I Am the Pristine

I am the pristine
and fruitful
you say god made me and was happy
today he and i sat watching the sunrise

and told each other of our families

he sat in a woven-plastic folding chair

which his skin stuck to

and i fashioned my seat

from a swirling of my twig fingers

and a kiss of river water

North

find a blink to sit

and adore with me the magic just beyond our cabin

draped in white cotton god cloths

from these ancient pines

they cherish the secrets the wind is telling them

you can tell

from the way they sway when they're spoken to

Letter to the Future. VIII - Your History of War

11 July 2010


Your History of War

To Future,
I don't know which stories from the current Iraq war will look at you from your history books.  I hope, beyond anything else, that two messages are afforded you by the historians of your time.  Firstly, I hope that someone tells you the story of the people living, patrolling, defending and invading the neighborhoods where the bombs dropped, where manipulated intelligence meant dead loved ones, meant food insecurity, meant multiple tours, meant a more deeply hated America and a more fortified al Qaeda. 

Letter to the Future. IX - Caught in the Rain

29 July 2010


Caught in the Rain

To Future,
I am standing in the south notch of horsetooth mountain as the first droplets fall from an approaching lightning storm.  Man must explore; protect this wilderness.

Gale

June 2011


The other night I was called off of work early because we were doing so few covers. In traversing the downtown mall I was looking for a spot to sit in the early evening sun, have a beer, and read my book (field notes from a catastrophe). I ended up plopping down at an outdoor patio belonging to the Sheraton Hote bar. I sipped my bourbon and read my book. An hour passed or so and I was ready to leave. While I was seated however an older black woman with hair the color of slate and pepper had been sitting across from me, trying with the cocktailer to get her drink just right. Finally chardonnay and sprite proved to be the most satisfying.

Kleios

I want to take you to a chamber
deep beneath a palace
where the walls' bricks and the soil outside them
take on a certain sameness

it is a room in which you never want to find yourself
on account of all the selves that have been lost there