13
Street roots
M ay 9, 2014
Naked hope
by Avendor
Crank up the
Blossoms
By th e barn
by Nick Sullivan
on top of th e hill
grave winds blew
as they willed
Frorti hejaven’s throne
they d ep arted
and found m e out
b rokenhearted
Red w as th e barn
blue w as th e sky
grey w as my soul
silent, m y cry
T he dandelions w ere beautiful
in th e deep g reen grass ,
bu t w hat’s th a t to m e .
save ghosts from th e past
T he w eathervarie’s askew
and th is feel’s like th e end
Amazing Grace
by Michael Vance
As I re-entered th e w ar to rn room
ravaged by a manic frenzied search
I kicked th e book across th e floor
God D am m it! Where’s my wallet!
T he broken glass
crunches
beneath my boots
I*Ve gone num b with rage
I throw another tantrum
A fit too heavy to pick' up
and throw
So I sm ash it into a thousand
Turn th e leaves on
crank up th e blossom s
spill w ater
on th e esplanade
and give geese to th e bread
L et th e pigeons socialize
and let th e crows
bom b and (five
pieces w ith a ham m er
I cap throw this fit
Several tim es, then, exhausted,
I rip th e top dre sse r draw er
out and to ss it too
It knocks over the toaster
and now th e room
is on fire
I call th e fire departm ent
and walk away in disgust
I reach in my pocket
for my lighter and sm okes
and lo arid behold,
th e re ’s my wallet
standing all alone
in a w o rld w ithout friends
b u t buried w ithin
my undulating b re ast r
lies an indestructible stream
o í blessed hopefulness
I t never disappears
everything lowercase
by William Holmes
no m atter how m uch I despair
so I guess I’ll head hom e
shaken, b u t spared
If h appiness re tu rn s
to m e once m ore
I’ll surely do b e tte r
than I’ve done before
gracefully pouring colour from th e horizon,
the sun w ithers away.
th e black and purple sky seize the city,
electricity flows to counterbalance,
to drown th e m oon and stars
Gonna Be a Bear
Kristina Wright | Real Estate Agent
Bellmoore Realty
Carolyn Meade *
- 503/4795764
Kristlna@Portla ndHomeGal.com
In this life I’m a woman.
In m y next fife, I ’d like to com e back as a bear.
Ytke'on Facebook @ Portland Home Gal
W hen you’re a bear, you get to hibernate.
You do nothing b u t sleep for six m onths.
a tovtedgeabfc marketer
with a designs eye
a professerai ^»teg's^her
and a responsi agent
I could deal w ith that.
B efore you hibernate, you’re supposed to e a t yourself stupid.
I could deal w ith th a t too.
W hen you’re a girl bear, you b irth your children
(Who are th e size of walnuts)
While you’r e sleeping.
You wake to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs.
. I could definitely deal w ith th a t.
"BRIAN LINDSTROM'S ALIEN BOY PACKS A HORRIFYING PUNCH:
INTIM ATE, TERRIBLE, & T R U E .”
-S H A W N L E V Y , THE OREGONIAN
If you’re a m am a bear, everyone knows you m ean business.
You sw at anyone who b o th ers your cubs.
If yorir cubs get ou t of fine, you sw at th em loo.
I could deal w ith that.
If you’re a bear, your m ate expects you to wake u p growling.
H e expects you will, have hairy legs and excess body f a t
Yup, gonna b e a bear.
Order e-books and print copies a t
iamnotapoet.org or
streetroots.org/iamnotapoet
“AUEN BOY IS A TRIUMPH - AND AN EMOTIONAL BULLDOZER.”
- JOHN CHANDLER, PORTLAND MONTHLY
http://www.alienboy.org/
Available 3/25 on iTunes,
Amazon Instant,: DVD,
< and National VOD