summer play

the trucks open the screw stands closed
rocked up for business at an enclosure of wine
the sap suckers took umbrage at this and widened their screens
watching ducks tap their toes with drum sticks
fred Astaire dance all hung up on monkeys
the dehydrator said better
more bucket less ice and all is nice
wash out he dumpster of wheat compound
don't want to stress structure its edged
but you know what its good for
treaty bowls and lattice fountain
hiding the moon as a delivery agent
simple typhoons I guess but untidy
the laugh behind snored
up one bench to the next
the snore wouldn't open and got snowed in
watching past behind to next in line
the dressing showers out
the petrie dish in

sleep

stretching on while the leaves fall apart
all was a constant
variables hid in trash cans hunting for cyphers
all was gold except for the nipple ring
dragging behind the y was the yxz
it didn't make sense but it was there
through the bear hole with a bottle of wine
no sense in another the temperature's fine
just take off those mits and sand those gums
not much to get worried about
then the sand turned to wane
soap turn to bubbles
when the tide came the wood fell asleep
decreasing the variables
leaving constant cyphers
behind the why
leaving zzzz

denis streeter   11/29/16

Donald Barthelme

I discovered  in Donald Barthelme in The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales (1993) edited by Alison Lurie.  His tale was The Glass Mountain (1976).  And it was the strangest fairy tale I've ever read. Nothing like it.  It defies any categorization.  And he's dryly funny.  Just look up Donald Barthelme.  Oh.  And read The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales.  I'm not going to tell you about that either.  Just check them out from the library.  You might be surprised that a writer like Donald Barthelme exists.  I feel lucky that he does.  His writing will inspire my nonsense poetry.


Denis Streeter   11/23/16

plundering the skyline

First version and
edit version below


the blocks fell before the towns began
shifting up ashes in floats of fun
the derigery dressed in cow dung for the occasion
more than one dress and collar at a time
weeding was tricky for next revolution
code was out of order and solutions benign
so was the number nine
dressing up pools in shelters of crime
lifting tadpole from one stool to the next
addressophobia dusted the mill in peaches of pie
there was no digressing the matter.  speed for lapsed tongue
all the alphabets were dead ere one.  waiting for the tadpole benefit
scholars dressed in cartoons waiting for the apocalypse
migrating from mitigation those striped shadowed shoes
more for less when the steeples were chasing
words reappeared, some imaginary real
were became ere from I don't know where
the tongues were crossed from some senseless revolution
wrapped behind the neck where the toadstools lie
ginger and garlic spread their flavors
hunting for carnivores of institution
found politics instead.  the wigs have it
wandering the wings as if there's something to do
forfeiture and wingdangdoodle
at least one word is real
in this half in half world.

denis streeter   10/24/16

edit

the blocks fell before the towns began
shifting up ashes in floating fun
the derigery dresses cow dung for the occasion
less one dress and collar at a time
tricky weeding revolution
code ng solutions benign
as are the numbers nein
all the alphabets were dead ere one.
scholars dressed as tadpoles waiting on the apocalypse
mitigating migration in striped shadowed shoes
more for less in the steeple chase
words reappear, imagined and real
tongue crossed senseless eden
raptured next to toadstools lie
garlic and ginger spread their favors
hunting up carnivores the wigs habit
wandering the wings for someone to do
forfeiting wingdangdoodle
for the real
not that whirl.

denis streeter   10/24/16

really?

the crabs were singing
I dressed their shoes and they cried
there was nothing to do
so I ate them.


I suppose it had nothing to do with their toes
but I kept on singing
nothing to do with my crime
their shoes were backwards.


I finally opened the octopus jar
it was smelly and inky
maybe it was squid
I don't know


I was kidding about the cocktail kit
you didn't really use it did you?
just because I asked you why
it wasn't for coercion.


the onion skins fell off my back
they were discontinued anyway
sold them on line on e bay
can i get my superman one comic back?


