Hierophany

1.
I walked from one end of
this city to the other and saw
sidewalk after sidewalk with
Maufrais etched into it.

Maufrais the maker of concrete,
Maufrais the master of sand
and aligning right corners.

2.
Rick from Travis Heights,
Rick of Vietnam and Austin High,
Rick the one-man mowing company,
made of cords, engines, and gasoline.
I said, “Rick, do you know Maufrais?”
He offered me a cigarette but
my bus was on its way.

At home it is late and quiet.
I am not sleeping, just lying here.
I can hear the low rumble of trucks but it
doesn’t bother me, in want of sleep.

3.
I awake the next morning
to the gleeful bleats
of a garage sale across the street.
Timid myself, I send Lenore over.
It’s just a bunch of junk, she says.

We decide to talk about baby names.
I offer one up and she shoots it down.
No, that name is ruined forever, she says.
In her lap is someone’s baby-book.
Mmm-hm-hm-hm! Look at them
in their dresses and their
cute little shoes.

I remember now that it poured
this morning at 4 a.m. but
I missed it, awake enough only
for an instant, only
enough to realize it was raining.

4.
I offer up another one: Maufrais.
She does not reject it outright saying,
I have no doubts about it myself but
I wonder if the Italians would accept it.

All day I drank coffee,
eventually got so high my
hands were shaking and
I had to eat the leftover casserole.

5.
Outside, Rick is lurking.
When he fires up the lawnmower
lines of poetry
gather on my skin,
like beads of sweat.



For more on Maufrais, try this.

by R.L. Wisdom

I am working on a scientific justification for the impossibility of the
existence of heaven using the Laws of Thermodynamics. It's been kicking
around in my head for some time, and I am trying to tease out some good
arguments.

1
A cow walking
big and pitched black,
in his own lane,
so I pass him.
I honk and he moos back.

2
Rains came,
at one point hard.
Opened the window and shouted,
“Hell fucking lo?
It’s a fucking library!?”

3
The navigator gets
a bit too comfortable. As in,
Can I get a little bit more
of your feet in my face?
Your feet and your unshaven legs?
She keeps saying “propound”
and it’s drivin me nuts.

4
At the top of the hour,
radio news says Stevens
is back for ANWR, lest
these twenty-five frozen years…

5
But I’m obliged to object—
everyone governed by the same rules,
no one here entitled to an
up or down vote.

What tattered-looking humans,
scorned by data,
tattooed and walking with
shattered gait and hate
for all around them.

As the bus rolls by,
they raise their
leathered wrists,
shake knotty little fists,
and quibble,
like pigeons pecking at the ground.

I. Ron Wotus

Not real recently but not
too long ago either
I was nice to her I
passed her concerns along...

II. It

It's, ah, it's somethin else, man.
It's almost 4:20 and you
know what that means.
ohmanthisisgoingtomyheadrightnow
Maybe we can get some of this stuff published
call it,

III. What People Are Sayin 'Bout Us

I'm still thinkin it would
work best as a play
we'll figure out an ornate solution
to encircle the pot plant
to keep our feet cold
to always have a lighter nearby,
one with protection from the wind?
and rain-proof rain clothes
borrowed from the Gypsies
makin great art and sellin it
from below Joseph's apartment.

IV. Lefties

Whew...i could use-a-smoke
let's go to the Hawpe—Brad Hawpe

No Jack, the Honda, the Honda
Are we lost?

Tom Martin on for the Rockies.
All you'll see is lefties.
Are you serious?
Yeah, there's tons of 'em up there

V. Luna

yeah, there is
but part of it is hidden, buried
maybe to come out someday—but who knows
the rest I've worked out,
out of me through my art

suicide the reifier
make me famous, cuz
Shawn Camp
Hector Luna

Luna is mine!

The baseball game

Hello? Yeah, so, ah, Rafe came over and we watched some baseball. Eleven to eighteen? No, that was the score, but…you have to say the, ah, the highest score first.


The Loop

No, that’s all right…ha-ha…yeah, I, I like stockpiling those things. What about the Loop? Ohhh…we got completely soaked, so maybe…well, you know, I, I really enjoyed the rain…ah-hah-hah…it was fun. I hadn’t been out running in the rain for awhile…my sandals so I just took ‘em off.


