February 9, 2010
January 10, 2010
on the road to the downsized pulp mill
past the oxeye daisies, five or ten
in a clump in the gravel dust
piling on the leaves and petals
alder and cottonwood saplings
shining in the too-hot sun clinging
to the cutbanks and riverbanks
and the road’s cracked asphalt
gleams with the residue of tar and metal
the sound of the nechako is lost in the blare
of trucks and the glare of the windshields
pass along the far shore where a few
young pines survive and lean over the railway tracks
a bald eagle might pass over but not today—
if there are salmon they would have snuck by
months ago—so crows play in the hot
updrafts and a boy pedals down to look for
saskatoons and room to think of something new
in a clump in the gravel dust
piling on the leaves and petals
alder and cottonwood saplings
shining in the too-hot sun clinging
to the cutbanks and riverbanks
and the road’s cracked asphalt
gleams with the residue of tar and metal
the sound of the nechako is lost in the blare
of trucks and the glare of the windshields
pass along the far shore where a few
young pines survive and lean over the railway tracks
a bald eagle might pass over but not today—
if there are salmon they would have snuck by
months ago—so crows play in the hot
updrafts and a boy pedals down to look for
saskatoons and room to think of something new
December 23, 2009
Sea Otter Catches Colonization Under a Rock
Still salty Salish air in fall
and the small flounder crunches
between her teeth
The otter numbers are up
not like stocks but spirits
She sits on a rock munching
the discourse called trade
that Spanish / Russian / British squeeze
in the straits when skins
came off with a sick sucking noise
Globalization dribbles off her pelt,
her nonchalance, her pregnant belly,
this counter-colonial moment in
English Bay, the tide just turning
her satisfaction in being
and the small flounder crunches
between her teeth
The otter numbers are up
not like stocks but spirits
She sits on a rock munching
the discourse called trade
that Spanish / Russian / British squeeze
in the straits when skins
came off with a sick sucking noise
Globalization dribbles off her pelt,
her nonchalance, her pregnant belly,
this counter-colonial moment in
English Bay, the tide just turning
her satisfaction in being
December 8, 2009
the largest service centre
perfectly situated at the crossroads of two major highways and two
water ways also the junction for
the alaska highway
786km from
one of four secure custody centers in it both open and secure custody based
one of those gateways you first visit on business
also a staging centre for mining and prospecting
currently experiencing
bolstered by a body of reporters from 100 mile house through smithers
a leader in all facets of business and intends to be northern 's fastest growing call centre market
a great place to
currently experiencing enormous growth and improvement
located in the center of a vast
with many assets
an excellent choice for professional customer service
the perfect place to retreat after a hard days work
now home to 416 low
a northern capital
a bustling of 80
changing a vibrant of 70
located at the confluence of the fraser and nechako rivers
located at the confluence
about 800 km from
located in
known as a northern
located in the north central region of at the junctions of highways 97 and 16
the fourth largest in
"right in the middle of it all"
not any worse than the rest of the province in this category
a manufacturing and distribution center for an agricultural and lumbering region
a hub of activity offering visitors an
only local rival for impressive architecture
becoming one of the west's most popular snowmobiling destinations
home to approximately 65
the largest centre in our region
not allowed
ideal for those who utilize public transit or who
located in central approximately 496 miles from
the last of twenty
the primary trade and service area of 110
the regional service centre for post secondary education
directed to
located on a spur of land at the confluence of the fraser and nechako rivers
located right in the middle of and the regional centre of business
located about 400 miles north of vancouver on the fraser river
the voice for volunteerism in
all about
here
one of the cornerstones of this strategy
the only one of its type known to be preserved or to survive in canada
one of canada's investment hot spots
pleased to announce that a family has been selected for our first build
the main of the central interior
bad
known as the northern capital of a regional icon and a jewel in the crown of
fast becoming the jewel of
conveniently situated in the downtown core
what it
for all those reasons
dependent on the logging industry for its economy
a mid
the getaway that has it all
a cozy of 60
a sports persons parade
very excited as another prestigious event comes to our
in the heart of northern
the major transportation hub
situated at the confluence of two rivers and surrounded by extensive boreal forests
