pasar el verano

Summer

At evening the complaint of the cuckoo
Grows still in the wood.

The grain bends its head deeper,
The red poppy.

Darkening thunder drives
Over the hill.
The old song of the cricket
Dies in the field.

The leaves of the chestnut tree
Stir no more.
Your clothes rustle
On the winding stair.

The candle gleams silently
In the dark room;
A silver hand
Puts the light out;

Windless, starless night.

---Georg Trakl (+ 1914)

trans. Robert Bly

the knowledge of hospitality

what do food prayer and guitar music make
when mixed together?
what does it mean when you place
rootbeerfloats before people
who partake joyously and willingly
of the pleasure?

these are the important aesthetic
questions of the day
and virtually no one i mean no one
is facing up to it

i guess i should

first it is important to have a real artist
who knows his way around Mac
create a poster
with three guitars appearing
shoulder to shoulder
one classical
one parlor
one dreadnought

onto these guitars are placed
the intention of performance
the performance of three instrumental pieces
as the "purpose" for the event

the invitations are mailed out
posters are placed in the public view
and a date is set

the day arrives
i never thought of the event as a party
but now that i think about it
it was a party
it happened
LAST FRIDAY NIGHT
august 20th

good people came
friends old and new
here's the menu:

bread and tappenade
and water and wine on the tables

I had intended to pass food around
very casually one serving at a time
but once the food started arriving it all
went onto a table and then to the places where people were sitting

i made a nice big pot of
cold cucumber soup
in the mayhem of serving i
forgot to serve the soup
so i served it the next day to the monks
it was a hit in the monastic refectory

so i served
skewered sliced chuck roast
marinated and barbecued
to a succulent richness
people ate a lot of this

i do not know the names of
the next two foods

the one is very much like a falafal
made with split green peas
and spinach
and deep fried
then eaten with a mint parsely and oil
chutney

then there were the plates of
fine little cheese onion and spinach pastries
and
served about the same time
as
plates of fresh garden tomatoes
embellished with fresh sweet basil
crushed garlic and parmesan
and extravirgin olive oil

and a plate of fine cheese and apples

basic table wine was served

i then topped things off with
good chocolate and fresh raspberries

PSALLITE is a 21st century re-awakening
of the antiphonal singing tradition which dates back
to the earliest singing traditions in christendom
it is psalmody set for pilgrims

to segue from sharing food to prayer
is a trick i need to learn

however
inviting people to sing while they walk forth
is a matter of surprise no matter what
people don't do this very often if at all
monks do this and monks are people
but the practice is slowly returning
as people process (stress on the second syllable)
in the activities of faith

the gospel shall be read each day
the lord hears the prayers of the faithful

3 guitars
3 styles of playing guitar
i learned to play the instrument
when i was quite young
and i played only with my fingers on the right hand
until i was in my late 40s so
for forty years i did not know the use of the plectrum

i gave initial expression of the years i studied
classical guitar with
Prelude No. 1 by
Heitor Villa-Lobos
then
i launched into a piece that has been
lumbering around with me for more than a year
an expression of friendship
it is an extended theme and variations structure
with a long drawn out initial melody
an improvisational counter to the melody
marked by everything from dysharmony
rhythmic collapse and surprise to near silent playing
and filled out by a dancelike motif which carries
improvisational character as well
the theme is rounded out by a common chord and
a chordal expression on the bass strings which
mark the sequence of the times through the variations
the piece is entitled FOR SALLY

St. Catherine's Fancy
is a lengthy arpeggio with a melody
spread out on top of a consistent
chord progression
which can be likened to a classical
A and B section song pattern

