The Deity of Calm Waters
Phoebe Ann
A Partial Thaw
A Talk
A Conversation
Athehna (invocation)
Empath
Pseudo Djuturna
The Body of Charro's Daughter
Eithnia (invocation)
An Old Girlfriend
Salmon
Poems
Arundo Donax
Shahn
Channels
The Water Temple
Monument
What is Left of Her
Pilot
At a Loss
Irrigation
Tsunami
Something in Common
Into Distance
The Next Night
The Appearance of Junipera
Momentary Lover
Daphnis' Father
Crossing the River
Tending an Oread
The Backyard Bedroom
The Sand Hills of Aiks
Padlock
Looking for Nests
Along the Russian River
More Repairs
In a Labyrinthine House
A Love Nest
The White House
A Grasp of Words
.
The Deity of Calm Waters
.…on a steep slope Pahn has stopped
for lunch
April grassy
still
It is a picnic with
his family
They wander about
the incline talking of
family matters
Going to the barbecue
for hamburgers Daphnis climbs up into the rocks
as is his inclination
and Pahn follows him to catch
him if he falls
But Pahn keeps climbing up
to the University…
…and down again
past picnic and family down
to the river in the canyon
He comes out of the woods
onto a trestle and crossing
to the shade he climbs
over the creosote
timbers down
into the river
He swims underwater
his feet crossed like
an otter upstream in the clear light
While sitting on the silty bank
Djuturna
her chin in her hand smiles
her unending smile and
Pahn finds himself lying beneath her
her knees on either side
of his waist swishing
her vulva against him
to erect his sex
and it rises when
he holds her face
and her shoulders
in his hands…
…Again he is driving with Aiks
The brakes are not adequate
he wonders how such a large vehicle
could have been designed unable
to stop its own momentum
She tells him he must turn right
and he slows down just enough
to avoid rolling over
She says he must turn left now
but there is a line of cars
in the left turn lane
He doesn’t see how
he will be able
to stop the car in time
The brakes are only reins of leather
that require all his strength
for lunch
April grassy
still
It is a picnic with
his family
They wander about
the incline talking of
family matters
Going to the barbecue
for hamburgers Daphnis climbs up into the rocks
as is his inclination
and Pahn follows him to catch
him if he falls
But Pahn keeps climbing up
to the University…
…and down again
past picnic and family down
to the river in the canyon
He comes out of the woods
onto a trestle and crossing
to the shade he climbs
over the creosote
timbers down
into the river
He swims underwater
his feet crossed like
an otter upstream in the clear light
While sitting on the silty bank
Djuturna
her chin in her hand smiles
her unending smile and
Pahn finds himself lying beneath her
her knees on either side
of his waist swishing
her vulva against him
to erect his sex
and it rises when
he holds her face
and her shoulders
in his hands…
…Again he is driving with Aiks
The brakes are not adequate
he wonders how such a large vehicle
could have been designed unable
to stop its own momentum
She tells him he must turn right
and he slows down just enough
to avoid rolling over
She says he must turn left now
but there is a line of cars
in the left turn lane
He doesn’t see how
he will be able
to stop the car in time
The brakes are only reins of leather
that require all his strength
to stop before they crash…
.
.
Phoebe Ann (A Quiet Simple Person)
With his son...Daphnis
casting through the trees
into dark and murky water
taking the line from him
to un-stick it from the bottom
Pahn pulls up a large object
that looks like a rock
but is too light to be stone
It must be Styrofoam
that has been stained
to the core
by the mud
of all these years
of lying on the bottom
A woman across the lake
single
and childless
not distracted by love
focused
professional
is quietly doing well She walks by
passing out of sight
Pahn takes the tackle
baiting the grapnel hook
with Feta cheese
Wading into the water A teenage girl comes by
to cast further walking across the water
greeting in French
he swims back
to the deeper end A second comes by
speaking French
and casts his line with a few Spanish words
Pahn asks her if she is American
There are two large and she says “yes”
beautiful (Her mix of languages
dark fish gave her away)
circling around Pahn
One of them strikes the bait
and he yanks the line
to settle the hook
He doesn’t see at first Pahn is looking for something
where he has hooked it
but when he takes it Egairia as a little girl
to show his family is walking around him
his wife (Aiks) asks him Eendekoi as a little boy
why he had to catch it is walking around him too
And when he asks The children are running
if he should let it go back and forth
she says
that having Pahn is rummaging around
caught it in a shoe box
damaged it for a present
they should eat it for Egairia
and Eendekoi
And then he sees
that the hook has torn off
one of its gills among the toy cars
showing its many tiny bones harmonicas
and the tiny heart inside skeletons
plastic hearts
and livers and lungs
Finally he looks down
and sees at his side
a little girl
with a rifle
on her shoulder—
Annie Oakley
as a child
and he thinks
this is the perfect gift
for them
.
