Sunday, February 23, 2014

Common Signs of Distress



TERMS


BOOK: The paragraph continues indefinitely. Text is crystalline in character and subtly shadowed. Pagination often follows codification schemes. The terminus of a box canyon is an ideal testing ground. Specifics are of no matter. It is absolutely not possible to assign blame. A BOOK created under WEDNESDAY should be avoided. Do not expect help.


WEDNESDAY: A compound air typically occurring in underground spaces amidst beams and spars. Most things that do not make sense or complicate matters are formed under WEDNESDAY. Often a sequence of numbers will manifest under WEDNESDAY. These sequences should always be ignored.


WEEKEND: A dream from which you wake holding your own hand.


PRESENT, THE: The time you have spent here cannot be objectively defined. There is no other place.


DOOM BOOM, THE: Of unknown purpose and manufacture. Jointed like a spider. Location unknown though likely in polar orbit.


HEARTLAND, THE: Home, if home existed. See HOME.


HOME: Home does not exist.


FINAL MARKER, THE: The last marker you will know about. If you are looking for THE FINAL MARKER it has already been passed.


ROOF, THE: It’s unclear. Once thought to provide protection. Mostly consisting of dusty bones. If any protective value remains it is entirely unapparent and experimentally undetectable. Usually supported by THE PORCH.


PORCH, THE: A place for stiff joints to harden. A forced shade typically not recognized or respected. Serves little to no use. Supports THE ROOF.


MAXIMUS: Thoroughly muscled. Includes twin long flat boards supporting the arms. The legs are long and fine. MAXIMUS says look for me in the place you always find me. MAXIMUS says I was grown from a battleship planted like a seed.


TRAVEL: Americans following old routes have had some success. Road-based travel is not advised. Flight is impossible.


GATEKEEPER, THE: Upon passing you must say Do Not Lock Me Out. You may say Take Me To The South but this is not necessary. You will not be taken to the south. THE GATEKEEPER is rumored to be pliable under WEDNESDAY or when the Southern Cross appears inverted. If the two situations appear simultaneously do not talk to THE GATEKEEPER. It is difficult to interpret the rules. MAXIMUS has provided detailed maps of the rules though recent connections to MAXIMUS have been refused. The MAXIMUS connection protocol has yet to be defined.


SIGNAL, THE: A chatter of calming intelligence can be extracted from THE SIGNAL. Operates at ultralow frequencies. Difficult to isolate. Extremely intermittent. A metallic mesh can serve as a filter when connected in series with a powered antenna. Classified as a Walking Signal, amplitudeic travels are ceaseless but follow a set pattern and thus can be tracked using a properly calibrated rotator and a clean current.


NOTES

Human spaces carved out above the Earth used to be designed to spin. This method of mimicking gravity through accelerated motion is no longer viable. You’re free you’re free you’re free; this is what was heard in the wind.


It is simply not about volume anymore. There is a hole in your understanding of the world around you. It is best to remain silent until you fully understand what is happening. You will never understand. Give up now. There is no home.


Listen to: the clink of the colored lights flashing; the sludge in your heart as you lay on your side; the air escaping in a slow high whine; the time as it loses you.


The keeping of physical calendars is highly recommended. It is advisable to number and cross out each day as it passes in order to keep a tenuous hold on THE PRESENT, which is not possible. Duplicate calendars should be kept in separate blast zones which do not intersect. Prevention is the key to sadness. You should approach prevention with deliberate focus. Everything can be prevented.


In previous ages honesty was the foundation. In this age there are no foundations. Bells and other heavy objects such as human relationships must be kept in continual motion to prevent sinking and warping. Bogs are common and should be expected in all cases.


There is more to A---. In the same way that there is more to you there is more to A---. Do you feel that longing inside of you? There is more longing in A---. When you regret that you did not make the evening memorable A- - is also experiencing regret at her perceived shortcomings. A---’s doubts are devouring her as yours are you. When you feel forgettable A--- feels that she has been forgotten. You did not say what you wanted to say and neither did A---. A--- will never say what she wants to say. You must look into her eyes and believe that it is there.


