A Blog of Seattle Arts & Lectures
the poet this is you on your knees, surreal roses unfurled in a ghastly inversion at your feet. you balled your fists and balled your eyes out while you were patted on the back, like the ancient, quranic rage in your head could be tapped out. you are on your knees. you thought what a […]
“The Wizard of Bygone Boulevard” by Jo Chick Bygone boulevard was by no means a lively place, considering its inhabitants consisted of geriatric witches and wizards. For most of Bygone’s residents, existence was exasperating. The new world of technology ferociously and ravenously destroyed the prior meanings and values one would live for, that of magic. […]
Through a deep night shines a spark of hope like a wasp without a stinger like a blinding rip in the needles of the air no one sees this hope or maybe they’re just too tired to care It flickers through the floodwater It could light a flame It could burn down all of the […]
Plato once asserted that justice, in the scheme of morality and goodness, ultimately comes down to compromise. We discussed it in class, so it must be true, but tell me, philosopher, if perhaps I could arrange for a meeting with your dust and bones— Is it a just compromise, every time the story plays […]
From here I see nothing There is nothing here There is not sky, or soft curling clouds There is no place where the sand becomes sea From here I hear nothing There is not gentle conversation There is no snapping of branches What a thing to be To be standing at a window and seeing […]
At the peak of my anxiety, consumed by emotion, overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts, I’m at a standstill. I don’t know when my home got bigger or I when I simply shrunk, but my house is far too big for me, and lately I feel so small. At a standstill of uncertainty, I’ve found that lately […]
every few centuries, when the carp gathered at the base of the 龙门 lóngmén in thunderclouds, riled with legend and youth, we waded into the brinks of the waterfall and waited. that night we would feast upon 清蒸龙 qīngzhēng lóng. 1. check for freshness its scales should be taut – a bowstring still drawn long […]
“With your pictures you apparently want to arouse in us a feeling of having to swallow rope or drink kerosene.” – Braque to Picasso Maybe it’s as simple as this: Maybe God’s hundredth name is His face. I try to paint it on the moon, but I can’t reach far enough to fill His craterous, […]
He sits at the desk beside Teacher, scribbling words on the back of the coloring sheet while the rest of the class enjoys the playground and each other. His mom asks her maternal comrades what to do, if he’s okay, but he knows better. “Don’t worry, ma,” he says. “This is what I have to […]
Pesto She dances Whirs and grinds and her arms rise To ragged rocks of sea salt Where she sleeps She puckers up for a kiss Feels lemon when there is bitterness Goes dark when left alone A moldy solitude She duets with the plush Heel toe tapping Kitten heels staunch in their desire to step […]