Dr. Howl
The moving men just finishedThere are two of them, two guys, along with a truckThey’re dancing in the front cabinand filling it up with vape smoke and laughinghotboxing at 3pm, done with their shift
One of my neighbors is leavingbut I didn’t see who it was There’s a beagle next door that I call Dr. HowlThe good doctor documents his agony When his walker walks off to workhe yooowls to absurd lengthcaterwauls until no one can stand it
We all struggled with his lonelinessThose of us living within a 200-foot radius, that isOn some mornings it would go on for hours. He’d clock in early then go back to bedonly to wake up again around 9amto resume his fit at an even greater volume
I saw the Doctor Howl in his apartment’s side window sometimesWe’d make eye contact while I locked my front doorI loved seeing him in his window frame, looking at meHe single-handedly ruined my sleeping patternsand I’d give him some more time, I’d give him a treat, if I saw him
Now the truck and the two guys are goneThere’s a large empty space where it wasI haven’t heard a howl all daynow to think of itI wonder where that sad boy is
I hope he’s running in a big open spacemiles away from any other propertybarking and huffing and squallingthe doctor in his countryside residence, at peace
― Karl Malone, Friday, 7 January 2022 21:00 (two years ago) link
That's great
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Saturday, 8 January 2022 11:21 (two years ago) link
thank you dog latin! what is very strange is that when i finished that yesterday, i posted a video clip of me reading it, and almost the instant i hit send, i heard Dr. Howl going again and was assured that he's still around. I even saw him in the window looking back at me when i went outside later. it was really nice :)
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 8 January 2022 16:54 (two years ago) link
the nice thing is that the poem stands up completely on its own, unaffected by those later facts
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Saturday, 8 January 2022 17:05 (two years ago) link
thank you aimless! you all should post some that you're working on, if you want. i've revised all the ones i posted above, quite a bit in cases, but i think it's sometimes a nice thing to have a place to post work in progress. i'm working on a decent one right now, i think. i really enjoy using my mornings to write poetry. it fits in really well with the rest of my day and it makes me feel very productive. i've never really organized my writing before, but i think maybe part of that was that i assumed i would be best at doing it at night, which is when my creative outlets are usually sparking. but with writing, i think i am a morning/coffee person. anyway, just rambling, back to the notes :)
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 8 January 2022 17:58 (two years ago) link
and no joke, just as i post, the same two guys and the moving truck just showed up! i think they're moving someone else in? looool. well, i'm sitting here at the same window, on the same couch. unbelievable
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 8 January 2022 18:02 (two years ago) link
The silence of a new apartmentWaving to the one you left behind and closing the doorcrying and knees and hands touching the floorDo I want to be remindedNo, but I wouldn’t want to forget
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 8 January 2022 18:34 (two years ago) link
one more, sorry. this is the one i've been working on the last few days
Mary Lou Retton Skips
Look at him, skipping ropeHe skipped up and down the full length of his block’s sidewalkwithout a single slip or halt, not a moment of hesitationIf anything he seems to be craving a mistakeNot at all like Mary Lou Retton, you remember a nation held its breath, it was the 1984 Olympicsthe sprint to the vault pushes those watching to the edges of their seatsshe launches, flips, soars, and of course sticks the landingShe demanded perfection of herself in a life full of limitsNow she’s waiting to see what the judge’ would thinkThen we saw the score and she heard it and said Yes!and we all said it together, Ten!, watching on our analog televisionsMoments like that certainly capture my attention. One hundred percent of it, the career-defining performanceThe tip of a spear dipping ever so slightly into transcendenceThat’s the boy who effortlessly skips, in the moment, in this moment,at the top of his game, when life seems so easyHis kid sister walks behind him and watches and smilesnow she’s spinning and he’s romping down the block again
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 8 January 2022 19:45 (two years ago) link
(sorry, that's supposed to go into this:)
I don’t want to be disenchanted, as I sometimes amAs we all are bound to be, lost at sea in the knowledge economyI try to push back against that drift because I enjoy being enchantedIn fact, it means pretty much everything to meWhen it feels like magic I don’t know what I sawI know what it felt like, I don’t know it allI know every spell gets broken, I know where I belongEvery day can’t be like this and this might not happen againThat’s why I hold onto this feeling tightly for as long as I canwhen I can find it, when I can hear my voice and change it
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 8 January 2022 19:48 (two years ago) link
(and then figuring out if i want to include this or work it into something else i've been working on. it contains many baseball references, which i'm sure will be wonderful for some and horrible for others, haha):
When the bus dropped me off, as a kid, I had a ritualI would take off my bag and begin the great spinWielding my backpack like an Decathlon competitor holds a hammerFeeling the slack of the Jansport bag’s thin straps tighteningGaining momentumA trapper keeper slammed up against polyester liningThen I’d whip my book bag off into the air as far as I could possibly throw itOften with a grand arc, as a performanceAs the bus pulled off with some kids laughing from the windowsthe school day was done, the home was still home
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 8 January 2022 19:58 (two years ago) link
i changed the name to Skip to my Lou, and the last part is now part of something else. also revised a lot of things, after reading it out loud a few times and hearing where things needed to be
Skip to my Lou
Look at that kid, skipping ropeHe skipped up and down the full length of this block’s sidewalkwithout a single misstep, no miscues, no reservations If anything he seemed to be craving a mistakeOne to break the winning streak so he could move on to something else
Not at all like Mary Lou Retton, you remember a nation held its breath, it’s the 1984 OlympicsHer sprint to the vault pushes those watching to the edges of their seatsshe launches, flips, soars, and of course sticks the landingShe demanded perfection of herself in a world of limitsNow it all comes down to what the judges should thinkShe walks past the NBC cameras and we seethe pressure of theater on the brink of the rinkno one blinks, I think, no one breathesThen we saw the score and she heard it and said Yes!and we all shouted the number together, Ten!the announcer, the audienceeveryone at home watching on our analog televisions
Moments like that certainly capture my attention. One hundred percent of it, the career-defining performanceThe tip of a spear dipping ever so slightly into transcendenceThat’s the boy who skips, seemingly, without effortin the moment, in this momentat the top of his game, when life seems so easyHis kid sister walks behind him and watches and smilesnow she’s spinning and he’s romping down the block againHis streak is still goingHe can’t retire while he’s still on top becausehe hasn’t worked a jobI hope he doesn’t have to for as long as he can
I don’t want to be disenchanted, as I sometimes amAs we are all bound to be, lost at sea in the knowledge economy or whatever it is that we call thisI try to push back against that kind of heavy drift because I enjoy being enchantedIn fact, it means everything to meWhen I feel magical I don’t know what I sawI know what it felt like, I don’t know it allI know every spell gets broken, I know where I don’t belongI know most days aren’t like this That’s why I hold onto this feeling so tightly for as long as I canwhen I think about my voice and who is changing it
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 00:32 (two years ago) link
god, things can never be done.
