Out of the Gaping Mouth

 ...two arrows                            

by a house                              

in the deep                                                                           
chasm of granite                                                            
wide meadows              glacial                    

erratics                                   


                          talus
                                     grey         live-
oaks    

                      stiff
brush
straight                                                 
pines                            

where lives an old man                             
who is Pahn's instuctor                     One arrow
has an orange                   
square  

                                     edge                         one arrow
is cylindrical
with three feathers     Pahn
has a bow and goes out to shoot      though
he worries     the old man

                                      might not approve                   A car
comes up    and
Pahn hides from the Cadillac people

                                                                          concealing
the old man’s sacred
arrows    safe                                   

Inside
Pahn eats chocolate-
chip enchiladas      and resting     an earthquake
waves long                                                             
strong even                           
It is a rolling changer of scenes…        

…Wayland arrives
and he and Pahn head home   they
drive the desiccated remnants
of outwash turmoil                                                             
in a blue bus through
a geology

                              of eruptions
landslides                                                      
speeders

                                                                    and missiles
peril                   

There are people                            
in trances
woolen             blankets          turquoise            passing
the blue bus       There is a long
steep

                        hill that greens
as the vehicle climbs
and a couple wearing deerskin
robes   walking     arms out     turns to embrace         knowing
Pahn and Wayland                                                 
will be safe…

…the lowlands                                                                       
of walnut orchards and fast-food
ripple like fat on a dog               and
they are welcomed                                                
to the cardboard restaurant
and delivered

                      to a man with a stick

This man hits them    many times
until                  
finally              Pahn breaks his stick
Wayland approves…

…in a candy store                                                  
Hehrmess takes a giant dessert                                                  
in a candy store                                                      
Pahn buys a lot of chocolate                                                  
chocolate relish
Wayland buys rocks for his turtle
Pahn eats them crumbly…                          

…the old man   Pahn's instructor      rolls him on his rug
Pahn is sick    he needs to be made well
The old man massages Pahn’s back…

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


Some of these poems originally appeared in the following publications

Avocet
Dream International Quarterly
mojo risin'
The Muse Apprentice Guild (The MAG)
Transfer

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