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+======== January 1995 ==================== Volume Volume, Number 3 ========+
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|                     [ A JOURNAL OF THE POETIC ARTS ]                      |
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|                             Editor: Klaus J. Gerken                       |
|                  Associate Editors: Paul Lauda                            |
|                                   : Pedro Sena                            |
|                  Production Editor: Igal Koshevoy                         |
|                    European Editor: Milan Georges Djordjevitch            |
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+===========================================================================+

  ***************************************************************************
                            [ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]
  ***************************************************************************

        INTRODUCTION..............................Klaus J. Gerken

        Winter....................................Klaus J. Gerken
        Medic'in..................................Tim Whittlemore
        More stuff and nonsense...................Tim Whittlemore
        Here it comes!............................Tim Whittlemore
        Dags......................................Tim Whittlemore
        old stuff.................................Tim Whittlemore
        Old stuff.................................Tim Whittlemore
        "Salvation"...............................Tim Whittlemore
        Even as...................................Tim Whittlemore
        dark musings..............................Tim Whittlemore
        A question................................Tim Whittlemore
        Old wedding rings.........................Tim Whittlemore
        remembrances..............................Tim Whittlemore
        Clock.....................................Jim Yagmin
        setting suns..............................Jim Yagmin
        Her face is water, clear and cool-........Jim Yagmin
        110994, in part...........................Jennifer Mulcahy & Gay Bost
        Sweet  November's.........................Gay Bost
        I Want, My Friend, I Want.................Gay Bost
        English teacher anthem....................Michael Kelly
        Personal Statement........................Michael Kelly
        requiem to my southern belle..............Evan Light
        riding out the storm......................Igal Koshevoy
        When I upon my deathbed lie...............David Cariddi
        Drip......................................David Cariddi
        Rust......................................David Cariddi
        The Fence.................................David Cariddi
        Journeys..................................Earnest Russell

        POST SCRIPTUM.............................Gay Bost

  **************************************************************************
                               [ INTRODUCTION ]
  **************************************************************************

      The heavy January consumes my thoughts like the musty smell of dry
   wood in a shed. The shed is like our shelter from the elements. Cozy,
   warm and intimate. Venturing outside we find ourselves confronted with an
   expanse of zinc white and cerulean blue and vastly different reaction
   than what the safety of the shelter will provide. Here, outside, we see
   ourselves, not as a personal entity, but as an entity evolved from other
   entities. Yet knowing that we are a part of a greater vaster entity, we
   also feel more vulnerable, and most of all, we feel alone.

      The safety of the shelter provides a comfort, where we merge with
   others within ourselves: we become part of our comfortable surrounding.
   The shelter becomes us. Outside of the shelter we confront ourselves, not
   as beings internal to ourselves, but beings internal to our environment.
   The shaman knows this and creates a "comfort zone" through which the
   outer can be integrated with the inner. The Poet likewise must confront
   this when dealing with "reality"; a reality built from observations and
   theoretical and mathematical formulae, but still a reality which we
   inhabit. As the shaman heals through comforting and integrating all the
   elements, the poet explains by integration all these elements into one
   clear assault upon the senses.

      A Zen monk claps to startle potential initiates, and says this
   startling must not startle, but must be understood as the illusion of the
   startling, thus the poet uses words and expressions to do much the same,
   yet it is the potential "initiate", the reader who must conform his or
   her own reality. One cannot be outside looking in. One must be involved
   with one's whole being: body and brain.

      The shaman, the poet and the zen monk each confront reality and
   introduce others to its potential. Yet those who would not be healed
   cannot be healed, and those who would not be startled, cannot be
   enlightened, and thus also those who do not have an open mind cannot read
   and gain from the expression of poetry. These are the people who rely on
   others to tell them something. And they refuse to listen when they are
   told something which does not conform to what they have been taught.

      Let us hope each one realize their own ability through others. Words
   and thought is a process of communication, it is not aloneness. Poetry
   shares; and through poetry, let others share also.

