seize this this (1999)

seize this this poem as evidence
   of the worlds inside which collide
with clashing scimitars resounding
   muffled by a buffalo hide

seize this this home as evidence
   of the love of the air and the tree
breathe the fragrance of your own doings
   exemplify the peace of one, free

seize this his body as evidence
   limb by limb fold me into thy cell
only then could i awaken
   from relentless consumer spell

seize this this entire universe
   stick a barcode on the moon
buy grafted simu-cool reality
   with microscopic digital spoons

seize this this flagrant evidence
   a pile of consumer's bones
shred the passive neuroses to smithereens
   burn quaint Timorese in their homes

seize this this wrapper by providence
   left on the smudge of the hook
them heathen needs be crucified
   but spare 'em if they can cook

seize this this moment as medicine
   for the soul of the earth is food
acorn, creekmint, broccoli
   feed flesh as well as its mood



1999 Swale Canyon, Wa

Tattoo Tears and the Ladder Not Taken or Offered

http://www.calibanonline.com/store.html

#9 includes an art portfolio by Kisoon Griffith, interviews with zydeco musicians Wayne Toups and Nathan Williams, and work by Gerald Vizenor, Wanda Coleman, Dionisio Martinez, Diane Wakoski, Antonio Porta, Spencer Selby, Forest Bloodgood, Dieter Weslowski, Christopher Davis, John M. Bennett, Melissa Monroe, Ronnie Burk, Ray DiPalma, Edouard Roditi, Simon Perchick, Louise Erdrich, Michael Dorris, John Bradley, Sonya Hess,  Joel Lewis, Amanda Yskamp, Edward Smallfield, Sheila E. Murphy, Stephen Ratcliffe, Kevin Walker, John Lindgren, Silvia Curbelo, Greg Mulcahy, George Kalamaras, Raymond Federman, David Huerta, Jeanne M. Beaumont, Edward Mycue, Nico Vassilakis, Jay Passer, Christina-Marie, John Bell, Jose Quiroga, Judith Roitman, Gaspar Aguilera Diaz, Lisa Cooper, B.Z. Niditch, Tyrone Williams, and Guy R. Beining.

___________

#9 Issue of Caliban has my poem "hairbrain," about my friend Ann, who underwent
emergency brain surgery for an aneurysm. I had been publishing poetry by sending small
manuscripts to magazines, and got a tip from that Caliban wanted a submission. It was
particularly rewarding to be published alongside established "names."

I hadn't looked up Caliban online in awhile, not knowing it continued in some form. Yesterday,
I was thinking of Sherman Alexie, who at present is in the news from multiple women
accusing him of bad behavior (in a nutshell.)


"Writer Sherman Alexie last week issued a statement admitting he "has harmed" others, after rumors and allegations began to circulate about sexual harassment. Without providing details, Alexie said "there are women telling the truth," and he apologized to the people he has hurt. "

https://www.npr.org/2018/03/05/589909379/it-just-felt-very-wrong-sherman-alexies-accusers-go-on-the-record

Issue #10 of Caliban has several Alexie poems; the first is "Tattoo Tears," which is
dedicated "for Joy Harjo." It begins with "1. No one will believe the story I'm telling, so it must
be true." The poem explains that the tattooed tears for the woman exist as the "real ones
failed to convince."

Caliban print issues featured a Free Speech Corner, wherein contributors are given an
additional chance for publishing unedited comments. Sherman Alexie wrote,

"I'm a Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian
 from the Spokane Indian Reservation.
 Nearly full-blood, which means I can play
in the all-Indian basketball tournaments,
 but still not sure which parts of me
 are federally recognized as white."

NOW we know which parts are recognized as white: the shamed part.

""It's a story about power, and abuse of power," says Jeanine Walker, one of three women who came forward on the record, and whose stories NPR has corroborated with several sources. In all, 10 women spoke to NPR about Alexie, who is a married man. Most of the women wanted to remain anonymous, but a clear pattern emerged:

 The women reported behavior ranging from inappropriate comments both in private and in public, to flirting that veered suddenly into sexual territory, unwanted sexual advances and consensual sexual relations that ended abruptly.

 The women said Alexie had traded on his literary celebrity to lure them into uncomfortable sexual situations."

why poetry tries what it can't not do

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