a savage republic

swash papaya

a swash papaya rolls gently onto my toes—
desolate place this—
oil sheens in eddies on sand once white
just what is that color now?

the swash papaya inedible
soft and blackened on its equator—
equality evanesces much like a savage republic
replaces what it once paid lip service

this swash papaya will never touch my lips
as otiose as an indian summer
when everyday is hotter than the next
this island is thee heatdome

swash papaya rots—
oiled and poisoned—
i eat air
no sustenance here

What I’m Reading:

I am aware of the state of our world. How could I not become radicalized against it?

— aeon ginsberg / “about this poem” / poem-a-day

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in my neighborhood pt. 74

What I’m Reading:

The glacier acts like a keystone for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, meaning that a collapse could drag neighbouring glaciers with it, potentially adding more than 3m (almost 10ft) to global sea levels.

— Dr. Ella Gilbert / “The ‘Doomsday Glacier’ Is Melting Faster Than Scientists Thought” / BBC Science Focus Magazine

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dark ceiling waiting

flood (tanka [quasi-redux])

caught in an ill wind
gazing at the dark ceiling
waiting for the flood
coughing out the parasites—
hypercapitalisms

What I’m Reading:

My method is cribbed from The Sedaris Method: write things down all day in a pocket notebook, then wake up the next morning, fill out my logbook, and then write longhand about yesterday.

— Austin Kleon / “Morning pages (and variations)” / Austin Kleon.com

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twice too much

erie canal: post mortem

once was good
another half: right
twice, too much—
not never again,
but on to something new…

What I’m Listening To:

Frogmarching us home to a bed made of tears
Kris Kristofferson walks by kicking a can
In a shirt he hasn’t washed for years
Hop inside my coat
Hop inside my coat

— Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / “Frogs”

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so join me

Memorable Stuff I Read This Week

America’s political treatment of the climate crisis has, for some time, been divided, messy and somewhat dangerous. Now, it seems the culture wars have come for the issue, too.

While Donald Trump infamously called climate change a “hoax”, outright denial of global heating has taken a back seat for most Republicans ahead of November’s presidential election, with disdain instead poured upon an array of climate solutions.

— Oliver Milman / “Down to Earth” / The Guardian


Dementia’s wheeled to the window
for the fireworks, like boneless
Beanie Babies slumped in a rear windshield,
dreamers, no-timers, past time.

— Sarah Trudgeon / “In the Red”


But two facts are clear: it is impossible to understand the Cuban Revolution without understanding Miami, and it is impossible to understand Miami without understanding the Cuban Revolution.

— Ada Ferrer / Cuba: An American History


My mother says when she is anxious she finds a seam, 
finds stitches on her clothes, on furniture she’s near, always 
a verge has that feel, birch joints, wrinkles. It’s a relief
to think with the hands.

— Bradley Trumpfheller / “Loom”


We all dream of a greater America
I want you to be paid a living wage
live in affordable housing
without college debt
or medical debt
or credit card debt
or national debt
I want no more racism
I am speaking of a New America
I am part of New America
whether you like it or not
so join me, please

— Huascar Medina / “New American”


Hurricane Beryl, which slammed into Texas on Monday after wreaking havoc in the Caribbean, was supercharged by “absolutely crazy” ocean temperatures that are likely to fuel further violent storms in the coming months, scientists have warned.

— Oliver Milman / “Hurricane Beryl supercharged by ‘crazy’ ocean temperatures, experts say” / The Guardian


We comprehend it now this land is two lands
one triumphant bully one still hopeful America
Imagining amber waves of grain blowing in the wind
purple mountains and no homeless in America
Sometimes I still put my hand tenderly on my heart
somehow or other still carried away by America

— Alicia Ostriker / “Ghazal: America the Beautiful”

What I’m Listening To:

Hey
We’re boiling angels
Let’s kiss for hours
Equal power
Let’s make it art

— Wilco / “Annihilation”

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the clogged canal

clogged (haiku)

i looked for turtles—
all day in the clogged canal—
i saw only tires

What I’m Reading:

i am attracted to the promise of this land
its hunger     dances naked on the table     i touch
the mouth of its decadent poverty 

— Alison C. Rollins / “[American Journal]”

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in this (my) neighborhood pt. 73

What I’m Reading:

A searing heat wave that has gripped much of the United States in recent days is suspected of killing at least 28 people in the last week, according to reports from state officials, medical examiners and news outlets.

— Anna Phillips / “Extreme heat has killed at least 28 in the past week — and the toll is rising” / The Washington Post

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across the dome

Scuttles (tanka+)

A large ant scuttles
Across the dome of my tent
Sisyphean task
It’s stifling hot and humid—
Which is slave to his boulder?

(Searing transforms to seering)

What I’m Reading:

Part of me is always about to turn
in a direction I will never go.

— Matthew Zapruder / “The Painted Desert”

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black miry canals

ghost town tanka (redux)

of desperation,
dim rooms moan obscenities.
drafts seep through pane-cracked
views of black miry canals.
alert sirens. empty streets.

What I’m Reading:

About suffering, they knew no more or less / than we do, being / housed in luminescence…

— John Burnside / “The Old Masters”

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in this (my) neighborhood pt. 72

What I’m Reading:

But everything’s
not enough
you have to go out
& shake
everything’s
hand and the
tremendous
feeling of
everything
is not shook enough.

— Eileen Myles / “Sweet Heart”

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