s.cott:onwoods'eeds

Beggin' For Change TOUR RECAP

strong_cottonwoods — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 07:14:08 GMT

Greetings folks, as you might already be aware, I spent May & the first half of June touring the Eastern region of Canada with The Outspoken Wordsmiths (www.myspace.com/OutspokenWordsmiths). I've since returned to Victoria, BC, & will soon be departing again on a summer festival tour with my other artistic project, Odditory Presence (www.myspace.com/OdditoryPresence). Here is a re-cap of the Beggin' For Change Tour: HALIFAX! On May 2, strong cottonwoods arrived in Halifax after a red-eye flight from Vancouver (courtesy of Blank Space & his tireless efforts running the National Microphone Association distro table), thus reuniting The Outspoken Wordsmiths after nearly a year of separation. The Soapbox Poets (AKA Alex "Blank Space" Murray & Chloe "Random Adjective" Smith) were on hand to welcome the western wordsmith & make him feel at home, as was & Mina Murray, Alex's wonderfully humorous & energetic mother. They whisked him away to the Murray's charming abode in Lower Sackville, which would serve as the Wordsmiths' home base for the next fortnight. Many thanks to Mina, Wayne & Jay Murray for openly sharing their home with us. That first evening we were off to the One World Cafe's weekly open mic. The OWC had served as the venue for The Outspoken Wordsmiths' Halifax debut in '05. It felt great to return to a friendly space, & to perform together again after such a long hiatus. We put on a poppin' performance & got the crowd all riled up for the following week's open mic, which we would be hosting. The three of us (Alex & Chloe & s.cott:onwoods) managed to keep ourselves busy during our first few days together, what with jamming, practicing, recording & planning ahead for the rest of the tour. Next thing we knew there was a house-show/party happening at the Chebucto House, a local activist/community house. Flags of Convenience & some other local punks brought their wall of sound to bear on the eardrums of those present, & The Outspoken Wordsmiths & Soapbox Poets were on-hand to fill in between sets with some beatbox/spoken word action. Next thing we know it's May 7, the Beggin' For Change tour kick-off! This show went down in the heart of Halifax at a Rogue's Roost, a local microbrewery/pub. We had a sweet mix of spoken word & hiphop styles on the mic, with local artists Izreal, Howitiz, Miss Meliss, The Local Vocal Improv Troupe (LVIT), & The IMF sharing their skills with The Outspoken Wordsmiths & The Soapbox Poets. This show got the ball rolling. Thanks so much to all of those who came out & made this possible, especially the Murray family for coming & working the door like seasoned veterans! A few nights later & The Outspoken Wordsmiths were back at the One World Cafe to host the evening's open mic festivities. This was a great night, the cafe was packed, & the crowd was warm as a bed of glowing coals. Once again, LVIT & The Soapbox Poets were on hand to bring their excitement to the mic, & we all worked together to rock the crowd hard. I don't think they knew what they were in for. Local poets Pep Stylez & Native Son also came by to drop some of their spoken word styles on the mic & help cross-pollinate/promote their local monthly spoken word event, Speak! One World Cafe hosts Halifax's only all-ages open mic. There is an amazingly talented pool of up-&-coming artists in Halifax, & it felt great to be a part of such a burgeoning artistic community. Two nights later our next show saw us at Diamonds Lounge, injecting some hiphop flavour into their weekly electronic night. The Outspoken Wordsmiths teamed up once more with the The IMF (this time performing as The Lowest Common Denominataz), The Soapbox Poets, & the Local Vocal Improv Troupe. Halifax's Breakbeat Elite collective was on hand to spin some kicking breaks between live sets. This show didn't have the greatest attendance (we were promoting 3 shows in Halifax that week), but we did sell a good deal of merch (peopl can't get enough of the patches!) & we were asked by the bar's booker/promoter to come back & play more shows in the future. All in all, a successful night. Thanks everyone! Soon after our show at Diamonds, Chloe left Halifax to return to Victoria. Us Wordsmiths were sad to see her go after all the fun the 3 of us had together. Now that it was just the two of us, we hunkered down to prepare for our westward journey. Next stop, Montreal, for the Anarchist Bookfair! We packed our bags & merch & mailed them ahead of us, then hit the road with our thumbs pointed skywards. With a little bit of luck & goodwill we managed to make it into Montreal in next to no time. (Many thanks to the patron saints of Fools & Travellers!) MONTREAL We pulled into Montreal at around midnight on Weds (thanks to Yves, the kind trucker who drove us the last 8 hours into town) & trudged across town to find our new home at Decadent Squalour , a community/activist house near Atwater Market. Our friend Shayla, one of the residents of DS, was out of town during our visit. However, her roomies Alia, Adam, & Sarah welcomed us with open arms & made us feel at home during our stay. The Anarchist Bookfair Cabaret was on Friday night (May 18th). We decided to go check out the show, & see if we could grab 5 minutes on stage between sets. When we arrived at the venue ( Main Hall, on Rue St. Laurent) we met our good friend Michael Sheely, AKA M-Power. Now we had 3 of the 5 BeatBoxing Pirates united together. The stage-manager for the evening remembered us from last year, when we pulled the same stunt ("Hey, do you think we can jump on-stage for a few minutes between acts?") & was happy to have us get up & share our words. We threw down a quick 5 minute set that was well-received. We've been asked