We have a few contributions to the 13th Dimension Box Project so far, but we need a couple more to complete the first edition and get that sucker in the mail. I posted a blog note a few months ago (just look a few entries down in this list) that contains all the fancy details. If you have any questions about the project, send me a note and I'll spill all!!!
It's shaping up to be a very exciting project so far. The contributions have included conceptual art photography, collage prints, music, and zines! Don't get left out of the fun!!!
---Rick
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Four Poems published in the 2010 Salmon Creek Journal
These four poems were recently published in the 2010 edition of the Salmon Creek Journal, which is a reality-based, paper magazine, and very cool, BUT the editors, in order to fit more material into the book, didn't keep my stanza structures or line breaks, so some of the poems read a bit wonky in there. Here are the poems in their original, poet-approved forms!
_______________________
"Crow"
Richard F. Yates
5 Jan. 2009
A crow
standing on the back
of a little pick-up truck
staring right at me
through the windshield of my car
is barking about something
I hear the noise
but can't catch
the meaning
The rationalist in me
assumes it's squawking for food
The weirdo in me
believes it's a mystical moment
That the bird
is trying to impart
some vital information
a warning
or a message from some loved one
channeling through this creature
from beyond the grave
But I don't understand
and sit here watching
tilting my head like a confused puppy
and making notes in my little book
until the bird gets frustrated
and hops away
_______________________
"Lighthouses"
Richard F. Yates
5 Nov. 2006
Are there any lighthouses
that are not haunted?
I would hope not
Think about what a lighthouse is for:
keeping boats from losing their way
in dangerous waters
and sailors from socializing
with the fish
I like to think that lighthouse keepers
in charge of the safety
of who knows how many sea travelers
would be a dedicated lot
unable to let a simple thing like death
get in the way of performing
their solemn duty
A dark night
waves wrestling with a wooden fishing boat
assassin rocks just under the surface of the water
like trolls waiting under a bridge
anticipating the crunch and crackle
of their stone teeth cutting through hull
And only that thin beam
the shining eye of the lighthouse lamp
keeping our desperate sailors on course
I would image that all lighthouses are haunted
Especially those
where the light has gone out
_______________________
"I Have Stories"
Richard F. Yates
9 Dec. 2008
I have stories
that I've told
to no one
Written them in little books
closed the covers
and hidden them in a box
A treasure chest
waiting for an adventurer
to come find it
here
in this cave
And I'm the dragon
guarding my horde
secretly wishing to be slain
_______________________
"The Face of the Moon"
Richard F. Yates
1 Nov. 2007
Evenings I stroll the lake
a man-made affair
called Fowler's Slough
a hundred years agao
now known as Lake Sacajawea
Cool air from the approaching night
mingles with the warmer water
of the fake-lake
invoking water spirits
dancing wisps of steam
that catch the light of the awakening moon
and shimmy with the subtle breeze
Upward she climbs as I stroll
The glowing false light
sometimes disguised as a rabbit
or playing transvestite
and smiling down a masculine grin
Her face is huge
a pale yellow-blue
moving closer to me
much brighter
much larger than ever before
Too bright
too large
A phrase creeps into my mind:
Orbital Decay
How few evening strolls are left to us
before the headlines read
THE END
before her beautiful face is all we can see
before her body embraces the earth
and we
the forgotten children
are swallowed once again
by the deep waters
above
_______________________
"Crow"
Richard F. Yates
5 Jan. 2009
A crow
standing on the back
of a little pick-up truck
staring right at me
through the windshield of my car
is barking about something
I hear the noise
but can't catch
the meaning
The rationalist in me
assumes it's squawking for food
The weirdo in me
believes it's a mystical moment
That the bird
is trying to impart
some vital information
a warning
or a message from some loved one
channeling through this creature
from beyond the grave
But I don't understand
and sit here watching
tilting my head like a confused puppy
and making notes in my little book
until the bird gets frustrated
and hops away
_______________________
"Lighthouses"
Richard F. Yates
5 Nov. 2006
Are there any lighthouses
that are not haunted?
