one album and three poems
Hello friends.
As some of you know I am currently in two bands. One of which, Knife Feelings, released our first album back in April. My other band, which only recently settled on a name after a few years of putting it off, is Dead Light. We have been playing music with a few different personnel variations since 2018 or so. Our new album is finally available. We recorded it at Experimental Sound Studio in July and mixed it there in September. And now it’s on thee olde bandcampe:
Thrill to our instrumental stylings! And me learning how to play the drums! Me switching to drums was the most recent iteration of the band and it has been fun. Kind of like learning a new language. My brain is listening to the music differently and figuring out how to fit in with the other instruments.
Poetry
I’ve always operated under the assumption and expectation that I am an introvert and would rather be by myself and not go anywhere than be with others and go out into the world. This tendency is definitely there and something to listen to and respect for my mental health. But, it’s a fine line between respecting how I best navigate the world and settling in to a routine based on habit and ease that is detrimental to my wellbeing. It’s super easy to give in to the urge to do nothing. I rarely feel like doing anything and have to make myself do things and tell myself that I want to do things even if I don’t instinctively feel like it.
I have also realized that I’ve been craving a community of artist types who I can specifically talk with about the art that I’m making. Writing has always been important to me and I’ve been moving away from the zines that I started making in the mid-90’s because I wasn’t getting the feedback and sense of community that I had with them years ago. But I still write - increasingly smaller/shorter things in poem form. Some of which I share here.
Earlier this year I learned about a monthly poetry workshop that is hosted at a bookstore not too far from where I live and after a few months of letting its existence percolate in my brain I finally made the connection that going to a monthly poetry workshop could help satisfy my need for being social, going out into the world, talking with people about my writing, and getting feedback. I finally made myself go to the workshop in August and have been to each of them since. It has definitely been worthwhile and something that I needed. I’m feeling pretty positive about it and am looking forward to attending them again in in the new year.
I bring all this up as a way of introducing these three poems that I shared at the past three sessions. Presented in order that I shared them.
May 15, 2024
You muck in the muck
slides between toes
green aquatic weed
the body reads as
slick slime as
feet slip across
cool water up to ankles
tread careful
toe by toe
so as not to fall in
March 14 and April 8, 2024
Bird soft to fall
light on spade of shovel
buried beneath bones of plants
Clouds and rain
awoke to thunder
rolling between sleep and wake
Here and here
the smell of smoke
one by one the windows open
April 2, 2024
Observing him
- how he has grown -
out of the corner of my eye
as he walks next to me
long hair sprays out of sweatshirt hood
eyes hide behind tinted glass
He fits my jacket better than I do
Who is this kid, this small adult
gangling in adolescent awkwardness
The way he tenses
when he sees other teens
heightened senses
how his eyes track them
I remember the fear of being seen
noticed
judged by my peers
Horrible and raw
I have put off sending this email for a while cuz the state of the world is overwhelming and sharing this stuff seems meaningless. But, I always love and appreciate hearing about what my friends and inspirations are doing, up to, working on. So, I’ll do the same.
Keep loving, keep fighting.
FREE PALESTINE!!!