last stanza now starts like this:
I don’t want to be disenchanted, as I sometimes amAs we’re all bound to be, emptied into the seain the knowledge economy or whatever it is that we call thisevery droplet of water makes its own slow way to the ocean
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 00:34 (two years ago) link
That Dr Howl one is pure late Bukowski, not a bad thing, I love late Bukowski.
Is this thread really for "works in progress"? Cus your standard and workrate is intimidating, and personally my brain doesn't work between October and like March or summat, so when I had a Big Day opening mail/taking a walk/reading the bible I wrote this down in full awareness I will not be fixing the meter and such until the sun hits my corpse:
I love my auntie's handwritingIt is genuinely illegible, butIt swoops and it soarsLong curves, that (to me)Illustrate: birds in flightMessi shots at goaland paths never tookOn walks in the forestIN THE HILLS
Turf HillScare HillBoy's HillBurnieshag, GaerlieThese are high points in my life(geddit?never mind...)
BellhangieShoolbraidBogton (fucken BOGTON)These are apparently individual "woods"But really(come bosie up and I'll tell you a secret):It's actually all one big forest(also my life is one big forest)
But my auntie's handwriting was NOT ALWAYS THIS WAYI knowBecause of my grandfather's bibleHis wife put it in my hands when he died, andInsideI found a slip of paperNo more than like 3/4 inch squareWith a verse from LukeBland, rote, capital lettersI would have never known who wrote itIf it wasn't signedHilary White
I just wanted to get for my own records before I forgot 1) my Auntie's baffling handwriting 2) The names I googled of where I was walking, I thought it was just "up the forestry", turns out I traversed multitudes 3) the tiny piece of paper I found in the Bible.
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Sunday, 9 January 2022 02:38 (two years ago) link
Oh also when I woke up today I found this written "chase yirsel son, finish up your compendium of left-handed bassists", I AM COMPILING NO SUCH COMPENDIUM so my only guess is that is meant for song lyrics or poetry
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Sunday, 9 January 2022 02:43 (two years ago) link
wearing a t-shirt says "emo-adjacent", that's also a scribbling I need to put in something
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Sunday, 9 January 2022 02:56 (two years ago) link
i really enjoyed reading that! "also my life is one big forest" is something i will remember, hahaha
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 16:58 (two years ago) link
as far as workrate goes, i'm in a weird temporary thing right now for the next year or two where i don't have a job and i spend my time doing whatever the fuck i want, all the time. it's incredibly self-indulgent and i've only getting to do it by obliterating every dollar i've ever put in any location
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 17:02 (two years ago) link
for example, i have a list of TO DOs that are getting more urgent - your payments are failing, your prescription is ending, your insurance hasn't started, etc. but instead i'm going to spend the rest of this morning drinking my coffee and working on my baseball poem, because fuck you only live once
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 17:03 (two years ago) link
also j h m i appreciate your use of capital letters and you sense of parenthetics (in this thread it is ok and good to make up words)
gonna do a quick test to see if this works, using the formatting...
