Monday, July 30

EASY TARGETS



imagine if you
could wound the chessmen
instead of capturing them

your opponent would send in
the stretcher-bearers
and you'd be left considering
to shoot or not at them

the easy targets.

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Easy targets by reading_is_dangerous]

I read that the US army fires 250,000 bullets for every so-called enemy fighter killed in Iraq.

STRINGHETTA WRITES

I remember, wrote Mr. Oteh
One day when it was raining teeth

Stringhetta asked me whose teeth they could be, and
I said those were the teeth of some people on a distant planet

why their teeth are falling? Stringhetta asked me
Because the people were not careful, I told her

she was naked, except for a belt made of sixteen shot glasses held
Together with copper wire

you are going to hurt yourself, I
Told her

she wanted to read me what she wrote that morning
This was it:

I hear a laughter over and over
It is in my mind
But I can not remember whose laughter it is

a good magician doesn’t need any magick
a beautiful woman doesn’t need a mirror
a great mind doesn’t need thoughts

god if there were one, couldn’t need itself

she
she experienced with every kind of passion, but
she was never satisfied with her feelings

when you beat a dog, your beat yourself
When a man kills a man, another man dies inside of the killer

she saw a rat that was
Breathing heavily
Then she realized she was breathing the same air as the creature
Then for a while she couldn’t breathe

then she cried. The rat was dying, because of poison
I love you rat, she said with tears in her eyes
I love you

in the morning, there was found a dead WIND
Nearby was Tomby the butcher with his knife
The winds body must still be warm, Tomby said
Don’t even think about it, she said

Tomby and her waited an hour, then
The wind came back to life, and left

there was an egg
An old queen was inside the egg
Damn it! said the old queen, I wish I were a baby bird with a beak
The egg went bad
There was nothing to do

Mr. Oteh believes time and eternity are perpendicular one to another

now the present only exists in the mind
now
now
now
if it wasn’t for the mind there would be nowhere now, the
idea of now

Varamabandsha is made of flesh: atoms
Katanemumbshe is made of words: more atoms
Is Varamabandsha more“real” than Katanemumbshe?

Am I a ghost, an echo
A wish?



bravo! I said
Interesting ideas, funny thoughts

she had a writing pad; I asked her where it was from
The same place as the shot glasses, that was her answer

so is there a name on it? On the back, I said
She found it: Sui mu Ote’h

::: ::: :::

[Picture: The old queen in the egg by reading_is_dangerous]

Saturday, July 28

A FEW HUNDRED PLASTIC MODEL CARS


“tell
Me something about fragility.” Stringhetta said



“fragility:
You can not talk about it
You can not even think about it
Because it’s too fragile.” Mr. Oteh said



“do
You like my new dress?” Stringhetta asked
She wore something that was made of a few hundreds plastic model
Cars. Otherwise she was naked, and sexy




::: ::: :::

[Picture: Fetters by reading_is_dangerous]

Thursday, July 26

THE FRONTLET


you
you come to you
you say to you, you
you look to you, you
you go to you, you, you-you

you
you juice you, turtle
you fine, you fumarole
you bang bang you, you
you do to you, you, you-you

and when I come to there, I want to you, you-you
and when I sip a that, I need to you, you-you
and when I bang the bang, I want to boom ba doom
I want to boom ba doom, I WANT TO BOOM BA DOOM

“what is that, that you are singing?” Mr. Oteh asked
“An old song of Xim the Leprechaun,” Stringhetta answered, “from
His only record, The Instrumental Desert.”

“is that so?” Mr. Oteh asked
“Yeah-yeah.” Stringhetta said. “Will you please tell me why I am always
Naked, and sexy?”

she was wearing the harness of a parachute. Otherwise, she
Was
Naked, and sexy

“why? Because of Google search.” Mr. Oteh said
“Is that so?” Stringhetta asked
“Yeah-yeah.” Mr. Oteh said

“well, I don’t give a boom ba doom,” Stringhetta said. “I
Like it being
Naked, and sexy.”

Almost naked, but that
s good for us anyway.” Mr. Oteh said
“Good for us indeed,” Stringhetta said, “when
They will make that movie about us.”

