certain acts of magic.

i saw the back of  a bird today.

Not the whole bird, that would be a confession.

But the glimpse of his hind quarters, his left foot

the one he plants on the headstones of civil war soldiers.

Then I thought, this is a sort of magic,

the way flying compels us; how the jazz of it

kicks starts our reasoning. How

Whitman and Miles Davis were somehow

complicit in our planetary woes. How

wanting to dance, and then dancing is how

we choose the half seen. That's why I don't

discard my old databases, My IBM, my COMPACT,

my E Machines, my Acer. They clog my attic with their

old songs; their old dangerous rhythms. I still have a

SONY tv bought brand new in 87

and with the converter box  still shows

a lovely picture. But it weighs 100 pounds

and is too heavy to carry to the curb for

bulk pickup. So along with multiple, wired

mouses and old keyboards with sticky keys

it too sits among the others. Sometimes we keep

things because loosing them is too painful to discard.

Others we loose because keeping them

is too painful to hold onto. Like broken

snowblowers. Joel Osteen. Love. And all

the saved photographs you took while in it

knee deep. Then you slam the cover of the album

shut which gives mortality to the entire bird. Then you close the attic door. 

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

We save things....and ofttimes there is no logical reason to save them. Why save old computers that will not boot up anymore? Why torture ourselves with photos of romances gone bad? Human nature I suppose. We can not bear to get rid of the memories. Well written, Dana. Lydi**

[h d e rushin]

so true Lydia...My mother has saved the clothes i wore in middle school.."someone might need them, she says". And this is the philosophy behind the saving of most things...in this world where so many have so little, someone might even need our old uselessness. Thank you my love....dana

[W.k.kortas]

If our detritus does not make us who we are, then what does?

[h d e rushin]

so true my dearest wk....miss you....dana

[emmajoy]

Everything has a use.. everything, surely! If not, why do memories exist? Indeed, why are they so able to fill the mind and body with such sweetheart passion?! Throw nothing away, it might be useful.. or something.. one day.

You juggle words this way that and inevitably come up smiling'. You make rust and dust live.. don't know how you do it but.. i'll still review you anyway. :)

To quote: ' Then I thought, this is a sort of magic,'

[h d e rushin]

thank you my dearest emmajoy......love you forever...dana

[kmartell]

I had an old performa apple. no way to copy poems, no printer, so I left a whole piece of my life on this computer. At the time I was living alone on the top floor of a dark building. my neighbor borrowed my phone, later found he was selling drugs with my phone. Why, but why did I love that scrummy apartment, that old computer.

[h d e rushin]

I still have an old DELL, optiplex 750 that works beautifully. it's at least 12 years old..the new computers were not made to last....just made to be replaced....thank you my friend.

[kmartell]

Oh how good this is. I cannot pick one line, because the whole poem is so good. glad it was there when I came to it. bye,

[h d e rushin]

love you kmartell...and thank you my dearest friend...dana

[Ken Simm.]

Its the way you take lines through your work that amazes me most. Like the tributaries of thoughts that come together in a magnificent delta. Of course the flip side of this is that use the conciously mundane to achieve your magnificat. How do you do that? I am just lost before your skills dana. Lost.

[h d e rushin]

dear brother Ken..I drift in and out of here....i wish i had a poem in my heart every day like you do..i must admit that sometimes i don't feel very poetic at all. But you're words warm me my friend..and make me more inspired the next i try to write something. Thank you dearest.....dana

[Ken Simm.]

Not every day dear friend. Not even every week but you are more than welcome. I meant everything I said.
I wonder have you heard from WKK recently? I worry.

[h d e rushin]

what a beautiful image corset. the image of sewn birds is one that makes fabric come alive. I think that i will wear my Penguin shirt this morning. thank you my friend for stopping by....dana

[Corset]

My Daughter has started sewing things, she ironed and ironed and then ironed again the material for her sleep pants that took over an hour to pick out, (it is a lovely light blue color fabric with birds on it that resemble cranes I think ) satisfied that she finally had ended the life of every single possible wrinkle she finally began to sew it , unseam it sew it, unseam it, and then when trying the finished product on realized, the birds were flying right side up to her when she looks down at them, which means to me they appear upside down...
I told her not to un-sew them again , to wear them just as they are because they are for her anyway, so when she looks at them and she has them on she'll be flying right :) We'll keep them in the memory box when the unsure stitches come loose to remember her first time.

[h d e rushin]

i bought an old sewing machine from the resale store without knowing that you need a bobbin to get a good stitch...In fact, sewing is such a discriminate function with it's own complex set of expressive variables. The image of upside down cranes is irresistible/ not knowing what a crane actually looks like. so i googled crane and it showed me just how majestic a bird it might be. She is a poet, since poetry relies on one discretionary stanza , powerfully independent of the others....beautiful image my friend.....dana

[Emily B]

I've always know in the back of my mind that you were a magician. Words just seem to come alive and fly when you wave your hands. When I've lost my touch I can always come back here and see what the words should be.

[h d e rushin]

thank you beloved for those kind words....good morning to y ou. the sun is shining so pretty in the sky......dana

[Emily B]

we're having intermittent spring storms

but the garden is going in a little at a time