Lenore

Oh, that’s good…yeah…alright…I did not. I did not. Nuh-uh. What did you say? I did not say that, Lenore…I don’t think I said that. I really don’t remember saying that…Hm. Yeah, I was also talkin to Rafe about it today…What’s that?…[laugh]…No, well we got up at seven instead of 6:45…?…see, you don’t even remember it that well. You forgot the time that it happened—a half an hour wrong! You don’t remember any of the details, do you? You just remember Things.

Time is irrelevant? Yeah, it’s not important. So are the words that I used, huh?…[sigh]…Well,…ah, wait (?)…12:42…no…. I was kinda gettin tired [clear throat] and I wanted to, to call you before it was too late, so…I kind of pushed ‘em out…at the same time.…


Chicken Salad

So your house was fine?…Your house was fine?…Is there still stuff in the freezer in that house?…yeah…mm-hm…well, not now…[p-shaw]…gonna make some chicken salad tomorrow…you have class til eight-thirty?…. Alright, I’ll make some chicken salad sandwiches,…and I’ll make I’ll make…I’ll make, ah—you come over here and I’ll make dinner…and, ah, then we’ll go to your house and eat ice cream…you wanna do that?…


Your Apartment

Alright…we just need to, ah, avoid your apartment at all costs…I’m serious…you don’t have th—…well you don’t have to worry about it then if you move…say that, you know, when you wanted to leave you could call me and, ah, you know, have me come and and and get you and tell you if they’re out there…and we wouldn’t have to leave until they were gone, you know, if I, if I, if I just say, ‘Hey, how’s it goin?’ and then just make it clear that you’re gonna move at a consistent rate..well, that’s fine; don’t worry about it; you don’t need to worry about that right now…


The Museum

What are you lookin at in the museum?…one?…I what?…oh…is it cause I called?…hmm…


The books I got Today

…the books I got today, they’re pretty, they’re pretty cool…they…no…they’re not, they’re not fiction. They’re like, ah, ah, [clear throat] reference kind of stuff…do you wanna hear some, ah, _?_, [lighter hitting table]…do you wanna hear some filthy language?…some of it is…_?_…lipstick on his dipstick [laugh to self, nose exhale]…do you want the definition of that?…alright, here, here’s a sentence what it means… “she’s the kind of dame who’d rather put lipstick on your dipstick than kiss”…do you think that’s terrible?…somewhat…disorient someone’s thinking or disturb someone in some way… “don’t you try to mindfuck me, you creep.” Heh-eh…yeah…I didn’t…I didn’t come up with that last one…hah-ah. No, no…lipstick, lipstick/dipstick thing…_?_…yeah, mindfuck…_?_ this car can go like hell, like fuck…_?_…just get me beer and pretzels…_?_…heh-eh…hell-hole, a very hot place, heh, a troublesome place…let me out of this hell-hole I’m burning up…[nose exhale]…
This writing is just sharp…the auditorium was a regular hell-hole, somebody even fainted…that’s a great line…ya know?…shitfit… “If I’m not home on time my father will have a shitfit”…[heh-heh]…I mean, you hear people say that all the time, but…they never mean it…yeah… “have a man by the balls”… “haul ass out of some place”… _?_…_?_…you’ll just have to read through it by yourself…when you _?_…_?_


The Black Book

…yeah…what would …what would you?…No, Lenore…well, what would you find?…have, have you found good stuff?…you don’t know yet?…Lenore? You don’t know? Does that mean no?…Hm…a book even beyond the black book?…a book more secret than the black book?…you think so?…hah-hah-hah-n…hm…you know what you’re looking for, huh?…mm, _?_…but what?…Lenore…Lenore…_?_…ah-hah-uh…are you in bed right now?…no…no…I’m just sitting here; I’m talkin to you…yeah…mm-hm…isn’t it?…


Hamburger for Breakfast

…well…how come you’re getting up at ten, at ten then?…so you’re not gonna get up early?…I hadn’t thought of that…you are thinking of it?…well, what could we do?…hamburgers for breakfast?…come on, have a hamburger for breakfast… Lenore… at—no… okay, at like eleven. At eleven…at eleven…you wanna come over, or do you want me ta come over there?…


