neighbor book 5
DESCRIPTION
poetry, art, exestentialTRANSCRIPT
NEIGHBOR
Ed Baker
INTERSECTION
Book 5
10/18/199811/18/1998 4/7/2007
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INTERSECTION
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Intersection
shouldany thing
insideorout
exceedanother sexpectation
justclosewindow
intoneighbor shouse
lineuptosee
along thedrive way
trail ofblood
dropping s
fault is
ofcourse
mine
4
towit nesshergoingfromthefamiliar
Flower & Hudson
she gets herskinny assinto her new
Green Volvo
shudders as it backsout
dry vulva
thereandthen
gone
Sheleft
ascatteringofbodyparts
everywhere
splayed
It was murder!
What touched me?
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herhungdown hair
need
other
want
demand
skein s
tinywhitebreasts
what
of
is
(also)
difficult
to
handle
Re memberis
in a heap belowherbody
archedabove
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In clay
model isexposed
mud is luscious
eyes on tableroll among fingers
look is inviting long winter exit
just here
as animals comealsothis far
fear the usualslight misjudgmentmakes
eachprecariouscrossing
a Star of David
instead could chance or change
who is knowingwhat who is
doing
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Cracked yellow vase
beggars next white flowerfall was from her sillmoon through window lightlands on her back on my feetone leg in the air funny positionflower s bloom on kitchen tablecatches a glimpse dashes over tosee and touch "open your eyes"
herethesmellof
simmeringbeef
odorofdeadfleshreaching
clearlyarmsstirringthestew
nostrilsflay
re ject
entirely
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Clearly
through silence
suddenly
insideis
outside
I can hearleavesrustle
at windowsee
'em scatter
her re flectionin the pane
behind me
between cat s leapfrom chair to table tofatscraps
leaving
hersuckingnoises
hermouth opening/closing
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leaves cats twoasoneclosing gap betweenhouses
run is straightto zag zig amusement
against the treein the drive way
Of Heaven
against the treepinned there
unconsciousbagof
bones
ON LOOKING
after Jean Genet
All overfingers
'pentant
is stretchmore luminousinto green clay
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(shape of) clearly her
:seenher de lightalso
in scent of deadflowerson the sill
in a crackedvase
just be yonddoublehung
window
sun lights
tiny breasts
reachisto cover
anakedness
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he carries wine and flowersto her accompanying ants
to and from over her sill
through opened window carrying crumbs
what is the differencedistance makes no thingan absolute ness ness
of holding more in mouth thanteeth and tongue s need orinherited means
"you can go to hell!"
edgewait on path ants takeshortcut followtrain of thoughts and action
s
come with a drizzlesudden downpour drenchingher
(neglected) Garden
one toe inwhere tree had been
she is
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Lost her trackofwhat is her s mine
shudder
aswindow rising
re veals
opencan
ofworms
Pressnose to pain
tears in beer
against a Lifeless choice thanchance
not'unbeautiful'
hands dig into shape thebeggar of
this:
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aGiacometti
I expectedthe girl a woman isfilling him
with
hesitation
A woman sincapableopening
love is MORE
thanany one spenetration
onlyher
anger
"I am all wayslonely," she had said
as though I understoodand could or would touch
the unseen of what she expected
Turn to her turn radio knobs as if hotblood or blood any temp rature
with over bite grip her lowered lippout tastewinetouching my lips also simple meaning
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just because she and I where here
Outside/Inside Treebends (another) meaning
stand still
in your thinkingpolariz ing
evenlove
it s happen ed
How? Far out of mouth words comemore than needs come or demands:c rowings in her yard tug at worms
from Mother to feed young not understandinghow far the plunge into could be dangerous
but, glad she is here to receive whenhitting on occurs bends at least to feel
Unsure the "Other" moves to leaveleaving that went away years ago; shehas the scar on her forehead to remind
me? As well as anybody else: "You will do."
