Hercules' Forgotten 13th Labour

[sgt.null]

pre-amble

the peculiar depths
(and heights) my
wingman points north.
the torture of long-
winded ghosts. rain,
pain and lamentations.
spindly and awkward.
or so he had hoped...

1) the True Believers

they border on euphoria.
(they smile) the pain is
leavened by their anguish.
a sea of unrealistic
optimists are in a low-
lying cumulus of pixie
dust. in the morning we
can drive to the coast.

2) the Jaws of Despair

proximity is deceiving.
oceans and mountains...
intellectuals lost in a fog.
bright sun lost overhead.
malcontents and miscasts
stand and whistle, clapping
in rhythm and banging on
their kettles. rough and
imperfect in human form.

3) Defying the Course

the further north,
the darker it gets.
(blame the gods)
lightning and thunder.

4) Raining Again

we push northward,
the landscape changing.
coniferous trees border,
logging trucks trundle.
pale specters loom ahead.
the sky seems forever
on the verge of raining.

5) A Man Forgotten

a border guard appraises
us skeptically. it rains
here all of the time.
no one cares anymore.

post-mortem

and so meanwhile...
we head south, back
from the border. we
live in the debris, and
still it is beautiful.

[sgt.null]

this poem was written for Savor Dam. I will wait for his comment(s) about it before revealing the meaning behind it.

to my count I have written poems about/for Mrs.Null, Lucimay, Jenn and now Savor Dam. I thought I had written one about Coz, but seem unable to locate it.

and I have a couple poems specific to the watch. the first mentions a few members in oblique fashion. guess them if you know them.

third shift driver

I am the living son
of doctor stanley livingston

I am the only son
of Thomas Alva Edison

we begin our descent...
null observes a lull
his sidekick to a sidetrip?
a flamboyant atomic samurai.
vis est satis (force is enough)
cat's ear and hawks beard
between the eye and bill...
more grist for the swill.

birds inverted -
hang in the sky
February hollow -
a sketch of rain
angles obtused -
blur and fade

rocking horse/stalking horse
the correct light is blue

discord/discard/disclude

[sgt.null]

and after the Watch Fest in old New Mexico...

the watch

i've had
trouble
decompressing /
acclimating
to the life
i had before -
i now know
a reason
to smile,
all of you

[sgt.null]

the one for Lucimay...

Master Violet Ray #1

Haphazard Lucy strolls by -
a parade of colors, fall
season. today is and Wednesday
in November (if you remember)
it is sunny, breezy and cool,
everyone is here. Humpty Dumpty
is a spider on the floor, an
old man at your door. Doppler
is a clockwork man, counterfeit
man on a counter earth in
a counter rotation. broken sky,
bright orange sun (one of many)
heavy sky - our shadows glowing,
marshmallow ash. as the choir
sleeps in a dog-fog. tell-tale
death rattle. rowboats for our
road-dogs. singing sad tunes
on auto-tune. roadmaps and
cremation blues. all out of tune.
take a compass, take a map...
a straight edge for legends at
the fold - searching for our
lost cities of gold. burnt tar,
gravel pits. sixteen gears switch.
Haphazard Lucy strolls by.

[Savor Dam]

this poem was written for Savor Dam. I will wait for his comment(s) about it before revealing the meaning behind it.

Aside from being honored that you did so, I am not sure how to comment. Even though I have a reputation for poetic leanings here on the Watch (probably due to things written for Win Wayfriend's Money, for Menolly, or in other unspecified cases ), I really have limited skill in creating poetry and even less confidence in my interpretation of poems crafted by others.

I think I know what some of your poem means...but I could be wildly (and self-indulgently) mistaken. Nobody knows your true intent so well as you do.

Tell...here, or in PM; whatever you prefer. Or just let me twist in the wind, wondering.

[sgt.null]

Savor Dam - my imaginings of you and me on a road trip. left coast exclusive.

pre-amble is me imagining us as the Minutemen driving up from San Pedro.



1) LA. Hollywood specific. the walk of fame and big sign even more specific.

2) Oakland. post earthquake.

3) Portland.

4) Seattle.

5) Vancouver.

post-mortem : gone to Texas.

Kerouac road trip as inspiration.

[Lefdmae Deemalr Effaeldm]

and after the Watch Fest in old New Mexico...

the watch

i've had
trouble
decompressing /
acclimating
to the life
i had before -
i now know
a reason
to smile,
all of you

Sarge, lovely to read something like this, it's very touching. Such a pity I wasn't there and not too probable to visit the one planned now, yet it's something particularly special to feel some of those things through what people tell and show and create.

[Vader]

The tiny
poems
we sometimes
write
are nil
and zilch
compared
to null