Preoccupied

There are views like this all over the north end of town.  This one happens to be up the street.

And, Hey baby...Let's hear it for Jason, who's one of the 45 Ruth Lilly Fellowship Finalists.  Considering he's pretty awesome, I'm betting he'll best the 1/9 odds.  He had a pretty wonderful poem in a recent NER...in fact, you can even read it online.  

A poem by Wendell Berry:

In This World

The hill pasture, an open place among the trees,

tilts into the valley.  The clovers and tall grasses

are in bloom.  Along the foot of the hill

dark floodwater moves down the river.

The sun sets.  Ahead of nightfall the birds sing.

I have climbed up to water the horses

and now sit and rest, high on the hillside,

letting the day gather and pass.  Below me

cattle graze out across the wide fields of the bottomlands,

slow and preoccupied as stars.  In this world

men are making plans, wearing themselves out,

spending their lives, in order to kill each other.  

****

Around the neighborhood

I've been doing a lot of wandering around, building a map of the town in my head, and taking note of some of the interesting landmarks.  Here's one:

A little hut on the sidewalk, with a bunch of little trinkets inside.  Very adorable.  Looking at it, I immediately felt at home, considering my new apt isn't much bigger than that hollowed out stump.  

Meanwhile, got some good news from Anti- today.  More on that when it comes.

There're a couple of pretty great commercial-free stations, WSKG and WICB,  to listen to while sitting on the porch:

That's the story. 

How're you doing where you're at?

Last thing: 

I was in one of the used book stores, and found an Iowa Review from 2003.  Had a poem of Ada Limón's.  You can find it in her first book, lucky wreck.  

The Lessing Table

The dinner table was too small

and that was obvious.

We had to buy smaller forks,

smaller chairs, stop talking.

You took the saltshakers

off, I decided I'd only make

soft foods so we wouldn't have

to use knives anymore.

It kept on shrinking for days,

the butter taking over the dinner

plates, the green beans looking

longer and mean,

until it was just a thin slip

passed between us, a note

on blue-lined binder paper

in number two pencil:

Make the train wheels lock.

Make the mobile stop.

Do something, do something.

Arrived

...and I could have sworn, on the way somewhere before Elmira on the 86, I saw Eduardo Corral on a Harley with oddly low-cut boots.   Really.

On The Road...again.

No longer a resident of the midwest.  A few years ago I was "out west" and hearing people who had never left San Diego saying "back east."  Is it an "east-coast thing" to consider anything beyond Ohio to be "out west" or does it come from something deeper in our collective geographic perceptions?  I don't know the answer, but I'm pretty sure that a year ago I never thought I'd live in New York again.  

File that among the thoughts while driving the MG for 8 hours.  Got about 6 more today.  

Peace be with you, Urbana.

Good morning, Ithaca....

If You Haven't Heard...

Adam Clay's got a new chapbook out on Cannibal, As Complete as a Thought Can Be.  These things usually move quickly, and considering Clay's tendency to err on the side of awesome, all the more reason to get that order in.

Did you see his stuff in 9L?  

The Summer Drink Endorsement

Myer's Rum and Ginger Ale.  Maybe a lime wedge, if you'd like.

Any dark rum will do.  

If you remember it, enjoy.

For the Stuntmen.

Closer and Closer

Where'd the morning go?  Before I even made coffee, I found myself reading a submitted essay for BOR.  It's a goody.  I think you'll dig.

The sky is clear and the aloe on my window sill has come back to life.  Haven't started in to the serious packing yet, but it's coming.  Can almost hear the sound of a packing tape gun now.  

Here's a little Blake for your funky soul:

Ah Sunflower

Ah Sunflower! weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the Sun,

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the traveller's journey is done;

Where the Youth pined away with desire,

And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow, 

Arise from their graves and aspire,

Where my Sunflower wishes to go.  

After Lightening All Night

Morning!

Adam Clay's up at Verse Daily.  Take it in, along with his freshly-painted house.

Just back from spending a weekend in Madison.  Nice place. I neglected to get a cheese hat.  Or any cheese for that matter.  I did, however, watch the ol' Disney Robin Hood, and it holds up, for sure.  Also got to see the latest work by Micah, of White Picket Fences-fame.  

We also had a good talk about intention and art-making.  Maybe he'll jot some things down and send it to BOR.  

Reb was posting about it, and you can find her, Jennifer Knox, and others in the latest Spooky Boyfriend.  

Meanwhile, I'm heading out of town sooner rather than later.  Of course, I move every year or so, but this time it's "back east."  The Vespa project is on hold until I get to the new place.  More on that as it comes.  Stay tuned for the move.  The shake.

Happy 4th

Motor oil can help your lawn! Check it all out!

The planet's good.

Summer Chill

Have you checked out the downloads page at SGM?  They've reformatted it all.  If you dig back far enough, you can get mixes from 2000!  I recommend Chris Cutz's Down Beat Soul Vol. 1.  

There's also a grip of free music over with Max Xiantu.  If you get in touch with him, he might send you a peach in the mail....

I've hit all these  beat-junkies up for Critical Prose for Barn Owl Review.  Have you thought about sending anything over?