Jonah was tossed overboard and Jesus walked upon a sea of expectations and Kurt Vonnegut’s reminding me so it goes, it’s overflowing, the need for emptiness to continue on as your body craves activity blood vessels carrying oxygen and nutrients
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 17:55 (two years ago) link
A Dead Armed Pitcher is Not Yet a Man
The path of a pitched baseball can be curv or sl ing urv ing tnarrow or a l lcutt n ing or k u arc's ckl the f ing bends a the wind l lslid ing or drop p ing like a sick stomach having just reached the top of a rollercoaster ride that screams like a rocket until the bottom falls out of it and comes to the most sudden stop
Instead of throwing the ball like any of thatI throw it right down the middleas hard as I canMy ass is handed to me in front of an audience
I grunt when I throw because they asked me tobecause if I don’t they’ll ask why I didn’tbecause they thought it would add a couple miles per hourto my cartoonishly slow and extremely hittable deliveriesThe other kid grunts back as he slaps a loud smack The crowd roars because our team is away and they are safe at homeWe’re 13 years old, I suckedI got roughed up on the usualbut our team had no reliable bullpenso they left me in to soak up the remaining inningsuntil the 10-run rule arrived, the rule of mercy
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 18:55 (two years ago) link
Pool
Movies on black and white tvs in barroomsFred Astaire smiles and a man plays a fluteI was watching him dance in a musical on mute
When a coquette with a curly qsticks three quarters into a table which removesa stop inside of it and prompts sixteen balls to click together as they roll down a slope to her waiting hands
If I’ve seen it twenty times here, I’ll see it againbut I’ve never anything resembling thisshe takes the 6 ball and puts it in one coat pocketthe 4 ball is flipped up in the air as the 9 ball is touching the floor and now it seems like everyone’s staring at her
Cue ball in her left hand, 8 ball in her rightthe green felt under the hanging billiard lighttinted with oranges and yellows and grime
She wound up like a pitcher in the bottom of the 9thlike an old-timey pitcher with the long-winded wind-upWe all saw where she was aiming and where this was going
He started running toward the door when she finally launched itwhere his body had been only a second beforethe mirror exploded and the shattered glass scattered quickas his shadow was seen down the corridorShe grabbed the coat he left behind and walked outsidewith a flick of a cigarette
Later that night as the owner cleaned up and grumbled about the cost of pool ball replacementsthere was something that caught my eyea clear view to the sky, ripped through the ceilingthe size of a cue ball, when did she make that happenwhat else does she make happeni’ll take a manhattanshe paid less than a dollar to make things plainthat’s a good deal in most centuries
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 9 January 2022 22:44 (two years ago) link
You lads <3
― Urbandn hope all ye who enter here (dog latin), Sunday, 9 January 2022 23:32 (two years ago) link
Oh you're "on the spectrum"?We're all on the "spectrum" that's what makes it a spectrumBut some of us use it as a synonymFor "I Act The Dick On The Internet"
Some of us get pennies threwed at our headIn those horrific high school corridorsBut (bosie up, I'll give you a callback)You can feed your family off the subsequent coins
No, we don't use that termIt's ugly, pointed, dismal and tawdryDon't listen to me, a Doctor will tell youBut that doesn't appear on your 5 year plan
It's like Peel saidon first play of New PuritanIF YOU THINK IT'S ABOUT YOU... IT'S ABOUT YOULet's just go back to bed
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Monday, 10 January 2022 01:14 (two years ago) link
6 years into my 5 year plan, and I'm not where I said I'd beSo I live my life in Comic Sans, a forced attempt at levity
3 years on this sofa and still haven't got no sleepBut I live my life in Papyrus, cus I'm ~mystical and deep~
Had my eyes closed when you wrote that note, but I took a sneaky peekTry to live my life in Futura, up to date and somewhat sleek
So next time you need to move your shit just give me a shoutI'm whatever font but Sans Serif, nae fucking about
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Monday, 10 January 2022 01:35 (two years ago) link
Sorry, that one is pretty bad, closer to a party game than a poem, but this is a safe space, right?
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Monday, 10 January 2022 01:37 (two years ago) link
I wrote a poem about my REDACTED but then it seemed too TW-ish to post so I replaced every use of the word REDACTED with REDACTED and now it seems creepily sexual? But in a humorous way so here yis go:
There is no honour in this townBut there are a lot of REDACTEDmostly plastic, yellow and blackhow can I respect you with that toy in your hand?
My REDACTED was my father's REDACTEDMaybe his father's REDACTED before? I dunno, we don't speakThe REDACTED is my father now
Stanley 99E, for whatever that's worthOne side half decayed, but then increasingly shinyAt the top end, rubbed by my fingersAs I grasp it in my pocket
The other side, only the tip is burnishedWhere my thumb residesThe knife hides secretly as I listen to your tiresome anecdoteWaiting for the bigoted punchline
My brother visited my motherWhipped out his REDACTED, to prove he's a big manI just stood back, smirkedKnowing I had the superior REDACTED
And when I sleep tonightI shall hold the cat against my chestBut the REDACTED will be in reachJust in case
It resides on the other side of the bedVacant, except for the REDACTEDBut the REDACTED's presence reassures meBecause I live in REDACTEDTOWN
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Monday, 10 January 2022 03:03 (two years ago) link
Fuck I missed one
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Monday, 10 January 2022 03:05 (two years ago) link
Better:
The other side, only the tip is burnishedWhere my thumb residesThe REDACTED hides secretly as I listen to your tiresome anecdoteWaiting for the bigoted punchline
My brother visited my motherWhipped out his REDACTED, to prove he's a big manI just stood back, smirkedKnowing I had the superior REDACTEDAnd when I sleep tonightI shall hold the cat against my chestBut the REDACTED will be in reachJust in case
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Monday, 10 January 2022 03:07 (two years ago) link
And that time somehow I deleted a verse break, but I'm not pasting it thirdwise
― Aberdeen Thugs Kiss All Visiting Fans (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Monday, 10 January 2022 03:09 (two years ago) link
I’m out of milk, out of butter, and eggsBut I don’t think I’ll be headed to the supermarket todayI‘ve eaten and smoked, I’m partly dressedI haven’t washed the dishes yetI’ll be broke soon if I can’t sell somethingand I just broke another french pressit fell with a cracking splash into the sinkas I closed a kitchen cabinetMy pointy elbows poked it off the ledgeI’ve been making a lot of clumsy accidentsand it all started after I started wearing glassesnow I have three plastic plungers and zero carafes
― Karl Malone, Friday, 14 January 2022 17:05 (two years ago) link
Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (371 of them)Can someone tell Batman why not?!?Reply to: pers-164487✧✧✧@craigsl✧✧✧.o✧✧Date: 2006-05-25, 8:25AM EDTcan someone tell Batman why not?!?Why he can't luv Batgurl? Why can't he luv Batgurl? What's wrong with luving Batgurl?Thanks! kisst plus kisses for Batgurl* this is in or around manhattan* yes -- it's ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests164487171
can someone tell Batman why not?!?