“oh, don’t count on it.” Mr. Oteh said
“They don’t make movies anymore. It’s out.”
“Is that so?” Stringhetta asked

“I’ll get you a sunrise
Frontlet.” Mr. Oteh said
“You-you.” Stringhetta sang

it was a beautiful night
Endless

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Sunrise by reading_is_dangerous]

Wednesday, July 25

THERE NEEDS TO BE


I shall every day move a word here
From its original location amongst the other words that
I wrote over the year

when all the words will be here
I shall move them again, to new locations
Amongst new, better, improved writings

chocolate

::: ::: :::

[Picture: There needs to be by reading_is_dangerous]

EVEN IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE


if you’ve got yourself wings, and
If you open them, there
Is no way to know where the wind might or might not take you, and
If you will ever come back to where you were before you took off

pray the Angel of Hope
Pray even if you don’t believe in hope

“How can you not believe in hope?” Stringhetta asked
She was wearing a torn turtle-neck. Otherwise she was naked, and sexy

“I don’t know.” Mr. Oteh answered
“As long as there is left a lever and a fulcrum, there is hope.”

“the angel of hope, is that the fulcrum?” Stringhetta asked
“Maybe.” Mr. Oteh said

there was a beautiful day
Boundless

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Angel of Hope by reading_is_dangerous]

Sunday, July 22

I AM SELLING MY SHOES


I saw boys in the street
They were playing dice

the barefoot one
Won (all the money)

so I am selling my shoes
Good shoes, almost new, size 42

anybody interested?
C’mon!

::: ::: :::

[picture: The sky was new by reading_is_dangerous]

Saturday, July 21

FORMIDABLE SYSTEMS

formidable systems tell us where to sit
What to believe
What to hope for
What to fear
And who we are

what is happening, and
What is not

hail to victory or mission accomplished

Seig Heil! or
Sit here!

you can’t do this or that, or say this or that
Without stepping into the shadows
So please ! please sit here in the quiet light, and wait, and
Everything will be okay.


::: ::: :::

[Picture : Invisibility by reading_is_dangerous] (July 20, 2007)

Thursday, July 19

THE MINIATURE ELEPHANT

“I don’t wear clothes like these.” Stringhetta said
She was examining Mr. Oteh’s newest painting

“you’re right,” Mr. Oteh said. “Maybe that isn’t you?”
“She sure looks like me, though, a bit.” Stringhetta said

she had made herself a skirt, kind of
With a bunch of shuttlecocks bundled together on a copper wire

otherwise she was naked
And sexy

“did you went by that hollow again?” Mr. Oteh asked
He was referring to a certain hole we wrote about earlier

“no.” Stringhetta said
“Those [the shuttlecocks] I brought with me when I came here.” she said

“you are going to hurt yourself badly with that wire.” Mr. Oteh said
“You should replace it with a string of something.”

“I had a dream, this morning.” Stringhetta said
“Want to hear it?”

well, Mr. Oteh never said no to dream telling
So

there was this old video game
You were the pilot of a fighter plane

your task was to shoot down other planes
fighter planes, commercial flights

the game was built with real footage, but
The pictures were faded and everything looked ancient

after playing the game a bit
Stringhetta saw there was a bar with people sitting

she joined them
And listened to their conversation

one man’s head was like that of a golden retriever
He was saying: “Those seagulls that feed on French fries

turn fat
And they are becoming sterile, too.”

“French flies?” a woman said. Her head was a pear
“FRIES.” Mr. Retriever said

“So they’ll vanish, and there won’t be left seagulls that feed
On them French fries anymore.” Ms. Pear said

she rescued a fly that was trying to swim
In her glass of tomato juice

“they started to dig mass graves in Ibaq, because too many
People die.” Mr. Retriever said

“the difference between Gitler and Fush,” Ms. Pear said, “is
That Gitler never pretended he was elected.”

“Is that true?Mr. Retriever asked. “Anyway, what can we do?”
“You are so handsome.” Ms. Pear said

they kissed
Just as a miniature elephant came running down the bar

the animal looked like it had a wound on the neck
An open cut, it was, in the shape of a cross

“it’s bleeding.” Ms. Pear said
“Nothing is free.” Mr. Retriever said

“What you choose to ignore today,” Mr. Retriever said
“You will pay for tomorrow.”

meanwhile the elephant was bleeding. . . like a full size elephant
Soon there was blood all over
, and everybody drowned



“Bad baddo bad baddo dream.” Mr. Oteh said
“I know.” Stringhetta said

“stay away from that hole.” Mr. Oteh said
“I will.” Stringhetta said

::: ::: :::

[Picture: A woman by reading_is_dangerous]

Tuesday, July 17

THE WAR ON ERROR


does the televizor still work? I was wondering
So I turned it on

and flipped through the ten channels we have here
Five in Armenian, three in Russian, the cnn, the euronews

on the cnn, there was a prozidan speaking
The first word I caught was “Errorism”

“. . .in our fight against the Errorists,” the prozidan said
“We got to remain united against the Error. . .” he continued

