history of the mind

 

to pull a pick

to pick a pack

you don't want this

you just want that

a bathroom tore

a flood of time

a stick of wool

to prick a rhyme

a tinker ship

to troll the wool

a winding whip

to tame it full

to add a job

you don't ask why

you do not add

you nair apply

ice cream for plot

but don't know why

the dream's upset

the need not cry

the creature said

just go to bed

or fish instead

inside your head   

you wake before

the raven's crow

just say no more

defer to poe

you want some time

a little more

to eat a rhyme

you can't ignore         

i bid farewell

two lines are left

i know you won't

be much bereft

denis streeter    11/21/20

a walking

a bucket
a man
a riddle a plan
ride the barrel
round the block
where the fillings are fat
the chicken  slow
the pitter  pat
the fox you know

denis streeter    11/22/20

one fine day

two pots and a kettle
somebody left the whiskey on
it was dry as a bear and stiff as a creek
drinking leaves and tilling glasses
what the cats dragged in dogs shatter
gathering trees to milk their glasses
as the sun poured in
the ground began to flower
parched and wet and rye
still streams begin to dry
and bees begin to laugh
starched out of their minds
and labs flow and collies laugh
two doors begin to snow
and there was evening
next day
the crick began to fall, the ovens lit open
the time to tame the beast was done
it was tender and well baked 
and the cornbread was wise as it was tall
a sickle creams
a donkey braise
doors gulp and gasp
and jesus sighed

denis streeter   11/11/20

a joke

sometimes delves right in heart of the matter

and doesn't even know it

a fly, a pence fly

and one of my earliest pieces

polka dotted horseflies

i do not ask them why

all i do is duck my head

and hope they pass me by

i can recite it without thinking

without thinking

some might turn and frown

you know that polka dotted horsefly you think is funny

was infected by the corona virus

my best friend was infected by the virus

and you have to talk about disease

and i find myself saying

that's not what i meant!

but it's too late now

the idea is stuck in their head

i find no words

no jokes

after all

covid is a serious matter

denis streeter    10/9/20

pence fly

i saw it land on pence's head
at first i didn't believe it
i thought it was a glitch of the tv set
but i kept watching
the pictures changed, but the fly remained the same
it was not something i could scrape off
did the fly like his ointment?
at least for 2 minutes?
it was a change of pace
and i thought to myself
how could he not notice?
is he that unflappable?
but then I heard
hillary clinton had that same fly issue
could they be related?
not clinton and pence
i mean the fly

denis streeter    10/7/20

when doors undermine

peanuts were happy 

eating pears beyond repair

and apples too

what else would they do

eating junkets of wine

cereal runneth over

before milking's done

when laughter is sound

there's no more in mix

and cows to go

when whips too quick

mixing dough with hide

caps ring shores

wringing in hide

one pick at a time

restless off

with forgone conclusions

a mickey gets wet

a slobber of joy

mixes with lather

in shades of green and blue

and apocryphal red

tunics and sleeves 

slide up to show

in stocks and irons and ladders and dough

the restless sleep and sew

drinking lather from rock 

altars bad from good

when you add them up

dress them in high tops and flowers

doors hanging straight yet crooked

houses undecided

which barns to burn and lather

latter boards and springs

dress doors for hunting

when mice oven in

doors for links of grass

together a grass rope

tied by fairies injun doors

slab peanuts to faces

speaking between lines

in droves of pretending ways

the altar boys went silent

not knowing what to do 

skins ripen unfriendly

wandering woodgrain baths

cleaning tubs restless

there's doors between

and ladders for climbing

denis streeter   9/23/20

journey

it was all in it was all out
those contradictions; absurdities
all those aspects of the human heart
those colors of the sun that fill out
beneath the earth is coal compressed light
bodies drained of meaning
except in the mind
where life goes on
creating what it will and won't
through all its passages

denis streeter    9/20/20

should know better

toes in the hill
don't know better
creamed pork or lamb
a dead shoe or two
raid the gutter
three fleece high and twice as long
cream inside weren't happy
a truck ran over its golden fleece
jason had a cry but it was over
time told another tale
left in forgone conclusions
anthill and a waist
corners fold over bottoms
blind flight overhead
bees reverse without eyes
snowboards overflow
floored between two leeches and a pie
i don't know why
those lathers bother
take it out to drown
might as well
the toothpaste is empty
the shotgun fly
captures the news and splits
no division, the apple wry
tubes and flounders
waiting for release but no good
get some toes and squeeze
no need to let the lamb out
there's no squalor
just a sad hole
an octopus tale
and the will to know better

