In Like a Lamb

 Water from the Devil

—Photo by Robert Lee Haycock

behind locked doors
—Robert Lee Haycock, Antioch

Dalmatic
Chasuble
Cope
Maniple
Stole
Burse
Lace and lace and lace and lace
Sampler
Parasol
Paisley shawl
Bloomers
Stockings
Kerchief
Quilt
Rugs Navajo and Persian
Kilim
Ikat
Dior
Balenciaga
Saint Laurent
Sarong
Sari
Wig of human hair stolen from a Peruvian mummy
Cache-sexe
Sunbonnet
Cloche
Beret
Fez
Nijinski's slippers
Isadora's scarves
Pavlova's feathers from Swan Lake
Burqa
Quipu
Peplos
Cuirass
Woad
Indigo
Gold lamé
Ptarmigan cloak full of arsenic
Mola
Tapa
Kimono
Band cloth
Cut velvet
Torah bag
Kilt
Shoes for bound Chinese feet
Reticule
Hoop skirt
Painted fan
Breeches
Doublet
Morning coat
Saddle bag and tent surround

I have the key
I get to see
What never will be
Shown the light of day

____________________

BEHOLDEN

—Robert Lee Haycock
 
I held a Rembrandt and a Gainsborough today
But I beheld sights far lovelier
Diana fast asleep in the dark before sunup and
Moon at first quarter in the dusk after sundown

_________________

REMEMBERING JACK

—Robert Lee Haycock

Fog meandering eastward across Browns Island
Remembers Jack the erstwhile oyster thief
While it dallies over the Antioch waterfront
Fingering its way upstream toward Big Break

__________________

IN MY CHURCH
—Robert Lee Haycock

In my church the priests sing
These blackbirds red-winged
Swinging censers
Of sunburned leaf
Eucalypt
Telegraph weed
Coyote brush
Blackberry
Bulrush
Cattail

In my church the sun lights
These candles wave-born
Swinging waters
Of granite sprung
Chowchilla
Tuolomne
Mokelumne
Cosumnes
Yuba
McCloud

 

A Stroll in the Park

—Robert Lee Haycock
 

CARROT & PUP
—Taylor Graham, Placerville

Here's Earth's bounty, bundled in twenty-five pound
bags for juicing. Much more than enough for me.
The bag sits open—and what's that crunching sound?

Loki's grabbed one, dashed off brandishing with glee,
and lies now, tentatively munching the sweet
raw-crisp gold. As if it could be dug up free

for the taking. Bones and sticks, and this new treat.
To a dog, it still smells of the good tilled ground
it came from. Tip to crown it says: Take and eat.

Try to get it back? She'd run around and round
to keep possession of this old root she's found.

___________________

AMPAS
—Caschwa, Sacramento

I used to live near
Beverly Hills and
drove past the
AMPAS HQ
on Wilshire

one couldn't help
but notice that
things were
different in
BH

entering north on
Robertson Blvd.
block numbers
were shifted
drastically

the even and odd
sides of the
street were
switched
over

now I better understand
the orientation of
AMPAS voters
and why we
don't see
them
 

___________________

We like to think our possessions
are meaningful,
necessary—

but after the will has been read,
after the garage and estate sales are over,
the things that remain—
yearbooks, old check registers, bottles of stale cologne,
greeting cards, knick-knacks, half-melted candles,
used brushes, stained cookie sheets—
after everything has been picked over
by family, strangers, and scavengers,
they will still be here,
the feathers and bones of our lives,
the indigestible bits and pieces
that nobody wants,
the vast array of clutter
we can’t bring ourselves to toss out
until our absence makes it easy

—Nancy Haskett, Modesto

___________________

ADOLESCENCE

—Nancy Haskett

In my imagination,
I was popular
instead of just a good student;
Ross Riddle was my boyfriend,
his St. Christopher medal
around my neck;
I knew all the Beatles
personally,
inspired some of their songs
with my long hair, short skirts
and flawless skin
like the English girls
in “A Hard Day’s Night,”
who knew nothing
of DeMille Junior High
in Long Beach, California,
knew nothing about being
just an ordinary
short-haired
honor student
listening to record albums,
daydreaming

__________________
 

Today's LittleNip:

MASTERPIECE
—Caschwa

A simple blank
white piece of paper
no title, no author name

no text

no offensive material
no typos, no falsities
no copyright infringements

submitted timely with SASE

the editor blue-penciled it
covering almost the entire page
with one big blue question mark

the unedited version was better

__________________

—Medusa, who is delighted to see that March has come in like a lamb...!

Time and Relative Dimensions in Space

—Robert Lee Haycock