Postcards, third installment

August 13:

Dear Amy--

Reaching toward
an unknown--the gap
between here and
there--

background clatter
shattering shadows--

(image: Henri Matisse "La Musique")

August 14:

Dear Carmiel,

The radio tells stories
of economic downturns,
of mentally-ill prisoners,
of thunderstorms,
of olympic triumphs,
of political unrest,
and I drink coffee
and eat a biscuit.

(image: Masolino "Peccato originale")

August 15:

Dear Christian--

Is this a conversation?
conversion? or a sign
of the ever-present heart-
ache--

this connection,
fragile--

these words fluttering
away--

(image: Gertrude Stein in foreground, Alice B. Toklas in background)

August 16:

Dear Diane--

The days slip and spin
as I pedal,
make change,
choose between----
follow the breath,
follow the sun
setting

(image: church of St. Maria in Cosmedin, Roma)

August 17:

Dear BJ--

the trick of being embodied:
subtle observations
in every moment--
here, in the mirror--
here, on the train--
the way the light poured
in this afternoon, flooding
my vision with the burst
of summer exuberance,
the way new life just appears--

(image: Barbara Kruger "You thrive on mistaken identity")

August 18:

Dear Marian--

A bargain with my body:
trust me, we will make it--
sigh--sign--the signal
green, and we go--
wholly, hesitantly--
thinking of the time--
so many gestures and
the heavy fear
congealing here--

(image: nude woman's profile and torso)

August 19:

Dear Kim--

the airwaves full of mixed
messages--
expect no clearing
for the next four years--
what we believe
tossed back and
forth--appeasement
at best, at worst betrayal--

(image: Joseph Cornell assemblage)

More August Poems

Here are the next few poems I've sent away:

August 10:

Dear Mary--

A day of decisions
and indecision--drinking in
the overwhelming sky--
cool morning, perfect shining
green surrounds--
plucking away the unnecessary
that crowds the roots
of knowing--

(image: hand printed postcard--woman with flowers)


August 11:

Dear Laura--

Thursday night, the orange
and purple sky filled
my eyes with tears, my
heart with longing--
these dark moments of
wonder
hold us
solid--

(image: pig shaped food stand)

August 12:

Dear Emma--

This morning, clouds breaking,
unrest in Georgia, blueberry
muffin and coffee, scientists
"debating" global warming,
a forlorn-looking polar
bear, cats yawning, tomatoes
bursting ripeness, dreams
of cooking--

(image: woman with fogged glasses)

August Poetry Postcard Fest

I am participating in a mail-poetry project this month, and thought I would share some of the little poems I am sending away. Some of the poems refer to images on the cards, so at the bottom of the poem, I have included a note about what was on the front of the card. I have written to the first 9 people, even though it's not yet August 9th to allow for international deliveries.

Happy August!
love, Cathleen

August 1:

Dear Susan--

And then, looking backward--
the swallow circled
and dipped--
intrusion of memory;
a desire for connection--
What would you have said
if I had told you?
how you would have laughed--

(image: a ruin in Rome)

August 2:

Dear DD--

Every time I look away,
a new detail emerges--
my vision transformed
by solitude--
come now, then
wait--------

(image: Walking on Eggshells by Sandy Skoglund)

August 3:

Dear Michelle--

The way language leaves you--
the way a bell can clear the air--
we were at the window
talking--the heaviness
of the air, of philosophy--
we, now silent--

(image: church bells outside a window)

August 4:

Dear Amanda--

the shifting quality of light--
today, an eclipse
maybe you have seen it?
sky becoming the color
of clouds--

(front: Jean Cocteau quote)

August 5:

Dear Gregory--

Today, dreaming of snow,
cold chilling bones--
the paths of mountains,
hum of crystals landing
one atop another--
the shape of breath
circles--and we sing--

(image: Untitled (Jesus and I) by Larry Johnson)

August 6:

Dear Susan--

Intricate petals on tomato
blossoms--butterfly slowly
moving its wings (open/
close)--sudden rain
on skin--sun baking
the soil dry--

(image: ornamental kale)

August 7:

Dear Bethany--

What intangible costs,
what lives destroyed--
by this, our greed,
our fear--

the electric aggression in
the air when a man walks by
and says "I could/should have shot
you--"

(image: poster "War IS Terror")

August 8:

Dear Robert--

the ways we
fall apart (or) fall together--
moments of unravelling
(when) our breath sighs
out of us--
walls permeable,
hearts softened--

(image: house falling in)

August 9:

Dear Nancy--

Just now--a seed drops from
the sky onto my plate--
I wonder what is planted
here, what fertile ground
I will become when I eat it--
flowers or vines sprouting
from my intestines, reaching
toward light--

(image: Josephine Baker taking a bath)

PhillySound featured on FANZINE

Check it out: A wonderful poetry feature by Thom Donovan with work by eleven poets in Philly (including me). I am honored and delighted to be featured with such wonderful people, such good and inspiring writers.

Here it is. http://thefanzine.com/articles/poetry/254/phillysound_poets/1

Reading at Robin's books

Please come hear me read on Tuesday, June 24th, 6pm, at Robin's Books.
I will be reading with poet Michele Belluomini.

Follow this link for more details: http://www.robinsbookstore.com/events/062408.html

You are invited....

Art, words, music and more--
Reclaiming our bodies and our lives.

I hope you can join us.

trans-gression arts festival

Multi-disciplinary Arts Festival
Promises to Bend, Blend, and Break Gender Expectations

Opening Reception, Sunday May 4, 4-6PM

Da Vinci Art Alliance
704 Catherine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
May 4 – May 30, 2008
GALLERY HOURS: May 7th - 30th
Wednesday 12-4PM & 6-8PM
Thursday - Sunday 12-4PM

featuring artists:
Tally Brennan, Deborah Caiola, Heather Marie Davis-Jones, Justin DeForest, Susan DiPronio, Laureen Griffin, Justin Jain, Kirsten Knoblauch, Cathleen Miller, Martina Plag.

for more details, www.trans-gression.org/festival2008.html