Drink

My whiskey is
a tough way of life:

The wild cherry
continually pressing back
peach orchards.

I am a penniless
rumsoak.

Where shall I have that solidity
which trees find
in the ground?

My stuff
is the feel of good legs
and a broad pelvis
under the gold hair ornaments
of skyscrapers.


-William Carlos Williams

in the vein of Marianne Moore

Sharks have a covering of dermal dentricals

that protect their skin from damage and parasites and

improve fluid dynamics. Fluid,

their movements, through pools of ocean dew

standing still on sea plants- plants that are really animals

with murky names like zooxanthellae,

which “live inside the

translucent fleshy tissue of many marine animals

including types of giant clams, nudibranchs and even jellyfish,”

and which, for this, are considered to be

parasites.

“For that matter, I’d call a baby a parasite,”

he said, referring to the fusion of gametes

to produce a new organism-

an organism which grows in-

side the “translucent fleshy tissue” of mommies

for many months,

only to plop out one day, slimy and red-

a perturbed little body that screams

hello to the world.

“You have been deceived into thinking that you have progressed,”

into the world of man, into the world of morals and dignity-

but we who hail from the family hominidae,

we who call ourselves

Homo Sapiens are, really, just bipedal primates-

zooxanthellae with lungs.

-Julia Kennelly

A Monster Owl

A monster owl
out on the fence
flew away. What
is it the sign
of? The sign of
an owl.


.

-Lorine Niedecker

Channeling

Somewhere in East St. Louis

an old man walks

with no concern for
where he is going for he is going
nowhere. He walks

with no concern for his
fellow man for
this man has no fellows.

He walks
past buildings and houses and stores which
remind him of a distant past and

he could swear

that his old pal Bill
used to live right here
right here in this house

in this

broken down falling down
old house.

People shove by him and he wonders
where they are going
in such a hurry.

The streets scare him
the noise and movement and
the feeling that he’s missing

something scares him.

He walks
faster now hoping to get away
away from the sirens, away from the blank
stares on blank faces

he walks towards

something familiar
something he knows but

he just can’t remember where
he is going.

Things that make me happy

"Still Life with Apples," Cezanne


















"Dancers in Pink," Degas

















"Le chaîne Simpson," Toulouse-Lautrec















"Empire of Light," Magritte

Food poetry

Five Course Meal
(As Prepared by one Kristian Marlow)

Amouse-bouche
Tickles the taste buds,
And stimulates saliva;
Made of diced green apples,
Sautéed in olive oil,
Mixed with fried, minced pancetta
And just enough cinnamon
For the nostrils to notice.

First plate,
Or rather a bowl;
Potato and Leek soup,
Topped with a dollup
Of red jalepeno infused oil-
A blindingly hot contrast
To the warm potato mush
Surrounding it.

Second plate,
Sea Scallops Veracruz;
Blanched scallops,
Minced garlic,
Fresh cilantro, chopped.
A pinch of cumin,
One small tomato,
All drizzled with olive oil-
Extra virgin, of course.

Next comes Beef Tenderloin,
Dripping with blood,
Rare as I like it,
With red wine reduction.
And nestled nearby is carrot puree,
Whose sweetness meets
Savory meat
And kisses it hello.

Top it all off
With Tiramisu;
Delicate lady fingers
And Mascarpone cheese.
Italian for “pick me up,”
But bogged down with Brandy.*

All washed down
With elegant Pinot Noir,
Aged just three years
In an old oak barrel.



*Disclaimer: Tiramisu was on the original menu, but not actually served.

The unrevolutionary "Revolutionary Road"

Yesterday afternoon I went to see "Revolutionary Road" at the Chase. For those of you who have seen it, you know this film packs quite a punch, but I left the theater feeling absolutely stunned. I heard some others walking out mumbling things like "well that was depressing," but I honestly just did not know what to say about it...I had no words to express how it made me feel.

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure it out, and I came to the conclusion that the best way to describe this film's message is by using the phrase which the two main characters coin to describe their lives; they say their existence is filled with "hopeless emptiness." And when those credits started to roll across the screen, I was overcome, and I walked slowly back to my car feeling hopelessly empty. Even though this movie is set in the 50s, it loses absolutely no relevance in today's society.

There was a lot to appreciate in this film; the acting was very good- Kate might even win an Oscar- and the supporting cast was full of memorable characters. The cinematography was also very fine. It was fun to see Leo and Kate together again in a movie. But overall, I would hesitate to recommend this film to anyone. In my opinion, America is already full of enough "hopeless emptiness."
I read an article the other day by Mark Edmundson, a professor at the University of Virginia, entitled "On the Uses of a Liberal Education As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students." In it, Edmundson describes the current generation (my generation) of students as having a predominantly cynical outlook on life, and I will tell you that one of the ties that holds my group of friends together is our cynicism. We are part of a society in which it's not cool to be happy. It's not cool to be in love anymore. It's cool to be dysfunctional and "depressed," and to pop pills.
As testament to this fact, last year my single friends and I threw an "Anti-Valentine's Day" Party, and to make matters worse, the only friend I have who was in a stable, long-term relationship at the time preferred to spend the night at our Anti-Valentine's Day party rather than with her boyfriend, who happily went out to bars with his other single friends.
When we see PDA we glare and scoff. "Sex and the City," the young, single female's bible, has an episode called "The Ick-Factor," a phrase that the girls come up with to describe romantic gestures made by male suitors, and I will whole-heartedly align myself with all of these sentiments; there's nothing that will get my eyes rollin faster than a googly couple. But I'm starting to think that this is a problem because I genuinely have no interest in being in a serious, committed relationship. I am the product of one disastrous relationship- my parents have a failed marriage- I have too many friends with divorced parents, and too many jaded girlfriends. Then, as bitter icing on the lemon cake, movies like "Revolutionary Road" come along and validate all of my fears. I can't get over my cynicism by thinking that the situations that made me like I am are personal and unlikely when society is telling me that they are common to many.

This movie might win best picture, or score some Oscars for its actors, but I for one could do without it. I have enough "hopeless emptiness," thank you, and it's called real life.