Hellhound Bay

I'll tell you a thing
    a thing to be told
rodent like hellhound
    more fiendish more bold

one moment twere serpent
    an 'terpsichore t'other
any shape it could wear
    as sister to brother

o doubt not you cynic
    each word that I utter
never sandwich so thick
    or spread so with butter

the like never hunted
    not as hungry for prey
as savage in mien
    nor kraken nor ray

oh that bestial spawn
    from dregs o the deep
they say he were born
    without mother to weep

ferocity incarnate
    at ravening prey
parastichopus    hydromedusa
    outviciousing they

o fear ye at midnight
    o fear ye at noon
neither garlic nor crosstalk
    will ward you from harm

take heed of my warning
    bend ear    mind your act
stay clear of the saltchuck
    at walpurgisnacht


for hallowe'en mmx

true blues

Let's not sing the blues      mister
      i got 'nough hurt
spilled to lose
      no kind o moody song
kin take me that place
      where sadness don't belong
how in hell can i bear
      that caterwailin guitar
of down-n-dismal romance
      sure had my share
long time this guy larnin
      what double-dealin do
yore heartache caint cure
      wretched at night
hate mornin too

better move right along
      this feller digs the score
that blues hauling old freight
      no use t feel sore
what's gone's gone
      keep head on straight
if she's right woman
      no matter what's next
wisen up      you kin wait


laurie ashton dec mmi

sense out of sensibility

Tut     promise you     love
    never did peremptory utterance
so get left ad hoc to chance
i'd tell you first
    what occurs by slow or urgent degrees
as we dabble or plunge
    in shallows or deeps
thus rehearsed by petty daily drama met
should rule through neglect of rule

trust in faith can't offer trust
    nor constancy without equivocation

upon each mutual occasion
    foregoing what is yet to be owed
as with avowal greater gathered
    this then and now whenever
mishap by no means misled
    continuity aptly prevails
each to each engaged in together-meant

heart so beats     breath so swells
    upon matters that tacit matter

oh tis tizzy admits malice
    soothly restored for affirmative
fondest affection     tender regard     caring touch
    earthier than precepts of importunate imperative love
determination more ready to equable concern
    by mere fantastic sentiments unmoved

tis t'woosomeness
    un-put-able tongue-wise     other than ...

... companionate elucidation


sept 29th mmx

Before we were wed

Before we were wed
    how often we'd said
love lasts and no foolin'
    we've written the ruling

alas    how come    why
    you 'n i made time fly
too soon and we split:
    never mind and that's it

alas    howcome    why
    time flies to th' limit
twain t' two gone by
    before we can tame it

exposure to wind
    and exposure to weather
blows off yr headdress
    'n sprightly tail feather

epode to life (singing ,,,

oh i looked it over
    happy over
still it's over for a long long time

mcmlxxx__

to laughter insubstantial

You don't have to be ilka moor baht hat
    or doolahlitap
to dig th' infra
    simply touched
when you encounter number's outcome
    death's door
dearth of plenty     dower of none

cheer up    says sparrow
    layin' down bow-n-arrow
cue tip to review

likelihood's where we're at
    certainty - trust in bonce's sponsorship
gone for a burton

trees in breeze     mare's tails in sky
    supply verity to you and i
anticipating rain or clarity
    consulting obedience    habit's tie

on measure    we stake our lot
    crossroads of heart's dilemma
passion a-sighin an' a-sobbin
    topknot counts us out
guts in denial
    as evermore invites us in

suzerain transcendence     sacreblah
    dig the infra
doff thinking capstone
    feel how and what and is
source of up and does and wrests worth

egyptian goddess nut overarching sky
    twin of world-god geb
pictured bending from horizon to horizon
    in touching embrace poised
primitive vision    shattered as visions must
    until beyondwherewithal    manumitted from human whatness

my    oh my    unbounded unmindful at last
    singing paean as visions slip away
until what is not is not

