Five Poems by Dan Lineham

Striations

sacred deposits
trapped as mineral bits
by the pressure
of forever

in granite slabs
aligned like giant sheets
of fat paper
deckled by sunlight
and sea salt

edges round
by the turns
of wind and wave

as these ancient books
reveal their stories
to the sand

Thirst

rain runs down
long leafy wickers
the weight of water
pulls them to the ground

the willow wakes
in its soaking coat
stretches at every shoulder
and drinks
and drinks
and drinks

My girlfriend said,
the darker the berry
the sweeter the juice.

replied, but white
is the presence of all color.

She told me
to shut up and drink.

She was right about the juice,
but I eventually switched brands.

Left Corner Pocket

she rubbed my heart
like a crystal ball

I let her peer inside

she shook it up
she turned it 'round

but when she found
no tiny snowy village
or magic little phrase

she put it on the table felt
and sunk it without a sound

View From an Air Raid Ditch (A.K.A. DEMOCRACY PLAZA)

           a
        third
        buzzard
     struck Manhattan

     this time in midtown

     masked as an eagle

    with a secret handshake
 and a promise of demise
 disguised  as  spittle
nestled in the far right corner
of     its    smirk

the     BLUE     of     New     York
could     not     defend     against

  the RED of single-mindedness
  the RED of self-righteousness
  the RED of short-sightedness
      RED of misinformation
         RED of corruption
         RED of isolation
            RED ignorance
               RED greed
               RED lies
                   RED
                   RED
                   RED

                  by too
surrounded          much RED

Dan Lineham