Autoclave

The vertebrae break.

----------In the distance, a vibrato.

Not so much water over

the dam but

----------a whoosh

-------------------of wings approaching.


Women flying in the shape of a V.


Forests falling

---------from the dark of their wombs.


Witches will show you how

-----------to grind together bones.


But come late, after sun

-------------burnt nipples and caramel skin


where yaw marks singe the road.

Surreal

I finished Priscilla Becker's Internal West a couple of days ago. She has the same immediate and profound effect that Louise Gluck has on me. It took me three sittings to finish it. Emotions kept washing me away.

I'm also in the middle of Franz Wright's God's Silence, and contemplating how perfect it is when he begins the poem "Lines Written in the Dark Illegible Next Day" with "Apple alone in a bowl."

Yesterday, I took Frank Stanford's The Light the Dead See to keep me company while I sat on a couch in a bridal shop and watched Jojo try on prom dresses.

Tom's home from college for the summer, coming and going like a cat, at will. He made it back this morning in time to show Gene his two new earrings and explain the details of how his friends pierced his ears. Gene called me later to tell me about the dead coyote he saw on the side of the road.

FGWC

Wednesday, April 30th, 7:15 - Scot Brigg's house.

The e-mails will go out soon, along with directions to Scot's house, which you can walk to from IUSB. Bring refreshments to share, if you can. Sorry it's on graduate reading night. It's a fairly nice problem when you have to choose which writing event to attend!

In other writerly news, Terri Vega has an article in the May edition of In Michiana, a publication of the South Bend Tribune, and Talia has an article today in the Tribune, as well as more poems coming out in Arsenic Lobster. Nice!

Cygnus Olor

I noticed this guy/gal a few days ago at the park. He/she hangs out with a Canadian goose.

Butterfly?

So this is the guy I'm trying to identify.

Next Frame

I sat through my last "real" class of my undergraduate career Tuesday, so I have a bit of relief for a week before two last finals next Thursday. I'm already starting to feel a bit odd, but not odd enough to stay out of the woods.

I've been tramping around and crawling on my hands and knees taking pictures. Everything is blooming! Yesterday, I found a lone swan preening. I watched him for a long time, but finally had to leave. Swan's can preen for an extremely long time.

Baugo Creek was full of fingerling-somethings and also a small school of blue gill. Last week, Chris and I saw a large school of suckers.

And the butterflies! I went to Borders last night and bought a field guide, but still couldn't identify this tiny little black fellow I saw with orange window panes on its wings. Maybe it's a moth. Do moths and butterflies have different field guides? Why have I never learned these things?

Good luck, everyone, on final papers and finals! Just one week to go.

FGWC

Friday, April 25th, 4:00, The Chicory Cafe.

I've sent the e-mails out. If you didn't get one and you'd like to be on the list, post a comment and I'll track you down like a dog and wrestle your e-mail address out of you and you'll be in. It's that simple. There's rarely any blood.

And a million thanks to Neil for a great After-the-Analecta party! As usual, I didn't get to talk to half the people I really wanted to, but that's the way it always is.

Art Institute

So, thanks to Jesus for letting me know that now or very soon might be the time to go to the Art Institute if we want to see Hopper or Homer. Chris & I are tentatively planning on taking the South Shore up on May 7th. If you'd like to do a group outing thing, have the time, whatever, let me know and I'll try to coordinate it. Costs? About $21 for the train and about $20 for the special exhibit entry fee. We have to purchase the special exhibit tickets in advance, so let me know if you're interested soon. Whatever else you want to spend is up to you.

I know, I know, this is very close to the picnic. It can't be helped.

In Retrospect

"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."