THE OTHER SIDE from DAVID LANDREY

The Other Side

——for Kelly Bucheger and What Would Mingus Do?

—and for Fred Whitehead

The world ended a long time ago

back when the Universe exploded, what they call the Big Bang

we’re all just ghosts, part of the afterglow

slow cooling embers thrown out by that immense bonfire

—John Roche in The Joe Poems

We hear them far and

                away

seeking us and we them

a barrier

                translucent

                                transcendent

between

                them and us

shimmers     shivers     shakes

our vision leading us

                away

or far within

our side or theirs

as the sounds

                theirs and ours

assemble and hover

both sides singing until

we seem to know … … …

And they come to the edge

And we seek without fear

And we hear from beyond

And respond deep within

                                and we reach on through

the other side.

                        ---David Landrey

Meditations on The Other Side (beginnings)

The other side of what?

            inside or out?

Do we (should we) break on through to it? [* below]

Or do we conjure it, invite it to break through to us?

Is it a place of possible comfort?

       a place to fear?

                        Can it be (must it be?) both?

Can we have one without the other?

Ah—the “other”: other than us, alien?

            or an entity missing from us, not a place?

            or an energy field—to tap into which is to feel and to know?

Is it dimensional? Or so at once parallel and interwoven with “our side” as to be us? Yet it is/has been removed from our field, perhaps by us—or has/is it? Can it be us and not us at once?

With what, if any, obligation are we than left? [* above]

            If we or “it” break through, what then? Can we (ought we) lead “others” (as in Plato’s cave dwellers) to/through it? Surely we must dissolve any barrier again and again, as in the taking/making of any sacrament; and as we do, how—if at all—do we sustain our link to “others” and with what likely results?

            In what posture do we hold ourselves? Independence? Obeisance? What posture in relation to OTHER? OTHERS?

            We reach for/allow sounds: voices, rhythms, cries …

            We hope to render them in music and words or in various sculpted forms, in which acts we have reached the Other Side or perhaps have obviated any need to do so or perhaps have discovered that there is only one side.

            The public role of art (I see it daily at performance/readings), before it becomes embalmed, institutionalized, has never been more necessary.

                                                                                                            ---David Landrey

Break-Through Means Resolution: Martha Treicher, Gwen Zimmerman, Marge Merrill

     Staying Power

Is there a difference
between Resoluteness
and Patience?

Sometimes there is
usually not.

      ---Martha Treicher

 A Poem of Break-through

A shift of consciousness
an open heart
Love and mystery abounds
in this magical world
Eyes open to a greater reality
that lies within

Let’s take a walk

      ---Gwendolyn Zimmerman

Dormancy

embrace the blanket

hibernate

cocoon

draw energy to core

mend socks

purl too

stir walnuts into oatmeal

be divorced from pen and ink

until it is time

until snowdrops

until migrations

until the first Saturday in May

until you feel

the slip of time

gathering edges

merging

bursting at the seams

until your fingers quicken

with the sun

itch to cultivate pretty colors

in the blank paper garden

4/5/14        Marge Merrill

May 2018 Going to CLOUDBURST COUNCIL

A few days to go until Cloudburst. I am hoping to generate some content for the Cloudburst Blog before the event

Our theme is  Break-Through and the prompt is Resoluteness

Break-though is at least on the surface comprehensive as a social movement or whatever ( a trigger to experience)

The meaning for Resoluteness is more difficult for me. This does not have to be a new poem but if you can send me a poem and/or thoughts, I'll get them posted.

success is showing up

secret of longevity getting out of bed in the morning

          ----- Alan Casline

WAITING ON THE KEYBANK AT FOUR-CORNERS

I notice the lady with the open ledger book and open check book in the foyer as I reach for the door.

“It’s locked, You won’t get in there. They won’t open till nine” she says.

“I never figure on that. It’s not even like I’m here on an important errand,” looking at my watch. There’s at least ten minutes till nine.

“ I need to get a bank certified check. It’s not even for me, it’s for my employer,” she offers.