The Museum Again

tomorrow…in the morning…is that what you were talkin about?…oh…[nose exhale]…alright, well I’m gonna go_?_…you are?…the museum at 12?…that’s on Friday?…you’re going to the museum again on Friday?…ah-huh…what?…nooo, I was thinkin of something else…[nose exhale]…what?…no , I I was confused. I don’t wanna talk about it…[laugh] …alright… art…8:30…you want me to meet you outside at 8:30?…alright…ok, well I’ll see you then…[hang up]…

I

Pat Corrales used to manage the Indians.
Does anyone run as fast as Wendell Kim?
Slow, quick steps. Manage third so well.
Nose, ear, belt, wipe, waist, knuckle, squat, twirl.
Take, steal, hit, run, bunt. Sacrifice.
Phil Nevin was on the Olympic team.
A sweaty hat belongs on the head of a reliever.
Salt stains a sign of seniority.
Zimmerman should learn from Wetteland.

Here's how you work the run down:
Step, slide, out of the base path.
Show that ball!
I've got the ball right here, you dirty baserunner.
I'm running you back to where you came from.
Pump, fake, toggle, twitch. Jest?
Bluff, bluff, bluff.
I call.
You call? You ain't got nothin'.
Watch this. Step, back. Cleats dig, catch.
The third base coach can't help you now.
Not even Sid Bream sliding into home or Orlando Cabrera
finding a hole is going to make up for your blunder
back and forth. Going somewhere. Going nowhere.
It's like a physics lecture.
What's the difference between displacement and distance?
A rundown gives a lot of one, but very little of the other.
You can run
and run
and run back the other way.
But whaddya get ‘cept a bucket without any rain in it?

He holds the ball up; it is bright and it shines down upon you.
Is it whiter than the shortstop’s eyes?
Don't turn back til you see them.
The infield is like a rotating door.
Step in, Mr. Second Base. Step out, Third.
Now come the pitcher and the backstop.
Here comes the first baseman!!
Batting gloves hang from his back pocket.
Eye black under his eyes pick up bits of dust kicked up
by your own futile spikes.

You are surfing.
Knees bent, arms out straight.
How long is your wingspan?
Someone measure it quick. You need a new suit anyway.
For the job interviews you'll have next week.
Cause you're about to be fired.
You're a professional pinch-runner.
Who can't run the goddamn bases.
You just got picked off second.

If the last out of the game was sleeping,
caught in the glove of the centerfielder,
you would be it.
And my mother taught me...


II

If you were caught in a painting, what would you do?
Let's say that one day you woke up and you were
trapped inside Grant Wood's American Gothic.
The pitchfork painting with the two old people.
Spectacles and hair pulled back in a bun.
Yes that one.
What if you woke up, looked out
your plate glass window and saw
those old fogies sitting in the front yard
with that same blank look in their faces.
Like their joint-bank-account ATM card just got eaten by the machine.
Would you search for the border between canvas and reality?
Where would that border be?
And what if you broke through?
Where would you end up?

What museum houses that painting?
Would you get thrown out of the museum?
Would you get fined for destroying the painting?
Would those two folksters lose that look in their eyes?
The one that they had when they backed over their dog
in the driveway?


III

Up, up, down, down, B,A, select...
Start. Yes. Thirty lives.
I rule.
That’s the secret to the world.
We just don't know it yet.
Wait til the aliens come.
I'll explain it someday.
Til then.
Don’t swing too low to the ground.
Remain on a sturdy branch.
Stay away from brown bananas.
And remember:
I'm the guy who backs into your driveway only to turn around.
I get you all excited because you think someone's stopped by.
But them I'm gone.


IV

If you lost your credit cards and you had only
sixty fuckin bucks
what would you do?
This is how I've spent my money:
Well, I can't remember exactly, but I spent the last ten bucks on Lo Mein and Hunan chicken.
Spicy!
If you ever find yourself wandering,
just ask yourself:
If I had sixty bucks, what would I spend it on?
Girlfriend? Parents? Booze?
A book? A cheap thrill? A monkey suit?
Flippers? Bed sheets? Toenail clippers?
Triple A batteries? Phone service?
A frisbee? A paper? A cab?
A key chain? A rabbit's foot?

Chinese food. I went with that
because I was hungry and I figure
I get free rice, too.