Why he can't luv Batgurl? Why can't he luv Batgurl? What's wrong with luving Batgurl?
Thanks! kisst plus kisses for Batgurl
* this is in or around manhattan* yes -- it's ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
164487171
― The 25 Best Songs Ever Ranked In Order (Deflatormouse), Monday, 17 January 2022 02:09 (two years ago) link
There was a quiet family in a crooked landand a series of bad hands which came to surround themThey lived within a kind of bewildermentbut thought they were outside of itOne day the heavy fog fell on their porch at dusk
They were watching the oranges and bluesand noting the range of lavender hues on viewbut mostly they were listeningto cicada waves piling up on each other picking up the patterns in their rhythms andgetting their whole story and then somethe decayed phrases phasing and fading in and outpapering over the seams of the loopso there are no beginnings andno endings
only an old dog’s tail which keeps wagging every which way smelling like wet grass shavingsCome and get it while it’s still hotA person that never really wasTheir family lives on the corner of a blockYou might find near the end of the bookas a form of epiloguewhen the rising tension has been resolvedwhen the plot no longer thickensThey see their friends and warmly thank themIt’s as cold as the dickens out there, isn’t itI guess some things never change, do theyThese are the ones we come home tothe ones who have been missing usThat’s the story we like to tell ourselvesnot how it really was
The quiet part has been said quite loudlyCan we roll the credits now?Can we hear an old favorite in a new arrangement?We know something’s wrongbut we don’t have the same explanation for itbut do we have to have the same explanation?I remember when we didDo we at least agree that the sun has gone downNobody says anythingWe could all use a breather
When we step outside the shadows are detachedfrom the objects they used to representthey fill the valleys with a sense of dreadand grow strongest where there is no light at allI think they’re leading us to the bottom of a welland I’m strangely compelled to go along with their planto put a lid on me to be covered up and let it sink inthat I don’t have the faintest sense of what I’m dealing withthe window is closingPurple and black and darker still until the chill of my breath is the only thing that’s movingSomething small to take full account of
I’ll speak to you in the morningthe rustling wind under your door, whisperingthat something inevitable is approaching
― Karl Malone, Friday, 21 January 2022 05:16 (two years ago) link
King’s Highway
I saw a dog at a bus stopbut she wasn’t waiting and neither was anyone elseshe ran through the repair shop’s lotand everyone was moving away or staringShe worked her way a bit down the blockAnd was soon back in the traffic all the tires squeaked but no one honkedshe weaved through the cars likewater through a sieve andwound up west of the King’s Highway
I watched all of this in horror from the driver’s seat of my car from the very center of the same King’s Highwaytraffic rushing toward me from the left and away from the righttrapped from all sides in a left hand turn lane, waiting, having to wait, how long could it stay greenshe was running out in front of my wheels
some of the cars began to come to a stopI looked for anyone who was running toward the dogand found someone holding a leashher hands were in the air, frozen like me it seemed
The dog was back out in the streettire squeaks and still no honkingI put on my right-turn signaland felt the seat belt sting against my neckas my right hand gripped the passenger headrest
like thin rice noodles squeezing through a colanderI couldn’t believe I made it through the moving automobile lines and off of it to a taco bell parking spotand immediately leapt out of my car like a fool who still remembers to lock the door with aremote key while scanning the periphery
I ran down the street to the person with the leashAre you the ownerYes, her name’s NalaWhich way did she goI knew the answer before she answeredI saw itNala had turned off the King’s Highway down an alley
My black jacket made rapid plastic swishing noisesI was wearing gray mesh allbirds shoeswith gray pants and a gray shirtmy hair was lavender and yellow and orange and brownI’m a complete mess, I know itI took off, completely
She was looking at me, she kept looking back at mewhile still barreling down the alleyI turned the corner and ran like the T-1000that I used to be, for about a minuteprobably closer to thirty secondsit was a longer sprint then I can remembersince the pandemicBC AD BCE CEbefore and afterwhen meeting people was easyNala was on a leash and now we can’t find herbut I’m on her tracks, the only one with the sensor
I couldn’t catch my breath, I was pantingI went over the fence and through the back gatethere are no woodsthe alley was grass, then dirt, then concreteNala stands at a pass and looks both waysShe instinctively manuevers t-bones at top speed
Somehow I’m at the main street, the person holding the leash says to me, Her name’s NalaI’m EmmaShe won’t come to meShe knows we’re putting her awayA postal worker overhears usand is filled with disgustWe are one of the obstacles in her dayand I see the leashholder’s face is filled with bruised spotsEmma, she’s laughing and her eyes are emptyNala’s running toward the trainyardI keep chasing
the same landscape, again and againthe gas station, the restaurant, the intersectionthe tire change chain, the telephone lines hanging overthe cars, everywhere cars, starting the carsstarting the story in a car, gradually exiting a careveryone else is in a car, or otherwise waiting for somethingThis is a Thursday afternoon, this is a thousand placesthis is a hero with a thousand facessitting in a car
I almost caught herI was out of breathshe was down the blockabout 200 feet off and I calledNala! Nala, please! The same words from before but with a different texturenow I was down and Nala was the young pupmore than ready to run for another hourNala, please, Nalaand she came to me with her leash dragging on the ground behind herI could see the whites of her eyesin the prime of her prime of her primeand no discipline she came within 5 feet and I jumped the gunwith no discipline, I missed
I reached for the leash but it was beyond my capabilitiesand I saw it disappear down another alleythere was a girl watching and she askedis that your dog?and i said it’s not my pooch but I’m helpingand felt so silly and I sprinted again, off
I never did find herI was eight blocks away from my carI walked back. to my car. the car, the car.