.
A Partial Thaw
.
…Pahn is driving a pickup turning into
the cul-de-sac of
the damp spring in
the mid-century wealthy neighborhood
followed by
a full truck of lumber
Pahn sees
the house of
his nice neighbors
where he has come to work dismounting
onto the brick drive Those nice neighbors
come out of the house to
…Pahn is driving a pickup turning into
the cul-de-sac of
the damp spring in
the mid-century wealthy neighborhood
followed by
a full truck of lumber
Pahn sees
the house of
his nice neighbors
where he has come to work dismounting
onto the brick drive Those nice neighbors
come out of the house to
show him
the problem—rotting headers
of squandered redwood and thin gray balusters
of a fence
without support
Pahn pulls out the disintegration
with a mattock and moves
into the back yard
Looking into the far areas of the property
he sees many Mexican people
wearing clean dark clothing
men and women working
and socializing
in the semblance of a community
Past
the warm people
the women’s long hair
and the men’s respect for him
he comes to a pit of construction and
walks down into it relaying instructions
in Spanish—
his social position wavering with his accent
They are shoveling
white powder onto a ramp
covered with grape pomace
Pahn yells
to Mehtztlee to try to keep the powder
out of the pit…
…Paddling a boat…
…walking away into a bathroom
Pahn is followed
by a thin young woman
like a daughter
or a lover..with straight black hair
that carries the warmth
of love and
smooth dark arms that
hold acceptance and
she sits on Pahn’s lap in a stall
Pahn is thinking of the woman’s place
in her community and how it is affected by
her behavior and how she has been generous
to come in
to him
and he senses that he has acquired the strength of her
health and allure
and it excites him
Outside they hear the men debating
as to whether Pahn is a man
(a Mexican) or not
They really can’t tell
but what they mean
has nothing to do
with his gender
A man
in the next stall
looks through the cracks
and seeing Pahn’s beard
he calls out to the others
that Pahn is a man
As they quiz the man
on how he can tell
and he explains about the beard
the woman gets up from Pahn’s lap
and steps outside to tell them
that Pahn
is indeed
very much
a man
she could feel his penis harden beneath her
and they are convinced
because they figure
that she would know better
the problem—rotting headers
of squandered redwood and thin gray balusters
of a fence
without support
Pahn pulls out the disintegration
with a mattock and moves
into the back yard
Looking into the far areas of the property
he sees many Mexican people
wearing clean dark clothing
men and women working
and socializing
in the semblance of a community
Past
the warm people
the women’s long hair
and the men’s respect for him
he comes to a pit of construction and
walks down into it relaying instructions
in Spanish—
his social position wavering with his accent
They are shoveling
white powder onto a ramp
covered with grape pomace
Pahn yells
to Mehtztlee to try to keep the powder
out of the pit…
…Paddling a boat…
…walking away into a bathroom
Pahn is followed
by a thin young woman
like a daughter
or a lover..with straight black hair
that carries the warmth
of love and
smooth dark arms that
hold acceptance and
she sits on Pahn’s lap in a stall
Pahn is thinking of the woman’s place
in her community and how it is affected by
her behavior and how she has been generous
to come in
to him
and he senses that he has acquired the strength of her
health and allure
and it excites him
Outside they hear the men debating
as to whether Pahn is a man
(a Mexican) or not
They really can’t tell
but what they mean
has nothing to do
with his gender
A man
in the next stall
looks through the cracks
and seeing Pahn’s beard
he calls out to the others
that Pahn is a man
As they quiz the man
on how he can tell
and he explains about the beard
the woman gets up from Pahn’s lap
and steps outside to tell them
that Pahn
is indeed
very much
a man
she could feel his penis harden beneath her
and they are convinced
because they figure
that she would know better
than anyone now
…
Pahn is climbing a cascade
on an island
in a large lake
with fallen logs for bridges
He makes his way further
up a granite monument
…
Pahn is climbing a cascade
on an island
in a large lake
with fallen logs for bridges
He makes his way further
up a granite monument
on a trail
made of log ladders
with pictures of famous
American Indians
each representing an extant tribe
made of log ladders
with pictures of famous
American Indians
each representing an extant tribe
and
when he reaches the top
looking back over the lake
he walks into the air
to discuss policy
with the people in charge