V

How much can you wait until you're the guy who's dressed in the business
suit and then one day you get home from work and your kids are on the Slip
'n' Slide. And then you go on it too. In your business suit!!! I can't
wait. Fuck the pieces of grass that stick to me. Fuck my leather shoes. I
don’t care if I break my glasses or un-mousse my hair. My pants then bust
at the zipper and I can't find my blackberry anywhere. The Bossman's on my
ass and he's hydrophobic to boot. Fuck him, though. I don’t care about my stock portfolio and/or the three-piece bedroom set.


VI

How great of a life is it when there is still LIVE baseball on at 1:08 am.
Andruw Jones. I'm older than you. Only Joe Nuxhall was younger. But you didn't
throw no no-hitter. You didn't get no A in Orgo. But you just hit a three
run dong and I wish I could run along.

Side! And sit gun in your g-ride.
We'd go home
to blue Curacao.
And the latin ladies would love us...

it is not quiet tonight

i creep in on little cat feet
masked by the sound of
blowers in the air

all yards:

watered
mowed
weed-eaten
trimmed
blown clear from here to tangier

*

crack these sticks for me
feed em inta the chipper
shit, it's gettin dark when does
daylight savings time start?
april this year next year march
man, time is fucked up in this country

*

back on the trailer
tie er down
throw the chains over

which one next?
how much gas?
how bout we do one more,
it's only eight-thirty?

no one will care
no one will hear us
they'll all be wasting
their bubbles
away.

mortgage jade alito blog
where’s the f-ing remote?

darts johnny c. waziristan the dollar
no idea how that got there

ahmadinejad bird flu hierophany
fodder for the world’s great supply chain

afternoon coffee drinker bernanke
play some ambient now, so we can chill out

*

antitrust IAEA baseball ERISA
Don’t talk to me talk to Willie Shake.
shake-shake-shake, shake-shake-shake—
ORDER! ORDER!

abramoff al jazeera federalism
When you gonna e-mail me back?

I hear echoes…
…gonna be a lawyer…
…get rid of it…
…other people’s memories…
bin laden zawahiri zarqawi

high note: hit it!

*

Go deeper.

renaissance etf acrylic donny rum rum
That’s news, my friend.

I’m out there workin for a living.
Out where?
make a living
make a difference
make whoopee
careful i'm right here
prime real estate H5N1 78703

Ray calls.
Whatcha doin?
oh, nuthin just
hangin with my plant,
bein an artist,
workin the dark like von plessen

not your scene?
naw, not my scene man
i don’t think you have a scene
i never said i did

Then what are you doing here?

*

She’s comin down now, boys!

swimmin by myself
at a faster tempo
‘cause china will neither confirm
nor deny that
it loves me

fourth down…
…it’s been a bad week for the democrats…
…the canadian dollar is a resource-backed currency…
pipeline blair greenspan the deep blue sea

too much time?
is that possible?

*

hang up and drive
john was here
gate cheney MLK c-span
ray em nick brook

have you ever watched a candle burn?

new york city
one federal reserve note

ok, sir, open the door
i'm done now—
ready to let the wave
pass over me

*

i can’t wait til you get here, baby
i gonna show you the mother of good times

will our eyes be closed
or open?

Those two guys
ran with each other...

my role is
to be myself
your role is
to be yours

they didn't mind
society if
it was trees and
the continental shelf

nature is random
nature is perfect
therefore perfect is random

when my dad died
i got drunk
i had so much
money to spend

no more schlitz for me after that

Life is easier if it's
all one big fucking circus clown joke
with size 47 shoes.

by R.L. Wisdom

A couple of friends and me bought an old boat. It was not in good shape. The boat was faded green, about 15 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide. The seats were recessed a bit, so when sitting your head would be about level with the boat itself. Near where we lived there was a rapid that kayakers used. We wanted to take our new monstrosity out on the rapids and shoot them. We had a friend who had some experience captaining vessels, so we picked him up and drove to the launch.

Once we were all on the boat and in the water, we took off down the river. The boat had no engine, just a rudder attached to a steering wheel. The ride was immediately rough, and I almost threw up. I was sitting starboard, and around the first bend it felt like we were going to smash into the wall of the canyon. We grazed the wall a bit and out of habit I put my arms out to brace myself and maybe to slow the boat from crashing into the rocks. We got the boat under control and things went smoother, though in a few instances I was afraid we might run over a kayaker or two.