I ordered 2 cheesy bean burritosI was out of breath andforgot to wear my maskand the man at the window hated meI thinkI never found her, I ran out of breath
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 29 January 2022 23:32 (two years ago) link
The street is cold the dawn is gray my heart says no but my head says stay
― calstars, Saturday, 29 January 2022 23:45 (two years ago) link
What a mess.What a horrible mess.
The rest of it, shortly to follow.
Where to begin?
The ending started as a walkwith talk of the “immediate future”.
It started in the garden of Eden.Adam dreamed of an Eveand was relieved of some of his burdens.He needed help and they felt no shame.
Dead end street.
The people in the steeple are dying to meetthe one-winged angel with mangy hair and sores on his feetto be blinded, to be brought to their kneesonce and then twice again.
Dead end street.Dead end street.
People are dying here on Dead End Street.
Here is the rest:
It’s a mess and we’re out of time.An archeologist digging through our wreckmight be disappointed with what they find.
They won’t find these wordslong since windsweptthe way we werethe way you arecannot be capturedI wonder what I have leftand when to leave
I am starting to believe in some thingsthat didn’t make much sense before
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 3 February 2022 01:23 (two years ago) link
I love your poems Ztbd
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 3 February 2022 01:44 (two years ago) link
that's nice of you to say, thank you! still working on that one a bit, but mainly hoping the kinks don't sue me :-o
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 3 February 2022 01:58 (two years ago) link
also the occurrence of my life being "a mess" is starting to spike, this is alarming! shit
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 3 February 2022 02:00 (two years ago) link
King's Highway and Skip to my Lou are the highlights for me
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 3 February 2022 02:29 (two years ago) link
king's highway is a true story! it happened just the other day. it was simultaneously the most intense exercise i've had in several years and a very, very sad experience. i couldn't really capture any of it. the saddest part was the end, when the dog darted down a sidepath and through someone's backyard yet again, and i knew i was giving up. she had done this maybe 5-7 times already, in the past 20 minutes of chasing, and each time i would run down the street, up the alleys and behind the backyards, and somehow i'd catch a glimpse of her running off somewhere else, always 100 feet away, and i'd kept going. but this time i was just out of breath, and also i had run into the owner one more time and she was a walking drug casualty, just laughing off her dog sprinting through heavy traffic and near accidents and some weirdass stranger running all through the neighborhood after her, asking "did any of you see an off leash dog?" and getting absolutely ZERO answers from anyone, from a dozen different people, just nothing
― Karl Malone, Thursday, 3 February 2022 14:27 (two years ago) link
My uncles are overly mouthyThey have no idea just what is comingMy and my brother just sit and smirkWe both know fine well
My uncles aren't really my unclesthey're like my cousins, once removed? twice removed?Don't get me wrong, they're really fine fellowsJust no brains in their heads
My brother takes me outsideWants to smoke a CIGAR with meOh ok, but this makes me dizzyI prefer heroin
Back inside, plaster on a smile(I'd made a visit to my room, there was heroin)Those same uncles still in my faceThey don't know about the coming flood
And then two years passThe flood came, I live on the hillMy uncles live in the valleyDon't know what came of them
― The Speak Of The Mearns (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Saturday, 5 February 2022 13:12 (two years ago) link
Actually I need to replace that line "they don't know about the coming flood", I'd rather leave the flood unmentioned until it actually arrives, ken? Otherwise I'm happy with what I just wrote right now
― The Speak Of The Mearns (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Saturday, 5 February 2022 13:18 (two years ago) link
"they don't know about the heroin" I suppose is the relevant substitute
― The Speak Of The Mearns (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Saturday, 5 February 2022 13:32 (two years ago) link
I went back to my roomStumbled once, hit my knee on the sinkNot a big deal, let's get back to itSome conversation about football
^^insert that in there
― The Speak Of The Mearns (Jonathan Hellion Mumble), Saturday, 5 February 2022 13:36 (two years ago) link
haha, i like these uncles! these dumb butts talking about football, taking over your space
― Karl Malone, Saturday, 5 February 2022 17:15 (two years ago) link
Reconciliation
We’re sitting in your garage, this eveningwith the wide door open and it’s 46 degreestwo lawn chairs and two hot teaspeppermint of the Bigelow with no caffeine
It’s been 9 months since I talked to youIt’s been 10 and a half since he died andIt’s been 12 months since he went to the hospital
My neighbor is of the same beliefShe feels sorry for meshe says the vaccine causes mass infertility
Last week I scraped the ice off her car, my neighbor’s carIt took about half an hourand I felt like a good sonor a good someone who managed to do a good somethingI thought I used to do a good something everydayNow I write a poem to commemorate
We poured dog-friendly salt on the stairs to the streetShe has a job caretaking for the elderlyand has your same first name and is of the same agebut in other ways she is nothing like youShe’s an artist with her own studioShe prays the rosary
Am I allowed near Avalonif I don’t want to be If I don’t know how to laughat a joke like thatWhen I’m still talking and no one’s listeningexcept myself, and barely at that
Yet I think I’m the only voice of reasonin this situationThe one who knew to stay insideThe one who knew it would get so badtwo weeks earlier than most people didhere comes the jeremiad
…No, this time I don’t think I’ll share thatnot this time, I still want you to laughand I don’t want you to get caught upin the long tail unreasonable stuffthat the bulk of us seem to be stuck i