                                        -- KJ Gerken

============================================================================

    riding out the storm
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    the city passes through glass reflection
    thousand pointed lights suspended in vacuum stasis
    each faint glimmer of transparent mystery
     an opportunity
      not taken

       hesitation on the outskirts of the glowing city
        and mind redefines the distance between us:

         on the outskirts - because i don't want to enter
         on the edge - because i don't want to leave

          staring face-to-face into countless emerald eyes
          blinking embers malnourished
           into disagreed acceptance

            starving under dim illumination
            one from lack of misunderstanding
             and the other from too much
               with neither knowing who they are
                nor who they should be


                                                -Igal Koshevoy (m)
                                                 March 18, 1994; 10:24pm

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Winter
   ~~~~~~

   Incense burns deep sandlewood,
   cedar, pine. Civilisation turns
   upon its axis. Poets prose inadequate
   things more meaningful thereof.
   Outside ice forms on roads
   and squirrels argue amongst
   each other for peanuts and
   sunflower seeds strewn around
   the yard. Trees perform a pantomime
   against the backdrop
   of the cabalistic sky Powder puffs
   of clouds create themselves anew.
   (Who says they have no entity?)
   A Van Goth lithograph hangs on the wall
   - flowers in a vase -. The yellow
   blinds the eyes, glowing like
   the Auvers' sun which so much
   the earless painter loved.
   A chessboard stands on a side table
   in the corner: pieces strewn asunder.
   Books of sullen moods
   are piled haphazardly on the shelves.
   A canvas propped against the wall:
   empty now of images. The expectation
   of the new... Old and dusty manuscripts
   lie dormant and untyped,
   hidden in a clothes closet:
   Memories of long ago.  Thoughts consumed
   in confidence. Shattered dreams;
   the monuments of hope.  And old and
   broken down typewriter on the desk:
   scratched with marks of nervousness.
   Empty pens; scattered words...
   Exhausted themes like Masks that are
   no longer Masks.  Silence which we
   might yet come to her hear...
   The incense burns sharp,
   like the shadows on the snow.
   Can we really know what we have known?
   Or is it that to us poor souls
   the truth is never shown?


                                        -- Klaus J. Gerken

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Medic'in
   ~~~~~~~~

   I am a professional.
   The stains are gone from my jacket,
   the glass brushed from my pants.
   The cut on my hand will heal,
   given time.
   I want to forget....
   Crushed car seats,
   ...and scattered toys.
   Why?
      Why am I surprised and cry
   at a blood-spattered teddybear?
   I suppose the cuts that don't show,
   hurt the worst.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   More stuff and nonsense...
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Silhouetted against the sunset,
   and purple low clouds;
   I pace another candle in the holder.
   I wait for morning,
   as the house slides into the dusk.
   Violets,
      She gave to me this morning....
   I will never be lost enough to forget her,
   Our love lasts.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Here it comes!
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Make yourself beautiful with laughter,
   under a cloud-swept sky.
   With a full heart,
   ignore the storm's warnings...
   For a rain soaked, passionate kiss.
         You make me tremble.
   We never guessed this would happen,
   as my hand soothes away your dress,
   to the sparkling grass.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Dags..
   ~~~~

   I am tired.
   And your beauty is more than I can bear.
   I must look away to the stars.
   Even as you do, and hold my hand.
   Your kiss comes,
   as silently as the descent of a tear.
   Until my strength returns within your trembling arms;
   and then,
   there is no reason to stop.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   old stuff
   ~~~~~~~~~

   How could I know you were sunshine,
   until the rainclouds came?
   How could I know things were different,
   till they couldn't be the same?
   How could I know you were laughter,
   Till it wouldn't come today?
   How could I know you were love,
   till you went away?


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Old stuff
   ~~~~~~~~~

   You came to me like summer storm,
   white lightening in the sky.
   A potent warning in the stillness
   of a love that cannot die.
   The stifling heat,
   the silence await with hope and dread.
   The thunderclouds of passion,
   the pain of things unsaid.
   You came with wind and thunder to sweep away all else.
   An all-enveloping deluge, warm as sand,
   and death.
   Like summer storm you went away and left me shaken, still.
   Yearning for the summer rain, the lips that kiss or kill.
   What remnant of our love is left?
   Memories that will not die.
   The warmth, and smell of summer rain...
   and white lightening in the sky.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   "Salvation"
    ~~~~~~~~~

   Shrouded,
   in the temple of unreason;
   the old priests in television clownface,
   have you on their list, son.
   Even though you pretend to believe
   in the priests of confusion,
   and the polyester singers...
   seeking fame---
   Unless you run without looking back,
   their manicured, lacquered, talons will hook you--
   and you'll love them even more from beneath your
   decaying mask of "Salvation."


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Even as
   ~~~~~~~

