(Prelude)

Out

of a cloud emerging from

nothing

a hand w/ a cup.   The

grove

of alder springs up from nowhere in one season

& fast before my eyes

the Stuck

river

gets

a

new twist this

bend by alder    and downed oak  by  round stones.

 

Slaughter

is a daily immersion

the dog knows.   Milky white glacial

rumble of wet from Tahoma & the men

of experience keep their four swords down safe from

August

thunder.  Lightening crinkles the sky

above    w/ a flash set against

the August gray.   The rumble competes w/ the

roaring of the

river   & the dog barks   & the ringing in my ears.

 

3:35AM - 8.06.03

 

Letter Six – An Animal Enchanted

(After Chiboku & Ingo)

 

The August Slaughter ritual includes the

running Stuck     this mutilated

stream emerging from glaciers

is a miracle

cool on summer feet and dog paws @ sunset.

 

The music non-stop    a roar irrepressible   round

pebbles

underfoot guide our way to snagtop under thunder.

 

Now I am real       near where the trucks won’t get.

I birth myself &

become an animal enchanted.

A

tiny spider hangs from the dog’s muzzle but no

bug survives the shake to dry dripping fur.

 

w/

a rumble August becomes violent     a

touch

of white crinkles the summer sky

my

body under the oak tree

I sit & watch dead blades of grass dance when hit by raindrops. Thunderbolts

shatter the August calm to the Midwest boys’ delight.

All I need’s a dry seat to watch the

worlds’ show.

 

3:50AM - 8.06.03

Starter phrases taken from Japanese Death Poems

from poems by Chiboku (page 148)

& Ingo (page 103)