Poem 56

 seven years gone

our northern star

galaxies of exuberance

our love never ends

dancing, dancing with abandon

like a pixie

dream baby dream

of new zealand

a spark, an intention

in intercontinental letters

a promise, a future

cut short

stories of dresses and skirts

asymmetrical coats

in your patio

filled with tulips

overlooking the river

late at night, or was it dawn?

you too had a patio

and you both

the brightest of us

with that smile,

yours and hers

of joy and wonder

she was pure in heart and soul

you were mischievous

and a tease

wild too you both

35 minus 7 is 28

too long, too close

h broke the news

she brought them

scribbled from afar

no, it cannot be

why? there is no why

i bite my pillow

someone wrote

on my notebook

nothing matters

in the face of death

but it does, doesn’t it?

your drums, muffled

her heart, not beating

alive in us

the message board reads

“they are dead” but,

by now, you have met

and i bet, like each other

Poem 55

you have my brother’s name and my grandad’s smile

he’s your dad, isn’t he?

in the tree lined street a lady passes by

a gate on her way to the garage facing the sea

to meet her lover

like charles, her offspring saw mary

at a party, never wanting to leave her

but he must, for playing antony and cleopatra

with mary would defy the deities, convention and belief

and like cleopatra in a tiny locked room with antony and

caesar, mary must pretend she does not know him

seasons went by, wrinkles appeared

the lover now old and forgetful no longer recalls

those days

when her offspring, on his way to school

passed by the gate

behind which, unknown to him

little mary played with her rubber duck

so close, so far away, at the same café table

for convention must be uphold

charles and mary talk, as if nothing was

Poem 54

for those who’ve taken the blows of life

the white leather couch of memory

resembles a long forgotten

soft landing of safety

even when replacing

someone missed

wrapped arms offer unconditional love

kept a secret, broken in 00s

enticing with sound wonders

behind a palace of glass

nearly revealing an old promise

of unspoken trust

vanquished temptation

trackmarks of sorrow

framed in a black and white picture

hanging on the wall

sheltering decades long feelings

still standing, still performing

still carry on living

from a night of much

after lights fading on the hallway

one step of a time

hands reaching almost too far

to the present where bliss

is for one

and a web of dark green to the other

now, so, so far from being upstanding

the trail of a hurricane moved east

away from field recordings

and streams of car lights

hidden from the wife and boys

with a perfect fifth girl

who never missed a chord

from here, it all seems disastrous

such a waste, my love

Poem 53

october wind, muted pain

dripping, dripping

red clots on the floorboards

i have no favourites, i really don’t

you claim

but in fine print

you always choose a few

when the ordeal was over

my parents went to pick up my clothes

and i never went back

to the longed warmness

in truth unexistent

a mirage

flying high

800 miles per hour

a vertical takeoff

thundering through the sky

nothing on land

mum and child

long gone

it’s life, i know

and your baby is grown up now

she found peace

and solace in dancing

whilst you still tour around

looking to find

a place to belong to

by the river you tried to settle

even if i’ve taken you out

sightseeing mason wonders

and see you soon

you whispered

on a rainy night embrace

with old songs holding us 

so far,

restlessness and fear own

Poem 52

my green-eyed mercurial boy

wanted nothing but a nice place

and a woman

in turn, alluring boys took him

on the road to perdition

in his brain wires got crossed

broken leg, football, trans am

couch rest, sunny days and a baby

eveningly, like an angel

a nightingale sings him a lullaby

protecting a gentle soul

from the ashes of excess

self destruction turned

poetry and hope

on a downward spiral

i’ve met a girl

my numbness

rushed us under my roof

of misery and resignation

my regret a nightmare of aches

desiring the one i love and lost

for my will strong was not

to be sensible and tell her

now, in this limbo of pills i exist

walking on a tightrope

of sanity and madness, a slope

at every corner of my uncertain feet

getting up is a struggle for

starving barking demons

mercilessly face and corner me

in my sleep, in daylight i see her

the one i love and lost for strong i was not

Poem 51

 oh Andy, do you remember

those days,

in the Lower East Side,

1975

how every morning

in a flowered patterned skirt

and rainbow strappy sandals

i would arrive

at the letterbox

avoiding a pool of piss, spunk, blood

escaping used condoms and

discarded syringes for a day’s work

at the vinyl shop?

upstairs, asleep, creatures of the night

pale and thin dreaming of the next fix

whilst across the road

vendors of flesh took their coffee

or was it firewater?

preparing to withdraw

until the shadows returned

for one more night shift

as we danced on the trendy bars

drinking expensive red wine

laughing and eating cake

like marie antoinette

ignoring the real issues

ours and theirs

but it was bloody good fun, wasn’t it, Andy?