A simple view of human progress through time: All that exists is the infinitesimal present known as now. Past presents are stacked. Future slices if extended outward would reveal themselves to be writhing nest of snakes.


Settling has become commonplace. The terms Home, Pit, and Ditch can be used interchangeably. Praying to the ditch/home can be beneficial in terms of weather and overall structural soundness and protection levels.


When faced with obvious madness be deliberate with gaze targeting. If you feel that you are being too heavy handed this is a sign that you are approaching the correct levels.


Common signs of distress: bleeding from the ears, vibrations in the fingernails, confusion, deep humming in the bones. Coping mechanisms include a coiled floss treatment of the limbs, repetition of the No Help mantra, blacking of windows, sleep, etc.


Prepare for disappearance through: Tool creation, mobilization of homes, deletion of electronic traces, phone soaking, sole reinforcement, trueing of tires.


Intrusion of the past into the present should be avoided at all costs. Thick cotton vests should be worn under clothes to soften the blows of the past. The past will physically assault the rememberer from the back at the shoulders and from the front at the forehead. Extremities should be sacrificed to protect the core.


All efforts to penetrate and understand the contents of interior structures such as the human brain and the human heart should be made though no efforts will be fruitful. Access to inaccessible areas should always be attempted. 


Hunger is a sign that all is well.


Human mechanisms for detecting love and caring have devolved. Love and caring must be communicated in the most obvious ways if the message is intended to be received by the Loved. The Lover must be clear to the point of being explicit when communicating love to the Loved. Love should always be secured in writing or other physical language forms and passed to the Loved by hand. This allows the Loved to find a private/secure space in which absorb the meaning of the message.


When attempting to live in a three dimensional environment, thin wedges of minimal arc length should be processed individually, slowly building up the whole from the parts. These small degrees can be survivably processed. The same forms can be built in cube fashion without loss of resolution. This linear/scanning approach to vision and cognition effectively protects the damaged brain. A cataloging/indexing method of perception is best when paired with constant rereading.


It is critical to understand why she smiles. Mechanics are unimportant. It is the why that must be grasped. Boredom is always the most dangerous element. There is no other side of boredom. There is only deeper boredom leading to recklessness and destruction. A thinning out until the bones become visible is a common sign of desire for what one does not possess. Thinning should be considered a preparation. A defensive counter-thinning should be performed either to defeat the desire seeking behavior of the first thinner or to begin a desire seeking pattern of one’s own whether one has a desire at hand to seek or not.


Where have you been? It’s not been asked enough. Where have you been?


A slow draining of meaning from text-based symbol systems has been observed. More is expressed through cadence and tone than through word selection. When used properly, one word is truly as good as the next. See Marcus.


There is a persistent nagging feeling that there is a pathway into wholehearted engagement with life and that this pathway definitely exists and that this pathway will never be found. This is not the correct way to live but it is the only way. There is an irrefutable knowledge that no situation or experience has even been handled properly. Nothing has ever been processed without the edge being blunted. Nothing has ever been committed to without some degree of hedging. The world is seething with wasted potential. It is true that wasted potential is the most destructive force in the universe.


EXERCISES


EXERCISE 1: A sufficiently tempered larynx can only be attained through sustained effort. Coughing freely for several weeks may begin to temper the larynx. Voices should be restrained to three meters or less during the tempering phase. The life should be more or less devoted to the tempering phase. Tempering should be the sole focus until death.


EXERCISE 2: Cling to whatever is around you.


EXERCISE 3: Stake your claim. Over and over again.


EXERCISE 4: It is important to focus on quality. Length of engagement is also critical. Engage in lengthy projects requiring intense focus and manual dexterity / stamina over time. These projects will invariably pay great dividends. Incredible power lies on the far side of boredom. This is one of the few truths.