   Even as
   Bronze wind chimes play in the wind;
   your fantasy lovers,
   know exactly what you want.
   They never tire,
   they have no morals,
   and no remorse.
   The nights are brighter than the days,
   while you dream.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   dark musings
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Lightening flashes, illuminating my face.
   Within the glass I hold, in this empty, cold place.
   I cannot sleep. I close my eyes and you are there.
   I hold my sanity in an icy, clenched fist...
   Were I to open it, I would scatter like the autumn leaves in this storm.
   The thunder echo's my soul's dark rumblings, now that you are not here to
   balance me...
   Why do I remember so well?
   Let me sleep. Oh let me sleep forever...


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   A question...
   ~~~~~~~~~~

   Dream fantasy, landscape of ombre shadows, unreal light.
   Illume the philosophic question: Can self and soul be so divisible?
   Among the fallen idols roams the mindless flesh,
   carrying the skin of a soul.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Old wedding rings
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   What can you do with old wedding rings?
   Too precious to throw out in anger--
   Too painful to wear in remembrance or honor.
   So they sit in odd places in your drawer,
   to surprise you at odd moments, with memories
   that shoot arrows into odd places in your heart.


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   remembrances
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Even now, I peer out the window and expect to see you running through
   the fields, coming home.
   At night, I listen for you. All the sounds so loud outside my window.
   But you never come running to me, and my nights are awesomely silent;
   your chair sits waiting, empty.  And a part of me sits waiting more
   empty than the chair...


                                        -- Tim Whittlemore

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Clock
   ~~~~~

   His bitter sway-
   arcs-
   clocking the pendulum
   -dignified-
   pennilessly,
   he alone-
   counting the seconds-
   our lives-
   An occasional glance
   from All,
   that is his purpose.

   a Wise Man-
   follows his swing,
   meditates the antique wood,
   swallows the bitter note
   of his clocking pendulum-
   Then moves on,
   Never looking to him-
   never again-


                                        -- Jim Yagmin

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   setting suns
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~

   and i forgot
   just why i'm here-
   once again
   i've gone searching-
   nothing new
   my train of thought-
   no destination
   that i sought
   endless nameless
   living on-
   walking miles-
   setting suns-
   endless ocean
   ridden waves
   to the shore
   on land- the slaves.


                                        -- Jim Yagmin

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Her face is water, clear and cool-
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Her face is water, clear and cool-
   Body- A lithe birch, bending
   With wind from all directions,
   Holding her straight, white
   As the moon on the darkest eve-
   Dark eyes- a pool of shimmering light,
   Reflecting all kindness
   Absorbing all wrong,
   Lips- red as death,
   Transparent; showing her warm blood
   Swirling endless within her realm.
   Her hair is fire, warm and wild-
   Curling-waving-cascading down,
   Wind feeds her flame, whisking
   Her soul and aura above-
   As I wait below:
   Love-


                                        -- Jim Yagmin

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    110994, in part
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        Steel blue sky and tumultuous sea,
        Hardened fast but so near free
        Withheld long, no longer still-
        From liquid thunder: ravenous will.


                                        -- Jennifer Mulcahy
            . . .

    Three sided wonder in the neon night.
    Caress of the spirit in fleshed delight.

    A tired snowflake on the lips of love
    Cloud scattered passion; a winged dove.

    Endless mystery, eternal flight
    Tortured innocence, myth's dark fright.

    We three
    We three

    Come walking through winter's mist
    Rabid age, sweet mother, and maid unkissed

    Wrapped in arms of a misplaced love
    Wilted in spring by abandoned love

    The words don't come easy, nor do they rhyme
    When there's naught but the knight to outfit time.

    Coaxer, lover's wraith, a misspent heart.
    Gone in the twilight, world's apart.

    Endless mystery, at the peak of time.
    Succumb to the comfort of the unpainted mime.

