‘07August Poetry Postcard Fest
Paul E. Nelson
poetrypostcards.blogspot.com
1.
Robert -
to Robert Daniel (Irie Beard!)
Jackson, MI
7.26.07
Irie my long lost
Lutheran Brother !
How goes the beard
tonight?
The Mountain
was still drunk on
vapors this morning
but rebounded in time
for a pinkened sunset
and a near full
Blood Moon!
May the Emperor festoon
you w/ bloodstones &
may Jah guide.
Blessings –
PAUL NELSON
2. to David-Baptiste Chirot (Mahakala)
Milwaukee, WI
David -
7.26.07
I’m here under
a Blood Moon, near full
have sipped the Yogi’s
nectar (Matcha) mixed
w/ some kind of blood
line concoction BAILEY’S
& full contention
w/ Slaughter I offer
Mahakala so you may
remember
the uselessness of time
& fearlessness of compassion.
Hasta Pronto
Paul Nelson
Slaughter, WA
3. to Anne Hollingsworth (Turtle, 2003)
Issaquah, WA
Dear Anne
7.26.07
For you a turtle
as this Blood Moon waxes
and we begin to see
the USELESSNESS of time.
Could be turtle
could be mandala
but I bathe this card
in ritual ash and hope
for an answer someday.
Many
Blessings –
Paul Nelson
Slaughter, WA
4. to Birgitta Jonsdottir (Raven, red, white, blue)
Reykjavik, Iceland
Dearest Birgitta!
7.26.07
Many Blessings from
under the near full
Blood Moon whose beams
ricochet off The Mountain
after the south-moving sunset
capsizes beyond West Hill
catching this red, white,
blue & black Raven
before he can swallow
time in all its Greasy
manifestations.
Ashé –
con Abrazos!
Paul Nelson – Slaughter, WA
5. to John Davis (Jupiter)
Bainbridge Island WA
John –
7.26.07
Just as suspected
Jupiter still beaming
judicious arson orange
beams of warm waves
upon our hungry planet
just to the right
of the near full Blood
Moon, while The Mountain
still rests still reeling
from all this morning’s
vapors.
Happy August
Paul Nelson –
Slaughter, WA
6. to Constance Wiseman (Lotus Lapover-edge Cup)
Greenbank, WA
Slaughter, WA
7.26.07
Dear Constance –
Hola! The doppler’s
calling for a Blood
Moon w/ a side
of Jupiter
& an arson
orange sunset to burn
for. Care to join me
for tea? Care for silver
flower & bug festooned
China? Care to dance
at the next Burning Word?
Take Care.
Paul Nelson
7. to Kim Clark (Teaching Little Ones Death)
Nanaimo, BC
Slaughter, WA 7.26.07
Hola Kim –
Not happy
news despite Jupiter
and wacky cards,
despite July’s last sun
set cannonballing
beyond West Hill and
the near full Blood Moon’s
delicate dance over
this particular Slaughter
anger’s got the best
of Pop & he’s getting
hallucinations.
Keep well.
- LOVE – Paul N.
8. to Rochelle Nameroff (Red Eagle)
El Cerrito CA
Slaughter, WA
7.26.07
Dear Rochelle –
By divination, an Eagle
(the eagle is experience).
By divination, The Multiverse
(the soul unbound laughing
hard at humans grappling
w/ the uselessness of time).
By divination, summer rainwater quenching a desert rock.
Happy August!
PAUL N.
9. to Todd Johnson (Chewing Nails)
Auburn, WA
Slaughter, WA
7.26.07
Todd –
I’m running out of
cuticles and time
to begin again under
a sultry Blood Moon
who dances at the behest
of Jupiter while white
breasts are spied
under the palm trees.
Go forth and birth, yes
go forth & birth your
inner Magician while Rosa
smiles. – Your Brother – Paul Nelson
10. to Frances LeMoine (Only in it for the Monet)
Nashua, NH
Slaughter, WA
8.1.07
P
Frances,
A
I’m only in it
U
for the Monet.