Stretching my imagination
return to positionson couch
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shapes mind
The last timethat I saw hershe was packing
to leave
standing beside her greencar
still, her image lingers
taint s my art and poems
her familiar stance the pose contra puntal
metallic green auto mobile
shiny clean long thin lineshorizon tal
stretching out hasty no man is a matchfor
nor any hint of joy
jumpis
toohigh
nowormcan
getcaught
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nor make any sense outofit s sound
oneoveronedouble hung Anderson, Pella,
Morgan and theother s
sashcord re tiedto lead weight in
'hidden' raceway
cavity where ride is up/ down clatter holds window
anywhere a balance is contra
to windowstop
swing of potted ivyat end of chain pullfor
the shade comes down
light behind her silloette
clearly raises expectations
her thin ness outlinedhands pull him in to
pull also her commodioushair
brushing against cheeks
another moments aboundwith nothing to say or he could tell her
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what want is fit into this incredible need
regularity demands
Regardless of the time or dayhe writes her out
While outside vehiclescominggoing
her tonguehis tongue
one mind a multiplicity
FUS:N
he saw hersharpening her needs
hardoncrosscut
blade
Barb sblue pointtipped
honed and trued
between her legsstiffbent saw "sings"
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wordsvocalednear yodel
who is sung of
where and when isvoice
adequate to meaning?
windowstopishalf way up
helikeher
..............fu:sion..............
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This Resolve
is acover
to face worldaffairs
pull string to unwrap package
slowly
she
o p e n s
while outside he thinks that she and he could take all day
and another; still
her just like that
Look!
not knowing not necessary tolook or touch
is drift through time and separation
absolute?
a woman whistling her tune invents
her will
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against another presses fact
I remembercertain incidents
convincing lyin cold scotch whiskeysips
certain swing sof Ivie
nicknamed "becauseI cling to"
what was there reflecting in the windowpane
mouth shaped "no"
yes
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Centered
image of her centeredand her movement s in awet towel and clouds
framed in the window our
wind ow firmly
The Tree of Heaven at theendof the driveway
is our fixed referent to
what of appearance s demand
a going into it s conversation:
large shadoweyes eye himstanding just so
looking into glass reflection of
shattering all pretense
soundabounds
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Rut
cut is too smallcrackin glass
too small to cause further breakage or replacement
shove is into deeper
code of behavior
her rules pull towardscontinual change
between houses no fence cangame say do her into a positionof
acknowledgment
Double breaks theircircuit open to it s
prostrations
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NO TATION
lack s its musicalitynor is it tuned to fork flatted in her shape the whole stretched against frets and stops
one splays (again) as if in ad equate finger ing s orrepeated refrain
It comes to this /
"what is my Neighbordoing?" hung there behind her shadewhile I hangedout be tweenhere and there w a i l
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sung young songoutside be comesher own harmony
what is also strungis strummed
across divide is this poverty
it s (lack of) conversation
run ning s on withoutregard for pitch or tone
/ it s uneasy balance firston right footthen deft shift to the left foot herlittle jig mistaken for dance
suddenlyflickingher
hair
flick ingher
tongue
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thedare
An Homage to...
I had not comebeating a drum
nor to beat a deadissue
just 'prance' rightover
just beyond her crosswords
her allover hair grabhandsfull and kiss
her ass!
He didn't go over tobeat no dead horse
or stand alone on a yellow mark she said
"I hope it is of some interest to you to me I am."
11/14/98
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Her
eyesdemandjewels
raisemorethanonenuance
choiceopens
hand sdigisinto
it s
archeology
itis
desire
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THE TRENCH
longdrywait
between
leanisonshovel
digisirrigation
trench
flowfromwhichdirectionis
irrelevant
whosaid
firstvocal ized
orhadmade
anysenseof
anymore
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than
it s
doing
11/17/98 4/4/07
Whatfence aroundyard?
