—Poems and Photos by D.R. Wagner, Locke, CA
TEARS AND THEIR CHILDREN
The room had no ceiling.
Someone had recently taken
The stars out for their evening walk
And they remained excited by the
Moon.
Tears were suspended in the air.
We could walk between some of
Them and hear their voices full
To the brim with the joy and sorrows
They contained.
I cannot name the beasts who dwelt
There. They had faces like people
We all knew. So few of them had
Names.
They were the vermin of politics,
Blind to most all of whom walked
These beautiful plains.
I have been asked not to speak
Of the rivers of blood, but to dwell
Upon the bliss possible at the edge
Night collects about itself before
All turns to darkness.
I should mention a kiss
And not speak of the mangled,
Distraught and mad who walk beside
Us everyday. Why would you care
About such things when the stars
Are as eager as puppies to please
Your imagination.
I have been told I must end this way
Of talking and leave such journeys
To those unable to dream.
Look, even now they come to a stop…
A VISITATION BY SEA SPIRITS
They were lighting small lanterns
All the way across the headlands.
Ships were coming. They
Had been seen from the pilot hill.
Bright flares on the tops
Of their masts. The lights
They carried were of many colors and
Occasionally shot bursts
Of colored flame into
The high atmosphere
Illuminating the bottom
Of the clouds.
The coming of these ships
Had been foretold but
They were not expected
To arrive in the dead of winter.
The children had begun
Behaving strangely about
A month ago and the Teal
Gulls were seen on the
Edges of the Father-glade.
At night the booming
Of the fisher bells
Could be heard at
Curious hours of the night.
There was a hesitant
Music coming from the
Taverns that was neither
Joyful nor sad. It held
A great sense of longing in its notes.
We were unable to determine
If there were words to the songs.
The crowds grew well into the night.
The ships arrived much past midnight.
Were these sailors Gods
Then, plucked from the night
And to be proclaimed
Throughout the land?
Their garments were magnificent.
Some of us could see
Them, some could not.
Quickly there were stories of them
Before the morning came.
People were waiting upon
Them for answers.
The ships glittered with lights.
In the morning they were but
Hulls abandoned and gray,
Peopled by shades the same gray
As the forged bullets with which
The world infects itself.
There was no conversation.
There were no oracles.
Glimmers ran softly up the sails
Like fairy lightning and
Nothing was forthcoming.
All day they sat in the harbor,
A kind of fungus on the water.
By nighttime, fires were
Started on their decks.
They burned with sickly
Colors and drove flights
Of dark birds around
And around their sails
Even as they burned.
Even as they burned.
On the following morning,
Ashes on the water.
The children packing
Their lunches and
Their lunches and
Heading off for school
Whistling tunes and
Singing songs we
Had never heard before.
By the end of the week
We were once more
Upon the beautiful
Hills gazing out to sea,
Hoping to spot a sail.
EXCUSE ME
Okay, the light was burning in the castle.
I was standing in the hall. I wasn’t even dreaming.
Still I could hear you call. And it was still too far to fall.
Broken willow on the shoreline. Eyes that could stab,
Take the quick road to the heart and punch a hole.
I tried to understand it but there was too much pride in my soul.
When I got to the watchtower there were dead people on the floor.
Some of them had names like mine, others had no names at all.
I begged them for forgiveness. They had no idea how I could speak
Out loud. Ain’t no coming back. Ain’t nobody holding an open door.
I sat down to wait for that special hour. The dark bird flying
Into the mouth of the shower. I can't meet you there.
I work in the tower. I stand in the rain. The water reminds me
That my blood is insane. I hide myself where my skin begins to tear.
I’ve walked away from this room. Please don’t remember my name.
I don’t know what you need. I just don’t understand.
Who are you anyway? I’m still way past insane.
Whatever it is, I can’t give you a hand.
ROAMED THROUGH YOUR HEART
I watched them fall off the edge of the cliff.
It has been months since I have seen your face.
All I had was your voice banging around in my heart.
Everyone can see us standing here. I don’t know
Why I am still talking to you. They tore a hole in my
Life that I have no way to understanding. How can I feel
This way? I watched you fire up your bike and blow
Away down the street. What is this supposed to be about?
They told me I would never forget you. You were not the wind.
You were not the sea and I was not the noise that roamed
Through your heart. Save me were I were.
I am a creature of the shore and can only stand here
Unashamed and so in love with your love that it rises
Above my heart and raises its hands to become
Their own lions. I shall be the kiss upon your mouth.
And you shall be the hands that hold my heart.
THE SEA WALL
I don’t remember even thinking
That I ever needed you.
All the roads split wide open.
You were standing by the gate.
It was way, way past the nighttime;
It was much too long to wait.
Leave me here before the sea wall,
Give me words or maybe not.
I found myself back in the alley
Begging you for one more shot.
Dream your dream of when I loved you.
Dream your dream or maybe not.
Dream some wicked explanation.
Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got.
Drifting, drifting, drifting,
The ghost lights sticking to the shore.
I could tell you that I loved you
But there wouldn’t be much more.
I’ll still be standing on the hilltop
And you’d still forget my name.
I’d be breaking just like egg foo yung.
I would still be this insane.
Touch me with your precious tenderness.
Run your hands across my skin.
Leave me by the dying embers.
I can swear I never lied.
THE TOY TRAIN
She said it was a toy train.
It was made of spider webs.
It disappeared through a closed door
Not like any train I had ever seen before.
My dog came through the mirror
Without a sound, without a sidelong glance.
Derelict, abandoned, a room without a floor.
The train could move inside a dream facade.
Littered with old memories, their meaning gone
Like rain that through a broken window pane might pour.
And I dwelt there through a thousand nights
Caught by the grey of shadows, a prisoner
Of the moon, a captive of the spirits that
Dwell inside my bones, a distant ringing
Of a bell across the quickening season.
Masked, unmasked, another mask and then no more.
A PLACE FOR THE MOON
This path leads along the shore-
Line for about a mile, then ducks
Beneath some wind-shaped pines
Into a cove where the moon may
Always be seen as it assembles
Its lines and hoists itself
To the night sky.
Years ago many people would gather
Here to watch these preparations,
But now this place is mostly forgotten.
Those who came here have mostly died
Or have gotten themselves far, far away, no longer
Thinking of this place.
I came here with gifts for the moon,
But it will not receive me and prepares
Its rigging, mixes its huge variety of lights
And sits down for a few minutes
Before it is time to lift above the tree line.
I watch it practice becoming huge, then
Diminishing to the much smaller size
It uses to reign as lord over the night.
It flips through its phases, tucking itself
In here and there, using the shadows
To its greatest advantage to remain
As beautiful as possible. It is
An amazing display and takes place
In that regal silence the moon demands.
After awhile, I am joined by a few
Others who know of this place.
They come for inspiration and to restart
A sense of wonder lost to themselves
In their commerce with the world.
For centuries this place has been
Such. I have seen the winds here,
Flocks of owls and creatures who
Build the night. Last to arrive
Are the dreamers in their gauzy
Garments, truly stardust and breathing,
Smoothly and deeply.
The moon begins its ascent.
The night settles into itself perfectly.
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
THE ROOM
The room was laid with knives.
How I was I to communicate with you?
Who is the creator? When I opened my mouth
There was a lot of blood. I didn’t know language
Could work like this. I was as light as a feather.
It must have been my memory.
Then, I was majesty. How quickly the heat
Leaves the body.
Children with bundles of sticks
On their backs move through the streets.
____________________
—Medusa