“. . .there is hope for the Middle-Feast.” the prozidan explained
“We can achieve a two-slate zolution. . .” he reminded us

“what kind of hope is that which is based on excluzion?” I thought
But who is really listening to him anyway?

who in the prozidan’s own country
Would bother to listen to the same old lines?

who in the Middle-Feast
Would bother to listen to the same old lies?

who from the corporate bosses/clients’ cabal
Would bother to listen to their own tired-looking puppet?

the prozidan
Didn’t
even seem to be listening to himself

“maybe the speech writers were watching.” I thought
It’s their job

“this sentence was too long for him.” Writer A observes
“This word was too long for him.” Writer B observes

“maybe they could impeach him,” Writer A says
“So we could write a normal speech again.”

“don’t count on it,” Writer B says
“They don’t impeach a prozidan when there is a war.”

which is just one of the reasons why
The so-called War On Error is not about to end

“our fight” the prozidan calls it
Ha! ha! ha!

I don
t know what word is more grotesque
“Our” or “fight” ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

::: ::: :::

[Picture: The grotesque flower whispered something to me by reading_is_dangerous] (July 15, 2007, by the lake)

WHAT THE HAND KNOWS


“what are you doing?” she asked with a funny, a muffled voice
“Painting,” he said, “but you know that!”

he looked up, at her
He saw she was naked except for an old face guard

“where did you find that?” Mr. Oteh asked
“In the hole.” Stringhetta answered

“I told you not to go near that hole.” he said
“I remember.” she said

“it’s dangerous,” he said, “full of nightmares.”
“I know.” she said

“so why did you go?” he asked
“Will you tell me what is your painting about?” she asked

“a few years ago,” said Mr. Oteh, “I met a woman at a
Cocktail party

we spoke together a bit
I can’t remember what it was about

there was nothing special about her
Not her beauty, not uglyness, nothing about her look

we spoke until I suddenly realized that my hand was
Gently caressing her face, the cheek

that was extraordinary, and it also was natural
Although at first, I could not explain it

we were neither drunk nor high
We were not flirting or anything

the woman did not move away from me
I believe she realized what was happening at the same time as I did

I smiled at her; she smiled at me
Then I took my hand back

we tried to resume our conversation
But that was now impossible

she left
We never met again

later, I thought of Joseph Campbell’s words on
Schopenhauer’s “realization”

which is that you and the other person are one
That you are two aspects of the one life

and that your apparent separateness is but an effect of the way
We experience forms under the conditions of time and space

our true reality is in our identity and unity with all
Life

this is a metaphysical truth which may become
Spontaneously realized under circumstances of crisis. . .

or, in my situation, under the circumstance of a
Cocktail party.”

“what the hand knows.” Stringhetta said
“Yes,” Mr. Oteh said. “Now take off that face guard!”

“did you read the recent comments?” Stringhetta asked
“One reader wants to know why you are so grumpy.”

“go burn that face guard right away or
Fear my wrath!” said Mr. Oteh

“I’ll do it,” Stringhetta said, “but only
For the sake of our shared furniture.”

that’s because Mr. Oteh, when he was angry, would sometimes
Burn a chair

::: ::: :::

[Picture: What the hand knows (as by Mr. Oteh) by reading_is_dangerous]

POEM FROM BELOW


long
long fingers help
long fingers help me help
Me dig the earth

what is buried here
A bad dream? Ooooooh, a bad
Bad, bad dream
Stay where you are, bad dream bad

I will get to you with
With those long fingers of mine, mine, get, to, you, I will

I will get to you
You bad baddo bad baddo dream baddo

with my long long fingers long longo
I will strangle you

ho! ho! ho!
I will strangle you, or maybe not

that will depend on my dream, yes, no, NO!

No indeed not not not
What will happen, that will depend on. . .

that will depend on my fingers, my, my good
Long
Longish
Fingers with a brain

a brain each!

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Creux by reading_is_dangerous]

Thursday, July 12

MR. OTEH AND STRINGHETTA


Mr. Oteh gave the girl in the life-jacket a hostile glare
“What?” she asked. Her name was Stringhetta

“this is the outback, my dear.” Mr. Oteh said
“We are far from the coast. There are no lake or any body of water
That would require you to wear that life-jacket
Which is mine, by the way, and
Quite precious to my heart.”

“I found it behind the old fender,” Stringhetta said
“It’s sexy. I want to wear it a little bit, that, and nothing else.”

she was otherwise naked
“Then I’ll put you away, to a mental hospital.” Mr. Oteh said

“then I’ll really need your life-jacket.” she said. “To
Float when I’ve fallen into the waters of madness, until
You come back to rescue me.”