I would hope not
Think about what a lighthouse is for:
keeping boats from losing their way
in dangerous waters
and sailors from socializing
with the fish
I like to think that lighthouse keepers
in charge of the safety
of who knows how many sea travelers
would be a dedicated lot
unable to let a simple thing like death
get in the way of performing
their solemn duty
A dark night
waves wrestling with a wooden fishing boat
assassin rocks just under the surface of the water
like trolls waiting under a bridge
anticipating the crunch and crackle
of their stone teeth cutting through hull
And only that thin beam
the shining eye of the lighthouse lamp
keeping our desperate sailors on course
I would image that all lighthouses are haunted
Especially those
where the light has gone out
_______________________
"I Have Stories"
Richard F. Yates
9 Dec. 2008
I have stories
that I've told
to no one
Written them in little books
closed the covers
and hidden them in a box
A treasure chest
waiting for an adventurer
to come find it
here
in this cave
And I'm the dragon
guarding my horde
secretly wishing to be slain
_______________________
"The Face of the Moon"
Richard F. Yates
1 Nov. 2007
Evenings I stroll the lake
a man-made affair
called Fowler's Slough
a hundred years agao
now known as Lake Sacajawea
Cool air from the approaching night
mingles with the warmer water
of the fake-lake
invoking water spirits
dancing wisps of steam
that catch the light of the awakening moon
and shimmy with the subtle breeze
Upward she climbs as I stroll
The glowing false light
sometimes disguised as a rabbit
or playing transvestite
and smiling down a masculine grin
Her face is huge
a pale yellow-blue
moving closer to me
much brighter
much larger than ever before
Too bright
too large
A phrase creeps into my mind:
Orbital Decay
How few evening strolls are left to us
before the headlines read
THE END
before her beautiful face is all we can see
before her body embraces the earth
and we
the forgotten children
are swallowed once again
by the deep waters
above
Poem - "Meanwhile, In the Alley..."
"Meanwhile, In the Alley..."
Richard F. Yates
25 Mar. 2008
Shadowy figures plot our hero's destruction!
We know their plans
We were eavesdropping
Just outside the panel
"Meanwhile, in the alley..."
reads the caption
"Oh ho!" we think
watching every sneering crook
Hate radiating from the mastermind
obsessed with murder
We suck in every detail
of this sinister plan
through our clenched teeth
The trap is ingenious
We wince
The hero's in trouble
For real this time
It's diabolical
Foolproof!
If only we could send a message
Leave some clue
to undoing this horrific scheme
It could be the end
The villains triumphant
Truth and right and justice
finally done in
Read the panel again
There must be a flaw
Some way for our hero to survive
If only we can find it
(First published whenever we did the Butterscotch Stomach Cramp Zine - early 2010, I believe)
Richard F. Yates
25 Mar. 2008
Shadowy figures plot our hero's destruction!
We know their plans
We were eavesdropping
Just outside the panel
"Meanwhile, in the alley..."
reads the caption
"Oh ho!" we think
watching every sneering crook
Hate radiating from the mastermind
obsessed with murder
We suck in every detail
of this sinister plan
through our clenched teeth
The trap is ingenious
We wince
The hero's in trouble
For real this time
It's diabolical
Foolproof!
If only we could send a message
Leave some clue
to undoing this horrific scheme
It could be the end
The villains triumphant
Truth and right and justice
finally done in
Read the panel again
There must be a flaw
Some way for our hero to survive
If only we can find it
(First published whenever we did the Butterscotch Stomach Cramp Zine - early 2010, I believe)
Poem - "If You Laugh at the Wrong Moments"
“If You Laugh at the Wrong Moments”
Richard F. Yates
6 April 2010
If you laugh at the wrong moments
people get angry
That’s always fun
John Lydon said:
“Anger is an energy”
I wonder what kinda voltage
you can get from that
Here cum da boss
She say sleep now
I say:
“Dammit woman!
I’m tryn’a work here!”
She say:
“Dat’s funny”
and we laugh
and make WOO-PEE!!
(First published 7 April 2010 @ Fear the Bunnyheadsquad Blog)
Richard F. Yates
6 April 2010
If you laugh at the wrong moments
people get angry
That’s always fun
John Lydon said:
“Anger is an energy”
I wonder what kinda voltage
you can get from that
Here cum da boss
She say sleep now
I say:
“Dammit woman!
