1. |
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We had a nest
in early spring
chirping voices
every morning.
Bright, silvery
quips would ring
in the air
as we drank
our coffee
and watched the mother
fly to the top
of the red bud tree
worm in her mouth.
Then pause
showing herself
silhouetted
against the sky.
Somewhere
in the tangle
of branches
was the nest.
But on the ground
you found a small one
trimmed by a thin
river of ants.
“Still” you say “there are
a lot of birds.”
And it’s true
spring is still here,
and many trees,
and many nests,
and more birds
to come.
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2. |
He Only Understood Cat
02:09
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He live and died by the same force.
I remember pulling his jaws apart
and freeing the trembling scrub jay.
Then grabbing his nape as if to say “bad”
as I put him inside to punish.
But how could he understand “bad.”
He only understood “wing”
flut - ter- ring in the periphery...
Of his vision, the stimulus
that released his claws
from the sheath of fur.
He only understood “cat”
I found him under a bush:
Mouth open, fangs revealed;
claws curled and the rest
married to the earth.
Free from the jaws of the world that pursued him
Free from the jaws of the world that pursued him
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3. |
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You found an egg blue
small as the tip of your finger
lost, because no mother would take it back.
Fallen from the nest.
touched by your hand still
we set it out on leaves and waited for her to come.
Later you told me how a blue jay swept down
and stood as if a splendid table
had been set out for him.
And feasted on the small blue egg
breaking its shell and drinking deep
the yellow inside.
Foolish I was
if only I had wings to fly up
into the tree and put the egg
back into its nest.
Foolish as well,
for instinct would have tossed it away.
Nature held it’s sway
I fed the blue jay
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4. |
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I notice the web ---
strands of pale
grey string connecting
the blue paper weight to the corner
of the window sill
and another
from the edge of the
bookshelf to the trash can
and wonder
has it been that long?
That these objects - these pieces in
the chess game of our life -
have gone unmoved?
Only now
after months of thinking about something,
about everything else do I notice
do I notice
do I notice
do I notice
do I notice
do I notice the web.
A spider, brown,
with long legs
that reach
and anticipate
the world ahead
climbs down the
side of the vanity
as I sit on the
toilet and watch.
As he climbs up
then down
then around, retracing
his steps several
times as if possessed
by indecision or
preoccupied
I wonder if there’s a world for him
that grows with webs while he
is not noticing
or if, as the spinner of webs
he can know nothing
he can know nothing
he can know nothing
he can know
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5. |
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YOU’RE CURLED
IN THE PALM OF MY HAND
SO LIGHT
I CAN’T SENSE THE WEIGHT OF YOU
YELLOW AND BLACK
YOU FLY BY FAST
SO QUICKLY PAST
ONCE I OVERTURNED YOUR HIVE
AND I FELT THE STING
YELLOW AND BLACK
YOU FLY BY FAST
SO QUICKLY PAST
YOUR WING CATCHES IN THE BREEZE
I SEE YOU MOVE IN THE CORNER OF MY EYE
AFRAID TO HOLD YOU IN MY HAND
AS IF YOU WERE STILL ALIVE
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6. |
Wings as Wide as the Sun
02:19
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HE STOOD ON THE TOP OF THE RED BUD TREE
HE STOOD AS TALL AS MY KNEE
CLAWS CURLED ‘ROUND THE BARE BRANCHES
HOLDING STEADY WHILE THE CAT BIRDS FLED
DIAMOND CHEST
PIERCING EYE
LOOMING LARGE
IN THE SKY
FATHER BRINGS HIS SON TO SEE
THE GREAT HAWK STANDING IN THE TREE
COMING CLOSER THAN HE SHOULD
CLAWS ‘LL TEAR THE FLESH IF THEY COULD
DIAMOND CHEST
PIERCING EYE
LOOMING LARGE
IN THE SKY
THERE IS POWER IN HIS STILLNESS
STILL MY CITY’S A WILDERNESS
A SPIRIT DESCENDS TO OUR HOME
THE GREAT HAWK LANDS...