L
I’m only in it
for August exercise
N
of psychic muscles
E
and doorstop zinnias
L
and poems to stop the chatter
S
of 1,000 monkeys,
O
for sleeping weather
N
and a middle-aged yoga body
swelled by beef jerky
and the tilted windmill thrust for eternity.
11. to Leslie Styles (Weird Tie Marx Bros)
Kirkland, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.1.07
Leslie,
A guru is dying
and everyone wants to cast
the first brick, but
here’s where real comfort
comes in. Water, laughter,
a weird tie and a
fading Blood Moon. w/ each glass
of it (plastic bottle?) I wash away a bit of my
brickness. Watch the red flecks flee.
Paul
Nelson
12. to Jessie Lyle (Ribbon’s Twisted)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.1.07
Jessie!
My ribbon’s twisted
& my favorite crayon
lost, so this missive
to celebrate August
and zinnias, hydration
& the recognition we’re
smooth & free
despite the similarity
of this hairy nest of flesh
to the Broome County Jail.
Abrazos!
Paul Nelson
13. to Denise Calvetti-Michaels (Dragon vs. Phoenix)
Kirkland, WA
SLAUGHTER, WA
8.2.07
Dear Denise –
The Mountain is close
re-routing the sound
of wind through old
rivers in new channels.
Dragon vies w/ Phoenix
& I w/ my night self
on one hand drunk
on stars, the other
the urge to devour
them and make my
rightful mark on Slaughter.
MANY BLESSINGS – Paul Nelson
14. to Therese Broderick (Dali Annihilates Time)
Albany, NY
August 2, 2007
Therese –
Time is not one
of the Twin Falls
and yet I postcard
to annihilate it
as we remember life
-times as moths long
ago. This year Panther
soul, blue-furred and
eyeing all. Together
w/ the certain on-rush
of the end of time
make one continuous ROAR
we pronounce:
August.
pN – Slaughter, WA
15. to Tara Betts (Whale’s Cosmic Consciousness)
Pearl River, NY
Tara -
8.2.07
The eagle is experience.
The whale’s cosmic
consciousness (regeneration).
To carry experience past
all the August islands
we encounter, bridges crumble
and we light a candle, pray
for survivors. Some thing
under the waning Blood Moon
connects us.
Blessings,
Paul Nelson
Slaughter, WA
16. to Cathy Ruiz (Mother Turtle)
Weed, CA
Slaughter, WA
8.3.07
for Cathy –
who has gone on
to Weed leaving us
to our just August Slaughter.
Mother Turtle for long
life. Mother Turtle
to re-invent time
in the image of an egg
a cell a song a
ritual – perhaps an August
note wishing you
all the best blessings
only Weed
can offer.
Paul Nelson
17. to Michael Dylan Welch (Trent Tea Time)
Sammamish, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.3.07 (Tea Cups)
Dear Michael –
A Holy August before
the Bop Apocalypse
makes August Slaughter
look like teatime
in Tieton. Or Trent.
Or imagine the river
at the bottom of Twin
Falls and how our
concept of time could
be questioned by foam
slowly re-entering the flow
just like you and I
and a Monday hike
to postpone our return to Slaughter.
- Your Friend
Paul Nelson
18. to Nashira Priester (Che en la destrucción del tiempo)
Seattle, WA
Hola Nashira
Aquí en matanza hacemos agosto
santo un ritual en la destrucción del tiempo.
Hacemos agosto un plazo de matanza
y encontramos el poema la lucha
articulada para ser tú mismo. ¡Poetas de Viva!
Abrazos,
Hello Nashira,
Here in Slaughter we make August holy
a ritual in the destruction of time.
We make August a respite from Slaughter
and find the poem the articulate
struggle to be yourself. Viva Poets!
Hugs,
Paul
19. to Amanda Earl (Haida Smiling Whale)
Ottawa, Ontario
Castlegar, BC
8.4.07
Amanda –
Made it to Canada
& found a Haida
(I think) smiling
whale for you.