denis streeter 8/17/20

Post title

the testing was subliminal seduction
an ice cube in a glass of water spelling sex
if you looked carefully enough
it's spelled next
if you knew where to look
if you play the record backwards it really says
you don't know what you know
there's always conspiracies
some are justified
i don't care enough to research their justification
seems like a waste of time
i mean
i could be writing a poem
or a piece like this
that asks me to
post title
i can't come up with a title for
whatever this is
it's a conspiracy

denis streeter 7/27/20

barmy

living in barmy bottom was never shine
egg crisped over and shat in place
cooler opened in shat blue
moon explanation for that
peas were droll rolled over
waiting for revolution to pee
tiding over floor with ravenous
sweaters tighter than a bees bum
skirted forward back a bosom
forward lacked back asleeve
mincing not minding at ease
the loyalty of it all
checking crackers the suet was gone
ladder happy tween the rafters
silver jumps golden bronze
bow took out in slivers
sweet nothing of laughter
sleeps intent of moonshine
cheese rolled in bacon cream
waffles shiver wake up crying
too toned for laughter
no difference tween apples and cheese
it's where you barm
not what you do it's what you think

denis streeter    5/29/20

if you look at it

the afternoons are rather dry
sparkled with sprinklers and coconuts
when the evenings peter out
a dust mop appears
out of nowhere the sky cries
opens its doors and lets the cakes out
it's frozen liver inside.  big surprise.
the walls all clean and tasty
radiators shine the coffees brewing
steps out the evening pines
looking for its long lost goat
shivering beneath the ivy
sheep in tow drinking up grass
pies left soup behind
radiating mirrors delighted plums
asking apricots to dinner
apples and pears decline
it wasn't their problem the dishes were late
a tiny affair with the tooth fairy
the pillow unfluffy, dandruff decline
wigs in a basket, mark each collar
labrador mask and persian pup
raining cats and dogs
under the counter tops remain
one glass bucket and a couple pins
who could reign them in
it wasn't by design.  it was by luck
the chairman laughed and went away
teetering with chatter
there were no false teeth.  just a ladder
slipping in place having another
beer for the wringer a gin
no pockets on display.  those were for dreaming
laps laughed and went away.  another place on the sill
like apples to oranges, fingers to kangaroos
it was much finer
gold is fine, but teeth are finer
beds like melted glue and it was over
the fireplace disappeared, shoe in place
wig in the mirror teetering with chatter

denis streeter  5/13/20

working through the spaces

I've got more time than I used to
There are regular things I do
like half hour morning exercises and daily hour walks
The rest of the time I just try to be busy
but not very hard
I feel guilty about not doing enough
and wasting my time like watching tv
I do the occasional online job seminar
but it seems rather pointless
I don't really want any job
I'd rather go back to what I was doing
I know.  Me and everyone else.
It's great seeing clear skies and few cars and people being innovative with their time
but I just don't seem to be doing much
The only jobs available for someone like me is not online
It's grocery stores or delivering food or working in something like an Amazon warehouse
I detest Amazon
That leaves me with spaces
Empty spaces
I'm trying to figure out how to fill these spaces.

denis streeter   4/25/20

barking with the cockamamies

the stars were screeching corners
spilling wine sideways grieving
touchdown run of baloney
bunnies in hot cross buns
while pigeons were spinning
dogs were barks and cats were slung
under door mats with the cockamamies
littered liquored and ready to go
counter intuitives pine
howling hiccups in labragraphs
behooving litter long lost
lovers hidden past participles
lying in wail of squalor
inside alphabet washing
hoses noses toses
crying beneath covers
hot cross buns meet
wring cabbage to sea in a sieve
the wherefores don't ask the whys
singing in participles
barking with the cockamamies

