SYMBIOTIC XXI:2 June, 2006


TABLE OF CONTENTS XXI:2 June, 2006		LYNX A Journal for Linking Poets



	SYMBIOTIC POETRY E[N]TYMOLOGIES by Sprite (Claire Châtelet & Linda Papanicolaou ELECTION DAY by Carlos Colón & Alexis K. Rotella COMING HOME by Laryalee Fraser & Linda Papanicolaou HELLO? by Denis M. Garrison, Carol Raisfeld & John Daleiden BLUE SMOKE by Larry Kimmel & Sheila Windsor OFF AND ON by Zane Parks & Gino Peregrini A FALLING STAR by Alison Williams Andrew Shimield Frank Williams Dick Pettit & Vanessa Proctor GRAVITY by John W. Sexton Carmen Sterba Thomas Fortenberry Nancy Stewart Smith Gary Blankenship Moira Richards Jennie Townsend TEEN STORY by Catherine Mair & Patricia Prime CARTWHEELS by Patricia Prime & Catherine Mair PROPERTY LIST by Patricia Prime & Catherine Mair EDDY by Patricia Prime & Catherine Mair CROSSROADS by Moira Richards John W Sexton Jennie Townsend Gary Blankenship Nancy Stewart Smith Carmen Sterba & Thomas Fortenberry ZELKOVA WOOD by Carmen Sterba Jennie Townsend Nancy Stuart Smith Thomas Fortenberry John W Sexton Gary Blankenship & Moira Richards ONE POEM FOR SISTER SARAH by Pamela Raintree, W. Macaulay Johnson Laura Flett, Carlos Colón Jane Curry Jim McLain, & Jennifer Jackson THE MATH BETWEEN by John W. Sexton & Moira Richards UPRIGHT STONES by Jane Reichhold, Zane Parks Norman Darlington Moira Richards CW Hawes H. Gene Murtha Lorin Ford & Kathy Earsman TAN RENGA by CW Hawes & Lorin Ford GRAPHICS by Sheila Windsor	E[N]TYMOLOGIES Sprite Linda Papanicolaou how long it took to disbelieve my teachers drawing new maps comme il a fallu longtemps pour ne plus croire mes profs dessins de cartes nouvelles une libellule aux ailes de cellophane s'éleve a dragonfly rising on cellophane wings her wedding veil tears in the fickle wind pan flutes son voile de mariée s'effiloche dans le vent volage une flûte de pan l'imitateur d'Elvis ce qui se passe à Vegas reste à Vegas Elvis's impersonator what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas what else to rekindle dreams of elsewhere quoi d'autre pour renouer avec ces reves d'autre part des cigales dans la nuit je veille aux aguets pour le retour de mon fils cicadas in the night I wait up listening for my son's return ELECTION DAY Carlos Colón Alexis K. Rotella Election Day exit pollsters counting raindrops. A one-way ticket to the Amazon. Ellis Island the torch in the orphan's eye. * A splinter of light in the gathering clouds. Pharmacy counter – lady with a Santa hat coughs in my direction. M&M's in a pill bottle – my first doctor's kit. Dropped Tootsie Pop picture of me licking off the leaves. Tsunami Restaurant – no one goes there anymore. Puerto Rican beach I hold my breath in the undertow. Dysentery among my souvenirs. Tucked or untucked? my t-shirt. A Michael Jackson look alike – girl. Moonwalking the golfer in a space suit. Hawk outside the window – NASA offering my husband a job. Illegal alien the tip of his X-Acto knife. Cerulean blue- the skyjacker's shirt. Spring evening one side of my briefcase covered with pollen.** First dandelion down the rabbit. Paid poetry gigs – they multiply like dead batteries. Curry spills on my blue suede shoes. Mudwrestling the Elvis impersonators. Clay riverbed – brownies. Florida coast the weathered boards on the windows. Panic attack at a red light – I tell myself this too shall pass. roadblockroadblock roadblock everywhere i look roadblock roadblockroadblock A swallowtail way above it all. On the look out for the year's first spider lily. Fiesta at the end of a dead end street. Furrowed brows two teenagers play chicken on skateboards. Cowry shell necklace picked up on the trail. Windy Sunday a pair of underwear in my neighbor's yard. House guest insisting he join me on my walk. Found art a pattern of half- eaten pine cones. Medical intuitive having an off day. Bad acid trip he wakes up with his ex-. Wedding night he tells her he goes on binges. * for Fred Mormino *Neil Armstrong; published in Frogpond* XXVIII:3 (2005) COMING HOME Laryalee Fraser (CA) Linda Papanicolaou (US) morning paper a gulp of fresh squeezed orange juice the clang of a garbage can lid summer's end homecoming game sun flashes on the sousaphones giggles from the garden bench woolly caterpillar Antiques Roadshow a first edition of "Lassie Come Home" power outage grandma's bud vase now a candle holder crayon on a newly painted wall her child psych book shoveling the driveway a snowman's tilted smile funiculi funicula the mountain