to come play at the cabaret next year, so keep an eye out for us. Huzzah! The next two days saw us at Montreal's 8th annual Anarchist Bookfair. The weather was nice (sunny & hot & clear on Saturday) & the building was crowded with many familiar faces, from Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa & beyond. We set up on the grass outside the front doors with a display for the NMA (National Microphone Association) distro & sold many CDs, patches, zines & other goodies. Sadly, we didn't get a chance to attend any of the workshops, as we were busy working our little 'table' on the grass most of the time. We did, however, get plenty of opportunity to network/connect with folks. Saturday evening after the book fair we ended up at Cafe l'Utopik, a little eatery that features live entertainment. One of their employees suggested we come drop a little sound on the mic during the band's break, so we swung on by. The band that was playing before us was this great folksy/polka ensemble that spoke nary a word during their set... We made a bit of a slip in putting together a very wordy set for an audience comprised primarily of francophones. Whoops. They didn't love us, that's for sure, but we held down a decent performance. No worries, though, as we ended up heading down the block to a private party being held in a semi-abandoned apartment block. This was a cool little function, with some DJs spinning some run-of-the-mill tunes as a hand-drum ensemble warmed up for performance. Blank Space worked his persistent charm on the DJ & stepped up behind the turntables to wow the crowd with a legendary solo beatbox performance. He had them eating out of his hand for 5 minutes & left them begging for more. A stellar display of showmanship, I must say. The second day of the book fair was a little more laid back than the first, what with the weather being noticeably cooler, & the crowd a bit thinner. We were back at the front door representing the NMA & making plans for our future shenanigans (twas here that we met Erin & lined up a show in Hamilton). The best part of Sunday was when the kitchen closed down & the friendly kitchen people gave away hundreds of veggie wraps. MMMmmm, dumpsterlicious goodies for all! There were so many more adventures (and poutines) to be had in Montreal, but we had to make our way to the next stop... OTTAWA Our ride-share dropped us off at the Dishouse, a crusty-punk community house that would serve as our home base while in the nation's capital. Our good friend Emily from Exile Books (a newly-formed infoshop & activist resource centre) & the rest of her housemates at the Dishouse made us feel at home during our visit. We also got to meet the friendly members of The Crimson Tides, a punk band from Halifax(?) who were staying at the Dishouse while passing through Ottawa. Our friend John Akpata, who hosts Monday Night Scribes on CHUO 89.1 FM, brought the The BeatBoxing Pirates into the studio to play some cuts off the BBP album, perform some live tracks, and talk a little about our tour & how we've managed to travel across the country while sharing our art. John is a talented spoken word artist (we met him at the 2005 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, he was competing on Ottawa's team & we were part of team Victoria) & it was great to get the chance to talk to him about performing, recording, travelling, & all the rest. Thursday night saw us at the Elephant & Castle's weekly open mic, hosted by Amanda Rheaume. This was a fun evening, as we were still three strong at this point, and we'd all managed to get friends out to see us perform. The bar was quite full & the energy was high as we took the stage & dropped some tight numbers, including Violence, Lips Get Slipped, & Human Rights. This performance served as a dress-rehearsal of sorts for our upcoming house show @ the Dishouse. Saturday was a busy one, as it was both the date of our long-anticipated house show at the Dishouse, as well as the D.I.Y. Fair. We woke up early & hauled our merch out to the park on Bank St, where we set up a little NMA "table" on the grass, alongside the other vendors at the D.I.Y. Fair. It was a perfectly sun-shiny day, & there were many people milling around the park, perusing the various wares on display by the vendors. There was a good selection of hand-made jewelery, as well as clothing, zines, & many other miscellaneous items. Once again, people got really excited to see the wares we were selling, & we sold many patches & items of clothing, along with some zines & CDs. It turns out that the organizers of the D.I.Y Fair had set up an open mic as part of their festivities, so The BeatBoxing Pirates jumped on deck & had a chance to rock the park. There was a nice crowd assembled by the time we took to the mic, & they were diggin' our message & our style. Another great day to add to the list, & it wasn't even close to being finished.... ...Saturday evening rolls around & we lug our merch back to the Dishouse just in time to catch the end of the vegan potluck. Luckily for our rumbly bellies, there were plently of delicious leftovers to go round. We filled our hungry guts, then set about getting ready for the show. Now, to set the atmosphere it seems appropriate to describe the Dishouse & its occupants. The house itself is an unassuming, somewhat dilapidated brick affair with a porch & tiny garden out front. At most times you'll find between two and four crusty punks sitting on the front porch, decked in black (tight-fitting jeans & a denim vest adorned w/ studs & band patches) & armed with cigarettes and/or 40ozs of fine malt liquor. On this night the usual population of punk kids had quadrupled, & the livingroom (adorned with replicas of album covers from some of the 80s & 90s finest crust bands) was packed with studded vests & sloshing beer