denis streeter   4/24/20

the new normal

out on the range waking up miners
it was minor detail
but something i enjoyed
blasting reveille through closed tent openings
hearing the rolling over and cursing was heart warming
those days back at boy scout camp
farragut state park idaho
that was one of my favorite things
nice having that sort of power
i didn't have any power
didn't know my capabilities
but i did discover i was inquisitive
wanted to know about people
read and listened a lot
didn't experience a lot
but i compared what i heard and read to reality
guess we all do that
for me it felt more like a calling
maybe that's why i fit into a college bookstore environment
unemployed fills me with anxiety
but it's good to stay in contact with my 2 former supervisors
good to stay in touch with my clogging friends
staying caught up with all my friends
who in the past had no time
now they have time
how are they doing in this plague
these are not minor issues
wake up
mine our depth
blast your revelle
into this new wilderness
supporting each other
is the new normal

denis streeter    4/14/20

I woke up this morning

All composed a wedding at Cana
Waiting for the fish to come in
Happy and no fool among them
Cheer and the Holy Ghost
Something had risen.  There were lessons for that
but the people thought it was Western dogma
nonetheless they bowed and prayed
they know not what they do
it was a calling
sticks wavered blew in and crossed themselves
where had their gods blown
gods of money temptation and fate
death and glory to their ancestors
misleading ways to die

the tree stood solemn waiting for bed
wanting to dance
there was something underneath it
2020 years ago a lightning took place
splitting
stone moved mid day light to dark to light
He stood among us reminding us he died for our sins
but also reminding us he had great love for each of us
His life was light and was celebration
The dark had shifted
those who lived in darkness were taught this life
through acts of compassion
those with no one no longer walked with no one
his disciples taught a breath of love
tree a reminder
there is no need to walk in fear
only love

denis streeter    4/12/20

before

dark
light
year cycles
holy lights
fire springs
strength, weakness
depression, doubt
fades to glory
resurrection reads faces
wonders where we will turn
life lit wonders
ponder
before the resurrection

denis streeter   4/11/20

written after viewing moving good friday service

why stop now

the circus said no
let it go
the public said otherwise
the creative went into hibernation
using the gifts god gave them
mine is stuff like this
the drafting box
let itself fly
not too much
just enough to let off the gas
not enough to untoward the situation
when rabbits get high, people get low
it wasn't always this way
chickens stroll hampers in cages
sometimes it's fowl sometimes it's green
it doesn't matter the situation
they were born that way
a dog turns the cat's cradle
a tail spin
rafting waters giving too high the ghost
junking minds to smaller things
cast iron buckets and clover pants
a thinking notch to hurdle the situation
what do you think when the hive is high
does it recapitulate or close down
sometimes thinking is for fools
art turns the vase
a creative vasselates
cream in the corner avast of buns
turnover cakes they're down
a viable situation
grabs hold and fingers cross
too cold to bath, too hot to cold
the inebriated dance
lunch is free, alcohol for the taking
corners spin for next in line
don't know what to do
knives fork and spoons holler
it isn't where the math ends
it's where it begins
like a seamstress in the rain
soaking up water with a hose
reading newsprint like a lie
the trees take orders, but it's unkind
what has this come to?
the lies know but they aren't guessing
neither the pours nor the pies
feed and pour, feed and pour
they're out of balance
organize and send away
a spatula a day
readers scratch their heads and wonder why
this did not stop much sooner

denis streeter   4/9/20

tightening

screws loose in plastic bottoms
scribbling away
loose feathers on the quay
down that old highway
something better
a ground reed whistle
a cockled door
a raised eyebrow
whistled out the door
fronting each side away
green before white and grey
they all fall down
time to see another day
before the blade falls
another shelter burns
flies and turns
gravel dish stone
harboring grounds
before the fire broke
sand flew
dust chattered

denis streeter    4/7/20

sometimes you write

see where it goes
its flights of fancy no one knows
a snicker snack a doce do
a snark at night the tuba knows
a shark at noon blew tuberoon
a slink a slack don't blow your tune
a slap tap back to tambourine
you do not write just what you mean
a target shoot a wedding pan
you must look sharp i am i am
when tigers shoot the marksman dead
a litter ture outside the head
the dark of night upheaves the day
there really isn't much to say
a littered room a frosty stove
a tongueless groove who really knows
the wise the guile less a stream
the wickedness of some extreme
a wedding hat a twisted rose
you have a few i know i nose
a rabbit feature turns your hat
but you don't know where it is at
quite comforbol to some extreme
i really don't know what you mean