Made it back
to Canada & the
vibe’s lighter
and the Blood Moon
tho waning nearly
knocked my eye out.
Made it to Canada
& Runes say: PERTHO
- an initiation reminds
me this here body’s
a rental.
Blessings –
Paul
Nelson
20. to Valerie Fetherston (Raven & Indra’s Net)
Victoria, BC
Castlegar, BC
8.4.07
Valerie!
Back here in Canada
staying w/ Linda, sleeping
next to the Bhagavad-Gita
and watching bits
of Dudley’s fur fall
in the light of one
waning Blood Moon.
Raven spits jewels
& Indra’s net
catches a few
more wily bits
of meat
who know that net
is made of Ravens
people and
post
cards.
Love Paul
N.
21. to Barbara Palecek (Touching Haida Frogs)
Seattle, WA
Castlegar, BC
8.4.07
Barb!
Saturday in Castlegar,
B.C. and here’s
a Haida frog in beads
and buttons and me
below what’s left
of one Blood Moon
washing away the dead
bits of myself
by touching frogs
and guzzling water
& standing
transfixed
at the stars
that light
the B.C. night
jewels
like you
and
me.
Blessed
Be –
PN
22. to Ruby Dixon (Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat)
Langley, WA
Nespelem, WA
8.5.07
Dear Ruby –
At the grave of Chief
Joseph where my offering
was foreign coins, seems
right, enit?
Thunder Rolling Down Mountain
his Nez Perce name
as cocks crow
over & over &
no weapons in my fists
for I, too will fight
no more forever
unless you count
yellowjackets -
Best
- Paul N.
23. to Jenifer Lawrence (Thunderbirds & Yellow Jackets)
Poulsbo, WA
Nespelem, WA 8.5.07
Jenifer!
Here where Chief Joseph
rests in peace fighting
no more forever even
cocks have stopped this
moment even heat brings
out yellow jackets & bees
pollinate baby
tumbleweeds
as if no
thing could
disturb
or
prevent
August.
Hoit.
Paul N.
24. to Gregory Severance (Kolus at Chief Joseph’s Grave)
New York, NY
Nespelem, WA
8.5.07
Gregory –
Now, starting to put my August
stain on this Kolus card
wind begins and cocks stop.
Now there is the certain
snap of grasshoppers.
“I will fight no more forever”
Chief Joseph said, Thunder Rolling
Down Mountain his real name in
our tongue and on his grave
six jelly jars, two apples
many coins
& one
large
WA August
blessing
for you.
Hoit - PN
25. to Catherine Daly (Gordon Parks and the Border)
Los Angeles, CA
Slaughter, WA
8.6.07
Catherine –
Back in Slaughter
from a respite in Canada
except at the border
“No, I’ve no bombs”
just a three day beard
and a racial profile
as Gordon knew, and now
the clean-up crew arrives
but who’ll gut this rat’s nest
of macho Texas militarism
and ring out the mop,
cook up the antidote to Slaughter?
Happy August! Paul N.
26. to AK Allin (A Cloud Over Argentina)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.6.07
Mimi –
The weather’s warming up
down here & there’s me
disguised as a cloud
over Argentina
just ticking away
the Ravens (or large
crows) just below
the border line
but AH! from Space
borders? (No comprende)
its just the passengers
on the ship need
to get caught up.
Ah August!
Paul Nelson
27. to Mickey O’Connor (Raven’s Wingbeats)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.6.07
Mickey –
A short drive from Slaughter
where pet cats could be
an Eagle’s lunch, there is
the whoosh whoosh whoosh
of Raven’s wingbeats
(Nature’s registered letter)
the news is something old
and dated’s gonna meet
the maker
& who will have
explaining
to do
?
MANY BLESSINGS –
PAUL NELSON
28. to Bruce Greeley (Lichtenstein & I’m French)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.7.07
Bruce!
