Contributors * more photos to appear soon

Contributors * more photos to appear soon
Christy Namee Eriksen, kim thompson, Jon Schill

Friday, July 16, 2010

Morning Stories

Good moms read books at bedtime,
Great moms tell morning stories.

Where there are no mice to say goodnight to the moon
only bright eyed salmon hatching without their mothers, tasting
the width of the water with their clumsy thirst.

They are waking, at the break of the fog,
and there is so much to say.

How a boy can row to shore on his tricycle,
greet the robots with smoked halibut and jellybeans,
he can dance with the best of them, he can
ride the hills until the hills are tired, until they
blow their sand like a silk dress around the sun and the
sun wears it to work all day and everyone wants to
comb her rays and look for treasure.

Oh, good morning.

Did you hear about the prince who was not a prince
just a mailman with a river of love letters and he
slept on a feather there, dipping his toes in
promises and pictures and signatures
so that when he walked in triangles his footsteps left
everlasting bricks until they were pyramids.

Open your eyes, baby,

There’s a dinosaur outside our window and he
picked all the neighbors flowers with his teeth
while they were sleeping and he
took a shower in their sprinkler and they
wouldn’t have known but he started singing so
Mrs. Bingham is banging her Toyota Sequoia
against his ankle and it tickles.

Wake up! See the T-rex laughing. 

He can’t help but catch his breath and start a tornado.
We are flying, here in our small white apartment,
the plants, the books, the couch, the dishes,
shooting like stars in our living room,
and we could make a thousand wishes but
i only wish one, you only wish one.

I roll my shocked body over yours and ask for peace,
but you, you
hold out your brave young arms
and I and every scared stuffed animal
fit there.

Let the day begin.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Troy

An older story... written Monday, 01 February 2010



The empty page on my computer screen mocks me, haunts me, it doesn’t have eyes but stares into mine nonetheless. Fingers hovering over a black keyboard – oh, do I miss those old typewriters; at least the paper wouldn’t stare, lest it be ripped and mauled by frustrated writers.

Sweet coffee had forgotten its own bitter taste; avo-and-cheese sandwiches with a dash of pepper and too much salt; water turned mellow and lukewarm from neglect and jealousy, but I can’t help preferring the sweetened coffee that had turned as lukewarm as the water; they’re keeping me company on a desk that hasn't celebrated the New Year yet…

And when noon arrives, I will face my sorrows head on! Charge it! Rush it! Like amazons, with raised axe, riding chariot; some old forgotten Scythian war cry will strike fear into heartless demons. And I’ll forget that over time and decades, those demons had become my friends…

And I will rebuild the great gate, put stone on stone; hide behind Ilium’s great walls. I will build in my heart yet another Troy, to be burned…

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

to my lady friend korea

* i actually wrote this on a tuesday *

dear lady korea
seoul-mate
we have been apart for over 30 years
but seeing you again
well it was
love at first sight

ive had a lot of other cities in my life
some of them the most beautiful and desired
lusty damsel london
the elegance of sultry songstress paris
the bad girl moscow and her sister st petersburg
the unfettered perfect beauty of the all alluring bella alps
educated elegante courtesan venizia
mistress merida south america of the party salsa sweaty night bus rides
cold tempting sleek seductress stockholm
and
the envy that is an oh so svelte salzburg
to name a few

but korea youre the one i was always heading to
you with your crazy nights
you with all your big bright lights
you with all your noise
you with your long sleek winding river
and your contoured shapes rising beautifully in the mornings

korea you who never sleeps
lady korea
land of sisters mothers lovers friends

lady korea with your well swept sidewalks
winding up and down
lady korea with your proud peaks
lady korea with your beckoning streets

i have known and even
loved
a lot of cities before you
i have known their inner streets
slinked along their alleys
photographed them
sidled up to them
made my mark and left

but lady korea youre my love
youre my heart
today in the midst of seeming heart ache
i fell in love with you again

- kim thompson. seoul, s. korea... written on 13 july tuesday posted on 15 july thursday