― snarl self own (Karl Malone), Saturday, 12 February 2022 02:59 (two years ago) link
n
― snarl self own (Karl Malone), Saturday, 12 February 2022 03:01 (two years ago) link
I heard a speedboat caught a wave and hoppedright over a dockIt started in the oceanIt landed in the baySomeone was underneath the boat when it happenedI’ve never seen anything quite like that, they saidIt flew right over my headThey were dry and he was soaking wet
I heard this same boat sped straight through the inletluckily the beachgoers took notice and fledas the lifeguard took a video from the lookout perchthe back of an 18-wheeler opened upand extended a ramp out into the waterthe ship accepted the lifttwin mechanical amphibiansthe boat slid up into the big rig which took off with a pop and a shower of smoke
I heard a firetruck showed up in the aftermathand as the crowd was dispersing some drunk man saidWhat are they gonna do, put out the ocean?!and no one laughed or made eye contactso this guy yelled it again, and his voice cracked -Are they gonna put out the wa-ter?the captive audience cringed and dispersed at greater distancesand a little kid kept asking Wait, what happened?
― snarl self own (Karl Malone), Saturday, 12 February 2022 21:06 (two years ago) link
i am trying to be less longwinded
― snarl self own (Karl Malone), Saturday, 12 February 2022 21:07 (two years ago) link
changed middle to
I heard this same boat sped straight through the inletluckily the beachgoers took notice and fledas the lifeguard took a video from their lookout perchthe back of an 18-wheeler opened upand extended a long metal rampthe ship met the lift and skipped from water to landmechanical amphibiansthe boat slid up into the big rig which then took off with a shower of gross smoke
― snarl self own (Karl Malone), Saturday, 12 February 2022 21:17 (two years ago) link
oh, i feel very lucky to get to know a zine/poem/art/music crew recently. they make a zine where anyone can contribute, so i submitted something recently and usually read a few things out loud every month or two. i get to play new music for that same crowd too, and have joined a couple new bands, shows coming up, etc. it does make a world of a difference to know that when you're working on something new, there are people to share it with soon afterward. i haven't really had that outlet for a really long time so i'm holding onto it for dear life now :)
― it's a new day in the international landscape (z_tbd), Saturday, 15 April 2023 18:50 (one year ago) link
nice!!
― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 17 April 2023 14:07 (one year ago) link
my limo arrives with blown out back windowscovered by plastic and spattered by raindriven by a man in a santa hatwhose beard is black and patchy with gray
when the wheels stop spinning I step right into a coniferous interior with Christmas tree scentwhere thick vines grow in place of seat beltsand soft pine needles thread lines of indigo
his grin is crooked, his sunglasses tintedthe dusty dashboard is scorched and bent ina disco ball jumps when the light turns greenand the bumper sticker on the crumpled trunk reads
may we meet again
― it's a new day in the international landscape (z_tbd), Thursday, 20 April 2023 16:37 (eleven months ago) link
we were flies in a beehivecarried by transparent wings flickeringand unheard in the swarm’s buzz stormlooking for an exit to the building
we were drawn into the mysteryby its qualities of ambiguity
these leaves aren’t deadthey found the ground and leaptaround toward new homeson fallen trees along the riverbed
those were the dayswhen we cared lessabout lost sleep becauseour dreams were frequent and vividand the wakeful life loved and lived in
― z_tbd, Tuesday, 25 April 2023 23:34 (eleven months ago) link
i see. the ac exhaust pushing the leavesmy broken toe walk tilting heavilyworking down the shallow slope like a slow drifting toward the deepend of the pool past the last black stripesundulating on the surface of the waterbut still at the bottom, the lower the pressure
from here you can see the sun risenow I’m on a pleasant streaki may never go to sleep again
― z_tbd, Thursday, 27 April 2023 18:47 (eleven months ago) link
pay what you can for a diyelectro show in a basement
the upside-down singer bitdown on the mic and offerednoise stabs from their abdomenear plugs absorbed some of itwhat did pass through was too trueto be heard in quiet roomsbut struck a chord in mosh pits
the smoke machine shook and pushedwaves of silver tipped clouds at usthe bruise-kneed crowd wanted moreheavy chains to whip at feetstanding still along the wallboozy lips and rose-kissed cheekswant for water, thirst for sweat
― z_tbd, Sunday, 7 May 2023 21:10 (eleven months ago) link
a horseshoe hangs over the front doora traffic light over the restrooma barrel with a checker boardsits in front of the fireplace
on mother’s day at cracker barrel the parking lot is completely fullbrowsers crowd the old country storeand behold the forty dollar snow globe
our eyes scan the decorthe new menu features boozy drinksthird verse same as the firstchicken fried chickenearly online check-inchicken fried chicken
it’s 11 am, the server has three starsshe asks about cream and sugaras we play tabletop solitaireI leave three pegs behind and i’m just plain dumbhashbrown casserole for the breakfast side
home is where
the propane gas grillstill has the price tags onstring dangles from stainless steel handles by a freshly cut lawn
roasted bell peppers flakingon the cooking island station
chromium plating control knobsporcelain enamel wire cooking gratesmade to complement any outdoor spacethe backyard, garden, or terracethe balcony or the courtyard
― z_tbd, Monday, 15 May 2023 21:37 (eleven months ago) link
the lights in my homeare bluetoothed to a phonesometimes i move to turn them onbut minutes pass in darknessand notifications keep me aloneas i do chores in bluish tonesfrom my sofa
the checklists fall into my bottomless pitthat’s not at all like the world we touchmore like the interior invisible thick
i switch my lights to redand the effect to candle flickerdimmed to thirty percentthe insides of my lids are feda prehistoric ambience
― z_tbd, Sunday, 21 May 2023 20:55 (ten months ago) link
i never write poetry but had a thought today at work....