in its cloudcap the soft press of woodland moss morel mushrooms bag of marbles among the aggies a latticino picnic under a day moon the scent of honeysuckle HELLO? Denis M. Garrison Carol Raisfeld John Daleiden Come home. I want you here— if you can love again. Whenever that may be, you'll find I'm here. Please call. I miss you so and I need love again. This time I know I’ll find you there for me. Hello? Yes, this is me. I know it's been too long . . . for me as well. Where should I start? Come home! Your voice! Like yesterday. The magic still so strong. . . Tell me, how you’ve been. I’m so far from home. Try to see tomorrow; the past cannot hurt us now. But I can’t start to live ‘til you return. outside Looking through glass like Alice I blunder into your private world of love – voyeur The past has haunted me. Tell me how we begin to live . . . before our tomorrow is gone? We have today – that’s all. Tomorrow never comes. Trust me today; please, give us both a chance. This is a beginning. . . If we can love again I’ll trust you today and give us that chance. A knock at my front door; my heart swells in my throat. My lips trembling, I open with . . . Oh, yes! Just as before when you held me so close and took my breath away, oh yes. . . Hello! BLUE SMOKE excerpts from an ongoing collaborative work between Larry Kimmel Sheila Windsor art work by Sheila Windsor in the market place dung and dust a fly riding the piper's finger threading the crowd a woman in white magical as a unicorn festival lights holding hands with a stranger along the red-ribboned river somewhere the faint bells of a sunken city under sea-green waves 'one-eyed undertaker' 2 in this neighbourless place we whistle and sing and the old guitar on the wall, without strings, accuses me spider's thread lines a witch's hollow face glints her wicked eye where Banquo's laugh reverberates down every pavement crack of time wavering embers the clock's bird cuckoos thirteen times as the forgotten dadaist rocks in his sleep, dreaming impossible colors the 10,000 things a hidden path leads into the mountains in a hut the old poet lives alone alone gathering firewood from the rot and snap i look up just in time, again, to catch the wild-geese ~ ~ ~ leaving* solstice a worm frozen fast to the sundial my prints, the bird's as the last few leaves take flight _____ * from Bob Dylan OFF AND ON Zane Parks Gino Peregrini telling the catholic my favorite position she kneels fitness center: her spandex stretches my attention honeymoon off and on on and off before a date the avid gardener perfumes her bush looking down she spies a curl in my smile through the knothole in the dressing-room wall – only shadows A FALLING STAR Alison Williams Andrew Shimield Frank Williams Dick Pettit Vanessa Proctor cabbage stalks push up little bumps in the garden snow dumplings steam in a bowl of stew technical hitch the speaker suggests we talk among ourselves the concert crowd sings "why are we waiting" new moon silvering the backs of sheep another falling star the same old wish washed up on the beach a broken crate from Brazil happy enough on what he finds in the bins early morning call the dustman smashes shut the iron back gate plumes of smoke from the mountain railway on a hilltop picnic a child pulled back from the edge skips away her hand shakes as she signs the marriage certificate at the pier's end an old couple in wheelchairs talk of their big day alone now the gold ring also worn thin with age a spider's web only visible in the morning dew our long-haired dog bounces from marram grass for turning Queen's evidence a reduced sentence soap bubbles across the bright blue sky first light noisy mynahs in the quince blossom over guano covered rocks a scramble to the summit GRAVITY John W. Sexton - jws Carmen Sterba - cs Thomas Fortenberry - tf Nancy Stewart Smith - nss Gary Blankenship - gb Moira Richards - mr Jennie Townsend - jt her first menses moon mama vodun collects her tax of blood jws all night prayer meeting's conga line my bones melt cs dark exalted terror discovers uncovered dreams undreamt tf demiurge tornado at the navel a golden leaf nss planet earth crumbled he feeds chunks into the garbage disposal mr tangerines ride the sewer to liberty gb fat cats taking sides slip and knock heads in the juice war cs the lucky ones could use gravity as a tool jt his serpent cloned eve devours every last morsel mr bites of judgment first tasty step on the road to babel nss existential noise