on the subject of immigration
and because their policy will mean
that the smaller tribes
will be lost in the multitudes
he goes in anger and defiance
to remove their pictures
and mourn the loss of their history
and their faces which he had found
when he reaches the top
looking back over the lake
he walks into the air
to discuss policy
with the people in charge
on the subject of immigration
and because their policy will mean
that the smaller tribes
will be lost in the multitudes
he goes in anger and defiance
to remove their pictures
and mourn the loss of their history
and their faces which he had found
beautiful
and to mourn as well
the un-crowded time when they
and to mourn as well
the un-crowded time when they
lived…
…Pahn says to himself
“It was easy for us to climb the cascade
…Pahn says to himself
“It was easy for us to climb the cascade
but it is not so easy to build a road
back down”
and then to the photographs he says
“We don’t have to take the same path
and then to the photographs he says
“We don’t have to take the same path
as long as it works
as long as we get there”
but they are stymied...and lost
Looking back
Pahn sees a blond little girl
Like Annie Oakley as a child
frozen into the granite screen
And he keeps her in mind
as he leaves the island
to fill drums with gasoline
for the construction
His hand
moves over the monitor
gliding over the lake
and he sees how pleasant and relaxed
his neighbors are and how warm
and down to earth are his co-workers
and he wants
to free the blond little girl
with braids now
from her place in the monument
Moving
as long as we get there”
but they are stymied...and lost
Looking back
Pahn sees a blond little girl
Like Annie Oakley as a child
frozen into the granite screen
And he keeps her in mind
as he leaves the island
to fill drums with gasoline
for the construction
His hand
moves over the monitor
gliding over the lake
and he sees how pleasant and relaxed
his neighbors are and how warm
and down to earth are his co-workers
and he wants
to free the blond little girl
with braids now
from her place in the monument
Moving
through the air above the boat
then reaching his destination his hand
clicks on her icon and
she comes to life
He is glad
like he has never felt gladness before
because she is free to feel these people—
the ones
who have been freed before her—to feel
their hands and arms And
he can imagine them
reaching inside of him
to hold his vital organs
as he is opened
and the tightness
in his chest
drains
away
then reaching his destination his hand
clicks on her icon and
she comes to life
He is glad
like he has never felt gladness before
because she is free to feel these people—
the ones
who have been freed before her—to feel
their hands and arms And
he can imagine them
reaching inside of him
to hold his vital organs
as he is opened
and the tightness
in his chest
drains
away
.
.
A Talk
.
On a large boat
in a clean room
with pleasant furnishings
wooden
and dark
he talks to the small
compact
professional
woman
who is safe
and available
with even smile
and sympathetic words
until
it is time to walk away
into the outer room
which is larger
There is
and has been always
on this vessel
an oppressive
wall
to his left
Now
with unaccustomed strength
his shoulders
and expanding thought
swing out
pushing
heavily away the wall
as if it were made
of balsa
There is a vague
and distant fear
that he needs
the sides
to keep from drowning
but he wants
at least
in a clean room
with pleasant furnishings
wooden
and dark
he talks to the small
compact
professional
woman
who is safe
and available
with even smile
and sympathetic words
until
it is time to walk away
into the outer room
which is larger
There is
and has been always
on this vessel
an oppressive
wall
to his left
Now
with unaccustomed strength
his shoulders
and expanding thought
swing out
pushing
heavily away the wall
as if it were made
of balsa
There is a vague
and distant fear
that he needs
the sides
to keep from drowning
but he wants
at least
the whole boat
.
.
A Conversation
In the distance
in the background
in silence
like a memory standing
by the bottles
filling with wine
Egairia
is wearing a poem
for safety
a cage of protective words
At the end of the day
Leenaiyos
lets her take off
her shield
and Pahn meets her
beneath the barrel trees
where
only the vulnerable words
in columns
like ribs
cover her breast
in the background
in silence
like a memory standing
by the bottles
filling with wine
Egairia
is wearing a poem
for safety
a cage of protective words
At the end of the day
Leenaiyos
lets her take off
her shield
and Pahn meets her
beneath the barrel trees
where
only the vulnerable words
in columns
like ribs
cover her breast
.