service driven
of the opinion
simply not true
water ways also the junction for
the alaska highway
786km from
one of four secure custody centers in it both open and secure custody based
one of those gateways you first visit on business
also a staging centre for mining and prospecting
currently experiencing
bolstered by a body of reporters from 100 mile house through smithers
a leader in all facets of business and intends to be northern 's fastest growing call centre market
a great place to
currently experiencing enormous growth and improvement
located in the center of a vast
with many assets
an excellent choice for professional customer service
the perfect place to retreat after a hard days work
now home to 416 low
a northern capital
a bustling of 80
changing a vibrant of 70
located at the confluence of the fraser and nechako rivers
located at the confluence
about 800 km from
located in
known as a northern
located in the north central region of at the junctions of highways 97 and 16
the fourth largest in
"right in the middle of it all"
not any worse than the rest of the province in this category
a manufacturing and distribution center for an agricultural and lumbering region
a hub of activity offering visitors an
only local rival for impressive architecture
becoming one of the west's most popular snowmobiling destinations
home to approximately 65
the largest centre in our region
not allowed
ideal for those who utilize public transit or who
located in central approximately 496 miles from
the last of twenty
the primary trade and service area of 110
the regional service centre for post secondary education
directed to
located on a spur of land at the confluence of the fraser and nechako rivers
located right in the middle of and the regional centre of business
located about 400 miles north of vancouver on the fraser river
the voice for volunteerism in
all about
here
one of the cornerstones of this strategy
the only one of its type known to be preserved or to survive in canada
one of canada's investment hot spots
pleased to announce that a family has been selected for our first build
the main of the central interior
bad
known as the northern capital of a regional icon and a jewel in the crown of
fast becoming the jewel of
conveniently situated in the downtown core
what it
for all those reasons
dependent on the logging industry for its economy
a mid
the getaway that has it all
a cozy of 60
a sports persons parade
very excited as another prestigious event comes to our
in the heart of northern
the major transportation hub
situated at the confluence of two rivers and surrounded by extensive boreal forests
service driven
of the opinion
simply not true
The History of Listening
nearing this heft, nearing
tides and lamplight and
accumulated heirlooms placed
in a row, tambourine-like, against
the pressure of outside, out
of hearing, struck instead
by the riotous friction of cells
on cells, hunger, tissue rustling
just to the left of profound—and
silence is cradled in your impossible mouth
a wordless o obediently biting
off a reply to propriety, a vital levity
in the parabolic viscera, those homey
keys to absolute knowing, knowing
the space your voice should be going,
should be a nostalgic scent in the fabric,
should be resolutely circling the already known.
tides and lamplight and
accumulated heirlooms placed
in a row, tambourine-like, against
the pressure of outside, out
of hearing, struck instead
by the riotous friction of cells
on cells, hunger, tissue rustling
just to the left of profound—and
silence is cradled in your impossible mouth
a wordless o obediently biting
off a reply to propriety, a vital levity
in the parabolic viscera, those homey
keys to absolute knowing, knowing
the space your voice should be going,
should be a nostalgic scent in the fabric,
should be resolutely circling the already known.
September 5, 2009
Downtown Revitalization
therapy for the rescued
handouts and a reconnection
to the river, assessments
of who is here and why
the heights harbour such
tax relief
the car no longer keyed
conversations begin on George St.
where none were before
it begins partly in a fourplex
on Spruce where awareness
is assembled on corkboard
it begins with that early contradiction:
love for the violent place,
the men who left, the women
who took over
like millworkers and treeplanters
eyeing one another at
Second Cup—a culpability
and an invitation over—
the first question being
‘what’s going on out there?’
handouts and a reconnection
to the river, assessments
of who is here and why
the heights harbour such
tax relief
the car no longer keyed
conversations begin on George St.
where none were before
it begins partly in a fourplex
on Spruce where awareness
is assembled on corkboard
it begins with that early contradiction:
love for the violent place,
the men who left, the women
who took over
like millworkers and treeplanters
eyeing one another at
Second Cup—a culpability
and an invitation over—
the first question being
‘what’s going on out there?’