EXERCISE 5: Sufficient repetition of the statement “Help Will Never Come” can be pacifying in many situations. Minor interferences can be quickly smoothed while larger interferences, and even some rough disc disruptions, can be slipped by. For detailed or layered disturbances, a call and response is recommended: “Help?” “Help Will Never Come.”


EXERCISE 6: The wearing and removal of heavy watches. That a large heavy watch should be worn on each wrist at all times goes without saying. In the knocking of heavy watches against wood and tile dexterity is critical. The setting of watches is unimportant.


EXERCISE 7: Practice the identification and neutralization of common locks. Most required passages will be protected by locked doors. These doors must be opened.


EXERCISE 8: Exposure of the body with the goal of hardening should be practiced at every opportunity. Cold air, rain, snow, stones, woods, and metals should be allowed access to the body. Through proper exposure it is possible to turn the body into an unfeeling shell.

Friday, August 3, 2012

August 3

is this left separatebridged and gapped equally
young / slim / professional
bright as they come
illuminatus. being / seeing

or is it just
copies of copies

*

out on the end

down at the Anchor
everything that used to be there
how long can you mourn / climb

the bridge
one end here
the other who knows

*

put your horns up
and smile
I have never seen Cabot this busy
smile / sharpen
open your arms and let them guess
if you would hold or push







Ar-
gues that in no place
mixes with the ordinary life
being the pro-
ducts of improvisation
and contradiction like
        iron ships

Again we cometogether riverine
a long past / where we have been

There is no refuge
but this

circulation/floating
what else
curved movement where straight is needed

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

On Returning from a Bachelor Party in Denver, PA

In this harsh light
we look around

The Freedom Tower
from the Geo. Washington Bridge

The Palisades Mall
near a mile long

Big spaces
the Nexus of New Jersey
and we loop around the Hub
we pray to the Hub
on our knees before the Hub
our palms open we circle the Hub

Pete says
I'd have to be medicated to live here
We are on our way

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

American Love Story #3

It was the fuzziness that really brought me down. All those soft edges. There were flowers in the trees and we were exploring new love bravely. The days went on and on. The sun went up and down in America. Perfect waves came in row upon row. Swans, ponds, misty air, apple trees we saw it all. Still the fuzziness. Echos, animals, tv screens none of it makes a difference. It's soft even under the mountains of America. We're so sad! We're so tan from the sun just look at our shoulders! We've been so high! Apparently we will have to make the best we can from what little we have been left. We read the journals of Lewis and Clark and set out.
***
Put the key in the back of the bird and twist it toward me. Do not hold back. Say to the hand "turn."
*
There is nothing here! We have followed this river into wilderness and it has brought us to nothing! My friend, what do we do now?
*
Do not be afraid! Say to the wrist "up." We'll catch a fish and the wood is dry for a fire. My friend, what more could you want?
*
Swell, imperious bells. I fly. 

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

American Love Story #2

We slipped along at a speed that seemed impossible and we didn't feel a thing. We faced the same direction while holding hands in America. A pretty girl and a brave boy, free, together, moving fast. "Look out there," he said "my father has never seen this. My mother has never been here."

Monday, March 12, 2012

Albert Goldbarth - Comings Back


The earth is not round
it goes as far as the highest xylem

Still, certain emblems can permeate
the consciousness of entire generations:
snipers, ecology

oh they have electric mixers
oh they have hot-plates
oh they have a machine
that spins blood
until it separates

most people, after a certain age
don't cry.  They just live
that little bit shorter

we mustn't forget
the eyelids.  Two wings
are all a world needs,
uplifted in its praise every morning.

From the end of the earth, the song is Grind Me Into Dust.


The Old Man at the Wheel


Measured against the immeasurable
universe, no word you have spoken

brought light. Brought
light to what, as a child, you thought

too dark to be survived. By exorcism
you survived. By submission, then making.

You let all the parts of that thing you would
cut out of you enter your poem because

enacting there all its parts allowed you
the illusion you could cut it from your soul.

