of rusting art rain rain and more rain the tortoise comes out yawns goes in no channel on gardening repeated ads and news billions & billions of dollars and counting dubya told it's hundreds sleep pods the price of a nap day after day world sex trade what does the little girl get in return rent boy they don't see his eyes 'weapons of mass destruction' no arms in the armless soldier cnd badge blowing away the dust* a break in the cloud something for the sunflower to look up to reflected in the pond is my image still there dragonfly carrying sky and when you think where it came from around cucumber plants wormy rotting hay grandad's old garden shed only the bindweed to hold it a lizard erodes up the eroding cliff treason falls from a senator's lips those two liars above us all post hutton tony clings to his post malescholarshit includes arkeology manthology masterfragment ** punkchewAshun diss cuss shun blah corruption america israel palestine who's religious now or ever world bank which world yards and yards of tarmac yet the daisy made it through mother nature's gullywash 'my' rocks to her creek christmas the allotment pine dewy draped with spider's silk mist in the valley though 'nothing special' it is grandma's roses black and white the black all faded grey bit by bit the daylily drop-off a god's armageddon the neocons would die to make it happen now*** 2000 in the end it came and went on the horizon in a white hat on a white horse a haiku inspector heavy breather she blows the whistle 1st moon walk celebration i close my mind before i can open my eyes a chimp a child and one too many breaks notes campaign for nuclear disarmament words from 'shetrillogy' ** short for neo-conservatives june 15-21 2004 THE JUDGE ASKS Sheila Windsor Marlene Mountain Cindy Tebo summer rain the judge asks saddam for his mother's name /s dubya's higher father of all dubya's wars /m a bush in bullshit the double 'l' for double lies /c taleban gone burqa on /s the irony berlin wall takes irony root irony israel /m hells bells another catholic church for sale /c not wishing to swear in company he calls his wife a witch /s passed past daylilies worldly testosterone /m h g wells 21st century in the fohg of victory the invisible victims /c sudan sudan sudan is exactly where /m dandelion clock blow by blow what makes men tick /s new savings and loan not one tree saved /c proposal amendment 1 of each = marriage the record straight /m sad eyes saying he's gay /s kitchen clean up between dish towels a leaflet on depression /c roadside emissions the blues of chicory make do /m gothic doorway something half eaten clings to the moon /s 'look don't touch' the pipe organ stalactites /c venus fly trap snaps shut on an indeterminate muffled buzz /s smoke-filled bar the e_it sign missing the x /c bad & good news terrorists about ready then we can believe it /m so many alerts we switch off /s not just a mariner's tale the rogue waves taller and realer than paul bunyan /c* bunched up for a photo-op world males who fuck our earth /m 'sexism and the city' another woman up against the glass ceiling /s wanted by the armed forces america's youth /c which doctors will fax which info to the next doctor who am i /m form after form are you sure you're insured /c the hole in a hepworth frames a child's passing face /s** empty notebook for the red ink of a faded rose /m all the way home a paper crane in the hands of its creator /c 'final demands' the suicide letter /s if i could have said stop just before cicadas brought the heat /m raining harder the heron stays on its rock /c christ 2000 years after christ she's stoned for being /s find a philosophy that's equal /m notes: Rogue waves are giant waves that were once thought to be a mariner's tale but have been verified by satellite images * barbara hepworth/sculptor RED STEER sheila windsor ron moss how shall i bear it this calla lily's beauty lightly cupped when my heart aches with yearning for his love the old dingy splendid in flaky red paint we loved its feel i rowed us into the moon and the dance of phosphorus Salome. . . . the priest's pupils blacken in remembrance of his dream the 'red steer' quietened fire-fighters travel home with their stories he smiles at the sound of rain and takes her in his arms at a window table for one, she shapes characters to walk the corridors of your mind . . against the wall the street-sweeper dreams his shadow, empty . . . the memory of her still gnaws at his chest FIRE AND BRIMSTONE sheila windsor ron moss painting into night moon on moon a wave breaks slipping again into darkness beyond the reach of sunlight creatures only dreamed abandoned drive-in a line of bull ants clog the speaker hyde park corner fire and brimstone mist the air heat wave the cricket spectators clap in paddling pools stony ground the daisy made it fine spices the indian restaurant's warming smell almost christmas saddam helps us out of a hole pot black final blue chalk on his new bow-tie not enough brooms to go round the crucible car crash a trapped man's life in other hands between floors the lift stops . . . outback road a hitchhiker shimmers rainbow bubbles into cloud art class today's colours still in her hair on the tip of his tongue . . . my dragonfly tattoo digging for shells w! et sand in our ears immaculate conception in the bin a mutilated woman* falling down a blind man checks his glasses . . . SONG IN THE GAPS sheila windsor ron moss twilight . . . a blackbird tugs a worm through wet grass rusted weather-cock slips the rising moon a shy glance towards the royal box blushing swan pub closing time terraced houses light up starlings in the roof gutter city graveyard a robin's song in the gaps working lunch seagulls tear at bread between calls A SNAKE SKIN IN THE CANOE sheila windsor cindy tebo karina klesko sunrise through a gap in the morning glory, cat's eyes sw 17 pages missing from dad's journal we take turns filling in the possibilities ct bloody knife black deep into night starfrost swirls his pane, where sunflowers are ochre and he plucked them from the gutter sw up and down stairs of ambiguity petals of a rose unfurling its scent kk mother wears her bra on the outside of her blouse with a big smile she asks my name as I look like the girl in the picture on the wall kk tropical pet shop grand opening the owner's snapshot of a fake palm tree ct last week's fishing report recycled a snake skin in the canoe ct the devil peeps over batman's right shoulder while a beautiful lady winks bedroom curtains sw those dark dreams hanging from his chain decades of skeleton keys I put two shiny quarters in the nickelodeon "Heaven Can Wait" kk



	Submission Procedures Who We Are Deadline for your collaborative poems for the next issue is January 1, 2005	Poems and comments Copyright © Designated Authors 2004. Page Copyright© Jane Reichhold 2004. Table of Contents I would like to know more about Renga.