~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Desire Street May, 1996 cyberspace chapbook of The New Orleans Poetry Forum established 1971 Desire, Cemeteries, Elysium Listserv: DESIRE-Request@Sstar.Com Email: Robert Menuet, Publisher robmenuet@aol.com Mail: Andrea S. Gereighty, President New Orleans Poetry Forum 257 Bonnabel Blvd. Metairie, La 70005 Programmer: Kevin R. Johnson Copyright 1996, The New Orleans Poety Forum (8 poems for May, 1996) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contents: 2200 Maine Avenue - 5 Months After Absence At Cumae Of Arms and the Man Shake N Bake Vieux Carre' Walking Along Prytania We Are Like That You Know -------------------------------------------- 2200 Maine Avenue - 5 Months After by Andrea Saunders Gereighty In twilight darkening I sell your house The whore of realty attacks my car her hooks in Hickory, Dickory, Dock Lost as mice her relatives, the attorney. The mouse ran up the clock The clock struck six Nothing clicks into place So I am down the clock, rat in a maze, no exit from any angle Oxygen leaves the room; mortgage company rep enters. Lime green carpet buyers file in Interested in dollars, breaking heaters So I'll purchase anew They desecrate your rooms Slather blurs of blue clouds Poodles piss on pink carpets Your smell, your smile, your memory 409ed from floors and baseboards Base whores, steal what's yours Prorate the rate thirty percent. I valium these harlots of houses Scream inward and sign The diazepam holds my CNS in check I must pen checks to those who'd Split your bricks, your boards splinter on a role of dice. Forgive me; I know what I do. That is the horror. Prodigals want their share, Practical, perhaps like ants Put it away for winter weather. In 75 degrees I am cold The clammy reach of the grave stirs your ashes and I pray to the goddess with whom you play to get me through this deed. -------------------------------------------- Absence by Barbara Lamont she died just gave up i'm not up to par she said, in Polish i want to go home. The doctor simply said terminal. Stan came for the keys to my empty house got lost in the supermarket parking lot stumbling out the rear entrance clutching foil wrapped lilacs in a pot I showed him when and where to enter where to sit with his feisty band of poets where tofind coffee tea and juice and of course where and how to exit. He turned to give me a hug at first embarrassed by his wooly bulk coming on to me I thought. Then I remembered my grief like an old smelly sock stuffed away in a corner ripewith sweat and passion. Bonnie will know, I think that if she sets off my alarm seven Uzi toting dwarfs with machetes will screech to a halt in my driveway and blow her away. Bonnie, serious poet teaching small people in her spare time the fine craft of words counterpart to Stan whose last name I don't know I only know it is said of him "oh Stan he has more time" like a gift spoken to describe a rich uncle or a polo playing prince. As we hug I envy this man possessed of time yet preoccupied with Jesus. What need for the rabbi when I have such poets and lilacs too? -------------------------------------------- At Cumae by Robert Menuet Doctor, cut round the neck; fold the head back on its spine, shine your torch to peer inside the breast. What's this? No lights, no liver, no poems, no pluck. The bells for vespers sound; quick, unhinge him, bring the head to chapel; the priest will make it sing. Father, put it on the altar, open wide its eyes, wipe them with linen dipped with unction. The words you speak will make a man. The oracle will sing by matins. Look, inside the mouth, is that a coin? No, a piece of meat. How many dreams dreamt he? See the tip: more than tongue could tell. -------------------------------------------- Of Arms and the Man by Nancy Cotton A Thursday afternoon, rain, No one shopping in menswear, Absence stretching its arms into Every sleeve. Off guard, disconsolate, Suddenly, I'm standing on the exact Coordinates of longing, the site, Where I once lived, You offered your shoulders To obedient, fortunate shirts, Your eyes naked, Dared paltry hangings to try them on. Transfixed, I collide with what Was bodied in you. I want To escape the wreckage, But something Proustian in plainclothes Holds me protesting, Like a shoplifter to the spot. -------------------------------------------- Shake N Bake by Craig A Fisher Grasshopper cane pole blue gill trout spikey legs mandible tall grass hops bass bait bayou brown water slough cast iron skillet pan fried too -------------------------------------------- Vieux Carre' by Paul Chasse Worlds end, streetlight halo Stone dreams begin On these lustful Streets between midnight accidental whorehouse Wandering. Ancient footsteps on Greasy cobblestones river fog breaths jaded desire into cool dawn's grey awakening windows -------------------------------------------- Walking Along Prytania by Athena O. Kildegaard long after porch lights, we listen to water bubbling in a stranger's yard. A fountain bleating in a crabbed garden! Such a paradise is so rude-- all flowers, no roots. -------------------------------------------- We Are Like That You Know by kevin R. johnson We are like that you know; two little kids throwing rocks at someone's grave reminded me that I always wished you could kill. I would bury them under a newly planted dogwood like the one we had & carve on it a loud new history to silence my name from repeating what happened to me & you from pouring yourself out through your mouth wrinkled fingers & knotted hair soaked in black-outs & bones & sly deterences flowing over your lips that have kissed children to sleep & monsters with teeth clenched together to hold in what they wanted you to say & tears that washed off finger- prints from your throat where for years you were held down as your heart flooded with bruises knowing God wouldn't forget & everyone would be happy. Though I have tried many things, I want you to know I can't do that either. