I



Snakeskin jacket

Indian eyes

Brilliant hair



He moves in disturbed

Nile Insect

Air



II



You parade thru the soft summer

We watch your eager rifle decay

Your wilderness

Your teeming emptiness

Pale forests on verge of light

decline.



More of your miracles

More of your magic arms





III



Bitter grazing in sick pastures

Animal sadness & the daybed

Whipping.

Iron curtains pried open.

The elaborate sun implies

dust, knives, voices.



Call out of the Wilderness

Call out of fever, receiving

the wet dreams of an Aztec King.



IV



The banks are high & overgrown

rich w/ warm green danger.

Unlock the canals.

Punish our sister's sweet playmate distress.

Do you want us that way w/ the rest?

o you adore us?

When you return will you still want to play w/ us?



V



Fall down.

Strange gods arrive in fast enemy poses.

Their shirts are soft marrying cloth and hair together.

All along their arms ornaments conceal veins bluer that blood pretending welcome.

Soft lizard eyes connect.

Their soft drained insect cries erect new fear, where fears reign.

The rustling of sex against their skin.

The wind withdraws all sound.

Stamp your witness on the punished ground.



VI



Wounds, stags, & arrows

Hooded flashing legs plunge near the tranquil women.

Startling obedience from the pool people.

Astonishing caves to plunder.

Loose, nerveless ballets of looting.

Boys are running.

Girls are screaming, falling.

The air is thick w/ smoke.

Dead crackling wires dance pools of sea blood.



VII



Lizard woman

w/ your insect eyes

w/ your wild surprise.

Warm daughter of silence.

Venom.

Turn your back w/ a slither of moaning wisdom.

The unblinking blind eyes behind walls new histories rise

and wake growling & whining the weird dawn of dreams.

Dogs lie sleeping.

The wolf howls.

A creature lives out the war.

A forest.

A rustle of cut words, choking

river.



VIII



The snake, the lizard, the insect eye

the huntsman's green obedience.

Quick, in raw time, serving stealth & slumber,

grinding warm forests into restless lumber.

Now for the valley.

Now for the syrup hair.

Stabbing the eyes, widening skies

behind the skull bone.

Swift end of hunting.

Hug round the swollen torn breast & red-stained throat.

The hounds gloat.

Take her home.

Carry our sister's body, back

to the boat.



A pair of Wings

Crash

High winds of Karma



Sirens

Laughter & young voices

in the mts.



Saints

the Negro, Africa

Tattoo

eyes like time



Build temporary habitations, games

& chambers, play there, hide.



First man stood, shifting stance

while germs of sight

unfurl'd Flags in his skull



and quickening, hair, nails, skin

turned slowly, whirl'd, in

the warm aquarium, warm

wheel turning.



Cave fish, eels, & gray salamanders

turn in their night career of sleep.



The idea of vision escapes

the animal worm whose earth

is an ocean, whose eyes is its body.



The theory is that birth is prompted

by the child's desire to leave the womb.

But in the photograph an unborn horse's

neck strains inward w/ legs scooped out.



From this everything follows:



Swallow milk at the breast

until there's no milk.



Squeeze wealth at the rim

until tile pools claim it.



He swallows seed, his pride

until w/ pale mouth legs



she sucks the root, dreading

world to devour child.



Doesn't the ground swallow me

when I die, or the sea

if I die at sea?



The City. Hive, Web, or severed

insect mound. All citizens heirs

of the same royal parent.



The caged beast, the holy center,

a garden in the midst of the city.



"See Naples & die."

Jump ship. Rats, sailors

& death.



So many wild pigeons.

Animals ripe w/ new diseases.

"There is only one disease

and I am its catalyst,"

cried doomed pride of the carrier.



Fighting, dancing, gambling,

bars, cinemas thrive

in the avid summer.



Savage destiny



Naked girl, seen from behind,

on a natural road



Friends

explore the labyrinth



- Movie

young woman left on the desert



A city gone mad w/ fever



Sister of the unicorn, dance

Sisters & brothers of Pyramid

Dance



Mangled hands

Tales of the Old Days



Discovery of the Sacred Pool

changes

Mute-handed stillness baby cry



The wild dog

The sacred beast



Find her!