The chili’s cookin’
Zappa’s away and a
Trader Joe’s Blueberry
raspberry muffin awaits.
I’ve long since shorn
that sinister mustache
melted myself
from one version of wax
and look for the right
tool to (deft & quiet)
dismantle time. Til then
postcards must do
and visits to all
the late Chiefs
summer romance
six irons past the cup
and did I mention
coffee ice cream?
In August I’m French.
Is this cheating?
HtBA!
Paul Nelson!
29. to Julene Tripp Weaver (Assorted Poisons)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.7.07
Jarred Beef and Red Bean
chili, blueberry/raspberry
muffin, ground turkey
patties w/ wild rice,
cashew bits, raisins
organic peeled baby
carrots, green onions,
the greens and breezes
of 15 years hence,
no exercise except for
wrist curls of too much
coffee ice cream
damn you Trader Joe
peddling your assorted
poisons!
w/ love –
Paul N.
30. to Becky Ellis (Oosumich)
Glen Carbon, IL
Slaughter, WA
8.7.07
Keesta would cleanse
for weeks re-do
his Oosumich, considered
necessary for survival
interspecies mind talk
original energy work
in the traditional way.
Now, high on velocity
and technology, the long term
moments seem
so few, but
the whales
still
smile.
Many Blessings – Paul Nelson
31. to Tish Lester (Instant Karma)
Dordrecht, Netherlands
Slaughter, WA
8.8.07
This is an Instant Karma
Card. It’s chockfull
of August and bugs
& coffee ice cream
& iced green tea & good
Runes, grand collapses,
panther stamps, war
addiction and context
w/ depth & character.
What you add to it
or take from it
determines its future.
Give  a chance and BURN! Paul Nelson
32. to Linda Lee Crosfield (Dance of the Blue Whales)
Castlegar, BC
For Linda Lee
two blue whales doing a jig.
For Linda Lee a card
ripe w/ pleasure from one
Nelson to a Nelsonite.
For Linda Lee power & strength
and patience to deal w/
a large, loud neighbor
and good aim w/ the
electric yellow jacket
racket
& the Oso Negro
latté.
MANY BLESSINGS
peN
8.8.07
33. to Lana Ayers (Desperate Sport of Poets)
Kirkland, WA
to
Lana:
Who’s helped prepare August
for the desperate sport
of poets; who burns
from the inside out
under the last bit
of blood moon & who knows
the poet chooses from snake,
eagle, bear, human, poet
and sometimes fails
but never w/o
a good
tale.
L
O
V
E_
Paul Nelson
34. to Ruby Kane and Ami Eaton (Happy Genius)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.9.07
Ruby, Ami –
¡Hola from Slaughter!
The effort to
destroy time ain’t
going fast as
I’d planned so
postcards postcards postcards
slow it down to a Seattle
August construction – bogged
tempo and despite all the
traffic, the inner crickets,
the 1,000 monkeys and
the yet even more finicky
cat, I’m lonely. But
I’m in my east room
here in Slaughter & if someone
asks, tell ‘em I was a happy
genius.
B
L
E
S
S
I
N
G
S
PEN
35. to Kitty Jospe (Gibbous Earth)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.9.07
Kitty –
There’s a Gibbous Earth
out tonight, feel like dancing?
The Gibbous Earth wanes
storms appear over
what might be Cuba
this ol’ Blood Moon don’t
feel like a waning
crescent about to go dark
so let us dance some
giant Blood Moon steps
& bound about the Heavens, eh?
P
A
U
L
N
E
L
S
O
N
36. to Michel Tsouris (Ganesh & Lonely Samba)
Clinton, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.9.07
Michel –
Still falling short
running out of Blood
Moon light to destroy
time, even tho’ Ganesh
got my back even tho’
each poem writ earns
me a small almond
crisp cookie tho’ I’d
prefer Fat Tire Ale.
Perhaps I am grotesque
around my mirror.