July 17, 2009
Walking with Ken
down Victoria, or up the hill
through crescents to Central, the powers
tilted away from speech,
each of us looking at the poem
before it is and then
rethinking why
Cranbrook Hill by the Dakelh name
and the cutbanks surround
the cupped hands of the city
taking and giving
while Ken speaks of outside, Blackwater
where the mountains are reflected
into uncertainty and systems
begin to inform the masses
I would not want to be
anywhere else but walking
with Ken, thinking about how
to stay and not betray
—if we were on a lake
it would be in a strong, well-made
canoe unlike the one
I leave in the yard unwritten
through crescents to Central, the powers
tilted away from speech,
each of us looking at the poem
before it is and then
rethinking why
Cranbrook Hill by the Dakelh name
and the cutbanks surround
the cupped hands of the city
taking and giving
while Ken speaks of outside, Blackwater
where the mountains are reflected
into uncertainty and systems
begin to inform the masses
I would not want to be
anywhere else but walking
with Ken, thinking about how
to stay and not betray
—if we were on a lake
it would be in a strong, well-made
canoe unlike the one
I leave in the yard unwritten
June 21, 2009
Poem the Pizza Guy
older now, cognizant of commerce
base and superstructure service
the Poem of back then
rebellious against the sure thing
in everything and why not buy
a big goddamn
university degree, the canon
and all those myths out of fashion
now, Poem’s kids eat plain
cheese with multigrain crust
a different kind of economy, love
the shifts are similar, the structure
of directed apathy or panic, the mandatory
sequel, the media spin on feelings
Poem remembers the bird lady at the door
placing old coins in his palm
one at a time, slowly
reciting the full price intensely
focused hunger
“measures of wealth, well-being . . . “
begins to say something standing at
the corner of ethics and art
but the playoffs are on, jobs
are being cut, there is no time to think
we might be not possible
base and superstructure service
the Poem of back then
rebellious against the sure thing
in everything and why not buy
a big goddamn
university degree, the canon
and all those myths out of fashion
now, Poem’s kids eat plain
cheese with multigrain crust
a different kind of economy, love
the shifts are similar, the structure
of directed apathy or panic, the mandatory
sequel, the media spin on feelings
Poem remembers the bird lady at the door
placing old coins in his palm
one at a time, slowly
reciting the full price intensely
focused hunger
“measures of wealth, well-being . . . “
begins to say something standing at
the corner of ethics and art
but the playoffs are on, jobs
are being cut, there is no time to think
we might be not possible
June 5, 2009
Linh Dinh from the NY Times
"Confronted by a torrent of bad news from our capsized economy, many people anticipate at least the kind of unrest that has already broken out in many countries, but we are so docile, really. Some people I know speak of heading for the hills and stocking up on canned food, potable water, guns and slugs — the bunker mentality. But instead of fleeing one another, like we’ve already done for half a century or so, shouldn’t we figure out how to be closer in every sense? Why not shorten distances and trim all excess from our lives?
"More Americans are experiencing poverty by the day, and I’m certainly not making light of destitution, but it doesn’t seem to me that increasing consumption — “growth” — is the answer. My ambition was to become an artist, before I switched to something even more practical, poetry, but one need not be a bohemian to value activities that reward the mind and spirit.
"Smaller portions are in order. Simplicity is O.K. It’s time to slim down.
__________________
Linh Dinh is the author of four books of poems and two short story collections, including his most recent, Blood and Soap. His novel, “Love Like Hate,” will be published in 2010 by Seven Stories Press.
"More Americans are experiencing poverty by the day, and I’m certainly not making light of destitution, but it doesn’t seem to me that increasing consumption — “growth” — is the answer. My ambition was to become an artist, before I switched to something even more practical, poetry, but one need not be a bohemian to value activities that reward the mind and spirit.
"Smaller portions are in order. Simplicity is O.K. It’s time to slim down.
__________________
Linh Dinh is the author of four books of poems and two short story collections, including his most recent, Blood and Soap. His novel, “Love Like Hate,” will be published in 2010 by Seven Stories Press.
May 26, 2009
We Dream Backward: A Glosa
the standing address, naked and constitutional
mirrored or thinking of one—one—
self many times: the thick air, re mind
divided between affiliations/mind
an ecology
independence a vitamin
or waterway erosion
the force of dissatisfaction turned
lovewords and systembreaking
and breath
such an address’s
mediation is the subject—classrooms waver—
20th Century bodies are new and
old—the text of skin, skin of
text’s bones, bones of one’s own senses coursed (“all” and
“you” Fr.) into Main St. discourses
with rules, miscreants, war . . .
if there is a narrative it is recurring and
repressive; if there is a poetic it is
non-industrial food and an expenditure
meaning/gender: in it
doing nothing worthwhile
for me, the body is a metaphor of energy, intensity
mirrored or thinking of one—one—
self many times: the thick air, re mind
divided between affiliations/mind
an ecology
independence a vitamin
or waterway erosion
the force of dissatisfaction turned
lovewords and systembreaking
and breath
such an address’s
mediation is the subject—classrooms waver—
20th Century bodies are new and
old—the text of skin, skin of
text’s bones, bones of one’s own senses coursed (“all” and
“you” Fr.) into Main St. discourses
with rules, miscreants, war . . .
if there is a narrative it is recurring and
repressive; if there is a poetic it is
non-industrial food and an expenditure
meaning/gender: in it
doing nothing worthwhile
for me, the body is a metaphor of energy, intensity
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