    There's a word, there's a play, there's an open house
    There's a sweet beribboned ... unhurried ... mouse.


                                        -- Gay Bost
                                           November 9, 1994

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Sweet  November's
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Lost little wanderer
   Passionate child
   Woman past innocence
   Rationality gone wild.

   Touched at the dawning
   reborn in the past
   living the answers
   the fools have cast.

   Old stone and old bones
   crying out to been known
   loveless and loving
   seeking her home.

   See where the wind speaks
   Hear the sun cry
   Touch the moon's sorrow
   for you and I


                                        -- Gay Bost
                                           November 9, 1994

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   I Want, My Friend, I Want
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   I want to run through thistle's blooming blush
        and dance atop the firefly's wing
        where laughter welcomes morning's kisses
        and no one wonders why I sing.

   I want to sink with summer's thickening sap
        and sleep uncovered in the loam
        where mushrooms sprout in secret shadows
        and cobwebs flutter far   from home.

   I want to drift upon the long wave home
        and sail beneath the silver sea
        where ancient mariners yet wander
        and there is truly shelter in the lee.

   I want to fly behind the glowing landscape
        and glide upon the silken shroud
        where  dewdrops whisper silent prayers
        and "Love" is spoken right out loud.

   I want to ride the northwind's rushing howl
        and step into the snowflake's eyes
        where crystal memories fade in flurries
        and color floods the endless skies.

   I want to touch the sun with dawn's first tremble
        and wake into the glowing day
        where wildflowers visions come to tarry
        and moonlit seasons illume their way.

   I want all that I've ever dreamt I've had,
        and so much more than is my due
        where windows open wide upon the world
        and I want these things for you.


                                        -- Gay Bost
                                           November 1994

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   English teacher anthem.
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Your english language can go to hell.

   Mounting words like butterflies,
   a pin through the chest behind a pane of glass.

   You conduct yourself grammatically,
   a pin through your chest, behind a pane of glass.

   You read the world in a set of quotations,
   and speak in a paraphrase.

   Shakespeare can go to hell,
   he's nothing more than a snotty-nosed bastard in your arms.

   Your a meticulous reader,
   but you never could write, can you live?
   Living with a red pen and magnifying glass,
   circling and underlining.

   Contriving; thesaurus wings can't make you fly,
   your thoughts are to thin to soar upon.
   Your vocabulary extends past what you own inside.

   Coleridge can go to hell,
   he's nothing more than a pretentious bastard in your arms.

   Underline and read between the lines,
   the passion passes you by every time.

   Swept up in the moment, over taken by the momentum.
   What comes out is what comes out.
   Your saying that my words came out too quick.
   My emotions flowed too fluently, too easily.

   Diagram and pick it apart.
   My expository was never an expository,
   your expositories can go to hell,

   I let my ink bleed
   not bend to the boundaries of
   those caught up in their educations.

   Your english language can go to hell,
   I don't take well to bondage,
   neither did Chaucer.


                                        -- Michael Kelly

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Personal Statement
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   This is the sum of my life;
   the swells and the declines.
   I'm the cynic,
   without a working pen.
   I found the truth under a rock
   (the smut)
   before I was even ten.
   Knee deep in a world
   of obsolete and useless dreams,
   I'm the child
   that refuses to keep clean.
   This is the sum of my life-

   The long haul home,
   this road is a joke.
   Reel around my head,
   muttering pictures
   that beg me to tell
   (their useless stories);
   the beat goes on..
   half-witted and cross-eyed-

   I was a child with lice and training wheels-
   My grandparents owned a house in the country,
   and had a dog named mindy;
   they shot her in a corn-field,
   to save her from the pain.
   I remember the chalk-like powder
   they laid down at my grammar school
   whenever someone threw-up their last meal,
   and the moments in my sandbox
   with the pincher-bugs and dirty finger-nails...

   The weary paths,
   with dust that malingers,
   and pot-holes
   that make young boys
   shiver.
   This is the sum of my life
   (yes, reduced to a whisper).

