“To Mnemosyne [the muse of memory], Fumigation from Frankincense. The consort I invoke of Zeus divine; source of the holy, sweetly speaking Mousai nine; free from the oblivion of the fallen mind, by whom the soul with intellect is joined. Reason’s increase and thought to thee belong, all-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong. ‘Tis thine to waken from lethargic rest all thoughts deposited within the breast; and nought neglecting, vigorous to excite the mental eye from dark oblivion’s night. Come, blessed power, thy mystics’ memory wake to holy rites, and Lethe’s (Forgetfulness) fetters break.” –Orphic Hymn 77 to Mnemosyne

WHAT I LOST

a simple of listing
other = para meter
rigor chalks to find
the body is sitting
down open a smile
dog-ear the laugh
hole in your beast
resting in palms
but now work forth
the summer notes

AS IF

you
look softer
she said, as if

"Giant Kouros IV," pinhole photograph, by Nancy Spencer.

NIGHT SHIFT

to move from one vortex to another. note as if objective: light sun struck radio set to soft rocks. in the next set one remembers sprockets, dead things. metals on a tray. stone set to rights. incense of space, becoming larger. laying abed longer drizzle than received, the more light is muted. sleeping on the couch the sitting shapes you. as are chairs lent to the back, strophe to blade. illium. wine or language as penetrative medium. per essere come fumo.

"A Maxim Introduces Itself to Rouchefoucauld": Buzzsaw and the Shavings. (From Tapegerm)
2.5.

It is true that the question 'what are you thinking?' most often elicits a verbal answer, such as 'It's going to rain', or 'I need to buy milk soon', or 'She is very attractive'. But why not, on some occasion, a musical phrase, or even a particular phrasing of a musical phrase? If someone asks me what I was thinking, can I not sometimes truthfully say 'the opening of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto'? Could I not, in response, even whistle that opening, and in a particular way? Note that the former response would not be the same as saying 'I was thinking of the opening of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto'. For of course anything might be an object of thought. But that doesn't make it into an example of thought. No, the Mendelssohn opening is what I was thinking, not what I was thinking of... --- Jerrold Levinson, "Musical Thinking."

WORD PROBLEM

where the value affixes to flowering tips =
wearables summer gifts small tokens revealed =
appreciation in value reconstituted orange =
shells bright sunbursts relevant tongue =
tasteful gasoline ads salgado of the whales =
24 squares of purple excelsior window panes =
language tutti bene friendly servicer =
a focused sexual labtex sound revolver =
with a minimum number of moves move closer =
female mysterioso undefinable something =
internal corset mindset tabs on fatty =
unshaven serials of the volume of crisis =
humorless bunsen burner crying awe love =
a tracker of tears ductile plug registers =
aged blue simplex yearns for moral antics =
+ a collection of perfect ordinance =
but it takes a day to dig twenty holes =

COENOSARC

face
each day
with a coating

layered
for different
weather some thought

collectors
while others
chew strong emotion

POLYP

inventory: so-called emotional content, a safety pin, one earring, cell phone (off). bills torn at the tear-here arrow. methods of disposal. paper clips. little inventions that hold the me together. glass drained of protein-smoothie, underwear to be washed. frayed elastic. imprints on flesh are code for water retention. MLA member benefits me not. for the gums. for a healthy gum life, tiny spiral brushes and filaments. pronouns. you / me / it. i try to find use for them now. it is. it was. tuck into pockets of damage control. a collection of nights and zooxanthellae. shoes never worn. articles of clothing, articles for the sentencing and re-distribution of it. there have been receipts and debits. if there have been other lives inventory them now under imaginative ways to pain. the soft parts seek calyx. this is my vocation. from the crush of the pronoun you. from everyday the news, and the sound of the mower.

When polyps are physically stressed, they contract into the calyx so that virtually no part is exposed above the skeletal platform. This protects the organism from predators and the elements (Barnes, R.D., 1987; Sumich, 1996).

At other times, the polyp extends out of the calyx. The timing and extent to which a polyp extends from its protective skeleton often depends on the time of the day, as well as the species of coral. Most polyps extend themselves furthest when they feed on plankton at night.

In addition to a substantial horizontal component, the polyps of colonial corals are connected laterally to their neighbors by a thin horizontal sheet of tissue called the coenosarc, which covers the limestone between the calyxes. Together, polyps and coenosarc constitute a thin layer of living tissue over the block of limestone they have secreted. Thus, the living colony lies entirely above the skeleton (Barnes, R.S.K. and Hughes, 1999).
http://www.coris.noaa.gov/about/what_are/what_are.html