Michael Peter Smith
has written one of the greatest
songs of the 20th century
a song whose poetry evokes the charming
if a touch sad
presentation of an elderly couple in amsterdam
the title
"THE DUTCHMAN"
it stands out singingly as
a necessary bit of music to anyone wishing
to discuss great songs

i've been playing the blues since i learned
the basic progressions in my teen years
and of late i've been taking some of the
inspiration of ANTHONY BRAXTON and
experimenting with textural additions and improvisations
and free-form flights of fancy
this has resulted in an extended blues arrangement
one that may take 15 0r 20 minutes to fill out
BLUES -A STUDY IN TEXTURES
which i performed on my LoPrinzi dreadnought
an instrument that has both challenged and
delighted me
an instrument which is both strong and subtle
and upon which i play american fingerstyle (alternating bass pattern)
and upon which i use the plectrum as well

what do you say to people who stand on their feet
and applaud
well
you say
here's another piece i wrote
i call it 400 Darfo
which is the address on the house
of some very good friends

this piece came to me while i spent some time
at the home of john and sally mcgill
it is notable in that it utilizes a basic
I-IV-V chordal pattern yet incorporates
atonal chords into the melodic structure
which serve as harmonic settling points

despite the oddity of the sounds
the cadence points are nothing but traditional

what's to be done after all this

ROOTBEER FLOATS

a walk in the moonlight with some friends

and sleep

summer is not over
summer is a season of commitment
commit to the season
do not yield to the demands of september
no
go forth take summer to the end

tennis anyone?!

found poem

Master Direct
the point
attract law
aid extremely fall regard suggest farmer
suggestion editor
analysis further ourselves
replace bit pay in hurt pull season sheet record
move lady quality index large adult hill debate
capacity pub weight adopt strategy price earth element
imagine derive lift studio language
application outcome gun can
evening confirm review best potential
show contain provided favour
because charge apparently information knee high tone
propose adult
book status leg really strong
believe no frequently rock train
attend
adult whose concerned academic band
experience the mountain largely with not safe
education
focus Master Direct
the point attract law
aid extremely fall regard suggest farmer suggestion
editor analysis further ourselves replace bit pay
in hurt pull season sheet record move lady
quality index large adult hill debate
capacity pub weight adopt strategy price
earth element imagine derive lift studio language
application outcome gun can evening confirm
review best potential show contain provided
favour because charge
apparently
information knee
high tone
propose adult
book status
leg really strong
believe no frequently
rock train attend adult
whose concerned
academic band experience
the mountain largely
with not safe
education focus

while hanging out on the WEB
i came across this string of words
in a box somewhere
i am astounded
that there are people who take the time
to print this sort of impossible verbiage
he or she must've taken daivd byrne very seriously
"stop making sense"

and maybe i must simply follow suit

summer flesh and air

hot knowledge
humid hot

mississippi river rainforest hot

feelings

sizzle and sigh
like
cicadas

but you know that

fame is a map with no roads

heat lightening
strobe

southern sky

it's all a lover's spat
poetry yearning like
the soft part of the groin
to be the language of
eros

erobix

lover's yield into long
disputes long silent disputes
so disbelieving are our minds
when beholding failure

curiosity mendacity audacity


propensities for vituperation

things things these things and more
like gas

cybertrainwreckrodeo

all words like the heat on
the summer street

all eyes like butterflies

all poetry like one long begging for forgiveness

you say you're funny
you make your dances

then the eye casts back

what is the sound of the mind in tears

what brautigan tried to know

"Comets"

There are comets
that flash through
our mouths wearing
the grace
of oceans and galaxies.

God knows,
we try to do the best
we can.

There are comets
connected to chemicals
that telescope
down out tongues
to burn out against
the air.

I know
we do.

There are comets
that laugh at us
from behind our teeth
wearing the clothes
of fish and birds.

We try.