   The rhyme is laid,
   the words are golden,
   and I just cannot fallow.
   Dogs and men
   chase the same truth-
   the same rear-end.
   Again and again, I haven't read,
   yet talk as if I did.
   Sophistication from a pin prick,
   and sophistication from a
   thesaurus.
   Eight grade essays
   on the same old allegory,
   and the eight-five is for
   not answering the question.
   Faint from knowing,
   that no one else is knowing-
   that they are just a period
   at the end of a big nothing.
   Fields and fields of
   what I do not believe in-
   oh so cultivated.
   The oxen around the mill, and the
   surveyor with the whip,
   and the sun that teeters and tips..
   but never falls.
   The soft moon
   will never win back the day,
   the pain may go
   but the ulcer will stay,
   this is the sum of my life
   this is the sum of my life-


                                        -- Michael Kelly

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

                     requiem to my southern belle
                     ~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

                           a bleeding spine
                          staining your bed
                          baptizing you pure
                                             impure

                        everyone seems tainted
                         but now who else is
                                 pure
                               but the
                          anglo-white virgin
                         in transparent dress
                          makeupmasked face
                         faux dimples of love
                       all draining your spine
                             all seeking
                                faith
                       that manifest invention
                 of elderly men with limited edition
                      glockenschpiel collections
                   your sins are alphabetized for a
                         swifter forgiveness
                   cigars burn with a limburg taste
                       tobacco for the ageless

                                             the pure


                                        -- Evan Light

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   [truth]

   i know you.
   i've tasted your soul.
   i've been to your home.
   i've crawled on your floor.
   i've looked in your eyes.
   i've seen your stare.
   i've taken your soul.
   i've eaten your share.
   i drink from your chalice.
   i lay with your wife.
   i've scorned and destroyed you.
   i've ruined your life.
   i am but a man.
   too simple, too true.
   i am but a man.
   i am but you.


                                        -- David A. Cariddi

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   When I upon my deathbed lie
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   When I upon my deathbed lie,
   I invite the rain to fall from sky,
   To drop upon my withered face,
   And soothe like Nature's cold embrace,
   Wash away my blackened fears,
   Cleanse me of the guilt of years,
   While silver streams run from my hands,
   To drip in beauty to the land,
   So silently I'll watch the rain,
   While it rinses clean my pain,
   For in my heart I'll ne'er be clear,
   Until the rain removes my tears.


                                        -- David Cariddi
                                           November 17, 1994

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Drip
   ~~~~

   Where DID you come from,
   pretty little one?
   Ah, so joyous and angry,
   so sombre and sad!
   Why have you come here?
   What is your name?
   But I don't care,
   it doesn't matter...
   I'll take you anyway.


                                        -- David Cariddi
                                           November 14, 1994

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Rust
   ~~~~

   Solemnly, I wait among the Rust.
   Someday, the Rust and I will be one.
   Never look at the Rust. Oh no!
   That would be bad, so very bad.


                                        -- David Cariddi
                                           November 14, 1994

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   The Fence
   ~~~~~~~~~

   I

   As I looked down on you,
   I could see that you were scared.
   "Fear not, sweet," I said,
   and stroked your cheek.
   Then, silently,
   I raise the sword.

   II

   Oh, and I thought I could TRUST!
   How wrong I was!
   How very, very, wrong.

   III

   Hate me.
   Hate me, I am here
   for you to despise.

   IV

   Ah, twist the knife!
   How bloody, how black.
   Yet, strangely comforting...

   V

   Do you understand
   what it is that you do?
   Can you comprehend?

   VI

   I often think of you
   as my daemon.
   Almost as often as I think of you
   as my angel...

   VII

   Did you EVER know me?
   Did you ever REALLY care?
   I hope...
   I hope...

   VIII

   Oh, dear sweet one!
   How can you speak?
   How can I cry?
   What can I do?

   IX

   Once I loved,
   and once I cried,
   but I'll always hurt,
   and I've already died.

   X

   Once there was a maiden faire,
   Flowing streams of perfect hair,
   The beauty looked me in the eye,
   She struck me down, and there I died.

   XI

   What's that scar
   across my chest,
   you ask?
   Why, good sir,
   that is the place
   where my heart was.

   XII

   Oh my...
   Is that my soul
   sinking in
   the mud?

   XIII

   You must think I'm rock.
   Not moving.
   Not moving.

   XIV

   Interesting.
   I have never heard
   the sound
   of my heart
   smashed on the
   ground before.


                                        -- David Cariddi

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

   Journeys
   ~~~~~~~~

   All journeys begin
   When we step out our door.
   The scene there
   one we've known
   many a time before.