bottles. Local punks Skunch took the stage & warmed up the crowd, & then we had our chance to assault the assembled ears with our beatbox harmonix & subversive spoken word. The BeatBoxing Pirates were received warmly by the crowd, who really appreciated our political content. We got many comments & compliments from people who'd never seen live spoken word before. Next on the lineup was Mankillsman, a grey-metal hardcore band from Montreal. These guys churned out dark, melodic soundscapes & rocked the house with stacks of amps that nearly scraped the ceiling. A memorable show, to say the least! At this point we were raring to get our butts out to Peterborough, but first we had an early morning radio date with our friend Jeff of the Suicide Pilots. Jeff hosts the Rise Up radio program on Ottawa's community radio station, 93.1 FM , CKCU. He brought The BeatBoxing Pirates on-air to do a little live performance & interview. We had some minor technical difficulties to start, but managed to sort things out & ended up performing some good pieces, including a great live rendition of Human Rights. Thanks Jeff! Next stop, Peterborough! PETERBOROUGH Our good friend & super-fan Mel did us a huge favour & drove us from Ottawa to Peterborough, depositing us at City Hall just in time for the weekly Food Not Bombs serving. There we met up with our good buddy Dragon, thus reuniting four of the five BeatBoxing Pirates for the first time in over a year, Yarrgh! Dragon's friend Danielle put us up at her spacious, colourful house down by the river, where we spent the next few days enjoying the sunshine & preparing for the show to be held there at the end of the week. We played some soccer, dove off the bridge, ate delicious asparagus roasted over a backyard campfire & spread the word about the upcoming show. Our ramblings brought us by Peterborough's community radio station (I can't remember what it's called, & I can't seem to find it on the net...), where we recorded a little station-ID promo spot & got to do a little on-air promotion for our show. Our house show in Peterborough was amazing. There was a good solid group of people assembled, & The BeatBoxing Pirates stepped up & shook the living room like it was a yappy little dog. This was the first time that the 4 of us had performed together in many a moon, but we quickly found our groove & rode it to the end of our set. The remainder of the evening was an open-stage affair, with many talented friends getting up on the mic to share their sounds & voices with the assembled crowd. This was one of those great intimate gatherings that will live on in the hearts & minds of those present. Danielle, thanks so much for opening your house to our motley crew & allowing us to put on a great show! There was a slight tinge of sadness to our departure from Peterborough, as it signalled the disbanding of the BeatBoxing Pirates, as M-Power headed off to unite with his father on his newly acquired sailboat, & Dragon stayed behind to continue his studies at Trent University. This was The Outspoken Wordsmiths' second visit to Peterborough, & we're looking forward to returning. TORONTO We caught the GO-bus from Peterborough to Toronto & shuffled our load over to the Mudhouse, where we would spend the next few days with our friends Alison, Rob, Gaia, Possum, Terrance, Nicole & Shawn. We'd met many of these cats at the A-Frat during last year's tour. It was wonderful to see so many warm, familiar faces & to get the chance to catch up with friends after a year's separation. Our friends Great Scott & Alex Dimez host Sound Junction, a hiphop show on York University's CHRY 105.5 FM. They'd agreed to have us on for a quick spell during our tour last year, & this time they set aside an hour for us to kick our styles on-air. This ended up being a challenging performance, as we were unable to get our headphones properly set up, & thus ended up performing with no monitor. (Imagine giving a performance where you have no idea what you sound like...) Nonetheless, we persevered & ended up holding things together, & although it was by no measure our best performance ever, we were grateful for the opportunity to get on-air in Toronto again. Here's a big shout out to Great Scott & Alex Dimez for opening their studio doors for us. On the weekend we rented a little keyboard amp & hit the streets of Kensington Market to throw down some beatbox harmonix & subversive spoken word via a series of Geurrilla Poetry Performances. The kind folks at the Global Aware infoshop on Kensington Av let us plug our sound system in outside their storefront & set up our NMA distro alongside the tables in their front yard. We played a series of short performances throughout Saturday & Sunday afternoon. Usually we'd get on the mic for about 15 minutes, by which time we'd assemble a nice little crowd of people. Then, we'd wrap up our set and encourage them to come interact with us by our distro table. We did quite well in this fashion; we sold a good amount of merch & impressed many passersby with an unanticipated show. It felt very empowering to blast our sounds on the streets without having first purchased an official Police Bribery Certificate (aka, permit) . Having seized the opportunity to perform on the streets & the air-waves of Toronto, we were off to Guelph. GUELPH This was our first visit to Guelph, & the fine folks at the Punkalow took us in under their wing & made us feel at home. When we arrived, our friends Bill & Byron, proud residents of the Punkalow, were making their final preparations to head out on a southern Ontario bike tour with their bike-punker pals in U-Lock Terror, & The Derailers. Our initial plan for Guelph was to perform at the grand opening of the Salsateria's new artspace, but due to paperwork troubles the space was unable to open, thus no grand opening