as if it couldor would containany thing ormissing her lip sdemand a regularity
pickups are not onlyinadequate but these days extremely risky
in her window backlit
familiar shape of is it s own
exact science
wipes clean glass the quiet slide as
shecloses
thingsbrought
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She has
the glass balls
Oriental I think
set on cold greentingedskin
hisskinonher
bones
a(certain)magical
hag
set out againstall warning s
singled out
one at a timeoneafteranother
comes off
first
the top
neither sizes theother
up or numbers
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consecutively
up or down
inconsequence s
strung togetherto make
medical history
red marksare evidence of
pull intoone
what of 'thing'
picked at torelieve itch
placate
ache
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sudden leap
from porch toher
a Ruminant leap
over great distanceimagined
sun blocked his viewof herher seeing his great acrobaticsfailed to move here even a little
actual stretch into a proximityher greened among the stripes the sun makes
patters of her skeined among branches of The Tree of Heaven
his leaning s difficult
hers impossible to comprehend
holdsonbranchesout
in thishisalso
fall
not so sudden
twisting gives
her hair to his
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black magic
under her arm her pits
makeeyes' meet
instantaneousfacture
what thereishere
inyardisseen
*
again this threnodyit s own polyglot
red lipsbrownstained teethgreen skin
around himsurroundsaphantasy
given way toso much suddenlylet go of
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"Hello!
"don't have another heart attack
"how long HAS it beenbetween
calls?
"seven years, three months,two days...
there was beside the phonea letter waiting
as though it (still) mattered
orto view it fromher point of view
seen him
"looking at me"throughopen window
fourtimesthebusy
thena
ringthrough
a moment s silenceshatters the mood
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why her stretch nowand just so to positionherself
in obvious ofhis gaze
fourtimes the busyis
with her bodythin as it is
it is ad equate
height:
five plus nearly six
feet
countingher pumps
and
poof
and
scaronforehead
:she said her father cut herduring rape
he left her
with a scar
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just above the left eye
from her point of view
perception of an 'insane' womanthe girl became
(that nightacross her backyarda rabid raccoon
stealth ed
when she turned on the light it broke for cover
when light flicked
placeturnedredandlesshostiletowards
want
onlastsignal
yes
hemade
preparations
flowersin
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acracked
vase
on her window sill
significant
werelovehasgone
letnoonego
andslumber
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Gaze isthroughmore thanwhat is seen
ofher
hair
through fall awayaffectation
full use ofher body language
to get his attentionnot seeing what wascoming
suddenly taken
stream of in windowreflecting pain ice onpath between two
houses
he slipped upon thereturn
to visitbroke leg
almost neck
sheinwindow
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laugh ing
her laughter more thangazeseldom
seen when headbent
sohairhangs
down
shines througha woman hethinks
awayalltraceof mocking
wordslipshair
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hips
shapeof
what?
nothinghappenedthat by (her) light
windowopens to
fallwhereeyes
go
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walk is just offto the side
tilt is onlyimagined
words as conversation
the shape of needs shapes herfacetoface as though either ofus were a 'we'
range is freely givenhead to
limbs in air flay
quick is run across to embrace apossibility......
kick dead masked animal
leaves a conformation that
suggests another
onetoanother
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what more gets ushereby chance or choice
so
a conjunction ofdesire and need
driveswith regularity would best be by love
...that is now seen here
no longer song and dance separate
normakesit
necessary
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hairthen tearsin eyesfaall is fast andfinal
hot chilipepperfrom her
garden
cut for the pot
red hoton herlips
skirt hikedup
a toe inat leastat last
where treeisthey are
((be absolutely lucid, Cid said; ease up on adjectives and abstractions.) The lines around ['it'] is the form to fill, I say: didnot want to/say/that//your/eyes/are//hazel. "Grey," she said. Anyway, is excessive.
She knew me best who knew it least andtold.)
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OH
the lipsmore so
simple fallohher
hair
satisfactionsregulatewhat has been
awakened
it s hunger hewaits on her'til windowsignal
crave is on then k i s s
away wantsmorethan limitsdemand
when thirstwhat pleasuredrink s onlyfrom one glass
on table preparedin time set up
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The Fall
gets us moresointoa relationship
what breatheshere and therenot yet a first
for him for her
commune is such
so to vanquish
theto crawl underpile of leaves
love is that muchmorebranching is
orexceeds
actions are being forced bytheir pretensions
does nottransform intoany such trans
lation
sparks ignites
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REGARDING WHAT HE WANTS
giventhismanifesto
itisclearwho
doeswhattowhom
silenceisnolessthan
couldbesaid
yet
saysit
so
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qqqq
Ed Baker 8215 Flower Ave. Takoma Park, Md. 209126858 [email protected]
copyright (c) 2007 by Ed Baker
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