{"id":709,"date":"2010-01-02T00:05:56","date_gmt":"2010-01-02T05:05:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullofcrow.com\/poetry\/?p=709"},"modified":"2010-01-02T00:05:56","modified_gmt":"2010-01-02T05:05:56","slug":"burgess-stanley-needle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fullofcrow.com\/poetry\/2010\/01\/burgess-stanley-needle\/","title":{"rendered":"Burgess Stanley Needle"},"content":{"rendered":"

ONLY GOOD NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Creeping charleys crouch near dwarf cactus
\nColeus bow to jades
\nAll bathed in fluorescence
\nas I sway and weave my stories
\nto faces that will never be smoother
\nOr radiate more hope.<\/p>\n

Belvin, a Mescalero Apache, traveled
\nfar from the home to water
\nmy counter\u2019s greenery.
\nHe fails \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0every subject.
\nAlways breaks \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0eye contact.
\nYou like my plants, I stated.
\nYours? \u00a0One calm word hinted doubt.
\nWithin the quiet canyons formed
\nby walls of books his gentle
\nvoice colored a vision of weather.
\nThere are no clouds in the west
\na whisper to the jades.
\nA cool breeze settles on the hills
\nnodding to the cactus.
\nEvery leaf, stalk and spine seemed poised
\nfor his farewells:
\nStay healthy, Ramon.
\nI\u2019ll miss you, Se\u00f1or Ruiz.
\nThe world will know your story, Belvin
\nhe says just grazing a blushing coleus.
\nOnly then does he step
\nfrom shade to light
\nprepared to address
\nThe sun
\nlonely for her lost children.<\/p>\n


\nCOMMUNITY OF MEN<\/strong><\/p>\n

He appeared one evening
\nAlongside the scent of kerosene
\nlanterns and groaning wooden carts
\none quite old Japanese visitor
\nWhat were the unwritten laws of the village?
\nThe English language side of his card read
\nSocial anthropologist
\nBecause he knew his death was imminent
\nhe feared idle time
\nthe waste of social amenities
\nThe Thais were not impressed
\nBuddhism offered more than a few lifetimes
\nThey knew he used his daughter
\nas a lure to connect \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0find a way in
\na village\u2019s delicate web
\nWith my bumbling language skills
\nand what I prayed were polite
\nentreaties he got to meet the elders
\nNot the mayor or selectmen
\nNot the chief or the general
\nBut the old men who kept the pulse
\nand guided commerce and all
\ngraces without a scrap of paper
\nan oath or salary
\nThe visitor wheedled and cajoled
\nThe old men yawned
\nRice was served and eaten
\nBeer was poured and finished
\nGlancing my way the visitor grimaced
\nWhere can I \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0he used a familiar gesture
\nEveryone in the small hut rose as one
\nto troop outside \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0stand at parade rest
\nby a long row of banana trees
\nSpraying the greenery until the last man turned
\nBack inside they readily shared what they could
\nwith the man an elder described as
\nbeing able to pee as long as an elephant<\/p>\n

IT\u2019S NOT DOMESTIC<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not Peets coffee I wish
\nTo share nor common drags
\nFrom an herbal smoke
\nPatois of media suggests
\nWe Lovers betray
\nour bond through joint acts
\nAs if we all must
\nInhale and grin
\nSip and smile
\nPoint is
\nit\u2019s not domestic
\nAs in you wash I dry
\nWhat I miss is
\nArt
\nThe design formed by your line-of-sight
\nChanging my space from X2 to X3
\nUnderstand
\nIt\u2019s depth I yearn for
\nUnless you\u2019re here
\nI\u2019m trapped flat between
\nA billion quarks and oxygen
\nCoffee gulps and clouds of smoke
\nI\u2019m incomplete
\ncool to touch
\nAn existential being
\nI float on jazz
\nSwim through sound waves
\nStrung out like a high-C whistle
\nI call you
\nAnd call you
\nTo make me real<\/p>\n

Burgess Stanley Needle is a Tucson, Arizona poet. His work has appeared in Black Mountain Review, Zafusy, The Hiss Quarterly, Centrifugal Eye, Origami Condom, Kritya, Gutter Eloquence, Red Fez, Gloom Cupboard, and Iodine<\/em>. He will happily respond to any e-mails: bbneedle@cox.net<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ONLY GOOD NEWS Creeping charleys crouch near dwarf cactus Coleus bow to jades All bathed in fluorescence as I sway and weave my stories to faces that will never be smoother Or radiate more hope. Belvin, a Mescalero Apache, traveled far from the home to water my counter\u2019s greenery. He fails \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0every subject. Always breaks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-january-2010"],"yoast_head":"\nBurgess Stanley Needle - Full Of Crow: Poetry (Archives)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fullofcrow.com\/poetry\/2010\/01\/burgess-stanley-needle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Burgess Stanley Needle - Full Of Crow: Poetry (Archives)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ONLY GOOD NEWS Creeping charleys crouch near dwarf cactus Coleus bow to jades All bathed in fluorescence as I sway and weave my stories to faces that will never be smoother Or radiate more hope. Belvin, a Mescalero Apache, traveled far from the home to water my counter\u2019s greenery. He fails \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0every subject. 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