I suppose you know the prime was empty
I didn't have any control over that
it was hiding in the corner so I forgot to feed it
at least the cactus isn't dry.


you were wondering about the marshmallows
I'm sorry to say that I burned them
don't worry they were stale anyway
I compressed them into charcoal briquettes.


no I'm not leaving.  just going away
don't worry.  I watered the cat.
he seems to have disappeared
I forgot he was wearing clothing.


never mind the rat traps.  they're already sprung
just leave them alone.  I paid extra for the self load ones.
they're loading as we speak.
damn I forgot to add water.


the rings are gone.  I sprayed them.  they should return.
don't worry.  they were feeling hollowed out.
I think they like the journey.
I'll ask them when they come back.


do you have any ice cream?
the one with the wagglety tail?
I guess that's a children's song.  I don't know.
It just made me think of ice cream.


what are you thinking of.  really?
I didn't know that.  I was only guessing.
you know. pride goeth before the fool.
but I'm known for that.


why do you think this should end?  really?
well okay.  if you really think so.
i'll gather these words together
throw them in the recycle.


denis streeter   10/5/16

waiting

the signs were high
up on the bridge
where the lines rafter
when the feeders stuck
where the truth lies
over boarded creek
when sounds relapse
test their pools
toss their rafters
over fools errand
washing sky
crease overhead
it wouldn't be why
it would be less
washing each line
overboard barrel
it wasn't the time
it was the lesson
signs passing time
waiting for you


denis streeter   9/22/16

mollification

the shine was off so I grabbed another
drifting down as I went
coffee filters try
drip up my legs with a cup of wise
I didn't ask questions while waiting
that was for later
drinking mollified wine
it's all in the wait
the craftiness of drafters, saving for later
orange gone mandarin belie the point
sauerkraut on lime waiting for delivery
there be an old man in a tub
seeding the washing
bully for him and his waggelty thing
overexposed and nudish
the blocks of sun they lie betwixt the copper spaniels
beneath the desk watching the washes
29 in line
goosing the porridge hot to cold
eating the equilibrium
one taste of wise and down the hatch
it doesn't always happen that way
summer high summer dry
none too wise
the toothy know better
scratch your legs and roll on
tried to fail
not that you care
carried away
forward and backward eating tide
the ocean's wake tottles the wind
it was not what they liked, but how they cried
perhaps the toothache's whining
trots the cupcakes liming
timing the measured molecules
arising to squat them away
cursed in all 12 tongues
I don't ask why
nudish rails
one doesn't ask the left behind
I grabbed a stick to beat the senseless molecules til they cried
it was meaningless
left them behind the burning bush
turned on the hose
the house is empty


denis streeter  8/24/16

snatches of why

the scrappiness was outdone
waking toadstools from their oasis
watching pools rise and fall in unearned bliss
the watches were ticking the highlights were lighting
Even the fish seemed fishy but who asked them


rogers ago the fences went amiss
perhaps it was remission I don't know
the guns silent as magpies
twice as scent as wise
double meaning met phonetic
lost and tried again
there was no humor lost
I checked lost and found


the badgers were glistening again
I asked why but they didn't know
just sat on a toadstool and cried
no sense in lying but I did


crabcakes are too much, lions not enough
the birds cracked wise
forgetting eggs
they missed the time


perhaps the waffles are ready
i'll check them in a minute
could you check the stove
coo!  they're ready


i'll fill the bath, you get in
no no.  I'll drink the wine
just get the lab rats ready
we'll find out if they swim
wow!  look at their white lab coats!


too much for now
could you quit disturbing me
i'm getting ready for bed
yes i know.  stop already!
i know my fly's undone


you've done the math, I've done the whiskers
let's have no more commotion over that
just get dressed I'm ready to go
umm...could you help me get this splinter out?


