Waves
Nicholas Goodly
in search of an absolute black lyric
unshakable purity
a sound unmistakably negro
irrevocably ethnic
pure as a thing that has come back from its deaths
return to an untouched state
the magnitude of your own body
made only of itself
existing without failure
lost spirit finding its way back to innocence
this is soul work
cleaned
pure boiling water
garlic
exacting heat
pure vinegar
pure wince
habanero
beautiful hot
quintessentially hot sauce
black soul space
pure effort
perfect voice
earth
wind
fire
gold sound
impossible to hold entirely
precious
lightning
From Ecodeviance: (soma)tics for the Future Wilderness by CA Conrad,
The Dream Part of This Was Never Harry’s Occult & Spiritual Supplies
I’ll ask only for days from now on
the best place to mourn in my apartment is all over it
the sink drains
the radio plays
knotty pine
cooked-fast gravy
sweet potato pies out of thin air
I tried to water everything alive
the natural world talks back
growing fig tree
the color of ivy
how did you get here?
I want to make sure you’re alone
From Ecodeviance: (soma)tics for the Future Wilderness by CA Conrad,
Land of the Sapling a Meretricious Title
I have lost the will to grieve and need to find it
I expect nothing
I see dead basil
I can’t believe how well I’m doing
I am holding a conversation
through a face mask
tiers of scribbled paper
no complaints here
a gold seashell full of earrings
my grandmother died today
it was nobody’s fault
fluid built up around the heart
all’s well how bout yourself
From Ecodeviance: (soma)tics for the Future Wilderness by CA Conrad,
Preternatural Conversations
Think about conversations you have had, think about the things she wears, eats,
her way of walking, her laugh.
She is an array of elegant hats
bible-calm fields of grass
I shouldn’t have written today
I should’ve prayed like it’s my first try at it
what good is cleaning upholstery
motherhood do take nerve
I imagine little selves following me
to the ends of the earth
Lucy, let yourself
run out of something
From Ecodeviance: (soma)tics for the Future Wilderness by CA Conrad,
Wondering About Our Demise While Driving to Disneyland with Abandon
Don’t be afraid of all we have pending
in any case survival
is the American way
all weather passes
community is what happens
when a storm comes
everybody loves the rain
spring rolls into another season
the temperature in here is controlled
here is something to rearrange all
the flowerpots packed with ground
bury it dig it up talk to it
my eyes are on a succulent
crystalline petals speak
to the spirit realm
I could’ve forgiven so many people
in all this time
who should I pray for in secret?
who needs anonymous reiki hands?
I reach for the clippers
no one is a stranger here
From Ecodeviance: (soma)tics for the Future Wilderness by CA Conrad,
Six
STOP telling me damage can
ameliorate our lives
STOP trying to include
me in your portraits of
quietly dying poets
I am in a poet’s private parts
I also insist we live in peace
have you improved
your relationship to gemstones today?
I am beating and running
my vocabulary to death
there are more than 10
people occupying these pages
From Ecodeviance: (soma)tics for the Future Wilderness by CA Conrad,
Minding Thirst
Imagine that the water you hear coming to earth will never touch your lips, can never quench the dryness that is your mouth. Were you ever so thirsty that you were in pain?
a picture of a bird becomes
the real thing
paint your hand into a bird
the bird becomes the poem
From Ecodeviance: (soma)tics for the Future Wilderness by CA Conrad,
Translucent Salamander
Eating song in fruit,
it’s not what you think
she was beautiful
I cover my face
I’ve learned my lesson
woman embedded in my veins
vanishes
life is slip-sliding away
the flesh doesn’t make a difference
I’ll see you again
I want to touch
someone
there is nothing I want
to bring back from her home
only she
she alone
brought home
with nothing
I want someone
to touch
I’ll see you again
our flesh makes no difference
life is slippery
then it vanishes
grandmother in my veins
I’ve learned her lesson
my face is covered
grief is beautiful
it’s not what you think