Poem 50

the skinny big-eyed girl rode the visual poem bicycle

on the 66^th road of the path of life

towards the scenic views of the cafeteria

where the sign of the zodiac met the arrow of fate

a grief-stricken flashboy dancer from the desert

with an award in heartbreak

upon the roof kids talked of love lust friendship

and the sorrow of frail gentle minds

over the bridge the passing lady in a red coat

asked the sound of waves in a pool of water

to take her photo, a moment of bliss to calm

the inner turmoil of a child lost by force and anger

in his moment of delusion life, like rubber in asphalt

melted sticky ugly, a burned down spiral

of a digger on the depths of fear

the shaking french sailor pompom, uneven on dry land

77 days away the singer’s soundless voice gone

for a walk in suburban wilderness

destiny unbroken rules maintained drawing circles

of hell in paradise infinite eights carried door-to-door

by the baker who praises mauve daisies to dancers

whistle a crying baby’s undisturbed sleep

comes to her senses, but not so

my bass guitar ungently weeps, talking me out of

emptiness, looming large the giraffe mutters lies and truths

for elise tired of waiting took off with a blonde jester

unsuitable for love drowning her misery in weeds

a still unlived live forever captured in raw umber

Records of the Year

Ambrose Akinmusire – On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment (Blue Note Records)

André Henriques – Cajarana ( Sony Music Entertainment)

Australian Art Orchestra | Peter Knight | Tilman Robinson | Andrea Keller – Sometimes Home Can Grow Stranger Than Space  (Australian Music Centre) 

Bernardo Devlin – Proxima B (Peekaboo Records)

Bloodshot Bill – Get Loose Or Get Lost (Goner Records)

Built to Spill – Plays The Songs of Daniel Johnston (Ernest Jenning Record Co.)

Catherine Anne Davies & Bernard Butler –  In Memory of My Feelings (Needle Mythology) 

David Bruno – Raiashopping (Brandit music)

Einstürzende Neubauten – Alles in Allem (Potomak)

Gabríel Ólafs – Piano Works (One Little Independent Records)

James C. – Sodden (KCK Records)

JG Thrilwell & Simon Steensland – Oscilospira (Ipecac Recordings)

Jeff Parker – Suite For Max Brown (International Anthem)

John Bence – Love (Thrill Jockey Records)

Jorge Coelho – Lay Claim to the World as a Sphere of Your Own Agency (Lovers & Lollypops)

Jorge Queijo – Abstract Thoughts II (Self Release)

Jozef van Wissem – Ex Mortis (Consouling Sounds)

King Buzzo with Trevor Dunn – Sacrifice ( Ipecac Recordings)

Krypto – Eye 8 (Lovers & Lollypops) 

Luke Haines & Peter Buck – Beat Poetry For Survivalists (Cherry Red)

Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye & Jim White – 2 (Caldo Verde Records)

Mick Harvey – Waves of Anzak/The Journey (Mute Records)

Mondo Generator – Shooters Bible (Heavy Psych Sounds)

Pop Dell’Arte – Transgressio Global (Sony Music)

Radio Bukoswki – Radio Bukowski (Tradisom)

Roger Eno & Brian Eno – Mixing Colours (Deutsche Grammophon)

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Sideways to New Italy (Sub Pop Records)

Rowland S Howard – Pop Crimes (Bloodlines Music/Mute Records/Southern Records)

Six Organs of Addmitance – Companion Rises (Drag City Records)

SQÜRL – Some Music For Robby Muller (Sacred Bones)

Stephen Malkmus – Traditional Techniques (Matador Records)

The Friends of David McComb – Truckloads of Sky – The Lost Songs of David McCombs Vol 1 (Lost Records and Tapes)

The Sorcerers – In Search Of The Lost City Of The Monkey (ATA Records)

The William Loveday Intention – Will There Ever Be A Day That You’re Hung Like A Thief  (Damaged Goods Records)

V/A – Color de Trópico – Venezuelan grooves from the 60s and 70s (El Palmas Music)

Full text here: https://mondobizarremagazine.wordpress.com/2021/02/23/records-of-the-year/

Poem 49

a star shaped bag

from bar to bar

we waltzed

along the tram lines

i bit your lip

it bleeds

the envelope arrived

bringing news from

those etrurian places

of comfort 

the shirt barely hides

your happiness to see me

on the court bench

she sat

with the map of the past

now, useless

my nails rip your flesh

scratches on your back

one cobbled street 

becomes too many

under the archway

a shadow 

your mouth is white

from yesterday’s delight

five flights of stairs

an immaculate set of towels

from the balcony, we gazed

the silver river

now, it’s my turn

my back is sticky

from you

and wild, so wild 

those things

the window is opened

i’m cold 

the kettle whistles

breakfast time

my hand on your thigh

don’t do it, you said

the morning paper

unsettles me 

must go, to the park

and back

in the dark

playing cowboys and indians 

by the water we hid

until it’s quiet

the next day,

the red stain is missing

it never happened

yet, it did

Poem 48

i garden

you sea

hey, amaze

me

such sadness

like a frame

of an animated movie

the clock that

runs backwards

went forward

i should have

been there

but the fever

come

prostrating me

whilst

the chocolate fudge

freezed overnight

and the flowers were

thrown

to the lark

passing by

farewell

Poem 47

If there is money

There is!

Do you have a bag of it? 

If so, send it over

And then?

I would gamble it at the Casino.

Or did you thought I would re-release the record?

And then?

I would invest in the Stock Market. 