At the end of the shoot, we had the ‘captain’ pull alongside the shore under a tree. Me and two friends disembarked. We knew of a secret party that occurred only once-a-year. To get in, you had to be at a certain place within a specific timeframe. The party’s location was other-dimensional. A porthole of sorts opened up and we were transported into the party.

Events and possibilities at this party were boundless. Rooms full of dancing, gyrating masses of people. Areas that resembled pool halls, pubs, ultra-chic hot-spots, etc. were just around the corner, in the next room. Everyone drank copious amounts, without getting too drunk.

I was there for one specific reason: to kill the Queen, the host of the party. The Queen not only controlled the party, the Queen controlled everything, by means of telepathy.

The Queen threw this party every year for the sole purpose of defeating potential vanquishers. Whoever kills the Queen inherits His powers. I had been trying to kill Him for 5ive years. The Queen didn’t mess around though. He had put me in the hospital on three separate occasions.

The challenge presented by the Queen was two-fold: trivial & physical. He starts the challenge by asking questions. Who was the minister of defense under Thatcher? Who was Clinton’s under-secretary of defense? Name the member-states of OPEC. What was the previous capital of South Africa?

If one makes it past the trivialities stage, then the physical battle begins. The Queen wastes no time on those who aren’t worldly and well-rounded. The battle itself isn’t hand-to-hand. On this particular occasion, the Queen started shooting at me with a shotgun. I dodged slugs using my body and my mind.

All the while, the party continued. Nobody watched the battle as it took place. The Queen will not allow anyone to be hurt by errant bullets or flying debris. I had no weapon. After multiple misses, I let him shoot me. I directed the slug into the side of my abdomen, an oblique hit, through and through. The Queen became careless. He thought the challenge was over. He turned His back on me, thinking me defeated. I impaled Him with a shattered pool cue.

Upon crowning Myself, there was no celebration save the massive event already in full swing. I didn’t need a coronation, I now controlled everything. I wanted a drink. Within moments, a friend handed Me a Johnny Black: rocks. Getting a drink was nothing compared to the potential powers I now possessed. I decided to walk onto the dance floor and test the limits of my powers.

The first thing I wanted to do was to get a woman to come up to Me and initiate a conversation. I looked around the room. I didn’t want to try it on someone who was attached. I walked through a few rooms, until I saw an Asian beauty by the bar. She was getting a drink. I passed her and went to the other end. As she passed, she looked at Me and I was able to catch her eye. After a few seconds she paused, then turned around. As she approached Me, she had a look of nervousness about her. She didn’t know what compelled her to come to Me, but she knew only that she couldn’t deny herself. We chatted, but I wasn’t really interested. I had affirmed what I was seeking.

I realized that while I controlled everything sub-consciously, I was not capable of changing events in an instant. If I wanted to hear a particular song, it came on next. Nothing was interrupted; instead, things flowed. Events that took place in other rooms played out on their own. If I sensed anything amiss, I could take corrective measures. If everything was as it should be, I needn’t bother. It was only when things got heady that I would have to take action. Even then, it didn’t siphon the attention I paid to what was going on in front of Me. Omniscience is a hell of a drug. I never did figure out if the people in attendance knew that I was the Queen now or not. It hardly mattered, and I preferred that they not know.

I met up with My friends, who saw My wound and wanted to take Me to the hospital. I told them not to worry. They brought Me a drink. They said that We should get drunk celebrating. I told them I could make that happen. I was the Queen.

There always is, man.
Ev'ry relationship.
Stuff we don't wanna
own up to.

We ain't the marlboro man.

*

That scent in the carpet?
Believe it's urea.
Your rea? my rea?
Mens rea—had none,
asleep when I did it.
Makin me stomach-sick,
like bad barbecue.

Must've been on ambien.

*

There should be a presumption
against furniture:
if we don't use it
it doesn't exist.

Mother, come in and
save me like
a twister.

*

Storm kills twenty-seven,
epicenter Arkansas.

Avenues smattered
with broken trees,
mismatched tables,
and wet couches.

Is this price before tax
or against it?