He goes to see the girl

of the ghetto

Dark savage streets.

A hut, lighted by candle.

She is magician

Female prophet

Sorceress

Dressed in the past

All arrayed.



The stars

The moon

She reads the future

in your hand.



The walls are garish red

The stairs

High discordant screaming

She has the tokens.

"You too"

"Don't go"

He flees.

Music renews.



The mating-pit.

"Salvation"

Tempted to leap in circle.



Negroes riot.



Fear the Lords who are secret among us.

The Lords are w/ in us.

Born of sloth & cowardice.



He spoke to me. He frightened

me w/ laughter. He took

my hand, & led me past

silence into cool whispered

Bells.



A file of young people

going thru a small woods



They are filming something

in the street, in front of

our house.



Walking to the riot

Spreads to the houses

the lawns



suddenly alive now

w/ people

running



I don't dig what they did

to that girl

Mercy pack

Wild song they sing

As they chop her hands

Nailed to a ghost

Tree



I saw a lynching

Met the strange men of the souther swamp

Cypress was their talk

Fish-call & bird-song

Roots & signs out of all knowing

They chanced to be there

Guides, to the white

gods.



An armed camp.

Army army

burning itself in

feasts.



Jackal, we sniff after the survivors of caravans.

We reap bloody crops on war fields.

No meat of any corpse deprives our lean bellies.

Hunger drives us on scented winds.

Stranger, traveler,

peer into our eyes & translate

the horrible barking of ancient dogs.



Camel caravans bear

witness guns to Caesar.

Hordes crawl & seep inside

the walls. The streets

flow stone. Life goes

on absorbing war. Violence

kills the temple of no sex.



Terrible shouts start

the journey

- If they had migrated sooner



- a high wailing keening

piercing animal lament

from a woman

high atop a Mt. tower



- Thin wire fence

in the mind

dividing the heart



Surreptitiously

They smile

Inviting - Smiling



Choktai

leave!

evil

leave!

No come here

Leave her!



A creature is nursing

its child



soft arms around

the head & the neck

a mouth to connect

leave this child alone

This one is mine

I'm taking her home

Back to the rain



The assassin's bullet

Marries the King

Dissembling miles of air

To kiss the crown.

The Prince rambles in blood.

Ode to the neck

That was groomed

For rape's gown.



Cancer city

Urban fall

Summer sadness

The highways of the old town

Ghosts in cars

Electric shadows



Ensenada

the dead seal

the dog crucifixghosts of the dead car sun.

Stop the car.

Rain. Night.

Feel.



Sea-bird sea-moan

Earthquake murmuring

Fast-burning incense

Clamoring surging

Serpentine road

To the Chinese caves

Home of the winds

The gods of mourning



The city sleeps

& the unhappy children

roam w/ animal gangs.

They seem to speak

to their friends

the dogs

who teach them trails.

Who can catch them?

Who can make them come

inside?



The tent girl

at midnight

stole to the well

& met her lover there

They talked a while

& laughed

& then he left

She put an orange pillow

on her breast



In the morning

Chief w/drew his troops

& planned a map

The horsemen rose on up

the women fixed the ropes



on tight

The tents are folded now

We march toward the sea



Catalog of Horrors

Descriptions of Natural disaster

Lists of miracles in the divine corridor

Catalog of fish in the divine canal

Catalog of objects in the room

List of things in the sacred river







I



The soft parade has now begun

on Sunset.

Cars come thundering down

the canyon.

Now is the time & the place.

The cars come rumbling.

"You got a cool machine."

These engine beasts

muttering their soft

talk. A delight

at night

to hear their quiet voices

again

after 2 years.



Now the soft parade

has soon begun.

Cool pools

from a tired land

sink now

in the peace of evening.

Clouds weaken

& die.

The sun, an orange skull,

whispers quietly, becomes an

island, & is gone.



There they are

watching

us everything

will be dark.

The light changed.

We were aware

knee-deep in the fluttering air

as the ships move on

trains in their wake.