mmix

Whatever you may call it

Whatever you may call it
    sun stands still on its head
before it turns into new orbit
    make of that what you will
call it winter solstice    romans did
    sacrifice or sanctify with observance
kiss under mistletoe or paint town red
    'taint hope or dread affects outcome
why'd we let sun's axis tax us
    summoning luck or gods' boon
hence moonface or sunny demeanour
    in expectation of new year:
may generous health your days attend
    with firm friends and love held dear


mmx

Untitled

My sleep    i tell     be still
    because it dream of thee
nervous as leonina melibe
    that slips from here to there
by no one shape possessed

o tell me    heart
    that be i sore or sad
more in head than in thee

though tis dream i dream
    dreamless addressing thee
thy potent afflatus
    as if some demented lodgment
penetrates my brain

yes even mottled vagary
    of fashion or motion
forgotten as soon as seen
    art thou in my subcranial
notices    albeit more unreal
    than illusive self i tend

oh yes    what you demand
    in my most demented dreams     i fend

oct, mmix

after reading Thomas Campion his verses
when ill and medicated, my awakening turn to pen

Manifesto or Rant in Deep Gaze Delving

Part 1

Oh kindred by birth and death related
    on teeming earth dwellling
commerce of pulsating organs
    through cellular intelligence impregnated
origin infinitude
    coming from and going to
tissues importunate with growth
    who lustful live and dissolute die
deprived of wants that fail through vicissitude
    misadventure of this fickle cycle
oh community of indeterminate animation
    born to accident and challenged with loss
what could recompense injury more apt than relief
    or compassion restrain intemperate demands
mind by inspiration more than ambition
    accedes to conscience' better eye

oh community of kinds at odds about ends
    from means obtained how known
except some antic universal cause
    with wisdom from past lore elicited
attend to beginnings how led
    in what purposive directions
community with concern for fellowship in common
    variously inclined to unique identity apart
whose insights preserved by ritual and practice
    though skilfully employed with attainments incredible in scope
none consider a priori right to hierarchical supremacy
    except vain attitude of one self-indulgent species
that would cite imperative authority for distinct unfellowship


Part 2

oh human kin new-born to wonder
    with delight and curiosity ennobled
body and mind in accord
    rudely aroused to consciousness
giving tongue in elemental protest
    by need informed and by habit conditioned
sufficiently quick of self commanding
    to prove original independence
whether as ready to oblige as defy

oh spirit of animation by what cost
    of nature natural with instinct imbued
sooner or late conforming to species' interest
    determined by adapting to curcumstance
how taught how inclined from ingenuity informed
    external ground from internal experience differentiating
until what's known through sensible perception
    surrenders to thought's conceptual validity
immediacy distanced by objectivity from abstract truth
    i self-consciously felt as me
that other self    falling short of ideality
    uniform perfection    state of ultimate virtue
thwarting companionship with teeming earth
    disowned in favour of superior image
conceit of human ego    rogue arrogance
    even vassals' due denied
oracular epitaph so inscribed:
    ah weal and woe kinship's loss
    homage and fealty disdained

finis

mmix

To Love

For young to learn
    or apprise by falling
in    and out:
    'to love'    verb
wordworthy adjective
    for poets' courtly
conduct and conduit between
    where selves get subsumed

love: to dote
    falls short on staying power
misses mark    butt of cupid's shaft
    might as well go sky-larking
as vaunt the quill
    or mope the turtle-dove

tis comminution of vocabulary
    before love divine'
s versatile synthesis of
    pointing out and recognizing
what's in common and differs

how rare to find
    this coming to mind's twain
arriving arriving arriving at
    matched experiences
above expectation
    thus contemplated    and let be let be
let be

mmix

after reading poems on love by elizabeth b. browning

Does my mother need an ornament

Does my mother need an ornament

for she was no angel halo-sent

besides, her heart was stone-cold

after my father went

was he her immaterial precedent?

mcmlxxx