dodgy i guess, but that's the way the ball flies
I'd jump if i was metaphor
but pundits let me off the hook
now I'm on the fly


i guess you know by now, everything's got to end
but I'm finally ready.  could you get my coat?
yes that right.  the one in the corner
it's too high?  ok i'll get it


denis streeter  8/18/16

Beneath a feather

Trappist monks
Taking teabodies
Out to sea
In a scrunk
An open door
Remains shut
And the winter air
Hungers
Feeding shelter
Through finger tips
Opening chores
Feeding clothes
Other loomings
Live in shelters
Unreleased
And in the rubberbands
The wastelands live
Prufrock gallivants
Pavlov salivates
Rorschach leaves
Results under tea
Where the norm bipolars
Under the busted grins
Everyone knows your name
Leaving lashes
Under the steeplechase
And the understudy understands
At half past nine
Feeling the weather
Icing decline
And the temperature rose
Toward afternoon
Knees blistered nose bled
Thoughts sinister
And my head said
In the afternoon
The seahorse shaped question
Marks the time
And the question is the answer
Laughing moonshine
Leaving me and
My guests behind
Funny steeples
Shot windows
Caressing doors
Where the new you know
Keeps laughing
Falling
Seeping
Sleeping
Under the hyde of night
Where none come out
Degrade
Digress
Degrammer
Falls and hides
Shipwrecked
Beneath a feather

Denis Streeter 

what's up

just a ten minute write
it was hiding in the corner
didn't see it move
just dust out and bite me hard
harder than a toothache
scary as pencil sharpener
you know what I mean
and I was driven to pleasure
but first the pain
it wasn't just the title that made the pain
it was jabbing the pencil into the desk pad
smudged graphite killing my dream
it was like looking into a  maelstrom of greys on whites
the words appeared in the mind and recorded on paper
but no not quite so
fingers across keyboard
you don't need to be an operator
to sing these keys
and when you're done
you wonder what you've done.

denis streeter    7/23/16

too much for two shoes to count

the dreams were hiding
up down dirty
lessening realms of fine
doctored  to let go
cabinet cabarets liquor souls
livered by chance and lost horizons
treble cleft and underlined
sold to massive souls and lies
dealing destruction with letting go
maybe what's gone is numbered
downstream upstream
and lost fools need reminders
left of center and tied for coffee
chance set and prodding for shells
when the decanter broke and centered for free
just before the neutral moon and tent explosion
when the nerf ball flies the centrifuge broke
borrowed on empty with the coffee frigates
nothing but hose working dynamite
lassoing hope with divine retribution
the sticks were happy they were loathing each other
lessons for knack were sadly empty
watching each other in the wasteland prufrock left behind
with the littered accomplice stuck between leathered patches
touching up tunes in a stroke of wine
lather bent and twice as wine
watching the signs go by
fried with a better chance of onions
just before the night time bed fry
countenance loaded sheen for free
only good for bed and two puddings
just before nightfall the beds disappeared
it was only the onions that'd flown away
before the noon bell tolls left trolls to waste
leaving prufrock sadly wasted
junkies laughed to cry through the jewels
fools left their tubs open to see what was left
a peanut butter jar and a left hand fly
shooting for wine in a bandit jar
butterfly loose and fancy free
juggernauts before noon set jams on fire
no allusions just a pregnant pause
the dinner bell rang the food arrived
oodles spent their fancy divine
not enough to prime
but enough for a bedtime outing
shaving between the covers
just left of rhyme and two shadows wry
too much for two shoes to count.


denis streeter  6/29/16

no lemons passing by

the joke was on him but the cleaning was not
full of rebel chic and wine dropping
he was not used to the shine
it used to come off so easily
particularly when it came off the hamper
and it was off again and on again
never reaching conclusions
the story brighter than not
dressing more fireworks than thunder
and conclusions worked the night
stealth and full of dark
shadows only reminder of light
dim blessing
the war went on over time
dressing in undress
the stakes were high and the mountains
no time for nonsense but there it was
no debate in the matter
oceans opened and swallowed
it was past tense
nothing near and nothing far just nothing
worth noting
a missing letter and all was lost
dressing down to dress up
nothing but sawed juju
and times wait for crawlers
just in time for witnesses
it was all in line
the substance was there but it was all unclear
the beheadings and all that
don't know what was true
perhaps it was traffic passing by
there were no lemons

denis streeter   5/29/16

reality check

no parking
lot full opposite church
in uw
so I went
down 15th
to meany hall
parking garage
the sign said
$15 street fair parking
I waited behind a truck at the toll gate
for five minutes
then left and parked
you were supposed to park for free
if you were church
but it was street fair
so I did not believe it
I went back to the toll gate
talked to the attendant
told him I was parking there for church
he said that was ok
I started to argue with him
how do you know I am church
there is no sticker on my car
I was thinking of u pres church
where a parking sticker is required
he smiled and said that was fine
like he trusted me
I could not get that inside my head
yet
I went to church walked back again
there was the car
with no ticket

