The Storm

One day the storm came around here,
      and we called it…
      rain.
And the rain fell
      hard and heavy.
And I thanked God
      that I had my safe haven
      with 4 wheels
      to traverse the road.
All around me is rain
      drenching,
      soaking,
      buckets
      of rain,
      wet,
      wet,
      wet,
      wetness,
      but not inside here.
Man, it’s nice and dry
      in here,
      and wet
      everywhere out there.
And I drove my safe haven
      through the rain
      back home,
      and we called it…
      a car.


-John Bauman

Smith College Falls, Sunset

-Charlie Hertan

49 y.o. DWM Seeks Good Time

When we first met,
I dreamt your ex urgently sought my advice.
His divorce pad well-furnished, but
out in the field with no roof or walls.
I pitied him, heard a faint whisper:
First winter winds.
Clutching objects intently,
he didn’t know what went wrong.
How to please you, or how he got there,
How he slept while Isolation,
the sky-dwelling termite,
ate the house top down
left sound foundations without warmth or shelter
(no place to live, really).
Great or lesser men might snap,
He sought other pilgrims at side street
cafes.

Alone again, I build small pagodas daily.
Miniature Lyceums for condemned slack beasts.
Cast swine at pearls; watch them roll, snort and rattle,
restless as beauty imploding.
A gay friend says, “be patient my love”.
His the erotic voice of reason.
Love is just around the corner, but wet,
waiting lacks resilience.
Like Lorca’s nerdy twin on Facebook,
Dispossessed of the oozy machismo which
transmutes despair into love scent,
I fall flat, lie guilty of want, languish in chat rooms
where lust seeks crass or finer bottles,
in Persian chambers where Rumi stayed when The Other stood him up.
Eros turned inward is vaguely suspect; still--
With his luck, no doubt he fucked the whole harem.


- Charlie Hertan

Introducing: Charlie Hertan

From me:

Charlie is an interesting guy I met through Robby Roiter one night at least 10 years ago at fire and water. He is very creative: writes poetry, dances, and takes photos. Also, I have heard he plays chess very well, and just released a book about chess. Other things to mention are that his mom was a good poet and he has put out a book of her poems, and he made a peace calendar.

He also sells coins, and once we lived together and I bought some interesting coins from him which I still have, including a junk "piece of eight", which is very cool.

From his website:

"Originally from New Jersey, I moved to the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts in 1996. A therapist, writer and numismatist, I didn’t take up serious photography until my 40's, inspired by hiking the many secluded lakes, hills and woodlands near my home. Inspired by my late mother, West Virginia poet and visual artist Lynn Kernan, the quest to illuminate the beauty in nature, life, and the human spirit is the driving force behind my work."

Link:
His photography website

Introducing: Kathy Ruseckas

A few weeks ago I went up to Leyden with Guy, Selena, Brett and Jenny, to do some paste-painting* for Jenny & Brett's wedding. Kathy is Guy and Brett's mom, and she taught us how to do the painting. While I was there I got to see lots of the art Kathy has made, and I enjoyed it. She had a lot of photographs framed by paste painted paper.

---

* Paste painting is where you mix some paint into a some paste and then put it on wet paper, and make designs in it.

Introducing: Leah Moses

I met Leah because I know her boyfriend Dave, and I think I met him because he lived at Sky's apartment. Anyway, I discovered that Leah makes interesting art, because I saw it hanging up at her house one time when I was there and asked about it.

Link:
Her website

Harder than it Sounds (Nov 25, 2008)

It's harder than it sounds
to stop dwelling
on what has been
and what may be
and what mighta been.

-Jim DuBois