   Old friends,
   are the Oak and I.
   It spans majestically
   reaching for the sky.
   As if
   wanting to tickle clouds
   as they flutter by.
   Verdant and lush,
   No king ever able to obtain,
   a carpet
   as luxurious as the earths.
   No decorator
   able to rival the hands
   blending shades
   as those who designed
   earth and sky.

   Even the people
   all have a face,
   a name,
   a tale to tell.

   Yet wanderlust
   runs deep.
   Causing to leave
   even such as this
   for the many paths we seek.

   Some joyous and gay.
   Some morose and full of pain.
   A few,
   remembered thru the years.
   Most forgotten
   the moment our foot
   ceases to trod.

   We all know
   the steps we've taken,
   the memories they bring.
   In so doing
   Realization:
   We can only move onward.

   Like all journey's
   eventually do
   we find ourselves
   in a place
   we've been before.

   The scene we left
   remains.

   Appearing yet friendly,
   all the while,
   subtle differences
   play across the sky.
   All appears the same.
   Our senses say it just isn't so.

   Just before the point we break,
   a still,
   small voice is heard,
   "Look again upon that before you
   and know
   My work stands as before.
   It is still the same as yesterday,
   today,
   and forever.
   That which sees thru your eyes,
   this has changed.
   You began your journey
   with an empty palette.
   each step and path
   adding shades, shapes and texture
   with which
   you color
   my world."

   For this
   I thanked the still,
   small voice
   and went to look again,
   in wonder and awe
   out my front door.


                                        -- Earnest Russell
                                           October 1988

============================================================================

  **************************************************************************
                              [ POST SCRIPTUM ]
  **************************************************************************

       It's shift work or shovel cookies....

       A time, disjointed, when she sat upon a stool, her bare feet
   hooked through the rungs, a brightly beribboned basket upon her lap
   and a cheery smile upon her weathered face.  From this vantage she
   could see for several...miles, she supposed one might call them, if
   one were forced to lay units of measure upon the immeasurable. Anyway,
   she could see when the dreamers approached, walking through the knee
   high swirling mists, bringing their various colors along with them,
   wrapped about their shoulders like shawls or dragging through
   vapours behind like childhood's security blankets.

       "Well come!" she would say, speaking directly to their colors,
   passing faded blue eyes over the wondering faces presented, unseeing
   piercing gazes and worried frowns.  "Here's your dance card.  The step
   diagrams are part of your foundation.  And have a karma cookie, luv.
   You might need to nibble once in a while until you're rid of that
   fleshy thing you've brought along to weigh you down."

       She ignored perplexed frowns and watched as scattered  bits of
   themselves scurried through the mist and caught up, attaching to the
   main body of color or colors with possessive fervor.

       "You must remember, the nightmares are only reflections from
   within cast upon the great screen without, whispers from the inner ear
   roaring through the cosmos of the overmind."

       They would go through, seeing lights and hearing sounds beyond her
   perch, tossing uncertainties at her in silent screams and unheard
   laughter.

       "Shift's over," and a well known voice would be followed
   by the familiar footfall.  Regal came her relief, walking slow and
   sure through the clouds of otherworld, carrying her own basket, her
   needlework, which she draped over her arm, and smiling
   brightly as she looked through the portals at those who had so
   recently passed through.

       "Got some forever dreamers, this day, I see."

       "And asking for you, too."

       "Well, then, off to your own dreams,  my dear.  I've patterns to
   complete and ..." she looked into the basket balanced precariously  on
   the older woman's  lap.   "You've  been giving out extra karma
   cookies, again, I see.  You'll never advance up the ladder of success
   giving out extra karma cookies. You know the Lords of Karma take that
   extra from *your* supply."

       The older woman shrugged her shoulders and smiled, misbehaving
   child shining through wrinkles and grey, cotton candy beneath the
   leather.  "Tough shit."

       "Bad! "  said the other, mock reprimand and concern on her
   face.

       "Fuck the Lords of karma if they can't loosen up a little in the
   dream planes, anyway. Old Plots!"