palimpsest ghosts of the blackboard jws TEEN STORY Catherine Mair Patricia Prime cold river the dog plunges in after the storm the pontoon under water chasing us away from the seat – wasps steep steps the smell of wet trees and leaves teen's story carved into the table curving uphill a walking track cut through bush hanging above the new houses – rain clouds behind the fenceline the sound of Neil Diamond tantalizing that red rose just out of reach CARTWHEELS twilight concert at the haiku pathway Patricia Prime Catherine Mair Against the open-sided truck musical instruments a tag on the fold-up chair – washing instructions free-loaders – two men listen from the ute's tray westerly poking through her lace top learning a kid's song the crowd chant the chorus interval a stream towards the portaloos sobering the audience guest singer's melancholy song hidden by the sound system celebrity fiddle player livening up the people the bass through shafts of sunshine a girl cartwheels "the restless wind" a child piggy-backs her brother on the skyline teenagers bopping PROPERTY LIST Patricia Prime Catherine Mair Silence digger&dozer on Sunday low tide the swampy smell of mud flats river bank holding down black matting boulders parked above the sub-division a land agent across the water the national flag flutters on its pole old pine tree only the roots – the path disappears around the boundary marker white daisies she rolls onto the short grass – a distant siren a breeze rustles among bulrushes – the chirp of crickets dandelions flowering all about me imagining houses on these empty sections walking into the tide pukeko – a weed in its beak dribbling down the stone sea-lion guano EDDY Patricia Prime and Catherine Mair on the road sparrow-like our 'dummy' book he waves away another in a raffia bag woman we discuss the photos & returns to his for the latest collaboration numerous screens by the steps in a pile of the printer's house of photographic magazines swan plants the black woman's eyes crushed on the garden path embrace a monarch butterfly caterpillar her world brief interval middle-aged urchin between proof-reading the tail of his faded shortbread and tea cotton shirt hangs out: among the computers by his back door and discarded print-outs those swollen pods cardboard cover his hand basin too thick to copy one cake of cracked soap we return the ream & please after flushing the 2 sheets less, but still toilet turn the handle they change it to six o'clock CROSSROADS Moira Richards - mr John W Sexton - jws Jennie Townsend - jt Gary Blankenship - gb Nancy Stewart Smith - nss Carmen Sterba - cs Thomas Fortenberry - tf from golden claws rolls a diamond solitaire /nss street kids begging at a crossroads i glare the other way /mr scarecrow entrails of straw drift on the wind /jws starlings take what they can and sing too /jt thieves booted from the nest they stole move on and on . /gb from the lovers downstairs sound of sobbing /cs as the ghosts of whale breath float above the waves /tf lightning without thunder frosts the new-leafed birch /nss a widow's lines poems filled with empty /mr fruit bowl neglected apples rot under their own weight /jws looking blue american refugees /jt without a draft who cares enough to run the border /gb empty boots of the fallen soldier /cs amber echo of crying eagles in empty shining seas /tf by a small still hand the lapis orb pulses azure /nss ZELKOVA WOOD Carmen Sterba - cs Jennie Townsend - jt Nancy Stuart Smith - nss Thomas Fortenberry - tf John W Sexton - jws Gary Blankenship - gb Moira Richards - mr zelkova wood frames the geisha's vanity a moment /cs alone yoni what's a parochial girl know /jt x-ray eagle eyes heart stills beneath the mask /nss white collar ghost-rose of her kiss /tf veneer peeling from the edge of the table Alzheimer sits /jws until zine done, no time to remember /gb the lump in her breast in her stomach in her throat /mr stricken with fear in every thought /cs reflected light bounces off a fuel truck stuck in the snow /gb quelled in the tin her gingerbread men /jws phosphorous stinks the inner city a school for the blind /jt on the tip of an iceberg poised /mr noisy son cheetah-climbs the tree a bird flies free /tf melody in rain the wind chime /nss love like music flows across us dancing at sunset /tf katy steps through grass doors to katydids /jws jello in every color her throat hurts a little less /jt in the kitchen lemon pie /gb haloed summer moon the view from the