Trench mouth

again in the camps.

Gonorrhea

Tell the girl to go home

We need a witness

to the killing.



II



The artists of Hell

set up easels in parks

the terrible landscape,

where citizens find anxious pleasure

preyed upon by savage bands of youths



I can't believe this is happening

I can't believe all these people

are sniffing each other

& backing away

teeth grinning

hair raised, growling, here in

the slaughtered wind



I am ghost killer.

witnessing to all

my blessed sanction

This is it

no more fun

the death of all joy

has come.



Do you dare

deny my

potency

my kindness

or forgiveness?

Just try

you will fry

like the rest

in holiness



And not for a

penny

will I spare

any time

for you

Ghost children

down there

in the frightening world



You are alone

& have no need of other

you & the child mother

who bore you

who weaned you

who made you man







III



Photo-booth killer

fragile bandit

straight from ambush



Kill me!

Kill the child who made

Thee.

Kill the thought-provoking

senator of lust



who brought you to this state.



Kill hate

disease

warfare

sadness



Kill badness

Kill madness

Kill photo mother murder tree

Kill me.

Kill yourself

Kill the little blind elf.



The beautiful monster

vomits a stream of watches

clocks jewels knives silver

coins & copper blood



The well of time & trouble

whiskey bottles perfume

razor blades beads

liquid insects hammers

& thin nails the feet of

birds eagle feathers & claws

machine parts chrome

teeth hair shards of

pottery & skulls the ruins

of our time the debris by

a lake the gleaming

beer cans & rust & sable

menstrual fur





Dance naked on broken

bones feet bleed & stain

glass cuts cover your mind

& the dry end of vacuum

boat white the people

drop lines in still pools

& pull ancient trout

from the deep home. Scales

crusted & gleaming green

A knife was stolen. A

valuable hunting knife

By some strange boys

from the other camp across

the Lake







I



Are these our friends

racing & shuddering

thru the calm vales of parliament



My son will not die in the war

He will return

numbed peasent voice of Orient

fisherman



Last time you said

this was the only way

voice of tender young girl



Running & speaking

infected green

jungles



consult the oracle

bitter creek

crawl

they exist on rainwater



monkey-love

mantra mate

maker of brandy



The poison isles

The poison



Take this thin granule

of evil snakeroot

from the southern

shore



way out miracle

will find thee



The chopper blazed over

inward click & sure

blasted matter, made

the time bombs free

of leprous lands

spotted w/ hunger

& clinging to law



Please

show us your ragged head

& silted smiling eyes

calm in fire

a silky flowered shirt

edging the eyes, alive

spidery, distant

dial lies



come, calm one

into the life-try



already wifelike

latent, leathery, loose

lawless, large & languid

She was a kingdom-cry

legion of lewd marching

mind-men



Where are your manners

out there on the sunlit

desert

boundless galaxies of dust

cactus spines, beads

bleach stones, bottles

& rust cars, stored for shaping

The new man, time-soldier

picked his way narrowly

thru the crowded ruins

of once grave city, gone

comic now w/ rats

& the insects of refuge



He lives in cars

goes fruitless thru

the frozen schools

& finds no space

in shades of obedience



the monitors are silenced

the great graveled guard-towers

sicken on the westward beach

so tired of watching



if only on horse were left

to ride thru the waste

a dog at his side

to sniff meat-maids

chained on the public poles



there is no more argument

in beds, at night

blackness is burned

Stare into the parlors of town

where a woman dances

in her European gown

to the great waltzes

this could be fun

to rule a wasteland







II



Cherry palms

Terrible shores

& more

& many more



This we know

that all are free

in the school-made

text of the unforgiven



deceit smiles

incredible hardships are suffered



by those barely able

to endure



but all will pass

lie down in green grass

& smile, & muse, & gaze

upon her smooth

resemblance

to the mating-Queen

who it seems

is in love

w/ the horseman



now, isn't that fragrant

Sir, isn't that knowing

w/ a wayward careless

backward glance



July 24, 1968



Los Angeles, The United States, Hawaii