contents and discontents

Picture of the Day
yesterday | today tomorrow

Saturday
August 30, 2003

i don't expect an answer.
i've cleared my head of questions--
filled it with smoke instead.

. . .

i look in the mirror.
don't look in the mirror.
put down the camera.

. . .

a man on bike passes,
trailed by little dog
carrying a stick
      too big for it.
man and dog carry on.

. . .

alligator. duck. no
alligator. this swamp.
no, it's just a pond.

. . .

red bench, worn. old
man. no thoughts.
been feelin' pretty down since i got here.
maybe it was the weather. the sun's come out now.
i'm in rembrandt park. i leave in 2 hours at 7 o'clock.
maybe this is what i wanted--to sit quiet by a pond.
didn't even ride Sergio Segers' yellow bike
--I walked.
one coffee shop was members only, takeout window
and locked red door. there was another further down
the block--Arab joint with low benches all around,
4 men at 2 tables watching WNBA basketball.

a woman's come here to comb her dog.
no helmets, no leashes, no hassles for smoking out.
big fly with amber eyes alights on my thigh.
litter makes small sounds as it blows around.
i film the rattling can, the thin drum of plastic bottle.
then i pick them up, throw them out. first the fly,
now a narrow leaf lands on me--i'm a center of gravity.

last night was long but passed fast as a yawn.
i half tied one on then double slept it off.
toss, turn, adjust, 4 am to 2 o'clock. i finally went out
and bought this notebook for less than a buck.

. . .

VESTA. a name?
etched into a rock.
a park. soft, green,
wet, hard. no one talks.
they walk children, dogs.
old and new shit everywhere.
     watch out.

. . .

we're headed for war.

. . .

did i come all this way
just to photograph clouds?
the truth is i haven't travelled far.
i've yet to leave my body. do i
follow it or does it follow me?
i leave it behind every time i sleep.

. . .

what's an artist without an audience?
we are all just showing off for our parents.
 

we are all just generalizing. "we" doesn't even exist. only the smell of shit.