featuring your favourite Wordsmiths. :( No worries, though, as the Punkalownians decided to throw a tour kick-off show in their basement, thereby giving us an opportunity to share our beats & words with Guelph's punkiest punks. Huzzah! Now, a short description of the the stinkiest bathroom ever! (It will live on forever in song, I'm sure.) Prior to the Punkalow show, we had a radio date with our good friend Matt Soltys, the host of Healing the Earth Radio on CFRU 93.3 FM. HtER is a talk show focused on political & ecological topics, which meant that our contribution was a bit of a switch from their normal programming. We shook things up a bit, spitting out some live jams & spinning cuts from The BeatBoxing Pirates CD & the Stomp Atlantica compilation. Matt interviewed us in the spaces between, & next thing we knew our allotted hour had blurred by. This show went really smoothly, as there were no technical hang-ups, and we had a lot of momentum behind our performance by this point. Thanks for having us Matt! Next it was the House Show @ the Punkalow! This show served as a Tour Kick-Off for U-Lock Terror & The Derailers, who would soon be hopping on their bikes & pedalling to Kitchener, Hamilton, & beyond. Local punks A Good Story were also on hand to share the stage with us all, & the basement of the Punkalow was crammed to capacity with sweaty, moshing punx. When The Outspoken Wordsmiths stepped up to the mic the mood shifted & became less kinetic, but we were stoked to see the assembled crowd sitting cross-legged & attentive on the floor, soaking up all we had to offer. This show was outstanding, from A to Z, with great performances from everyone, and much love & respect from the crowd. We're excited to return to Guelph; many thanks to all the Punkalownians! We would go on to play 2 more house shows with U-Lock Terror & The Derailers in the following 3 days, making the final stretch of our tour the busiest of our six weeks together (3 shows in 3 cities in 4 days, phew!). Thanks so much to our bike punk friends for providing us with these priceless performance opportunities! KITCHENER Next stop, Kitchener. This was another first-time visit for the Wordsmiths, & we're glad we made the trip. We couldn't help feel a slight twinge of guilt as we rode the bus from Guelph while our bike punk friends pedalled their sweaty buns to our mutual destination. We ended up at Kitchener's newest, & as-yet-unnamed punk-house to play another show with A Good Story, U-Lock Terror, & The Derailers. The Decay was also on hand to round out the bill, & we all put on a kick-ass show in a small, overcrowded & ultra-sweaty room on the house's top floor. Once again, The Outspoken Wordsmiths were pleased by the crowd's warm & attentive reception. It was HOT up in that room, sweat-dripping-off-the-walls hot, thus prompting our host Jessie to suggest their abode be dubbed The Sweatbox, or something equally hot & steamy. We felt honoured to be part of the house's inauguration, & are excited to see what future shenanigans the house plays host to. Thanks Sweatboxers! HAMILTON In true touring fashion, we woke up, scraped the gunk out of our eyes, packed our bags, thanked our hosts & trudged our way to the bus station. Once again, we rode the proletariat chariot while our comrades pedalled in the blazing sun. Our first stop in Hamilton was at the Food Not Bombs serving, where we met up with our friend and host, Erin . We had just enough time to get a bite to eat & drop our bags at Chez Erin before heading to the lil' house on Emerald St, which was to serve as the venue for the final show of our tour. This was another basement show, featuring U-Lock Terror, The Derailers, A Good Story, The Chemical Agents , & of course, The Outspoken Wordsmiths. By this time we were on a roll, having thrown down a good steady stream of performances in the past week. We put together a nice long set, including a good number of tributes (covers) & pieces we hadn't performed together since last year's tour. Our set included Appletree (by Erykah Badu), Release (by Saul Williams), Lips Get Slipped (by M-Power), Theme (by Sole), as well as some classic Outspoken Wordsmiths favorites, Asleep @ the Wheel, Looking @ my Generation / I Want, 21st Century, Anarchy, & Human Rights , & some new pieces to boot: Violence & Death to all Martians! This show was a perfect ending to our tour, with those who'd been with us since Guelph agreeing that it was our best performance to date. By the time we were finished we were coated with sweat & shaking from adrenaline overdose. What could be better? Thanks so much to everyone who helped make Beggin' for Change such a success! (And sorry for those who we didn't mention in this update. We love you too, there's just so much to try to remember.) We couldn't have done it without your endless encouragement & support. And now...? Blank Space is currently in Halifax, making magic in his studio, chillin' with his family, & preparing for the upcoming release of Blank Space and Friends Mixtape, Vol 3.14 . He'll be making his way out to Victoria, BC this summer to reconnect with his west-coast roots & reunite The Soapbox Poets (www.myspace.com/soapboxpoets). strong cottonwoods has recently returned to Victoria, BC, where he's happily reunited with his partner & bandmate RadaR. These two are making preparations for a summer tour with M-Power as the three of them combine to drop beats & rhymes as Odditory Presence (www.myspace.com/odditorypresence). He's looking forward to Blank Space's return to BC, as the two have much unfinished plotting & planning to take care of. Much love to all of our friends, fans & family. Keep in touch, & do what you love! s.cott:onwoods & Blank Space strong.cottonwoods@gmail.com 3.14blank.space@gmail.com www.myspace.com/outspokenwordsmiths outspokenwordsmiths.multiply.com