denis streeeter    4/4/20

letters

why do they call them letters
are they a b or c
or those writings we send by snail mail
i guess some make others
maybe they even meet others
on the program mash
a classroom of children send letters to their unit
it becomes a soul searching journey for each doctor
each child has questions that haunt their very being
each doctor responds with real
their own soul searching story
hawkeye
received a letter from a boy
who's uncle was patched up in a medical unit
then sent out again and was killed
why? 
was the boy's question
and then
i hate what you are doing there
hawkeye had no answer
asked father mulcahy
who mentioned his own soul searching letter
hawkeye was on his own
and then a civilian was brought to 4077
hawkeye and hotlips fix him up
save his life
hawkeye is ready
to write his letter

denis streeter   3/31/20

I'm a Stranger Here Myself

Is the title of a volume by Ogden Nash from a 1938 collection.
If I were to speak at an open mike,
I would read from page 144 to 146
The Strange Case of Mr. Fortague's Disappointment 

Once upon a time there was a man named Mr. Lionel
       Fortague.

He didn't have much to talk about.

In summer he used to ask people if it was hot enough
      for them.

It always was.

In winter he used to ask people if it was cold enough
       for them.

It always was..

Mr. Lionel Fortague got pretty sick of people it was
       hot enough for.

He got pretty sick of people it was cold enough for, too.

He decided he would arise and go now.

He decided he would go to Innisfree.

The people of Innisfree are different, thought Mr.
      Lionel Fortague. 

As soon as he got to Innisfree he asked the people if
       it was cold enough for them.

They asked him What?  Was what cold enough for
        who?

Mr. Lionel Fortague was delighted.

I knew Innisfree would be different, he said to himself.

He could hardly wait for summer to verify his con-
      clusion.

As soon as summer came he asked everybody if it was
        hot enough for them.

Everybody said the question was familiar but they
        couldn't remember the answer.

Mr. Lionel Fortague said he would settle down on
      Innisfree, the home of iridescent chitchat.

He said he would a small cabin build there, of clay
       and wattles made.

Everybody said did he mean he would build a small
        cabin there, made of clay and wattles?

Mr. Lionel Fortague said yes, but his way of putting
       it was more poetic.

Everybody said maybe, but they were all out of wattles.

Mr. Lionel Fortague grew very angry at the people of
       Innisfree.

He a small cabin built there, of clay and beaverboard
       made.

He a fierce-looking dog at an annual clearance sale
      bought, and it the people of Innisfree one by one
      to bite he instructed.

My, he was disappointed.

He had forgotten that a bargain dog never bites.


Edward Lear.

reflection on daniel 2

there is a heart of darkness
so dark of compacted light
coaling our surroundings
it comes in different packages
form fitting lives triversity
if there is the father son and the holy spirit
do these split open dark passageways
mother creation holy spirit
splits conversely bring together
battlefields dark with light
light with dark
shades intermingling broken
mixed iron and clay
bronze silver gold toppling down
daniel's king dreams
seeking interpretation
generations
compacted light
a tightened soul
strings so low no vibration
an altared fact does not know
it's double fractured
wheat and chaff
good and bad
where do you come from
light within this burial

denis streeter    3/24/20

the bait

afternoon minds
a crisp brown baked
nothing mind
a baked green take
saucing up my sleeve
math in sleeveless knees
captures left behind
bait whose asking
a clout meant to sleeve
bait could not benign
unnumber waits
won't benign line
late without a crime
that we know
baboons acknowledge
crem brulees and leaves
altar shavings left
saves bees knees
nickel mending minds
plum puddings next
no sleeves for spit
a strange constitution
meanders shades of hay
that got away
all that means goes
a means to pray
no altaring that
oh god
sensibles conclusion
crisp brown baked
shaves leave behind
norms go home
abs bake sleeves
everyone waits