balcony /cs good night wished in early morning /gb funandgamesengas phrases flung among a planet's poets /mr elements of the leaf the colors /jt descending the well meadow she carries a bucket of sky /jws colt's hidalgo dreams jump thump buck /tf blossom in the bluebird nest mandala of gaia /nss adorned by light in the shelter of wings /cs ONE POEM FOR SISTER SARAH Pamela Raintree - pr W. Macaulay Johnson - wmj Laura Flett - lf Carlos Colón - cc Jane Curry - jc Jim McLain - jm Jennifer Jackson - jj touch my esteem with words pr dark and gloomy, it needs uplifting wmj a touch of pixie dust from Tinkerbell lf old graybeard panning for pyrite cc Titanic optimism floods our hearts jc making happy waves jm our bottles filled with messages of love, hope and peaceful vibes jj a beautiful woman languishes under a solemn oak wmj looking from loneliness pr she dances like a demon jm life is a perpetual audition jc bloated moon the pumpkin turns into a cabbage cc and her sequined shoes will never be the same lf THE MATH BETWEEN John W. Sexton Moira Richards light intersects the pines einstein perceives the math between spheres day one her recreation to stop with the beasts inspired to exploit gravity monkey develops the shit missile ostrich returned to the workshop for re-engineering thirty years accumulated swarf tin men form in his fingers azimov's first 'tis not them needs be bade those lizard kids keep human foetuses in a jar until they term vampire101 t-rex after life eternal nanobot malaria self-aware mainframe designs mosquitoes danged tinnitus grumpy quits the osmium mine platinum bombshell a fallen woman descends the kong shaft jilted she sends him the rib back barefoot in the god-head i am my mother and father A CHARITAS valentine's day Zane Parks he writes the poem in big block letters CW Hawes on a far beach the bottle full of faded paper Moira Richards UPRIGHT STONES Jane Reichhold - jr Zane Parks - zp Norman Darlington - nd Moira Richards - mr CW Hawes - cwh H. Gene Murtha - hgm Lorin Ford - lf Kathy Earsman - ke upright stones under sad faces the bone grin jr a haze of smoke cut with moonshine zp sticking with decaf till after the morning interview nd his new silver Porsche the ponytail too mr out all night the mare's thick mane frosted with rime jr the snowman looks on without a care in the world cwh the cardsharp quickly packs his bags sunrise cwh her lipstick presses against the napkin hgm come dawn she slips into a pair of jeans hgm discovering back at work she is wearing his pants jr the esperantist couple come to blows counting syllables nd from that old pond la plaŭdo! mr bright moon tracks of a green turtle on the beach lf watching the Pleiades rise from the water cwh A-bomb day reading the stories of Saddam's war crimes zp with muted mouth I tear the paper cut the cable nd twilight a purple thumbprint marks the poppy petal lf April shower memories of last year's get-rich-quick scheme cwh on the tramp steamer we search breaks in the clouds for Libra cwh justice - was it even just a passing thought? nd a mother waits to take her son home ...Singapore dawn lf alone with the cat nursing a broken toe hgm in the hammock sipping mint juleps smoking cigars cwh fluttering in the breeze a heart-shaped red bud leaf hgm her fan a beacon above the Bridge of Sighs willow pattern lf the colors of her desire paint the sky a rosy hue jr he polishes his verse Saint Valentine proposes just the right words mr the paper yellowed with age she recalls his trembling hand cwh sky-gazing I beg a little moon to grate over my pizza nd the tower lists a little more with each glass of chianti mr perforating our speech bubbles babelfish mr Ava kisses Greg goodbye for the forty-second time lf zoetrope girl her spin on exposed legs ke surrounded by swirls of soap bubbles cwh for now I'm headed north to keep up with the blossom front nd the chasing of dreams how different now I'm old cwh Done in the Basho-style Kasen Renga Forum. Started – November 1, 2005 Finished: April 15, 2006 TAN RENGA CW Hawes Lorin Ford the rattle of the air conditioner at midnight holding my breath to hear the baby's the pattern of spilt tea leaves this chipped saucer the last of her willow dinner service



	Submission Procedures Who We Are Deadline for your collaborative poems for the next issue is September 1, 2006	Poems and comments Copyright © Designated Authors 2006. Page Copyright© Jane Reichhold 2006. Table of Contents I would like to know more about Renga.