If I was a record,you might notice some fraying at the corners,minor ring wear, andlight surface scratches.
There might be a small splitat the center of my spine,some spindle marks on the labels,or foxing to the back panel.
I still play fine,with mile surface noise, but groove wear is becoming audibleat the end of each side.
― ian, Thursday, 25 May 2023 19:30 (ten months ago) link
"mild". but okay
must be that country magic when a twist makes blinds open and the trees swaylike great masts tilting against sea waveslimbs and trunks alike bend with the windwith flapping leaves of flickering sequins
― z_tbd, Sunday, 4 June 2023 19:27 (ten months ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/JSWLpdF.jpg
we want to playwe’d rather not be aparti don’t want to leave, i saybut it’s not my yard
it’s yours, wet nose pressed against the windowsoft dog gray ears foldedin under their own weightperfectly old, your favorite shows
i seem to have turned into a pumpkinforgetting how to walkbeginning to crawl in the tall lawn
-
widening path lined withdreams steamed in cool bathsdon't leave don’t come back
see the chests holding breathswaiting for the real forgivenessfrom voices inside of their heads
it’s a long walkthe way they talkand don't talk
i drove so badly the guy inthe car behind me said what is wrong with America
butter soaked texas toastlands on the panand starts to sizzle
garlic in oil, old water boilsa cup of hot teawith honey drizzles
your hands are candlesaloft and softtapered and chiseled
your warmth melts me
real slow out the windowpart-time barfliesdo fine on bells and whistles
https://i.imgur.com/oRWoRcI.jpg
― z_tbd, Monday, 31 July 2023 16:09 (eight months ago) link
shovels in the sky marine blue bleed viridian greenon the treetop canopy
at a glance it’s broccoli
― z_tbd, Wednesday, 2 August 2023 19:00 (eight months ago) link
feed the thirsty vampire kidpopping wheelies in the backyardhoping somebody is watching
the puddle waves are partingas they swerve through to get the wheels wetand leave tire tracks in the garden
riding pegs in the sunsetin a straight-leg kneelocked stancematched by their fading silhouettes
tucked in shoelaces and rolled up pantswhy hold onto anythingdon’t forget to give it back
― z_tbd, Friday, 4 August 2023 16:21 (eight months ago) link
if I knew how to actI’d sell a million books and a half
I read what you write instead
if i knew what was wrongi’d make it right if i could
i wonder if i’m in over my head
hallelujah for the starsthank you for being herefor being exactly who you are
thank you for making my cheeks go red
― z_tbd, Friday, 11 August 2023 17:04 (eight months ago) link
when he sang the dictionary— bless his heart it landed spot onin parts of brain wavesthat are hard to make much sense ofbut still, lodged in there all the same
long after, the echoes of his wordsbounced around in our thoughtsthe high F to the low Gimpressing us asynchronouslyto the day of his performancelulling and surging independently of the original occurrence
my memory of it kept changinguntil it no longer resembled his songand i no longer believed what i thought
he might have sung the telephone bookthe addresses, phone numbers, and zip codeshe would convert each line to a melodyand belt out the surname especially loudly
i believe he may have been the first to sing the world book encyclopedia, 1997just the last paragraphs of each entryhe told me but i no longer remember clearly
― i really like that!! (z_tbd), Thursday, 24 August 2023 23:51 (seven months ago) link
critical update:
~bless his heart
when he sang the dictionaryit burrowed into parts of neuronsthat are hard to make much sense ofbut still, lodged in there, spot on
i'm told he sang the telephone bookthe addresses, phone numbers, and zip codesconverting each line to a melodyand belting out the surnames especially loudly
i believe he may have been the first to sing the world book encyclopedia, 1997only the last paragraph of each entryhe told me much more than i could evertrust myself to accurately remember
long afterward, the echoes of his musicbounced around in our thoughtsthe high F to the low Gimpressing us asynchronouslyto the day of his performancetunefully lulling and surging independently of the origins of their occurrence
the sounds in my memories kept changinguntil they no longer resembled his songand i no longer believed in what i thoughti'd heard so clearly
― i really like that!! (z_tbd), Friday, 25 August 2023 17:16 (seven months ago) link
Reading in the morningReading at nightReading old booksReading new booksReading on the busReading on the trainReading on the stairsReading
― calstars, Saturday, 16 September 2023 18:06 (seven months ago) link
People Wherever you goPeople
― calstars, Friday, 22 September 2023 23:10 (six months ago) link
still writing a bunch! here are some that i wrote a while back and still like:
i can play most songsif you give me a minutelumped in the tub filled to the brimwatching the showsstretching my toesswirling the suds