denis streeter   5/22/16

save a little time

the captain sights and fights Catherine
sights a tune and carries away
over the path and light as gel
and the ocean lept over trees
it was green yesterday and yellow the day before
then came the rabbit sweep
full of purple and filled with fleas
the catnip full and please
lost in pavement over shadows
watching horizons with a dutch ear pride
listening in on the equation was part of the problem
the solution is letting it run
easier once you got used to the slime
and pride got in the way of cold
there was no solution in the horizon
just bedrock pies and ocean teas
a rock before noon to ply the trade
and never a wish you won't receive
daughter wise finds too much haze
a smoky head to make you higher
and a dust shadow before noon
watching the tires spread their feet
desinex the treads
dimes between their pliers
plies why changing
oster path and watcher climb
limbers light and fells fall
all that remains
buys a little time
cathy seems depressed
all that lightning in decline
she wants wine
never the tester ply
walk an evening in both directions
where fine goes awry
nassom limbo
only when the fidget cries
hard as noon in a bent tree blind
laughter snoozed a line or two
left the bed and went beyond sleeping
it may be helpless but it left tryin
dreams knocking beyond the hurry

denis streeter   5/21/16

Dream sleep

In the beginning were the dreams
and the dreams woke the sleep
the dreams were the sleep
and it was without form and void
there was day and there was night
dream sleep


persistent shapes, faces
places design washing mind
travel
travel


trees concrete
the lake inside
that pole
give me a call
the mind shines
dreams


a piano on the tree
porches
waits to be played
keys up, wired
inside drifting chairs strike up a tune


it's a little lonely when the stars are out
they believe in string theory
twinkling below


the branches there is a freeway
to the lake
follow that pull each leaf flutters
birds chariot
beyond know you go
that time slip


you call
dream sleep
a can strings
you answer


denis streeter    5/12/16

three poems

Yeard



January februaried
March apriled
May juned
July august
September octoberd
November decemberd.


Denis Streeter


Stalemate


Philosopher theologians
Agnostic atheists
Watched meteor showers
Wondering
And watching each other


Denis Streeter


Chatterizing


Full as Chihully on glass
The shards were singing
Ovens of kitchenware
Fighting oxygen tanks
Overboard
While cheap clip earrings
Scattered chattering
Under the moondog sun
Under the sundog moon
Chatterizing


Denis Streeter  

Freedom equivocracy

all the freedom and none of the money
that's what the problem said and it had no solution
of course it was a lie that only seemed like truth
like a shape shifter of some illusional reality
or is it delusional
perhaps that will pass spell check
either way it's the thought that counts
which can change at any given time
like two times two equals five
I suppose that is true if you don't know enough
like my bored high school math teacher
who proved that
one plus one equals three
using cosines and sines
and no one could find the error
freedom is an elusive
reality
some think it a disease
something immoral that needs to be stamped out
but there are different types of freedom
there's freedom to take care of yourself instead of meeting the needs of others
now what does that mean
I don't want to go into that now
there's sexual freedom
but there's also consequences
and it becomes a personal balancing act
mixing freedom with responsibility
help, hurt, solve, go
how to decide
a freedom to make your own decision
be your own equivocator
perhaps government
is a large impersonal version of
equivocracy
I don't even know what that means
but perhaps I'm being equivocal
I have the freedom of not being hooked on money
but my mind has baited me
hook line and sinker
that stinker
so I set it sailing and I
instinct
somewhere between my center and higher self
is something called love
some call it God
it doesn't matter to me
it's just a term
and thee theology argument begins
the freedom wars
because freedom is also a
cost
love not always
equal

denis streeter   4/22/16

nothing at all

tulips bend tipping streams
shells shade between spaces
floats loft align
shelves float hiding bars
oars blight bleatin to fly
ocean sills barnacles silent
dressing floors to wing
flowers shallow in shine
howling vine sense awake
ladders trip nonsense below
veggies stew pursuing feet
rabid in foam conclusions
sensing tables fly
boards bench and beaches vine
snaking shades below
colors wake
it wasn't wine or sense
wasn't nothing at all.

denis streeter   4/6/16

Mac & Cheese: Living through the emptiness

I heard a child say
"Can we have macaroni and cheese?"
And found myself moving through sardonic theology.