Death To All Martians!

strong_cottonwoods — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:10:58 GMT

*Death To All Martians!* (Dedicated to George W. Bush) On March 4th, 2042, the crew of The Triumph land on Mars, claiming the planet in the name of the United States of Earth & establishing the first in a series of permanent settlements. In the Fall of that year, the settlers are startled to discover messages on their computer terminals that read: HUMANS PLEASE RETURN TO EARTH. In the following months the settlers' computers are overrun with similar messages, which begin to appear with increasing frequency and articulation. On February 9, 2043, the United States of Earth declares war on Mars, ushering in a new era of World War. In the ensuing years, many great War Anthems would be written to glorify & justify the Great War against the ungodly 'Red Menace,' yet none would possess the enduring popularity of the first hit, 'Death to All Martians!' Death to all Martians! No one will be spared None will survive Death to all Martians! State-sponsored genocide We're gonna colonize your planet We're gonna mine all your ores and your oils We're gonna rape your Martian women We're gonna stick it to those bug-eyed whores It's interplanetary conquest We can't be stopped We won't be denied We're gonna wipe out your whole species State-sponsored genocide We're gonna terraform your homeland Millions of missiles loaded with spores Oxygen-producing fungi Operation TERRORFORM Death to all Martians! No one will be spared None will survive Death to all Martians! State-sponsored genocide ((The following message has been brought to you via a joint effort between the United States of Earth's Departments of Genocide & Propaganda.)) // strong.cottonwoods //