WINGS AS WIDE AS THE SUN
WINGS AS WIDE AS THE SUN
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7. |
Squash
02:33
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SUN’S UP
YELLOW
FLOWER
SPREADS WIDE
DEEP THROAT
BEE CLIMBS
ONTO THE STAMIN
WALKING IN HEAVEN
KNEE DEEP IN POLLEN
HIS LEGS ARE RUBBIN’
BOW BOO DEE BOO DEE BOW
ANOTHER
SWOOPS IN
ALMOST COLLIDES
THERE’S NOT
ROOM FOR MORE
QUICKLY HE EXITS
IN A MONTH
I WILL HAVE
IN A MONTH
I WILL HAVE
IN A MONTH
I WILL HAVE
SQUASH
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8. |
My Kingdom
02:42
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MY KINGDOM
THE ANTS WHO PARADE OUT OF THE GROUND
TO AVOID BEING DROWNED
BY THE WATERFALL
FROM A GARDEN HOSE
TORTOISES BATHING RESTLESSLY
IN MUDDY WATER EXPONENTIALLY
THEIR HUNGER INCREASING
WITH THE HEAT OF THE DAY
OF THE DAY
ELLA BLACK CAT
EYES PURE GREEN
LINGERS IN THE SHADE
OF THE APPLE TREE
WHILE I CROUCH DOWN
BENT OVER LIKE A CENTURY
TO RETRIEVE EACH PIECE OF FRUIT
BRUISED OR BITTEN
TASTED OR NOT
INSIDE A DRUMMER
MAKES A BEAT WITH HIS HANDS
WHILE HIS FEET PLAY GUITAR
FISH STOCK COOKS ON THE STOVE
AND JENNY THE ELDERLY
WHITE CAT METHODICALLY
LICKS EACH LIMB AND
TONGUES EACH PAW
AND I HAVEN’T EVEN MENTIONED
THE TOMATOES
OR THE CARROTS
OR THE POTATOES
OR THE MAGGOTS
OR THE FLIES
OR THE RACOONS
OR THE BEES
OR THE, OR THE
OR THE, OR THE
MY KINGDOM
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9. |
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ELLA BEAN
WITH EYES OF GREEN
WHERE SHE GOES
CANNOT BE SEEN
BUT SHE’LL RETURN
THE BOWL OF CREAM
DISTURB YOUR DEEPEST DREAM
ME-OW SHE SAYS THROUGH THE CRACK IN THE DOOR
ME-OW SHADOW PACES ACROSS THE FLOOR
ELLA BEAN IS LAZY NOT SPOILED
SHE’LL EAT THE KIBBLE FOR WHICH YOU’VE TOILED
BUT SHE CAN CATCH A BIRD JUST LIKE THE REST
PATIENTLY SHE’LL WAIT BENEATH THE NEST
AND GRAB A WING
ONE SWAT OF PAW
FANGS TO FOLLOW
QUICK TO DRAW
ONE LESS SONGBIRD
WITHIN THE DIN
ONE MORE TROPHY TO BRING IN
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10. |
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I HEAR YOU
CRACKLING LEAVES
FRIGHTENED FEET
SCURRYING
THROUGH THE DARK
AH
YOU RETREAT
UP INTO THE BRANCHES
OF THE TREE
POSSUM
POINTED
FURLESS FACE
LONG THIN TAIL
WHO WOULD PET YOU
I WOULD BET YOU
NEVER COULD BE A PET WHO
CLIMB MY STAIRS
EAT FOOD FROM A BOWL
NEVER DARE
TO BE TOUCHED BY A HUMAN
YOU RETREAT INTO THE SHADOW ASHAMED
OR ARE YOU TERRIFIED OF THE TALL, THIN MONSTER WHO
CALLS YOUR NAME
CALLS YOUR NAME
CALLS YOUR NAME
POSSUM
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11. |
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Part one:
I WAS LOOKING DOWN
AND I SENSED YOU
IN THE PERIPHERY
AND I DARED TO LOOK UP
AND I SAW YOU
SHIMMERING
WINGS MOVE IMPOSSIBLY FAST
BEAK LONG THIN & MOTIONLESS
BODY GREEN THEN BLUE THE GREEN AGAIN
UNDULATING LIKE THE SEA
I’M CORRALED BY NEON
PIXILATED RAINBOWS
A DOWNLOADED WILDERNESS
I WAS LOOKING DOWN
AND I SENSED YOU
IN THE PERIPHERY
AND I DARED TO LOOK UP
AND I SAW YOU
SHIMMERING
ABOVE YOUR CHEST
A BURST OF RED
SMALL AS THE TIP OF MY THUMB
SHINES AS BRIGHT AS THE SUN
ABOVE YOUR CHEST
A BURST OF RED
SMALL AS THE TIP OF MY THUMB
SHINES AS BRIGHT AS
BRIGHT AS THE SUN
BRIGHT AS THE SUN
BRIGHT AS THE SUN
BRIGHT AS THE SUN
Part two:
We
we put
we put a feeder up
so we could watch
a week goes by amidst the stand of bamboo I see one fluttering then a few days later
just 2 feet from the feeder one hovers then darts away
“He,
he sees,
he sees us”
my husband says
What must the hummingbird see but a boat bound to land that lights up at night
and beings tall, thin and grey who move
slowly
always
putting round containers over constant blue flames
what must the hummingbird see?
