24 July 2015

ghosts

in sorting thru & dealing with both treasures & detritus of a long life I'm awash in the craziest of happy/sad feelings.

not long after posting a picture of things that haven't survived whole the mail came. first I opend an envelope which I'd sent to Josh Ronsen as part of my piece "Mathchless." he turnd the envelope over & re-addressd it to me.  & inside was the matchbook from a restaurant in Key West which I maild.  he wrote a little story on it.  it felt odd to have it back -- but lovely in that it has also become a separate work.

then I opend a larger padded envelope.  in it was a long letter from Mike Busam explaining the back stories for the 2 pieces he included. one is a publishd work calld "Universe" which comes from Mike's participation in International Pwoermd Writing Month.  it's witty & wise.

but Mike also sent along a copy of his new poem "Passing Glances (Hamilton, Ohio)."
it's a collation of 7 viewings of mostly musicians in his hometown between 2003 & this month.  but are they? the portraits cd be actual celebrity sightings. or they cd be people that the poet saw who remind him of celebrities. 

here is one of the segments:

Seen from Lane Library
reading room through windows
opposite fire place decorated
with Rookwood Pottery tiles bearded
Thelonious Monk
under trilby
inside long coat
navigating ice treacherous sidewalk
in front of Monkey Mutual
Aid Society 304 N 3rd St
Pauses to wave at passing car
Continues 

precise language. vivid images. perfect line breaks.

o yes. & something else.  the poem is dedicated to me. I can't tell you how much that means.

so on a day which began by walking to the gym & ended with another mass shooting I felt connectd to who I am & was.  I felt that maybe some of what I've put out into the world has resonated with someone.

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