.
Athehna
.
Blue wash fantasy
of shells through the violence
of ancestry a pale
and pinkish skin
now
armored silver
in her strands
coated
piercing
watching over with force and judgment
the thin
shiny
fish
and we are
glancing against
sheathing
the watery
flesh
still
vulnerable
pearl
of shells through the violence
of ancestry a pale
and pinkish skin
now
armored silver
in her strands
coated
piercing
watching over with force and judgment
the thin
shiny
fish
and we are
glancing against
sheathing
the watery
flesh
still
vulnerable
pearl
.
.
Empath
…called to the back yard
Pahn sees Athehna
with Yaohwa
and stops to listen to them
They are speaking
clearly discernable
they are exchanging information
Pahn is feeling left out
having missed already
the gossip
and now watching Yaohwa
by chance
Pahn is genuinely jealous
He listens in the knowledge
that he has this same
communicative sense
and gathers from the air
Yaohwa leaves
And Pahn takes her aside to ask
“Are you saying
That you are pregnant?”
She nods
and the two of them go inside
He speaks to her for a while
trying to determine
if he should stay for her
or if she’d rather he left
He can barely feel their separateness
in the open room
but in the passing moments
they find a time to pull their minds
…and Pahn is outside again
Ahbnoba comes
and asks Pahn to turn off the sprinklers
so that her guests
will not get wet
Pahn goes around front
with Eeunks and Daphnis
to show them how it is done
He is perplexed
that Yaohwa is running sprinklers
in the winter
Trying the first valve
The water comes on around him
and he is soaked…
.
.
Pseudo Djuturna
.
…strolling thirstily
a University corridor
like an airport hallway
looking for a fountain
finding water
a University corridor
like an airport hallway
looking for a fountain
finding water
in the basin
of a potted plant
in someone else’s cup
Coming to a lobby
like the reception area
of a private clinic
Pahn sees two students
Across the room
there appears to be
a drinking fountain
but approaching it
Pahn sees that it is only ornamental
with re-circulating water
not safe to drink
He stops to talk to the students
because he is lonely for them
He tells them he is dying
of thirst
One of them is blond
wearing brown and beige
and she smiles broader than belief
pulling a can of soda
from her net bag
saying
“Here
You can have this”
Pahn is reluctant
because he feels like he is mooching
and he is afraid
that soda will not slake his thirst
But he accepts it from her
in shyness
drinking a long draught
because he is so thirsty
and the taste is good—
not as sweet as he expected
the fizz not as coarse
Looking up
the other woman
who is wearing
the color of negation
is talking to him
and as she speaks
her clothes become navy
and her hair lightens to brown
She is turning into Djuturna
He walks with her
with her calming blue eyes
suggesting water
and her penetrating smile
that runs down his throat
massaging
the tension
from his chest
She tells him she has a boyfriend
but that it’s all right
and they go to her dorm
to lie on her bed
with the boyfriend watching
in the background
Lying on top of her
his arms under her shoulders
and his hands around her face
Pahn is nearly inside her
when she says
she is sorry but they can’t
because
she has forgotten her
Polypropylphenolene
that she takes
to avoid pregnancy
or disease
from his chest
She tells him she has a boyfriend
but that it’s all right
and they go to her dorm
to lie on her bed
with the boyfriend watching
in the background
Lying on top of her
his arms under her shoulders
and his hands around her face
Pahn is nearly inside her
when she says
she is sorry but they can’t
because
she has forgotten her
Polypropylphenolene
that she takes
to avoid pregnancy
or disease
.
.
The Body of Charro's Daughter
.
In Hawaii at the beach behind a house
that he was told is Charro’s
Pahn saw a young woman
with a compact and curvy body
She was with a man
undoubtedly her husband
who had speared a big fish and
was showing it to their son
He had classic Mediterranean good looks
the tan of leisure
the physique
of well regulated sport
Pahn couldn’t help wondering
how foreign the woman’s world might seem
if he could know it
how she spent her time
did she like to cook?
did her mother approve of her husband?
how did she meet him?
and could she relate to someone like Pahn?