denis streeter    3/20/20

add another

each afternoon brings another
death on its bed
not as morbid as its said
there no apostrophe graves
each side deserves another
grave circumstances provide
a temple in a grain of sand
and other words of useless wisdom
an equal chance for beginning
better lose that hose
a flytrap and a lance of wine
a trigger happy fool with a stick of gum
thats what the bystander said when having fun
a riskless retaliation bed
all souped up to go
down your head uprampted
a suicidal duck trimmed high
wheres the gum
hiding in the shadows
not the shadows again, anything but the shadows
yep.  afraid so.  its my default phrase
putting gun in my wrist sandwich
just for fun to whinny the hay
guess its meant this way
but not for long
its giving up gas for sandpaper
check the lines between the edges
this wont be revised
nor televised
why would it be
it has no horse whip nor blue cheese
why the long face
its chased with ivy
no need for the doctor.  a shade of gray
a tightening of the chest hey hey
just watch it
you're doing the best you can
theres no envy
just a left over bottle on its way
no y when xe
what does that equal
a pair or a date
be prepared
make sure its enough
you cant get it someone can
get in line pay the price
give me rice and beans
maybe some nuts or almonds
be prepared
do you have enough fruit
vegetate cognitate
how will it lie with your pants on fire
just another expression
tell me your impression
you know your y
tell me your xz
no you cant im dying
just kidding
you cant say just kidding in these times
no time for humor people are dying
fear is
fear is
add one
add another

denis streeter    3/18/20

Insect haiku [5 syllables]

Breathes but has no lungs

Hears but has no ears 

Nose but has no nose

Denis Streeter.   2/22/20

what it's not

an inclement is not a spade
a mint made with wrinkles
it is a unit of measurement
it is the inclementation of the possible
a fermentation of the snot


denis streeter   2/15/19


Stalemate

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

denis streeter    4/20/16

sand piper

A full moon 

And the neighbors are dead

Useless crying in untoward times

in a logjam the fruit was empty

enemy grown short and wide

no temperature gauge

noon on fire in moon rage

a pillar of salt to test the rest

a corner pie to come

sharp without edges, warm without why

constitution analyze 

fist gone dead without a prize

lakes look launder lose reside

yearly favors tossed aside

other terrors reap their hide 

longing grassy kingdom come

a liquid wall balls up in dress

when valentines do not confess

ladders hold their tongue.  preacher man looks on

to hide full moon what must get done 

a carpenter know Christ Almighty

that dirge like dance empties toward

drops in lakes of pores

does not frown the next ignore

sitters walk unpaid, dogs read restless

sleep in branches

sunsets do not follow

logic drops behavior.  not so bad

lighting fixture pane

lattice left behind ping pang pong

neighbors deadly use for you

untoward licence against

three grown fools recompense 

against the night they're gone

no ladder for blather

burns the night

no one after

seize the sun

done is done

denis streeter     2/16/20

how to read the door

unpatched missile crisis in my yard
sizzling in my sandwiches
open the door
I break off the top and drink the handle
too much to earn before I die
venture capitals in lowers case i's
don't know the lying truth
is it sheep and goats
lion and the lamb
cat in the hat?
i'll go with that!
and whimpers in the john go home
where goes the venture capitals?
to eat with the homeless?
bless their thoughtless knees and nose
they sneeze and I goes
out of here.  the parking lot stinks
lay it out like magic.  there you go
it's just like making pies with skittles
you never know when it warms
it's got to last, but?
it's a shitty place to go
pull the mat, chatter the teeth, let the orange go
cat in the hat
is the best poetry I know
I ate at bed now dreaming
where does this fixture go?
i'm awake and sliding
the end of my match shivers and falls
is this metaphor or the real thing?

denis streeter     1/11/20

what you're wearing

There is both ether and outher 

Nobody knows the difference

One goes up the other down

There is no sound deference

different pies for different moons

Leaving doubt a warm blanket

in a kangaroo court of dismay

it doesn't go away

fried chicken and camomules

fast food for cows and hydrates

feeding on tamuloons

there's a difference between sow and sot

there is no cream nor spoon

the cows are pasturizing

as is their gait when they gesticulate

not always articulate

laughing down wine in spools

it's the ridiculousness of their blather

not to oxygenate nor ask names

one banner doesn't deserve another

it's just a perspective from left field

how do you roam the sun's always sky

raindrops add to the litter

there's more to life than saving the earth

a decaying metropolis asks the usual why questions

candor goes insane in the waiting 

for something to do doesn't take long

i'll ask the y to tease the z

denis streeter    1/9/20