“I’m here to pick up some dollar coins for a poetry prize. The prize is for reciting poems from memory. “

“Children?”

“No adults. I belong to a poetry group in Voorheesville.”

She began reciting in a slightly softer voice.

“I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils…

Woodsworth, my favorite,” she smiled.

Do you think they still have children memorize poems in school?” she asked me.

“Probably not. I don’t think my own kids ever had to.”

“A pity.”

“Yes, when you memorize a poem it stays with you forever, or even if you forget, something will stir it up again and it surfaces.”

 She nodded her head in understanding.

“Even when it is forgotten if you start reading the poem again, the words come back and your eyes can leave the page as you continue in the memory of having learned the poem by heart.”
She paused in thought, then went on.

“Songs are interesting. Songs are like that too. My father had blood clots in his brain and a stroke when he was forty-eight. He lost all ability to speak but he could still sing. He lived twelve more years, with only the ability to sing the songs he had learned to communicate.”

“Wow,” I said. “It’s like the sit-com where they have the special singing episode and everyone sings in a musical style but the plot and story go on as normal. That was your father, in his own singing musical episode, except his went on for twelve years.”

She laughed, as the bank employee came to open the door, a little early, and let us in.

                                                                           Alan Casline

                                                                           May 9, 2007

                                                                                          Delmar, N.Y.

CLOUDBURST COUNCIL 2017 Marge Merrill In Summation

Cloudburst 2017  —  In Summation

A nine hour closing ceremony? 

 Oscar India   Victor Echo Yankee !

Somewhere between two coasts

god is throwing a party

there is fuck you in the air

and sweet wine in the snow.

The white queen gossips

about valley girls waking up alone.

The beats shotgunning beer

argue there is no future only an infinity of options.

Squirming facts eavesdrops.

My poems are not poems

it was the shadow we thought shouldn't be.

Mark Twain interrupts, is there take out from Mockba?

Clark, Dorn, Henry Miller and other shades

speak of

letting go

making the way.

And the white queen, who is also a former social worker,

talks about children playing in the Trinotite sand,

little girls with soiled bandages

other children who dare in Anatolia.

And the marmalade acolyte shouts, Dear Lord,

don't call Social Services about this!

The Gunslinger takes a long pull from the bottle of Jameson's

and gestures wildly about the room with his 44,

settles his glare upon Horse asks, What do you think?

Whale …..............(drags out the word for a full minute and the Dahlai Lama joins in) finally says

there is a conspiracy of dust and pissed off elephants.

Women are the first environment

honor the sacred directions

always

sisters

even as just another American woman walking alone.

Charles Olsen asks, can I hunger for protein and justice?

You guys are nothing but slaves of appearances savages the acolyte

everyone in this country is a sort of Johnny Carson!

Are there any more Pacman Pistachios?

I'm married to the flywheels and gears.

Coyote always gets into trouble,

gambols with the dogs of the house.

The Muses have emerged from the dark

from the chaos

yeah, in a

big

god

damned

car.

Erotic sweet potatoes.  Who knew?

It is all balder and dash

ancient like Langston Hughes.

Oh, Shiva, my darling, which super hero are you?

Somebody feed the snakes!

The more ways out the harder to plan your escape

Take the beaten path to old man Slates still.

Fox, coyote, elk, buffalo and the Lakota elder

pay no attention to the stoned deer.

Franco likes Ike

something the color of puma in Minnesota

the righteous dude

with the attitude

tries the limits of sarcasm, delights cartoonists,

Joe recites warm underbellies

chickens, shit,

and make your own scratch.

The shades toast dead ed with coffee cups; happy birthday!

We may gain the secrets

what are your favorite things?

In my hand a snack I'd never seen.

Chief Wahoo opines

everyone looks better in a daisy necklace.

Take those selfies naked.