I’m tryn’a work here!”
She say:
“Dat’s funny”
and we laugh
and make WOO-PEE!!
(First published 7 April 2010 @ Fear the Bunnyheadsquad Blog)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Bizzy bizzy!!!
So, for both of you that read this blog, I've been a bizzy dude. Have a poem coming out in the next issue of The Salal Review, four poems being included in the next issue of The Salmon Creek Journal (I think those come out in late May and late April, respectively), and a poem accepted by vox poetica (!!!) (which, I believe comes out this June).
On a more noisy note, I have two "Poems for Synthetic Voices" posted at the Electronic Fog podcast site. Give them a listen...if you DARE!!! (And if you're really feeling ballsy, you can subscribe by pressing one of those fancy button-things at the site. I don't really know how that stuff works, but I do know that I'll be posting several new poetry performances in the next few days!)
And, I started another blog which is dedicated to my art-trickster-prankin'-freak side. It's called Fear the Bunnyheadsquad and will deal with new collages, mail-art, poetry, and weirdness.
I've also been writing and trying to be a not-too-neglectful husband and father. But, as Bowie says, "It ain't easy to get to heaven when you're goin' down!" Not sure what the connection is, but it felt good to type that!
--rk
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
"Monster Duck, Glowing Bull, One Eyed Frog"
This is a poem that was first published about a year ago (October 10th, 2008) at Word Slaw (an online literary journal; that's the best kind of lit journal, you know.) It was inspired by the little toys that I have on my dashboard in the car.
"Monster Duck, Glowing Bull, and One Eyed Frog"
"Our sky is cracked"
said tiny Glowing Bull
who is always looking up
"Meteor bombardment"
said One Eyed Frog
willing to speculate
From his hanging prison
Monster Duck laughed
coldly
and clicked his beak
full of pointy teeth
"Now I see a red bloom in the heavens"
said Glowing Bull
"I can't spy it"
said One Eyed Frog
squinting his one good eye
"but it may be a sattelite"
Monster Duck gnawed his bars
as he watched the astronomers
and dangled in his cage
"And now I recognize a golden chain
wrapping around itself"
said Glowing Bull
"Ah yes, the links of eternity"
hummed One Eyed Frog
closing his one eye
to peer better inward
Monster Duck snarled in his cage
then spoke
"You do not glow, Glowing Bull
You refract
The source of your light is external"
Glowing Bull could not look down
even far enough to see Monster Duck's cage
hanging above the abyss
"What does he mean, my friend?"
Glowing Bull asked One Eyed Frog
One Eyed Frog flexed his flippers
but would not speculate
"Monster Duck, Glowing Bull, and One Eyed Frog"
"Our sky is cracked"
said tiny Glowing Bull
who is always looking up
"Meteor bombardment"
said One Eyed Frog
willing to speculate
From his hanging prison
Monster Duck laughed
coldly
and clicked his beak
full of pointy teeth
"Now I see a red bloom in the heavens"
said Glowing Bull
"I can't spy it"
said One Eyed Frog
squinting his one good eye
"but it may be a sattelite"
Monster Duck gnawed his bars
as he watched the astronomers
and dangled in his cage
"And now I recognize a golden chain
wrapping around itself"
said Glowing Bull
"Ah yes, the links of eternity"
hummed One Eyed Frog
closing his one eye
to peer better inward
Monster Duck snarled in his cage
then spoke
"You do not glow, Glowing Bull
You refract
The source of your light is external"
Glowing Bull could not look down
even far enough to see Monster Duck's cage
hanging above the abyss
"What does he mean, my friend?"
Glowing Bull asked One Eyed Frog
One Eyed Frog flexed his flippers
but would not speculate
"Spectre Breaks Through"
"Spectre Breaks Through" 11 in. x 8.5 in. oil pastel, watercolor, and ink on paper.
Another patchwork critter, this one seems inspired by some Scooby-Doo type baddie. And, this piece was also used to make a monoprint for a larger watercolor painting called just "Spectre." If I ever figure out how to take a decent picture (without a scanner) I'll post that sucker, too.
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