…
By the dunes
thinking about a movie
seeing two fugitives
Michael Caine and Sydney Poitier
running into a field
joined by a Russian
and a tall man
their pursuers close behind
The Russian shoots the tall man
then tells himself
to slow and confuse
while Pahn runs toward the river
diving in
The river bends
around the head of the hemisphere
into an Italian bay
Pahn climbs out of the water
He can smell the mud flats
and Italian fishing boats are speeding
to the open water
Walking up the bright sand
to an old and sun-bleached hotel
of Carmel sandstone
Pahn finds a thin woman
wearing a scarf skirt
speaking English
in the middle of giving a tour
alone to herself
She tells of the last owners
of how they put clear glass
in the windows
because the guests wanted to see the view
Pahn tries to imagine what was in the windows before he notices
that the window frames are metal
and very rusted
One is missing
He asks her when they were installed
Thinking it must have been the thirties
when such windows were popular
She walks toward the water
past women in bikinis
climbs into a kayak
paddles around
for a few minutes in the bay
and returns with a bag of tiny biscuits
which she has baked
on the water
She tosses them to Pahn
one at a time
as he tries to catch them
in his mouth
He is hungry for her and the biscuits
So she offers him panini
of whole wheat bread
and Prociutto
with cheese
Pahn thinks to himself that prociutto is left over
from a time when there was no refrigeration
…
Pahn is in coastal California
someplace like Davenport
with Aiks, Eeunks and Daphnis
They are staying in a 19th century hotel
in the center of town
dragging up their luggage
checking out the room
eating in the restaurant
Leaving and returning to the restaurant
they find the hostess topless
and the waitress naked
Looking at the waitress
Pahn expects to be excited
but she seems unfriendly
and he finds no arousal
But the hostess
who is in the body of Charro’s daughter
calls Pahn into an empty room
and hugs him
At this point
a tall middle aged man
with a cowboy hat and plaid shirt
his neck
red and wrinkled
comes into the room
admonishing Pahn
in a vaguely threatening manner
But Pahn ignores him
being too happy
in the arms of the hostess
to be distracted
that he was told is Charro’s
Pahn saw a young woman
with a compact and curvy body
She was with a man
undoubtedly her husband
who had speared a big fish and
was showing it to their son
He had classic Mediterranean good looks
the tan of leisure
the physique
of well regulated sport
Pahn couldn’t help wondering
how foreign the woman’s world might seem
if he could know it
how she spent her time
did she like to cook?
did her mother approve of her husband?
how did she meet him?
and could she relate to someone like Pahn?
…
By the dunes
thinking about a movie
seeing two fugitives
Michael Caine and Sydney Poitier
running into a field
joined by a Russian
and a tall man
their pursuers close behind
The Russian shoots the tall man
then tells himself
to slow and confuse
while Pahn runs toward the river
diving in
The river bends
around the head of the hemisphere
into an Italian bay
Pahn climbs out of the water
He can smell the mud flats
and Italian fishing boats are speeding
to the open water
Walking up the bright sand
to an old and sun-bleached hotel
of Carmel sandstone
Pahn finds a thin woman
wearing a scarf skirt
speaking English
in the middle of giving a tour
alone to herself
She tells of the last owners
of how they put clear glass
in the windows
because the guests wanted to see the view
Pahn tries to imagine what was in the windows before he notices
that the window frames are metal
and very rusted
One is missing
He asks her when they were installed
Thinking it must have been the thirties
when such windows were popular
She walks toward the water
past women in bikinis
climbs into a kayak
paddles around
for a few minutes in the bay
and returns with a bag of tiny biscuits
which she has baked
on the water
She tosses them to Pahn
one at a time
as he tries to catch them
in his mouth
He is hungry for her and the biscuits
So she offers him panini
of whole wheat bread
and Prociutto
with cheese
Pahn thinks to himself that prociutto is left over
from a time when there was no refrigeration
…
Pahn is in coastal California
someplace like Davenport
with Aiks, Eeunks and Daphnis
They are staying in a 19th century hotel
in the center of town
dragging up their luggage
checking out the room
eating in the restaurant
Leaving and returning to the restaurant
they find the hostess topless
and the waitress naked
Looking at the waitress
Pahn expects to be excited
but she seems unfriendly
and he finds no arousal
But the hostess
who is in the body of Charro’s daughter
calls Pahn into an empty room
and hugs him
At this point
a tall middle aged man
with a cowboy hat and plaid shirt
his neck
red and wrinkled
comes into the room
admonishing Pahn
in a vaguely threatening manner
But Pahn ignores him
being too happy
in the arms of the hostess
to be distracted
.
.
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