Marge Merrill

Program for Cloudburst Council 2017

PROGRAM CLOUDBURST 2017 

Fri. May 19, 2017

noon-2:00     Early Bird Registration (enjoy the site)

2:00-2:10      Opening Ceremony (meet at entrance to lodge): Alan Casline

2:15-3:00      Nature Walk: haiku moments: Michael Czarnecki

                       (an outdoor ramble of roadside, fields and woods at Gell Center)

3:00-6:00       Registration ongoing in Main Lodge

3:30-4:30       Beginning Poetry Circle (one poem from each poet)

4:30-4:40       Poetry reading: Martha Treichler

4:40-4:50       Poetry reading: Therese Broderick 

5:00-6:30       Light Dinner Served (pasta, bread, green salad)

6:30-6:40       Poetry reading: Kathy Tussing

6:40-6:50       Poetry reading: Adam Tedesco

6:50-7:00       Poetry reading: Michael Czarnecki

7:00-7:10       Poetry reading: John Roche   

7:10-8:10       Panel: Conflict of Interest: (Nick Eckerson, Paulette Swartzfager, Dwain Wilder))           

8:10-8:30      Cloudburst thoughts and evening wrap-up: Stephen Lewandowski

8:30-8:40       Friday Night Closing Ceremony: Charlie Rossiter

8:40                Party 

 Sat. May 20, 2017

 8:30 Breakfast Served (cereal, fruit, bagels, eggs, etc.)

           Breakfast will be continuously served.

9:20-9:30          Saturday Opening Ceremony: Alifair Skebe

9:30-10:30        Remembering Friends, Heroes, Legends (Poetry Round-Robin)

                          Sharing poetry of departed friends, admired and historic poets.

                          Bring some poems of beforementioned to share.

10:30-10:40       Poetry Reading: Nick Eckerson

10:40-10:50       Poetry Reading: Tom Nicotera

10:50-11:00       Poetry Reading: Ashley Messer

11:00-11:10       Poetry Reading: Anna Kreienberg

11:10-11:20       Poetry Reading:  Jane Sadowski  

11:20-12:00        Break

12:00-12:30       Panel: Ed Dorn: (Alan Casline, Michael Peters, Alifair Skebe)

12:30-12:40       Poetry Reading: Steve Tills            

12:40-12:50       Poetry Reading: Charlie Rossiter

12:50 -1:00        Poetry Reading: Pat Tansey

 1:00 Lunch Served (cold sandwiches bag lunch)

 Open Time 1:00 – 3:45

Tour in Finger Lakes Watershed with Steve Lewandowski (optional)

Steven Lewandowski will lead an expedition to Canadice Lake or a place closer depending on weather

Workshop: For those not on exploration in the same time slot workshop in the main lodge (optional)

                    Therese Broderick will be doing a Workshop on different ways to create handbound books

                    Materials will be supplied. Martin Willitts, Jr. will also show his way of bookbinding.

Keeping Still: Find a spot and stop. Sit still for at least 15 min. but do not check the time (optional)

4:00-4:10        Poetry Reading:  ryki zuckerman

4:10-4:20        Poetry Reading: Martin Willitts,Jr.

4:20-4:30        Poetry Reading: Linda Griggs

4:30-4:40        Poetry Reading: Bob McDonough

4:40-5:00        Poetry Reading: Dwain Wilder

5:00 -5:50       Panel – Darkness: (David Landrey, Stephen Baraban, John Roche)

5:50-6:00        Poetry Reading: Paulette Swartzfager

6:00-7:00        Dinner        

7:00-7:10           Poetry Reading: Marge Merrill

7:10-7:20           Poetry Reading: Stephen Baraban

7:20-7:30            Poetry Reading: Mark O’Brien

7:30-7:40            Poetry Reading:  Maril Nowak

7:40-7:50            Poetry Reading:  Alifair Skebe

7:50-8:00            Poetry Reading:  Michael Peters

 8:00-10:00         Open Mic hosted by John Roche (by sign-up )

                            Bring a poem about conflict to read as part of your open mic presentation

10-10:10             Wrap-up John Roche

10:15                   Saturday Closing Ceremony: Therese Broderick

 10:20- 12:00       Campfire Party

12:00-?                 Midnight open mic until we run out of poems

 Sunday May 21, 2017

9:30-11:00          Brunch (like Saturday Breakfast )