I Expect A Lot From Democracy

strong_cottonwoods — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 10:07:07 GMT

// I Expect A Lot From Democracy // I cast: One ballot, every four years I expect a lot from Democracy Now don't ask me To write to my MP I expect a lot from Democracy One ballot, every four years I expect a lot from Democracy Well I'd rather take a beating Than sit thru a council meeting I expect a lot from Democracy One ballot, every four years I expect a lot from Democracy I don't attend demonstrations Or boycott corporations I expect a lot from Democracy One ballot, every four years I expect a lot from Democracy Not interested in campaigning But I rather like complaining I expect a lot from Democracy One ballot, every four years I expect a lot from Democracy "You know they oughtta fix healthcare" I comment, from my armchair I expect a lot from Democracy One ballot, every four years I expect a lot from Democracy If they don't talk about my issues I'll weep into a ball of tissues I expect a lot from Democracy One ballot, every four years I expect a lot from Democracy Well I can't be bothered To write letters to the editors I expect a lot from Democracy And I can't see the hypocrisy // strong cottonwoods //

Outspoken Wordsmiths reunite! Blank Space & strong cottonwoods to join forces in May for east coast tour.

strong_cottonwoods — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 09:02:24 GMT

Greetings. I have recently been talking with my good friend Alex / Blank Space, with whom I've worked with the BeatBoxing Pirates & the Outspoken Wordsmiths. We travelled with our friend Dragon as the Outspoken Wordsmiths, and made our way from Victoria to Halifax over the first 5 months of 2006. Alex is in the process of booking shows for us from Halifax, through the maritimes, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto & more. I'm excited to see how this progresses. Keep an eye on this post for updates/edits. Check out some of our previous work on the Outspoken Wordsmiths' website: http://myspace.com/outspokenwordsmiths or http://outspokenwordsmiths.multiply.com Thanks! s.cott:onwoods //whisper// i hear there's an Outspoken Wordsmiths LIVE CD in the making...