here’s the life cordwrapped to your wristit gives us the minute
here on the soft downylawn of the back of your headwe don’t check the weatherso much as stepping so lightlyshaking like an overwhelmed witnessspeaking of growth of goodnessplease come home nowand make your nest
when it’s warmest we paint each other’s dreams
what is wrong the words i chosewhen is the show don’t stay long squinting in the parking lot waiting on a shoe to drop
who are you frozen augustill and dogged tried and true torn up tickets at the gate laminated student rates
don’t be mine no good moneyunbecoming until the time
to arrive in the smoky glow of unknowing unraveling
you had hardly knocked when I said come on inwrap yourself up in my heavy blanketit was a gift we can share it
i lifted the fabricup and over our heads from the darkness we peered outthrough crocheted stitchesin air which was warm and thick
we were furniturefor a long time it was like this
the leaves try to flyfor the first and last time
i like you as you aresunset landing from afari like what you’ve run intoand how it changes
--
things i do now that i know you
i make sound effects when i walki keep my right foot planted and pivot aroundi stretch my arms long to reach the groundup coffee and when i pour it say “pew pew!”
― i really like that!! (z_tbd), Friday, 17 November 2023 22:12 (five months ago) link
https://i.imgur.com/lApSyFV.jpg
― i really like that!! (z_tbd), Friday, 17 November 2023 22:15 (five months ago) link
I think you’ve got about 10 poems there bro
― calstars, Friday, 17 November 2023 23:07 (five months ago) link
i didn't even post the others! there were like 30 poems there
― i really like that!! (z_tbd), Friday, 17 November 2023 23:10 (five months ago) link
limbo is a container for timewhere one waits for godotand knows how low one can gohow long one can hold ontoa breath before it hurts in the chestwith pinprick moments of silencehanging in the upper halves of windowslike potted plants watching gardensglow in the twilight, wanting to know
https://i.imgur.com/1J4OtLS.gif
― z_tbd, Wednesday, 29 November 2023 18:22 (four months ago) link
my elbow flicks the light switchbecause my fingers and forearmsare covered with paint, i saidwhat a mess of a mixupto overlay the mediumsthe message is in the tediumreplay what you heardand see how it’s different
from what came beforesend me a postcardyou’re halfway to the endthen halfway to the end
― i'm really excited to learning more", *sunglasses fly onto dog.gif* (z_tbd), Tuesday, 5 December 2023 22:49 (four months ago) link
I’m noticing more people smoking recently saw footage of Joni Mitchell singing coyote backstage on the rolling thunder tour and is there a correlation between the populace quitting and obesity
― calstars, Saturday, 16 December 2023 13:41 (four months ago) link
yeah, I'm a poem(not a syllable wasted)I convey meaning
― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 18 December 2023 15:34 (four months ago) link
Part-Time Rapper by Scott Seward
I rock rhymes.
Sometimes.
― scott seward, Monday, 18 December 2023 15:41 (four months ago) link
i woke up in the middle of the night the other night and thought that. and then i went back to sleep. thank you. thank you very much.
― scott seward, Monday, 18 December 2023 15:42 (four months ago) link
with the right beat, i think you just wrote your first #1 single!
― z_tbd, Monday, 18 December 2023 15:48 (four months ago) link
under the fenceyou crawl on all foursthe lock to open the gatefrom the inside
i heard your stomach scrapealong blades of grasssplit in half along the stemslift the hingesto let our friends in
we light soft candles reminiscentof the end of a sunsetprojected wide onto wrinkled fabricpulled taut from clips in the corners
― z_tbd, Wednesday, 10 January 2024 16:58 (three months ago) link
the double u is spoken the double v is chiseledw reflects thesoft m in the center of the backyes, I’d like my heart backx marks the spot I can waitwhat time does the sun setdon’t let the dust get wet
― z_tbd, Monday, 5 February 2024 16:57 (two months ago) link
new game plusstarts with all the items but none of the progressor all of the progress but none of the itemsor with everything you can rememberor with nothing at all
but a new body and internal clocksettling into a walking pacemight mean time mightsturdy the fallfresh sets of rules will unfoldas peculiar rhythms that become your own
― z_tbd, Thursday, 22 February 2024 16:26 (one month ago) link
shaded blades next tolit blades lit green warm my toesblue and yellow hope I won’t bring my giant foot in the skyswinging down hardto divide my yard into two discrete zonesof careless trampling of careful misunderstanding
― z_tbd, Sunday, 10 March 2024 05:21 (one month ago) link
he hit me hardhe felt bad-hit me backcome on, get me back-no, not nownot when you’re expecting itwait until you’ve forgottenwhen i finally hit backwe will both laugh
― z_tbd, Thursday, 21 March 2024 20:32 (four weeks ago) link
“The old armOf a new love“
― calstars, Sunday, 7 April 2024 18:40 (one week ago) link