10:15                   Sunday Opening Ceremony: Mark O’Brien and Gail Allen O’Brien         

9:30-11.00          Trade Fair and Free Fair

10:30-10:40        Poetry Reading:  Alan Casline

10:40-10:50        Poetry Reading:  Stephen Lewandowski

10:50-11:00        Poetry Reading:   David Landrey

11:10-12:40        Looking Outward   Maril Nowak (activity facilitator)

12:40–1:00         Further Round-Robin of Poetry.  Each poet read one poem

1:00-10:10          Closing Ceremony: Marge Merrill

BATTLES AT O.K. POETRY CORRAL

This was first a poem and then a survey of about 30 poets to get their opinions. I’ll throw this out as a bone to chew on. I was intereted in who would be the most original poet. A couple of these debates have been ongoing in my poetic life.

                                                                ---  Alan Casline

BATTLES AT O.K. POETRY CORRAL

rhyming  vs  non-rhyming

pre-20^th century  vs  20^th century

outsider  vs  establishment

light  vs  serious, dark

confessional  vs  non-confessional

lazy  vs  worked  on

spontaneous  vs  fixed form

contemporary  20^th century  vs  little knowledge contemporary 20^th century

nature  vs  hate nature poems

domestic  vs  mystical

protest  vs  acceptance

muse  vs  amused

poetry  vs  poetry

CLOUDBURST 2017 ON A DAY OF MELTING

  Last snowfall here in the Normanskill watershed is slowly melting with temperatures fluxuating from just above to just below freezing for the next few days. My thoughts are to the apple blossoms on the hillside at the Gell Center. CLOUDBURST 2017 is budding with many people already indicating they will be returning. A number of new poets had signed on as well. The Blog here is open for business so please send any submissions you want to pass on and I'll try and get them posted right up.
............................................................................................................................................

   On Saturday May 14, 2016 at CLOUDBURST COUNCIL as a group around the table we threw our I Ching Hexagrams which were #59 (Dispersion) changing into #6 (Conflict).  At my first glance, I was uneasy over CONFLICT being a touchstone for our continuing work at the Council, in poetry and beyond. I did know the changing nature of the Tao and the I Ching meant the hexagram CONFLICT was not so much about conflict as it was the forces in movement that allowed conflict. Conflict as a theme for our gathering has some background via national politics and cultural clash. The hexagram has two pieces (the tri-grams) that make it up. These are on top The Creative, Heaven and on bottom The Abysmal, Water. These two halves move away from each other and this the I-Ching says gives “rise to the idea of conflict”. Notice not like a Cloudburst where forces crash together but “Conflict develops when one feels to be in the right.” Back to the two tri-grams that make up the hexagram CONFLICT, Creative is strength and the Abysmal is danger, guile. The indication of conflict is the combination in a person of deep cunning and fixed determination. Here is starts to feel like current events “To carry on the conflict to the bitter end has evil effects even when one is in the right, because the enmity is then perpetuated.”

  In my own book 64 Changes, I can see what I drew out of the day I threw the coins and that particular poem for hexagram #6 got written.   the spiritual trends/of individuals harmonize. The CLOUDBURST COUNCIL was born out of conflict if everyone remembers the first Friday night at the Gell Center. Some poetic conflicts might never end but I do think this harmonizing of spirit that very soon at the first Council and over the years of getting to know each other has occurred. To everyone’s credit and to our future enjoyments.

The causes of Conflict are latent in the opposing tendencies of two different forces.  The I-Ching commentary says to avoid conflict you have to catch it before it starts, in the beginning. “If rights and duties are exactly defined, or if, in a group, the spiritual trends of the individuals harmonize, the cause of conflict is removed in advance.” So practically, in organizing CLOUDBURST COUNCIL are there any potential conflicts that need to be addressed in the beginning?

                                                                            ---Alan Casline