- Richard Brautigan

to know a person

i've never done (composed sketched painted) a portrait

never sat to sum up with description or pencil line
the contours and character of an actual human being
one who is alive
that is
(even my effort to portray br urban as a saint was not too
vivid-- rather rather rather dull actually)

so i present myself this morning with a challenge

what i shall describe is a ritualized drama
one that is enacted almost every morning
in the coffee room of the monastery

his names are somewhat various

i won't bother with the broad extent
of personal titles which he's used over the decades
hippolytus comes to mind as one bygone epithet

each morning between 8:30 and 10
henry bryan hayes sets about to make coffee
in a most particular way
his rubrics are insidious but necessary
he conducts this highly choreographed routine
from the comfort of an oversize wheelchair
one that he has purportedly stolen from
the one we call alexander the great
this seems like an unimportant detail
but he must move that oversize wheelchair
through a fairly constricted human space and for certain moments
in the choreographed routine bryan's presence completely dominates
the available working human social space
everything is held in a state
of momentary suspension until the task at hand
be it water or towel or knife or butter or backing up
to his selfproclaimed spot of supremecy -
is completed

this is a man whose knowledge of poetry novels
history operas countless musical scores
legendary football games live performances
and odd people down through the years
is surpassed by no one in our entire environs

there must be three bags of coffee-machine coffee
not 2 not 4 but 3 bags
the water must be as cold as you can get it
and it is as near to perfect coffee as can be had
in the cloistered halls

if by chance you happen to be privy to
this astounding daily event
you may enter into conversation with bryan as we call him
on topics ranging from football
to french literary advances in the past
opera
[ "his own compositions" ] is often a favorite and
i dare say unabashed topic of conversation
for this man who has constructed a veritable ballet
around the preparation and drinking of coffee
is
a composer
his abilities and his output rank him
amongst the greatest of all time
yet his work will be relegated to the archives
where it will gather dust
every year one more layer of dust
over the forgotten musical accomplishments
of henry bryan hayes

his expressions are enlightened with ease and freedom
i dare say
no topic
no matter how bawdy would disturb his soul
he's given to youthful sardonic laughter
quite often
no stranger he to the absurdity inherent in
making ones' way

i don't recall if bryan has had both hips replaced
but he is not able to walk he can only shuffle
and he is a large man
he stood a full 6 ft 6 in his prime

from the south
tennessee
raised on the sounds of seasons and radio
and old time church music

his face is full of character
at 90 years old he is a regular walking
or rolling picture of the full range of human emotion

motivated he is
by a seemingly indominable will to live
and fend for himself

daily he puts himelf in the most
well -dressed state
collections of full cotton button down
well pressed shirts from LL Bean and
like places
his pants as well are never ragged ragtag

bryan has written operas
orchestral music
string arrangements
numerous collections of song cycles
keyboard sonatas organ arrangements
acappella choir arrangements
full band orchestrations
works for solo instruments

so we let this lumbering giant wheel about
in his oversize wheelchair
and get his coffee just right and expend any sort of emotion
he must in getting there

sometimes you'll find him conducting a treatment
he gives himself
he takes a towel and wettens it
then puts it in the microwave till it's good and hot
then he pastes the blue towel onto his eyes
to relieve whatever pain is there
all the while attending to his well made ecoffee

there should be a name for such acts
a genre
i am moved to write music
to the scene enacted every day
in the monks' coffee room
at st john's abbey

bryan's eyes are the brightest blue/grey
his skull is very the shape of an egg
his ears are large and he wears spectacles
his hands are adorned with the most long
and elegant fingers
his english is as proper as can be
and he lives in a state where he doesn't care a wit
for what anyone might think or say about him
his temperament is generally jolly
but he has days when it appears he is putting up
with the rest of us only out of necessity
certainly not out of desire

daily he wheels himself out to the student dining room
and has extensive luncheon conversations
with a whole array of young men
he is rather fond of young men
young healthy athletic men

being of the late age 90
bryan we grant
i think we are free
to grant him the odd indulgence

as long as he continues to be so well -dressed

perhaps this is as well as i can do in describing
henry bryan hayes

from this information you should be able to
draw or paint your own portrait of him
and though it may look a caricature
it would somewhat resemble the person
i know