       "And that's why you've  got this job, you know...fucking around
   with the lords of karma."

       "Well, I'm not sure they put enough nutrients in the damned
   cookies to start with!   MoM's recipe was much better.  I think I'll
   dream honey into the cookies and then they can watch the blessed bees
   and dream about their own sweet tooth."

       "Tsk tsk tsk."

       "Hm." The older woman hopped down for her stool, blew a kiss
   through the air at her friend and skipped off, bandied old legs still
   holding her up, despite the wrath of the lords of karma and
   honeyless cookies.  "A tisket a tasket, a green and yellow basket, "
   she sang, trying her best to come up with irreverent obscenities for
   the next line.  "I wrote a letter to my love and he used it as a
   gasket."  "Pfft!"

   (continued)


                                        -- Gay Bost, 1994

============================================================================

   +=====================================================================+
   |    A New Age: The Centipede Network Of Artists, Poets, & Writers    |
   +---------------------------------------------------------------------|
   |     - An Informational Journey Into A Creative Echonet   [9310]     |
   +---------------------------------------------------------------------|
   | (C) CopyRight     "I Write, Therefore, I Develop"     By Paul Lauda |
   +=====================================================================+

       Come one, come all! Welcome to Centipede. Established just for
       writers, poets, artists, and anyone who is creative. A place
       for anyone to participate in, to share their poems, and learn
       from all.  A place to share *your* dreams, and philosophies.
       Even a chance to be published in a magazine.

       Centipede offers ten echo areas, such as a general chat area,
       an echo of poetry and literature, and also on dreams and
       speculated history & publishing.  In all of the ten conferences,
       anyone is allowed to post their thoughts, and make new friends.
       For that is what CentNet is here for: for you.  Ever wonder how
       to accent a poem at the right meter?  Well, come join our
       PoetryForum, and everyone would be willing to help you out.
       Have any problems in deciphering your dreams?  Select The Dreams
       echo, and you're questions shall be solved.

       The Network was created on May 16, 1993.  I created this because
       there were no other networks dedicated to such an audience.
       And with the help of Klaus Gerken, Centipede soon started to
       grow, and become active on Bulletin Board Systems.

       I consider Centipede to be a Public Network; however, its a
       specialized network, dealing with any type of creative thinking.
       Therefore, that makes us something quite exotic, since most
       nets are very general and have various topics, not of interest
       to a writer--which is where Centipede steps in!  No more fuss.
       A writer can now download the whole network, without phasing
       out any more conferences, since the whole net pertains to
       the writer's interests.  This means that Centipede has all
       the active topics that any creative user seeks.  And if we
       don't, then one shall be created.

       If you want to find out more about Centipede, give us a call
       at +609-896-3256, and join one of our conferences.  You'll
       not be disappointed!   Or, check out the latest info packet
       being distributed in the format: CENTyymm.[ARCHIVE].

============================================================================


                             **    **   ******
                              **  **      **
                           [ YGDRASIL INTERNET ]
                               ****       **
                                **        **
                                **      ******

  **************************************************************************

  RESOURCES

    The collection of Ygdrasil Press is now available on Internet through
    the World-Wide Web, accessible as "http://www.rdrop.com/~igal/ygdrasil".
    This site contains the collections as: 8-bit MS-DOS ASCII text,
    universal 7-bit ASCII, ANSI color graphics, GIF pictures, word-processor
    laid-out files and other goodies. The entire collection can also be
    found accessed by FTP as "ftp://ftp.rdrop.com/pub/users/igal/ygdrasil".
    Each month, the Ygdrasil Magazine is posted to the Usenet newsgroup
    rec.arts.poems.