Mr. Oteh left for the afternoon

when he came back, Stringhetta told him:
“Every year that passes adds a pane of glass to the window of my heart. I
Can still feel a few emotions, but the picture is not as vivid as it used to be.”

“did you watch CNN again?” Mr. Oteh asked her. “I told you not to.”
“I see an end.” Stringhetta said with a smile

Mr. Oteh took her favorite chair out of the house
“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT CHAIR?” the woman asked
She was yelling

“I WILL BURN IT!” Mr. Oteh said
He was shouting

so he did it. He burned the chair
Stringhetta threw the life-jacket onto the flames, and it burned, too
Despite being made of supposedly non-flammable material

::: ::: :::

[Picture: The ear of a chair by reading_is_dangerous] (July 12, 2007)

Monday, July 9

LAST SUNDAY BY THE LAKE


last Sunday, by the lake
I was thinking. . .

if the fate of Humanity compares to that of
A single human being
Then how old that one being is now?

will it die because of this or that
Because of old age
Or the heart

then
Lo!
The waters of the lake stood up like one man

the lakaman asked me:
“Would you rather know where you
Come from, or where you are going to?”

“a long time ago,” I said, “I decided I would rather know
Where I come from.
Since then, I almost forgot about it.”

“very wise.” said the lake
Then it asked me for my sword
See, instead of a handgun, people here carry a long knife

“I always wanted to try this trick,” the lake said
Then it proceeded to swallow the sword down to the hilt
While performing a little tap dance

“what about the fish in those waters?” I wondered
What about. . .
The scuba divers?

the lake gave me back my blade
Then it resumed its “being a normal lake” activities or something

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Lake Sevan, near Artanish by reading_is_dangerous] (July 8, 2007)

Sunday, July 8

ORBIT MAN


what is, is
what was, was, and

what will be, will be


the world is flat, a plate, a plane
This is the center of everything

god(s) created us like we created god(s)
We are the Masters of the world, the apex of evolution

ha! ha! ha!

I’ve reduced the Sun to such a tiny size
My Eye is now a pla. . .

a pla ha ha!
Pla ha ha ha, ha ha ha Net!

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Orbit man by reading_is_dangerous]

Friday, July 6

THE OLD CLAY POT


seven years ago, a stranger I met on the street
Asked me if I wanted to buy an old clay pot

“how much?” I asked
“Twenty.” she said. I got it

later a friend who had more of the same told me the thing is
Very old

then an expert saw it, and said:
“Three thousand years old.”

now I keep it on a shelf
It’s three feet away from my head when I sit down to write

I filled it with pebbles from lake Sevan (I mean red lentils)
So it won’t fall (knock on wood)

whenever I look at it I dream
Of the people who made it

whose hands. . .
Singing what songs in what language?

what was kept in it. . .
And how much was it sold for, the first time (if ever)

when was it buried
Whom for? Who died. . . maybe a loved one

there is much love in that clay pot
I can feel it. . . I can see it, and touch it

the old clay pot always feeds me with questions
What will be left of me?
What of my love
To feel
How
In three thousand years from now

what is the oldest artifact you have at home?
What is the oldest one your hands have ever touched? [your own skull, one could say]

when do we start to make them again, the new/future old clay pots
And just where are we going to bury them?

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Something that’s important to me by reading_is_dangerous] (picture taken twenty minutes ago)

Wednesday, July 4

FREE DOOM


freedom is not a flag, Mr. President

::: ::: :::


[Picture: Naked Miss, Looking Beyond by reading_is_dangerous]

I wish my American friends and cousins a beautiful day!

Monday, July 2

DEAD WALK, LIVING SLEEP


1.

a shadow comes towards me
It wants me out of here
And back there

it is inside me
It is inside you
It is here

we are there
We can hardly see it
Here is there, now is then

I am there
There. . . where?
There. . . here

why?
. . .there is no answer
Because I am no longer here!

why?
“I am on a quest.” I say
“We know.” a voice says

“you won’t make it.” the voice tells me
“How do you know?” I ask
“We know.” the voice says

I fly
Without moving, I fly
In a straight line, I fly

I am already there
I am already there, but
“There is well protected.” the voice says

I was there
Now I am here
Can you see it?

I called it “inside”
I could call it “outside”
Out of there is in here


2.

t here
The famous mystic Orp an Aod’h
Said:

when you will
Walk the old queen away


and

Into the darkness


you will be

Walking backwards

::: ::: :::

[Picture: Dead walk, Living sleep by reading_is_dangerous]