THE RIVERS RUN AWAY IN THEIR OWN DIRECTION AND VANISH TO FLOW UNDER OTHER SKIES
by Greg Hall,
copyright 2007, 2008
This world may never change
Though a grain of sand and the wide curve of sky
Change every instant
Every man a rip-tide breaking on himself
Every woman an undertow
The fluid knots tying and untying themselves
Under the flat gun-metal of the bay
Men with guns guard every diamond
The real treasure hidden in a handful of dirt
The joy is wandering with empty hands
Embraced by the wind and immersed in the changing light
That falls on us in the course of a day
One among an endless number
Swept away inside remorseless and merciful tides
Moved here and there under the constellations
Born to live inside the ecstatic journey
Which is nothing more than a traveler on a short visit
With both eyes open
and the hands always empty
Moving about beneath the treasure of the sky
And over the treasure of the earth
Weightless and amazed
And drunk inside the rain.
TO LIVE AND DIE ON EARTH
by Greg Hall
copyright 2008
Hamburgers sizzling
On an open grille
“and Chuck Berry
Is so glad to be”
“back in the USA”
How
Ever
“Mikes
“do
“not
“make
“the
“man
And
ALL
“slides”
“away”
“before”
Your
Personal
And actual
Feet
“Despite your”
“education”
And all that followed it
And “all”
Preceding “it”
)?
Your
Nates
Sizzling
On a grille
)a big eraser removing all exits
)”Lenny Bruce and Robert Crumb and Sartre
)”gone gone so GONE”
And
“you”
Are on
“your”
“own”
)”ART”
)”IS
)”smegma”
“THIS”
“IS”
)the
)beginning
FAST EXPRESSION
by Greg Hall
copyright 2008
JB utters the seven
syllables of “BLUES”
in less time than anybody WHO
was ever BORN
“people”
“let me”
“tell you”
“the news”
)the “cold”
“sweat”
of 3 A.M.
“Got nothing”
“ON ME”
but people
let me
tell YOU
the “old” “guy”
“THING”
“is”
“UNDER”
“RATED”
You HANGAROUND
WIT ME
A BIT
“You”
“WILL”
“GET”
“SOME”
“BLUES” said
with seven syllables
SO QUICK
“You don’t know”
“whether to run”
“shit”
or
“go”
“blind”
Love
You
BABY
ODE TO WOLFMAN GREGGIE
by Greg Hall
copyright 2008
When I was born my father wore a lab coat
The first words audible were
“it’s alive, it’s al-l-l-l-ive … “
Igor stood by and told the old man
“I’m glad your first child is a masculine child”
I ran with the wolves until I was seventeen
The villagers came with torches and burned the castle
But it was empty
It had always been empty
When the moon got full
My face broke out in fur
My teeth felt sharp and I had tons of energy
I became obsessed with Hank Williams
I was ready for love
I was drowning in love
And had no voice
No way to speak to another
Of the vast seas which were navigating me
I hid inside the rain
I hid inside the sunlight
I could only be seen under starlight
Seen
But
Not
Heard
I was the howling child
Muted by history
This went on for a long time
But one day this blonde girl
Looking to get out of the rain
Crawled under a boat propped up on the beach
And she taught me to write
My name in the sand
And then taught me to speak
One letter at a time
And then to weave the letters into a word
The words into sentences
And then
To Sing
She kissed me and bade me farewell
Now after this I wove a shirt made up completely of words
In my shirt I can go anywhere and pass for human
When I meet people I say “Spanish Lace”
or “Flamenco Oranges Impersonate My Tears”
Its only in the middle of three A.M.
I wake up trembling and remember my life
As the Monster’s Son
Though still after writing a poem
I must admit
My teeth
Feel
Sharper
REALLY OPEN MIKE
by Greg Hall
copyright 2008
“WHO”
May
Speak
)?
“Those who make
Loneliness
A darling lover,
Solitude a darling
Sin”…
Bring yr dreams
Yr aspirations, yr crimes,
Yr open throats,
“KEEP SINGING”
as yr howls and “mozartian ululations”
Are not “FATAL” to me…
Seek not in me
The source of yr pregnancy,
“I” “LEAVE”
“NO”
“TRACKS”
But the
Loneliness problem
You mention
“Compels”
“Me”
To “advise”
“You”
“MAKE
LONELINESS
A LOVER
AND SOLITUDE
A DARLING
SIN”
SPEAK THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED
by Greg Hall
copyright 2008
Morning arrived without an invitation
It was just that evening was so beautiful
The sunrise started following it around
I don’t know where your luminous paleness ends
And the black heart of midnight begins
The borders are opaque
Even in the black some light gets in
The blood finds its way
Just like a new-born river
Goes where it must to continue to flow
Otherwise it must become a lake
Breathing in motionless splendor
Guard of light and a passive victim of the moon
But we
Are
about
Rivers
Inexplicably encountering each other
Crowded with rubies among the white stones
We broke all the laws
Standing in the kitchen
Under very bright lights the curve of your back
Your breasts high in a plum tree
And the nipples fiery and tender
Eclipsing the rare gems the night had buried
Inside my body and my dreams
I woke up and knew your milk arrayed
Upon a landscape of white gold
Drowned in an air that could only be the daughter of the ocean
And we love each other
The way the night follows the morning
Enthralled and justified
Because the black stone from the endless vastness of night
Must warm and glow and be consumed in fire to reach the earth
And the pure air surrounding us while we embrace
Contains the light and heat of the meteor fallen
Sacrifice from the heart of night
That we might fly
In our quick night
And rest in an exhausted paradise
Mementos of this impossible journey
Strung along your belly
Like dew
From
heaven
Forever.
How Your Paleness Explodes Inside A Very Silent Joy
by Greg Hall, copyright 2008
So many hearts broken
All along the watchtowers
Inside every step
Along the way
So many mouths
Never really
Been kissed
So multitudinous
The weary virgins
Feet in the air
And a loneliness
Howling
An untouched coyote
Under a pristine
New moon
That immaculate
Sliver
Tuned
To the curve
That never found
Your
Secret
Throatskin
And
Other
Lost
Magicks
As in
So
Many
Hearts
Broken
Because
They
Never
Got
To
Beat
So many
Hearts
Broken
All
Along
The
Watchtower
So many
Mouths
Never really
Been
Kissed
One Response to “SPEAK THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED”
kellycmHi Greg,
This poem is one of the best I’ve read this year. The imagery is flat-out amazing and vivid; the sentiment will linger a good long while. Excellent work.
Kelly
I will miss you.
Liz, we need to get a hold of Walter Martin. Do you have his email or phone number??
Bea
So will we all Liz! I will have more on Greg here soon…Am also planning a poetry memorial celebration of Greg’s life and poetry on July 19th at Works Gallery. Still deciding whether it will be 2:00 PM or 6:00. Any thoughts?
Bea