I have never liked macaroni and cheese
Yet at Navos Mental Health
I had to eat what was given me
I made myself try it
Not as bad as I thought, but
Still bad
I found if I mixed with other foods like the vegetable dish
It was not so bad.

We reach out to others
Veggies and/or protein
To guide our turning
And then when we are no longer at Navos
We can go back to eating what we like
But we have been transformed
Hmm...well sort of
It just means
We can eat mac & cheese
Even though it's yucky and slimy
If we have to

Lord, let us sit with the emptiness
The mac & cheese
That we may reach beyond the yuckiness and slime
Add the veggies and protein
That we may be full.

Denis Streeter    2/28/16

it might be

the testing was all in his head
a series of dashes and dots
he didn't know Morse Code
just disruptive electrical impulses
snapping in his conflicted head

the traps were set there was nowhere to go
so he went forward anyway
bashing through barriers to unknown reefs
he could feels himself drowning but then
it was like he'd been pulled of nowhere

he gasped for air 'cause he'd forgotten to breathe
whatever impulses settling out
when his mind was left behind
it was like a good cry
but it was not therapeutic

it was a temporary escape
a necessary first step
on the way to recovery
how he hated that phrase
some greeting card truth

he left the barriers behind
going beyond his known
he could feel the freedom
he could feel the tug back
some unharnessed power

searching for that mental high
to fend off that low
not really wanting equilibrium
he'd had enough of that
just wanted something satisfying and true

but it was a hard turn
he tried over and over again
realign his true
and there was some wave, perhaps forgiveness
a protective comfort

he knew he'd have the synapses again
but felt better prepared
for the tried times
when air was empty
he could make himself full

and the colors changed from blue and black
to yellow and green
his seasons changing
dissociation rearranging
to begin renew

denis streeter   2/17/16

Sestina Pantoum

An experimentation of form
Somehow this new version appealed to the mathematical side of me.

Water wept upon the deep
Turning tunnels to wine
Emotions to barter
And it was not understood
What was to pay
Put on the shelf

Put on the shelf
Water wept upon the deep
What was to pay
Turning tunnels to wine
And it was not understood
Emotions to barter

What was to pay
Emotions to barter
Turning tunnels to wine
Put on the shelf
Water wept the deep
And it was not understood

Water wept the deep
Turning tunnels to wine
Emotions to barter
And it was not understood
What was to pay
Put on the shelf

And it was not understood
What was to pay
Water wept the deep
Emotions to barter
Put on the shelf
Turning water to wine

What was to pay
Emotions to barter
Turning water to wine
Put on the shelf
Water wept the deep
And it was not understood

Emotions weep barter deep
Shelf water to wine
And it was not understood to pay

Denis Streeter   2/14/16

knead to know

all that showed was the fight
its innocent heels and well marked treads
the sleezes looked down as the balls took over
just when the elbows got in the way
all the way to the toes and its well marked square
sharpened here and there with a justice scream
there was nothing in those days
just some dynamite for kixs
a stick to get you high
a blow to get you low
no vapor no wine
the copper came behind
some soul some lesion some doom
the cats were empty there was nothing to do
you could scramble but why
why hook the horses blind
there was nothing to do but nurse the matter
give it gravity and tell no one
but even that is too much
and the restaurants have litter to do
just a washer of habadashery
a gift of wine and a fruit basket
it was way too hard and had to be softened
but the corollary is off and had nothing to do
just some shelter and a parking space dressed as fruit
a dumping ground in the mind
laughter in the cupboard
made the bard sound better
unknown and wise
just a copy or two silenced them both
two characters without names or even an introduction
makes talking scarce and biscuits last
still the moon rise
cupples with soup
and the washers with dry

denis streeter    2/8/16