    We hope this will give readers a break from having to dial long distance
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    intimate link to the world outside our beloved Centipede; and increase &
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  E-MAIL USER'S GUIDE TO YGDRASIL

    Any person that can access Internet e-mail (ie. FidoNet, Prodigy, AOL)
    can access Ygdrasil's online resources. To get a E-MAIL USER'S GUIDE TO
    YGDRASIL GUIDE, send e-mail to the Internet address
    "listproc@www0.cern.ch" (if you don't know how to send Internet e-mail,
    please ask your system administrator for instructions). In the message,
    leave the subject line blank, and in the body enter two lines into the
    message: "www http://www.rdrop.com/~igal/ygdrasil/wwwmail.html" and on
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  COMMENTS

    Klaus Gerken, Chief Editor - for general messages and ASCII text
    submissions. Use Klaus' address for commentary on Ygdrasil and its
    contents:
        Internet: klaus.gerken@bbs.synapse.net
        Fidonet: Klaus Gerken, 1:266/56

    Igal Koshevoy, Production Editor and Web Coordinator - for submissions
    of anything that's not plain ASCII text (ie. archives, GIFs,
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    files via FTP to "ftp.rdrop.com/pub/users/igal/ygdrasil/uploads". Igal's
    PGP key is available on request to ensure privacy of transaction.
        Internet: igal@agora.rdrop.com
        Fidonet: Igal Koshevoy, 1:105/290

    We'd love to hear from you!

============================================================================

  **************************************************************************
                        [ YGDRASIL PUBLICATIONS LIST ]
  **************************************************************************

            THE WIZARD EXPLODED SONGBOOK (1969), songs by KJ Gerken
            FULL BLACK Q (1975), a poem by KJ Gerken
            ONE NEW FLASH OF LIGHT (1976), a play by KJ Gerken
            THE BLACKED-OUT MIRROR (1979) a poem by Klaus J. Gerken
            THE BREAKING OF DESIRE (1986), poems by KJ Gerken
            FURTHER SONGS (1986), songs by KJ Gerken
            POEMS OF DESTRUCTION (1988), poems by KJ Gerken
            DIAMOND DOGS (1992), poems by KJ Gerken
            KILLING FIELDS (1992), a poem by KJ Gerken
            THE AFFLICTED, a poem by KJ Gerken
            FRAGMENTS OF A BRIEF ENCOUNTER, poems by KJ Gerken

            MZ-DMZ (1988), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            DARK SIDE (1991), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            STEEL REIGNS & STILL RAINS (1993), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            BLATANT VANITY (1993), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            ALIENATION OF AFFECTION (1993), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            LIVING LIFE AT FACE VALUE (1993), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            HATRED BLURRED (1993), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            CHOKING ON THE ASHES OF A RUNAWAY (1993), ramblings by I. Koshevoy
            BORROWED FEELINGS BUYING TIME (1993), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            HARD ACT TO SWALLOW (1994), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            HALL OF MIRRORS (1994), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy
            ARTIFICIAL BUOYANCY (1994), ramblings by Igal Koshevoy

            THE POETRY OF PEDRO SENA, poems by Pedro Sena
            THE FILM REVIEWS, by Pedro Sena
            THE SHORT STORIES, by Pedro Sena
            INCANTATIONS, by Pedro Sena

            POEMS (1970), poems by Franz Zorn

  All books are on disk and cost $5.00 each. Checks should be made out to the
  respective authors and orders will be forwarded by Ygdrasil Press.

  YGDRASIL MAGAZINE may also be ordered from  the  same  address:  $2.50  an
  issue  to cover disk and mailing costs, also specify computer type (IBM or
  Mac), as well as disk size and density. Allow 2 weeks for delivery.

  Note that YGDRASIL MAGAZINE is  free when downloaded from Revision Systems
  BBS  (1-609-896-3256)  or  any other participating BBS. Revisions, though,
  holds the official version of Ygdrasil.

============================================================================

  **************************************************************************
                          [ COPYRIGHT INFORMATION ]
  **************************************************************************

  All  poems  copyrighted  by  their respective authors. Any reproduction of
  these poems, without the  express  written  permission  of the authors, is
  prohibited.

  YGDRASIL: A Journal of the Poetic Arts - Copyright (c) 1993, 1994 and 1995 
  by Klaus J. Gerken.

  The official version of this magazine is posted on Revision  Systems  BBS:
  No  other  version  shall  be  deemed  "authorized" unless downloaded from
  there.

  All checks should be made out to: YGDRASIL PRESS

  Information requests, subscriptions, suggestions, comments, submissions or
  anything else  appropriate  should  be  addressed,  with  a self addressed
  stamped envelope, to:

             +----------------------------+
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             |  1001-257 LISGAR ST.       |
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============================================================================