Dilemmas of choice given what cannot
change alone roused you to words.

As you grip the things that were young when 
you were young, they crumble in your hand.

Now you must drive west, which in November
means driving directly into the sun.



Frank Bidart


Monday, March 5, 2012

American Love Story #1

Let's go to the mountains. Let's go to the countryside. Katie said let's be careless and make everyone worry. Katie and I took the car to the mountains. We sat on a wooden bench at the top and hung our feet out over America.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

A Plan to Reach the North Pole by Balloon


When asked what he would do if his balloon came down in the water with no one around, he said, "Drown."

"It is not a little strange to be floating here above the polar sea," he went on. "To be the first to have floated here in a balloon. How soon, I wonder, shall we have successors? Shall we be thought mad or will our example be followed? I cannot deny that all three of us are dominated by a feeling of pride. We think we can well face death having done what we have done. Isn't it all, perhaps, the expression of an extremely strong sense of individuality which cannot bear the thought of living and dying like a man in the ranks, forgotten by coming generations? Is this ambition?"

Sunday, February 12, 2012



"Without a skeg a skiff is vicious to row. A skegless skiff wanders about, drifts with the wind, and quickly exhausts the already infuriated rower. A good skeg reaches perhaps six inches below the bottom of the skiff, and as a fixed rudder (or aftermost part of an otherwise nonexistent keel) directs the boat in a straight line.

Of course, a skeg adds draft to a skiff. Add a nice deep skeg to a skiff and it draws a half foot more water, and runs aground that much more frequently. Moreover, a skeg cants a grounded skiff, and if the skiff grounds on rocks or hard sand, the skeg often twists, then splits, and becomes flotsam. To skeg or not to skeg bedevils those who wish to 'skiff' the marshes - to use a verb Shakespeare used, although infrequently - and often the unwise forego skegs."


Thursday, February 2, 2012


"Yes, there is death in this business of whaling—a speechlessly quick chaotic bundling of a man into Eternity. But what then? Methinks we have hugely mistaken this matter of Life and Death. Methinks that what they call my shadow here on earth is my true substance. Methinks that in looking at things spiritual, we are too much like oysters observing the sun through the water, and thinking that thick water the thinnest of air. Methinks my body is but the lees of my better being. In fact take my body who will, take it I say, it is not me. And therefore three cheers for Nantucket; and come a stove boat and stove body when they will, for stave my soul, Jove himself cannot."

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Cherry

Cherry went to the ends of the earth.

Cherry walked the Barrier.

Brave Cherry dared the Winter Journey.

Cherry froze all ten fingers on the first day of the Winter Journey.

Cherry walked in the dark.

Cherry forgot about the difference between night and day.

Cherry walked 130 miles in 100 degrees of frost.

Cherry pulled the sledge.

Cherry, Bowers, and Wilson planned to be away six weeks.

Cherry ever positive built a stone house above Cape Crozier and stayed ten days.

Cherry climbed a hill to read a thermometer.

Cherry was a sailor hero.

Cherry sounded the white surface and found it hollow all around.

Cherry brought six tins of oil on the Winter Journey.

A reindeer bag was home to Cherry.

Cherry walked a cape of snow.

Cherry assembled the blubber stove.

Frozen Cherry listened to his heart beat slow.


Tuesday, December 6, 2011

IT WAS A LONG WALK HOME
CRUNCHING OVER ALL THOSE
METACARPALS.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

"The old Martian names were names of water and air and hills. They were the names of snows that emptied south in stone canals to fill the empty seas. And the names of sealed and buried sorcerers and towers and obelisks. And the rockets struck at the names like hammers, breaking away the marble into shale, shattering the crockery milestones that named the old towns, in the rubble of which great pylons were plunged with new names: IRON TOWN, STEEL TOWN, ALUMINUM CITY, ELECTRIC VILLAGE, CORN TOWN, GRAIN VILLA, DETROIT II."




[RB]