And re-release the record.

And would buy red sandals 

And then? 

I would marry a Sailor

And visit Prague 

And would play the tambourine

And then?

I would plant a cherry tree

And swim on a cloud

And would run with it

And then?

I would comply, but No

And, instead, sleep

And would photograph a memory

And then?

I would write a song

Yes, that song

And the band would play it

And the dogs would bark

And then?

I would ask you "and then?"

And spiced the leaves 

And would take the train

And then, you would ask me,

And then? Then, ... then, I would go

And smile and be me

Art Inspired by Instagram photos of Ursel August Creative Residency's garden. Florbela

Florbela

Josef

Ursel August art residency:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ursel-August-art-residency-567628343718668/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urselaugustartresidency/

Art inspired by Waves of Anzac part of Mick Harvey's new album.

The Wasteland I (barley, red wine and watercolour on paper).

The Wasteland II (barley, red wine and watercolour on paper).

The Wasteland III (barley, red wine, crayon and watercolour on paper)

The Wasteland IV (barley and red wine on paper)

The interview with Mick Harvey about Waves of ANZAC/The Journey can be read here: 

https://mondobizarremagazine.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/mick-harvey-waves-of-anzac-the-journey/

Poem 46

he looked and looked

traveled the seven seas

and the five deserts

for forty days

from nineveh to ashur

after a shower to put out

the fire of tornadoes

rattling the earth

unresting the soul

quietness eluding him

through mountains and plains

further and further

from silence, numb

uruk and ur in sight

lawrence on the bend

blue eyes turned black

skeleton, crow, crocodile

disjointed movements

demons singing lullabies

praising you

on the road to damascus

trick or treat

a russian roulette

of pomegranates

handmade in tails

of sorrow

Poem 45

Lust is always right

Demanding jealous mistress

Never ending want

Saturday I am out

Sunday you have the kids

The good seed, long dead

We all long for it

Deny it while sober

A few bourbons later

We cry for it

on a friend’s shoulder

Saturday I am out

Sunday you have the kids

The good seed long dead

No favourites, you say

Just Jenny, Mandy and Mary
Dancing

In the rear mirror

Of feelings

Saturday I am out

Sunday you have the kids

The good seed long dead

Yellow, blue, grey

Matching jumpers

Desire in a ramp

Bouncing back

To those golden days

Of imperfect perfection

A shotgun wedding

With the rule of law

Saturday I am out

Sunday you have the kids

The good seed long dead

Fallen curtain, hidden veil

Muddy waters, sweet twinge

Balacing the tightrope

Of day and night

Raised eyebrows

Unfruitful search of mellow

Evenings riddled with

Joyfull seeds of lust

Poem 44

no more parties
I dreamed you were
an aeronautical engineer
careful not to trip over
everything you're trying
not to feel
we danced till the end of life
the garden enclosed
behind the hidden gate
bittersweet, the message
two fold
she found grace, you say?
an angel on your shoulder
sideways on the underground
79 tulsa, bang the drums
no more parties
we danced till the end of life
upon my bed
red poppies, remembrance
of a bygone summer
jumping rail tracks
in sailor shirts
laughing
on the fire escape
you do the dishes, I vacuum
my red guitar, contentious
you were
in the garden at midnight
nightclub outcasts
no more parties
or parades
death, lost innocence
blue eyed boy, forever still
in a postcard
we danced till the end of life
your friend seated on your lap
for him too no more parties

Poem 43

in the Lower East side 1975

oh, Andy those days

of yellow apocalypse yesterday

the Oscar Wilde

of the Sloane Rangers come by

when Noel who writes songs

was eating chocolate in a pink bubble

and

we were going to escape the heat wave

until Bill took ill

life after death in purple and blue stars

forever

in Enceladus they faded 

79, they say, is the year of the change

print, piano, case, frame

wrap it, place it under the stairs

the steel magnolias and the cotton candy

that Tommy brought from a faraway land

forgotten

at the bottom of the garden

an infinite eight suspended like an angel

Caravaggio gambled his brushes

in the time travel Sandro won them

painting the one who arises

naked

so magical, so sheltered

oh, those days, in the Lower East Side, 1975

Haiku 16

a cómoda azul

tão triste
abandonada na rua

Haiku 15

chá de tamarindo

servido ao relento

no roseiral

Poem 42

your drawing for me
painted with coffee and red wine
in the taberna's paper towel, gone
the M train delayed
by the storm
fetch the mcqueen t-shirt
bring the darth vader one as well
mess is not more
endeavours unreached
flowers cyanotypes
a ball of light
the bungalow in the woods
by the seaside
I have no battles in my heart
blurred photos, no long lens
it is not D-day
is there still much turbulence
inside you?
a sepia photo, maybe? do you prefer
a  platinotype?
between scylla and charybdis
what will the choice be?
you've tried to cross the border
a line so long it reached the desert
those diamond dogs
and the giant orange cat in the living room
competing with the two porcelain dalmatians
that guard the door
it does not make sense? be bold
keep writing down the musical summary
don't forget the golden shoes to match
the worn out trainers
did I told you, now you have to go?