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12. |
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SHE SITS
SLOWLY
EXTENDS A PAW
AS IF TO TOUCH
REVEALS HER CLAWS
NEEDLE TIP
RAZOR SHARP
SCIMITARS
SLICE A LIP
BUT WITH HER NEXT BREATH
HER PAW RETREATS
BECOMES FUR AGAIN
STOLE OF MINK
HER GLANCE MEETS MINE
QUIET DIVINE
SPHINX
SPHINX
SPHINX
SLOWY SHE SITS
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13. |
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dig my fingers into the cool cake
watch the crumb break
apart
revealing small white worms
long pink ones too
writhing like a cat
corkscrewing on bare earth
my skin craves soil
doo doo doo doo doo doo
if only I could sprout roots
continue delicately
doo doo doo
fingers and toes turning into
finest threads
my skin craves soil
but my callused feet
were meant to walk upon this crust
my hands were made to dig
and to sculpt
one day when my breath is gone
I will become the earth
and another hand will know me
and another hand will know me
and another hand will know me
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14. |
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I stand
next to
the kitchen sink
warm water pours
over achin’
fingers
linger
smooth flow
rinsin’
plates ‘n cups
slowly when a movement
catches my eye
‘n wakes me from my reverie.
I see them, two
perhaps it’s
the squirrels
claws scratching bark
as they
descend
sounds like
water rushing
through rocks
my eye settles on two
feathers brown ‘n gray
mimicin’ the bark of the tree.
Surveying from their post
up on the tall pine,
they turn
revealing
white tufted feathers
all along their chest
and their eyes
one at time
one on each side.
With a fierce focus
they gather up the world,
one eye at a time,
one eye on each side.
I run
to the
office
fetch my
binoculars
stumble up the
tree like
Mr Magoo
unable to
focus
everythings too close
they’ve gone
and lept from limb
and taken to the air
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15. |
Slug
02:35
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They chew holes
round but imperfect
they eat in circle
On my window screen
a silver path meanders
like a river
On my porch they cling
to the cool stucco
sometimes I throw
them into the street
hungry, soft shell, watch them, melt
I found a small one
hidden on the coffee bar
I’d taken out to the yard
When I came inside
and washed the tray
felt the small gray
kernel move slowly
saw the tiny horns
and even tinier mouth...
Then I opened the porch door
set the slug on the railing
hoping it could figure out how
to crawl away
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16. |
I Know it's Morning
02:24
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I know
it’s morning
by the sound
one chirp
then another
not bright
but deeply throated
five come
then five more
I lie in bed
feel the pulse of
time
between each
utterance
they’re not
the same
the meter of her song
alludes me
she’s calling the sun
speaking to the one
still in the nest
deep within the giant bamboo
she calls me
shakes the feather
of a dream
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17. |
Squirrel on the Roof
04:11
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18. |
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To thin
requires me to be up close
to kneel down
and let go my eyes
And try to separate
on thin green sprout
from it’s neighbor
my fingers so think
that I succeed only
When my eye comes
from within
to touch each stem
with the bone of finger tip
Then my inner eye
reads this close terrain
as a snail might
how I achieve this
I cannot say
But later
when each
surviving sprout
has space
to grow
we’ll have
carrots
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Garretson & Gorodetsky Los Angeles, California
Fronted by vocalist Weba Garretson and guitarist Ralph Gorodetsky, this band features 3 part vocal harmony, hard swinging grooves, funky beats and gorgeous orchestral moments all woven into your standard three chord song. The five piece is enhanced by woodwind and harp maestro Vince Meghrouni, and propelled by the grooving rhythm section of bassist Laura Grissom and drummer Brian Christopherson. ... more
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