The Air Above

amusing to consider something i said
thirteen years ago when we first met
in a single cavern of this house
it was not you who agreed to give
could not possibly have been you
the air above places has got to be
right and all, i said

Remembrance

she saw it as nothing
much to remember as long
as she had never felt
a desire to do so before

it was one of her rare
impulses of joy

ours; we were done
stood at one end
in the same darkness
she seemed very quiet

Dreaming

he had not seen why
could not ask even for an explanation
he dreamed about it to repeat it
it keeps things close, he said,
even if they were not
far away, though, before
and, it seems, were more near

A Slow Twist

he's being carried past us.
it is, as a thing, a new way of looking,
a slow twist,
a kind of indignation.
we still feel it, though,
but not as much as before,
this emptiness in the middle.

Solstice

the slow tumble
a phantom embrace
in early summer

Forgetting

we could depend on a sharp glance
a very likely possibility
as she bent to desire. the sun
jumping through a region altered.
she gave a too large smile;
he grunted, glanced at us, worried.
then, we said nothing about it.

Morning Glory

bleak, moonlit autumn
shimmering, dimly seen
girls, again, and going
to the right place
ambiguous, yet
nowhere, blurred
blue peaking high

for Karl Kaltenthaler

Dragon

we were all excited
we would have dodged
fire struck
from her breath
but by the time
we started out
sudden darkness
scapegoats invented

An Elegy of Sorts

Surprised
I have remembered
The passing
Close to the end
It helped
We all knew we were
So large, so low
I have realized

Aftermath

i'm crying in quiet rage
slowed down voice, wearily
i laughed and went back
conveniently forgetting that
we had made it to next door

A Storm

as solid as a stick
you remembered feline cruelty
turned, whistled softly
a cruel hurricane
no pattern
legs, arms, and chest
gotten there only by inches
she shrugged, gently

Garden Party

complex light leaving you to
it to be embarrassed by noise
already in the music
never before music
garden party sound
of life brightening thick
almost as good as jumping out
it seemed the best

The Office

"welcome"
amiable, careful
"up to date"
i didn't listen
"pay attention"
completely out of touch
jabbering at me.
"manager," he said.

At Last

he looked everywhere positively
again frantic his eyes
no luck then you returned
you knew already the hardness
we would lie on the bed
down the middle think of
someone you had heard, seen
quiet for once he tried to watch
your fingers your eyes
could not tear his eyes away

morning came to find us
somewhat delayed but sleepless
tongues hanging out, kissing
at last

Kitchen

hard-board prone on the kitchen floor
immediately your words raised
from inaudible
so quickly i understand at last
having been yourself

honey
again and across and back

Clean Break

warmth of her skin nice, safe
drew closer not too reason
dark leather on soft and pink
laughter, no good
a silence, clean break

daylight now mockery

"Let's Go"

close to his body frustrated desperation
impossible, though, over the curved
slightly raised mound all the way down
fixed, apparently, plains across gold
going down no doubt
she had come, that morning
locked on to her, a shame to end
cheating, it, here

Compared to What

a dreary place the sun
no longer at her back
flat, featureless, could not
see, made for less
strayed too far, cold and wet
no sound, snow and wind
too, the absence liked

The Wine Bar

all the young people: indifferent company
idiot storms: intelligence little
touch and clink face to face
meaningless but, soon,
obscurely disturbing
light, deceptive, friendships
ultimate loneliness versus
suppressed impulses

Black Diamond Detective Agency, Part 3

It was 10:30 by the time I felt sufficiently revived to venture out of the office into the streets. The first place I went was to the bank where I cashed a check for $100. From there I made my way to a barber shop where [a saint with scissors] managed to get me looking somewhat respectable.

The next stop was a Goodwill resale store where I picked out a sort of cliche movie detective outfit: dark suit, tan overcoat, and a battered but not beaten fedora. I was hoping that Curt would get the joke. I returned to the office where I changed into my getup. Things had been going well and showed every sign of continuing that way.

When I called the public library to ask for information about Ramiland, I was connected to a very friendly and helpful librarian who sounded like she'd be a lot of fun when she wasn't being a librarian. She didn't know anything off hand about Ramiland but told me that she could locate some sources for me if I wanted to come by and pick them up. I told her that was fine and told myself not to get too excited about the librarian. She was probably about 70-years-old and most likely had a figure like a baby elephant.

She wasn't and she didn't, I found out when I got over to the library. We had a pretty good time talking and she thought my detective outfit was as amusing as it was supposed to be. We exchanged phone numbers and promised to make it out to a club sometime in the very near future. The only sources she had been able to find were articles in two magazines, which she handed over to me with a wink.

And here, dear reader, my story grinds to an expository halt never to recover, except for this brief passage:

It was around 2:00 when I finished reading The librarian I took the magazines back to was 70-years-old and did have the figure of a baby elephant. She had a pretty voice and I was in a good mood so I flirted with her for a little bit. We didn't exchange phone numbers, though, and I didn't even get a wink.

-30-