Word marinade

He took the word
& left it overnight
in a marinade. Soy,
grated ginger, a
thin-sliced bird’s-eye
chili that he’d picked
from the garden just
that morning. Made

no difference to the
meaning, to the re-
sonations; but, oh
boy, did the kitchen
stink & produce a
steady flow of words.

an earlier letter

 

Artifactual

Simple solid things
though subject to

the season. Meso-
lithic. Accidental fire.

A line from Alain Delon

I am learning the ropes of a new 
role. I am not sure I want to join, 
but persuade myself it's time to 
escape the empty chatter that fills 

most lives. I am somewhat uncer-
tain that it is wise to do so, still
believe that, in the main, we're all 
loners, to differing degrees, that

close friends will always be hard 
to find & maintain relationships
with. YouTube videos paint a world 
without conflict, where we thrive 

from connection, are certain that 
we matter. The kind of solitude 
that I desire is born from a disparity 
between my personal ability & my 

creative vision. I intend to avoid 
talking about current events: what 
would you like to talk about? I'm 
ready. Grief demands to be felt.

R.I.P.

The Color Purple

Children grow. Up &
away. Distance themselves
& then declare their
independence. Fight
their own wars, ignore
their parents. The life
goes out of us. A
little left, enough to draw
the scavengers. Alexander
came & Tyre fell; & 
later on the Greeks, 
rats gnawing away 
at what was left. Now 
the cedars have all
been cut down, & with 
their passing went the
shipwrights & furniture-
makers. Only the dyers
remain, letting the molluscs
rot to get the color
from which we get our 
name. Phoinis. We are 
the purple people. To dye 
a single toga takes 
ten thousand shellfish. At 
that rate don’t expect 
them to be around 
much longer either.

Badiou’s Bad IOU Blues

                    aka A line from Alain Badiou
The word as notion. Love is.
Don't the moon look lonesome 
shining through the trees? Who
does Badiou owe? Why does he 

wish to pay them back? Noun as
an oddment, the minimal form of
communism. 33 words unscram-
bled from the letters in NOTION.

Sent for you yesterday & here you 
come today. What is the reason 
for his ill will & when did it come 
about? Evil is the interruption of 

a truth. Can it be comprehended 
through listening &/or reading?
How will he achieve his desires?
What use user avatar or wiki user?

wednesday newstrip

During his visit to Indonesia, the Pope may have subtly hinted how sin can enter 'through the pocket' · investor who risked it all on Black Myth: Wukong now minting millions · Putain, with a wry smile, says Russia backs Kamala Harris in US election · Hollywood legend Michael Keaton is going back to using his real name, Michael Keaton Douglas · China to build first-ever thorium molten salt nuclear power station in Gobi Desert · Aotearoa New Zealand's next Māori monarch named as Kiingi Tuheitia is buried, placed beside generations of family · Japan may join US marines in northern Australia, strengthening military ties · thousands of Australians are being asked to pay membership fees to general practitioner (GP) clinics to access bulk-billed medical care.

Why I became a painter

Only if they
could also sing 

were rhythm 
guitarists part 

of the bands
of the sixties.

wednesday newstrip

“The growth of Parkinson’s across the world has been called a pandemic — it’s the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative disease,” a visiting neurologist tells a crowd of potato farmers. “Many people are under the misunderstanding that it’s a genetic condition. But for the most part, it appears to be mostly environmental.” · Australia's 3G network is shutting down · Surcharges — which cost Australians about $960 million a year, according to a March analysis of Reserve Bank of Australia data by the ABC — are becoming increasingly common across Australia. Some retailers add them to cover the cost of processing a transaction. Surcharges are banned in the United States, Canada, Europe, & Britain · neighbor of nudist resort couple arrested after duo's disappearance · The Pacific Islands Forum has removed references to Taiwan from a communiqué issued on Friday after the region’s annual leaders meeting, after complaints by China’s envoy · Army confirms T.®ump staff 'pushed' Arlington cemetery worker · New Zealand's Māori King Tuheitia dies at 69 after heart surgery.

An introduction; though when finished will be an afterword.

During my trawling through past posts & pages for 100 Titles From Tom Beckett, I rediscovered a January 2013 entry on Tom’s l’amour fou blog. He posted:

Anyway, in a section of Appearances that I'm working on now I list titles of imaginary songs that appear on an imaginary jukebox in an imaginary bar called the Cave, a very special club house for the legendary performance art group Vaudeville without Organs.

A jukebox is a treasure trove of information about the sort of establishment it exists within. Herewith a list, alphabetically sorted, of a few of the song titles in the Cave’s jukebox,

followed by a list of a list of sixteen titles, & a closing message:

Mark, you're welcome to any of these titles if you're looking for some.

I can’t claim not to have seen this post since, in the comments box, is the following:

(from) mark young January 2, 2013 at 2:52 AM
You been a peepin at my wurlitzer again!

Jukeboxes are a shared pleasure. On my side, I’ve lost track of how many times — posts & poems — I’ve referred to those songs that rise unbidden to the surface of what I call my juxebox of the mind. In what is admittedly a very belated response, I’ve begun pushing the buttons on this refound Wurlitzer to see what wonders we can wring from it.

Starting tomorrow, the first poem in the series. The remainder will follow at irregular intervals.