... --- ...

strong_cottonwoods — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 09:45:27 GMT

closed eyes & open fists broken shoes weep blood a hail of bibles buries church parking lots hearses filled with horse parts are making U-turns in the HOV lane Drive-Thru! Drive-Thru! now we've got Starbucks on wheels & cigarettes coming out our radios bump-bump don't SPILL your opinion on the train Bring back smegma in the schoolbooks! Bordello, Bordello! Who does a man have to blow around here to get a lobotomy anyway? Is the noose tight enough? Sadam-it, you know it's hell when they slip open at the last second! If I see one more pathetic house pet with kill-me-please eyes I'm gonna projectile vomit! ... & like chicken noodle soup out a car window, she fell limply to the road, unnoticed noise pollution Noise Pollution Noise! Pollution! meth & crack eat at this city like acid rain better keep a close eye on your bike & the labels on our food keep getting healthier & healthier while inside the can it's still the same old shit, with genes tweaked to ensure perpetual farmer servitude & i dreamt that Disney bought the rights to my likeness so that I owed them money every time I looked in a mirror & each time i did there was this sickening little cartoon greaseball lawyer who'd *pop* up behind my shoulder waving an envelope & saying, "that'll be seventy-six dollars and twelve cents, sir" i didn't dare leave the house & the warm's getting colder, & the belly rumbles proud #$%^#$ Feed me fucker! !#$#%^ As if you had a choice! now i've beaten Belly before & know that i can again, but it hardly seems worth the effort or hardship & the pen refuses to make magic this time offering only the stale reflections of my mind's dis-contents but i beat-beat-beat it 'gainst the page regardless in hopes that the stains will fall in a pattern worthy of recognition

Autumn Longing

strong_cottonwoods — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:22:00 GMT

--- 1 November /06 --- you stood before me bathed in an aura of brilliant white light & i said: you're bathed in an aura of brilliant white light & you replied: of course i am, the sun's behind me & while you did have a point i couldn't help but think that not everyone wears a molten golden halo when they stand before the sun - - - --- 2 November /06 --- i awake alone in your bed & glance at the dents in my flesh twin strings of pink pearls coil'd round my wrist where your chain slept the night & i wonder where you've been sleeping & if perhaps you're sleeping softly at this very moment & i wonder if someone else smiles at your sleeping face or if your slumbering radiance passes unnoticed - - - --- 3 November /06 --- my beloved, i met for lunch today with an old friend & lover & felt again that simultaneous distance & proximity between those who once conversed candid & naked & today we wore boots & sweaters & heavy coats & waxed rational about relationships pretending our own into invisibility for the duration of the conversation for decorum & convenience's sakes & while the bond that once held us pulse-to-pulse has withered & fallen away i still feel its presence lingering like a ghostlimb numbness laced thru with shoots of hurt & my beloved i cringe to think that the threads that link your heart & mind to mine might ever fray - - - --- 4 November /06 --- i sit brooding in this nest i've woven together from all the twigs & sticks & coloured lengths of string that you've & i've spent our lives collecting making it as warm & comforting as i know how & i call into the wind to tell you of this safe place that awaits & i listen to the wind to hear you say you're safe & happy but the wind won't carry my cries to your ears nor yours to mine & so i've transcibed these cries in time etch'd thru letters & into words in hopes they not remain unheard in hopes they not remain unread by your adoring eye which will watch letters melt into my voice & say: i miss you in ways mere words can't convey these Bs & Cs too blunt & clunky to describe the fine wavering outlines of emotion feelings fragile & aglow like moonlit jellyfish too soft to be held in the cruel mouths of Ws & Ms too tender to taste the tiny teeth of Ns, Zs & Vs so instead i coerce these words, forcing them to say while you are away, smoke takes your place in my lungs fills them like these choking, absent hours the rain standing sentry outside, relentless, raucous & proud & i know you're out there, buffeted by the wind shivering beneath November's icy wet caresses as my lonely, jealous fingers busy themselves weaving together loose ends & scritch-scritch-scratching inept letters into cold tree-flesh in hopes that these old coded characters will find you & bring you my warmth -strong cottonwoods