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE POETS OF DESIRE STREET Paul Chasse Nancy Cotton is an immigration attorney. Craig A Fisher Andrea Saunders Gereighty owns and manages New Orleans Field Services Associates, a public opinion polls business and is currently the president of the New Orleans Poetry Forum. Her poetry has appeared in many journals, as well as in her book, ILLUSIONS AND OTHER REALITIES. Kevin Johnson, Piscean, enjoys Tequila under the stars and writes about the physiology of nothingness. Athena O. Kildegaard is a freelancer writer and mother and makes time between for writing poetry. Barbara Lamont writes about fear. Robert Menuet is a psychotherapist, marital therapist, and clinical supervisor. He is a former social planner. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ABOUT THE NEW ORLEANS POETRY FORUM The New Orleans Poetry Forum, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1971 to provide a structure for organized readings and workshops. Poets meet weekly in a pleasant atmosphere to critique works presented for the purpose of improving the writing skills of the presenters. From its inception, the Forum has sponsored public readings, guest teaching in local schools, and poetry workshops in prisons. For many years the Forum sponsored the publication of the New Laurel Review, underwritten by foundation and government grants. Meetings are open to the public, and guest presenters are welcome. The meetings generally average ten to 15 participants, with a core of regulars. A format is followed which assures support for what is good in each poem, as well as suggestions for improvement. In many cases it is possible to trace a poet's developing skill from works presented over time. The group is varied in age ranges, ethnic and cultural background, and styles of writing and experience levels of participants. This diversity provides a continuing liveliness and energy in each workshop session. Many current and past participants are published poets and experienced readers at universities and coffeehouses worldwide. One member, Yusef Komunyakaa, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for 1994. Members have won other distinguished prizes and have taken advanced degrees in creative writing at local and national universities. Beginning in 1995, The New Orleans Poetry Forum has published a monthly electronic magazine, Desire Street, for distribution on the Internet and computer bulletin boards. It is believed that Desire Street is the first e-zine published by an established group of poets. Our cyberspace chapbook contains poems that have been presented at the weekly workshop meetings, All poems presented at Forum meetings may be published in their original form unless permisssion is specifically withheld by the poet. Revisions are accepted until the publication deadline of Desire Street. Publication is in both message and file formats in various locations in cyberspace. Workshops are held every Wednesday from 8:00 PM until 10:30 at the Broadmoor Branch of the New Orleans Public Library, 4300 South Broad, at Napoleon. Annual dues of $10.00 include admission to Forum events and a one-year subscription to the Forum newsletter, Lend Us An Ear. To present, contact us for details and bring 15 copies of your poem to the workshop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COPYRIGHT NOTICE Desire Street, May,1996 copyright 1996, The New Orleans Poetry Forum. 8 poems for May, 1996. Message format: 13 messages for May, 1996. Various file formats. Desire Street is a monthly electronic publication of the New Orleans Poetry Forum. All poems published have been presented at weekly meetings of the New Orleans Poetry Forum by members of the Forum. The New Orleans Poetry Forum encourages widespread electronic reproduction and distribution of its monthly magazine without cost, subject to the few limitations described below. A request is made to electronic publishers and bulletin board system operators that they notify us by email when the publication is converted to executable, text, or compressed file formats, or otherwise stored for retrieval and download. This is not a requirement for publication, but we would like to know who is reading us and where we are being distributed. Email: robmenuet@aol.com (Robert Menuet). We also publish this magazine in various file formats and in several locations in cyberspace. Copyright of individual poems is owned by the writer of each poem. In addition, the monthly edition of Desire Street is copyright by the New Orleans Poetry Forum. Individual copyright owners and the New Orleans Poetry Forum hereby permit the reproduction of this publication subject to the following limitations: The entire monthly edition, consisting of the number of poems and/or messages stated above for the current month, also shown above, may be reproduced electronically in either message or file format for distribution by computer bulletin boards, file transfer protocol, other methods of file transfer, and in public conferences and newsgroups. The entire monthly edition may be converted to executable, text, or compressed file formats, and from one file format to another, for the purpose of distribution. Reproduction of this publication must be whole and intact, including this notice, the masthead, table of contents, and other parts as originally published. Portions (i.e., individual poems) of this edition may not be excerpted and reproduced except for the personal use of an individual. Individual poems may be reproduced electronically only by express paper-written permission of the author(s). To obtain express permission, contact the publisher for details. Neither Desire Street nor the individual poems may be reproduced on CD-ROM without the express permission of The New Orleans Poetry Forum and the individual copyright owners. Email robmenuet@aol.com (Robert Menuet) for details. Hardcopy printouts are permitted for the personal use of a single individual. Distribution of hardcopy printouts will be permitted for educational purposes only, by express permission of the publisher; such distribution must be of the entire contents of the edition in question of Desire Street. This publication may not be sold in either hardcopy or electronic forms without the express paper-written permission of the copyright owners. FIN *********************************************** FIN