The History of Grapefruit

I'm holding a grapefruit up to my mouth
and blowing onto it at Union Market because I read
somewhere that you can determine the freshness
of the fruit somehow or other by blowing on it.
No one notices me doing this because all the fruit is so shiny
with wax that it makes everyone oblivious to everything
but the spectacle of the fruit.
My lips are making a kissing sound
against the pocked skin of the grapefruit,
which, by the way, was invented, or bred, or whatever
it's called, by a man from Polaris who wanted a better,
longer lasting, more durable and shippable
version of an orange, so he concocted
the grapefruit by genetically combining the
robustness of a pineapple with the tender
juiciness of an orange. Grapefruits have
appeared in many movies, most notably.

Post Title

People are so awkward
they are banging around everywhere.
Part of the reason
the day plagues us
is because ambulances make a lot of sound
when they pick awkward people up.
I would like to embrace people
who are determined to stick with it
when things get weird with a crisis.
Lucky for me I can laugh
about the manner in which
people respond to burrs.
I do not really want the end
to this great cover
nor the tissue area or the internet.
For example, without fear or fear.

Time

Driven by your desire say
or a wish for new things that are
sedated by the the hum
of the city. But frankness pulls
a thin reed, dumps into an ocean. You know
of it, the sound, the ripples,
where the shore is pummeled.

Get Back to Me

The ferry holds us
above the water with our supplies.
We are here for the adventure and the views.
So many things are amazing to me.
There are mysterious things like the weather
and seasons and the brilliant people of my city.
Islands of ice on the way to
an island made of earth. The sun bum rushes
the ferry and makes us all
squint as it passes over us. To run full speed
into somebody and body slam them into a brick wall,
chain link fence, or similar immovable object.
Walls are the strangest things when they're
solid. There are still a lot of noble ideas to explore.
A boat holds people above the water and transports
them from land to land. Someone riding
on that boat insisted on a bobbed haircut.
The sun makes the dress look
blue and black. Get back to me.

Vaguely Avian

My understanding of this evening
is rudimentary at best. The light changes,
people get batty, that I know. Also, it's quieter,
with only an occasional car whooshing by.
A group of men leaving a bar
on Bergen Street emit an amplified, vaulted bellow.
People know how to be loud in the city.
Perhaps it is good to be giddy
and full of dread. I have friends who feel
it too. By giddy, I mean full
of agitated wonder, like maybe
we can really get things done
because we're organized and intelligent
and really freaked about everything happening.
Then, I get this very convincing idea
that I'm just a turd blossom
taking up too much room in my own space,
which is ridiculous, because there's nothing left.
And so this is: my understanding of this evening.

Tonight

Je suis réellement d'outre-tombe, et pas de commissions -Rimbaud

The Birds of Governors Island

Thanks to The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for my current residency on Governors Island.

Post Cards from Governors Island

Thanks to The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for my current residency on Governors Island.

Spring

One would think the Pacific Ocean
is deep enough to serve as a landing pad
for another smaller planet. As long as
the actual contact between us and the other
planet was controlled (ropes? rockets?)
there shouldn't be much of an issue.
Pluses: Easy to go to "another world,"
plenty of opportunities (hopefully)
on guest planet, an ecosystem that would
be fun to exploit or cherish, depending
on who got there first. It would be interesting
climbing onto the guest planet.
From a boat in the Pacific Ocean, one
could climb upwards to the underside
of the guest planet. Also, I'm assuming
the planet is actually smaller (in this case
much smaller) than our planet. You saw
"Melancholia" by Lars Von Trier? A lot
of that movie takes that into account.
Another planet bumping into ours
basically means the end our planet.
That is something to strongly consider.
When I was around 9-years old, I had
a dream that a smaller version of the moon
landed on the cul-de-sac at the end
of our block in a subdivision of Atlanta.
In the dream, it was actually exciting,
everyone in the neighborhood was buzzing
around. I remember thinking, "Holy cow,
the moon is at the end of our block."

Wednesday Top 10

1) Schubert: Impromptu in B-flat Major, Op.142/3

2) James Schuyler, What's for Dinner?

3) Governors Island

4) Orto Parisi: Stercus

5) 30 rue de Gravilliers

6) Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery (at BAM)

7) Pigeons dipped in red dye to make them resemble cardinals

8) Elegance is provocative calculation

9) Angel is to water as butter is to cotton

10) John Dowland: Time Stand Still (Emma Kirby singing)

Two Reminders

Project 2

The Third Rail

There are a lot of amazing things in this issue: An interview with Carolee Schneemann, an interview with Maria Bamford, poetry by Melissa Broder and me, Todd Colby (along with audio recordings of me reading both poems). You can see and hear it all by visiting here: The Third Rail Quarterly.

Project