~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Desire Street September, 1996 cyberspace chapbook of The New Orleans Poetry Forum established 1971 Desire, Cemeteries, Elysium Listserv: DESIRE-Request@Sstar.Com Email: Nancy Cotton, Editor ncotton350@aol.com Mail: Andrea S. Gereighty, President New Orleans Poetry Forum 257 Bonnabel Blvd. Metairie, La 70005 Publisher: Robert Menuet Copyright 1996, The New Orleans Poety Forum (8 poems for September, 1996) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contents: Bellevue Farewell Digital Bliss First Womankiss Gris-Gris After Your Leave-taking Seascape Shades of New Orleans: Summer Visiting Day -------------------------------------------- Bellevue Farewell by Barbara Lamont I left you on that steel table walked down the cold green halls smelling lye and fear I pulled your plaid wool scarf tight around my neck as the snow fell and turned to mush oozing between my bare toes That bleak March night on First Avenue staring at barred windows revolving beacon mirrors in a black sky I placed a red rose between my teeth to celebrate your freedom. -------------------------------------------- Digital Bliss by kevin R. johnson ...is a state of reduction of the incurable future (raw data), hope: an easy-to-use online organizer --------- wish words would flush away like throw-up, I delete them instead --------- "Do you like the way I feel?": the speakers ask air-conditioned hands fondle empty air the glow of her curled ribbons touch 16 million colors "Ravage me Ooh... you're good" --------- names scroll past eyes trained to ignore screen-glare, searching for hidden files --------- statistics indicate soon I will need to up- grade my storage capacity, my memory, my life --------- outside, the moon is in ruins & a storm is coming; I will taste the rain & tell someone about it with my fingers -------------------------------------------- First Womankiss by Clara C. Connell Thinking of her again -- that olive-skinned stranger -- I drove madly to the place where the tattooed women dance and drink Blackened Voodoo beer. She was at the bar wearing her grandfather's brown hat, narrow-eyed and smoking like a poet in process. Expecting me, of course. With practiced eyes and her newest poem, she lured me to her dark corner. I laughed so hard at her jokes I thought of killing myself. Begging for her stale attention like an orphan, I groped and searched and smelled, her relaxed beauty mocking my fumbling eagerness to know. At her bidding, we kissed -- And I knew. She never took off her hat. -------------------------------------------- Gris-Gris by Andrea S. Gereighty A door that's barred A bed rumpled A sea-slow Sunday Your words wash me Listen to the howlings: The winds misinterpret all that we are. The flick of your tongue, the wind lifts everything into place. You nestle between my breasts I hear buoy bells The music of distance. You trace words through my hair Phrases flow from your fingers Your hands move metaphors up my thighs nearer the source. -------------------------------------------- After Your Leave-taking by Nancy Cotton Our relative Existence will be a theory, Discovered By strangers who chart The astronomical Distance between us, Imaginary points of reference, Clear, Yet incomprehensible, Like raisins (raison d'etre) In jello. -------------------------------------------- Seascape by Cedelas Hall With the strength of the moon pulling tides to the seashore, I long to pull you to me, let you wash over me, warm, foamy, salty seawater. But I lack the strength of the moon. Your love is not free flowing like the tide. More like the sand... stiff, slow moving withholding gritty comfort. -------------------------------------------- Shades of New Orleans: Summer by Robert Menuet Pentecost Ordinary time: by all a rain of unseen fire no tongue will tell Antoine's Tournedos Alciatore, Baked Alaska for two. Let's go spelunking. Crossdresser in St. Claude pharmacy Creole toothache wax; bolero jacket on sundress; goosegrease, honey. Ss. Peter and Paul Dust on plaster, incense, beeswax votives flicker in holy darkness. -------------------------------------------- Visiting Day by Paul Chasse Cold grey day Leafless trees lift arms in naked wonder Waitng for the snow to fall Its quiet here Can you hear me, my love? 'neath this marble stone? Are you here? Happy birthday, my love. See? I brought you roses They used to make you smile I wont be here Christmass, my love I'm moving away I dont want to leave you here Alone in the cold ground But I just cant take The reminders any more The park where we walked Held hands and fed the ducks The movie theater where we sat in the dark Arms around each other The mountains and canyons We explored on my bike I'm going home,my love I'll miss you forever ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE POETS OF DESIRE STREET Paul Chasse Clara C. Connell lives in the country with her cat Sniffles. She is a psychotherapist. Nancy Cotton is an immigration attorney. 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. Cedelas Hall is from Brookhaven, Mississippi. Her chapbookBefore They Paved the Road recounts her experiences in that state. A writer/actress, she appeared as "M'Lynn" in "Steel Magnolias" at LePetit Theatre du Vieux Carre. Kevin Johnson, Piscean, enjoys Tequila under the stars and writes about the physiology of nothingness. Barbara Lamont writes about fear. Robert Menuet is a psychotherapist, marital therapist, and clinical supervisor. Previously he was a 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, September, 1996 Copyright 1996, The New Orleans Poetry Forum. 8 poems for September, 1996. Message format: 12 messages for September, 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