lay down your arms
now pick them up again
put them around me
hold me back
push me away
pull me closer
pull me down
tie me down
beat me
beat me
and we’ll do it again tomorrow
lay me down sweetly
push you into the black dirt
sweeping architecture, graceful
grind it in
drops from the grey-brown sky
stains you don’t want to wash
white spots, mushrooms
bleach, burning away
lye about your identity
and I’ll believe you
as I curl beside you
languorous, long trunks
reaching up to soft green branches
the rainforest is damp,
dripping, waiting
for the clouds to part
one blast of the sun
burning all the rain away
into the atmosphere
hold your water close
or evaporate into nothing
such a tight orbit.
seems I can’t get away
from you.
a scorched-earth
policy on the past.
everything is forgotten
in the face of you
as I spin around again.
Grey Wolf introject
grandmother and Red Riding Hood
died from the conflict
introjects among themselves
and with reality.
found poetry via Google Translate
Aluminum Runes
Aluminum is much easier to cut with a plasma cutter than steel was. The aluminum I was using was about three times as thick as the steel I cut last week, but the flame went right through it easily, with none of the start-stop issues I had with the steel. If only aluminum was easier to weld, I would use it for all my projects.
As for the other shapes? My doodling around with the plasma cutter quickly started producing rune shapes. I tried to make them small and sometimes ended up losing a bit too much detail. I made a few of the easier shapes (laguz in particular) several times and then started branching out.
By the time I was done I’d done about ten different shapes off the top of my head. I’m not one of those folks whose studied the runes intensively and has them memorized, so I didn’t get them all, but I got enough to see if I’d like the result.
Once I was done cutting them out, it was time to grind. Oh, the grinder. We grind in these closet-sized, outdoor grinding booths (for obvious reasons). It was about 90 degrees today. So as you might imagine, it was not exactly comfortable.
It was, however, oddly meditative. Each rune got clamped down for me to grind one half, then the other. It was repetitive. Aside from making sure I wasn’t accidentally creating razor-sharp runes, it didn’t require much thought. Just grind-turn-grind. Then grab the next one.
I suppose “oddly meditative” is a pretty good state of mind to be in when you’re making runes. I’m fairly pleased with the result, and I think I’ll be returning to them next week if I have time.
Why wouldn’t I have time? Well, the other thing I did today was watch one of my classmates, a former drawing/painting instructor who’s been doing metal art for nine years, make a copper bowl. The results were gorgeous and she encouraged me to try it for myself next week if I’m interested. I won’t directly mimic her style, I’m more interested in the process itself, which I’ll write up in another post.
bright flashes, lights dancing
shining and short of breath
heart beats faster
room spinning, blood rushing
loud and in my ears
collapsing down
she knew them all
their hearts, their eyeliner
which of them snuck in
and which paid too much for tickets
they opened up
like pool gates for five year olds,
solid walls that gave
much too easily
they sang
without knowing the words
they loved
without knowing each other
when the lights came up
they didn’t understand
just why they felt so needful,
walked away wary and sore
whispering
fans turning, calling
summer comes