No one watches my lonely samba. Best! peN
37. to Maggie Kelly (Tibetan Prayer Rug Blessings)
Tacoma, WA
OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK 8.10.07
Dear Maggie –
It’s 7:53p and not yet
sunset and Olympic Mountains
are that way but not seen.
Wish the band would make up
their mind – hip-hop or polka.
Wish everything could be as
easy as sweet potato cakes
& split pea soup & yogi tea.
But who can complain the Oldenburg Typewriter Eraser the mountain
lined path y touristas y
one golden ball of flame
sinking into Elliott Bay.
Hurtling Giant Blessings
to you & Tacoma.
Paul Nelson
38. to Matthew Timmons (Art Deco Teacup Sunset)
Los Angeles, CA
OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK
Matthew –
Sunset at the Sculpture Park
not as planned w/ Hip-hop
serenade sometimes sounds
like polka but sunset much
further north than expected.
Perhaps the desire to destroy
time’s paying dividends
perhaps I’ve not paid
enuf attention perhaps
the ritual illusion of it all’s
rising to the top of the cup.
Drink up Matt
1928 ain’t that long ago.
8.10.07
Paul Nelson
39. to Cindy Lamb (Woodfrogs @ Sunset)
Yakima, WA
OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK 8.10.07
Dear Cindy –
It’s 8:11 and the sun sets and might
burn a hole in that tree before
cannonballing into Elliott Bay and like
frogs poets live in two worlds: one
where reality is solid and nothing what
can’t be touched tasted smelled seen heard;
one behind it sensed as if someone staring
at you, boring a hole
in your spirit not unlike
August and one
more setting
star.
Blessings –
Paul Nelson
40. to Bridget Nutting (Gibbous Earth Awaiting Lightning Moon)
Vancouver, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.11.07
Bridget –
Still a Gibbous Earth
from our Blood Moon
perch tho only a slice
left before we access
new Lightning moon
in Leo. Diane writes
from S.F. pining for
Bridget – not you –
another Goddess. I’m not
searching for God status
will settle for Happy Genius
of my household, pleased
to be destroying time postcard
by
postcard.
Abrazos!
Paul Nelson
41. to John and Roberta Olson
(Dancing Bears Destroying Time) Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.11.07
Dear John and Roberta –
August drifts on to the amusement
of dancing bears, snapping grasshoppers
bounding over the graves of Chiefs,
poets and those itching for their lost
indigenousity.
We’ve avoided August
Heat (so far) and what some would translate
as pink flesh I’d call
a Rose of Meat like you two
eating up more sun
abetting the utter
destruction
of
time.
Blessings - Paul Nelson
42. to Christopher Luna (Furious Moptops)
Vancouver, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.11.07
Dr Luna!
Here come 4 moptops
they come grooving
up slow like August
like Canada humming
birds barely moving
til you see the fury
close up. How goes your
August fury? Has it detoured
you from your impending
Phoenix or aid your
reconnoiter of the clouds
of Slaughter?
w/ Blessings - Paul
Nelson
43. to Lana Ayers (We Two Woodfrogs)
Kirkland, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.12.07
Dear Sweet Lana –
1st there was 19th DRAFT
symbolized by woodfrogs
they croak their way
out of chaos created
by the lies of Newton.
Frogs kissed turn into SPlab
into poets shaped by Ilalqo.
May the Striped Water turn
your ills into Blessings
may your song
sink deep
into God’s
loving ear.
Your friend – Paul
44. to Lana Ayers (So Many Moons)
Kirkland, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.12.07
Lana –
Blood Moon, Ripe Plum
Full Moon, Moon over Sunsetting Cascades, New
Moon in Leo, Lightning
Moon, pining for the Hunger
Moon, so many moons, so
little space on these cards
& you & I a moon apart.
Will the Crackbook in fifty
years have a “Moons I’ve
Visited” feature? And what
will come of all these cards?
Lost in the fog of the digital age
or the first salvos of the last
paradigm necessary?
Love - Paul Nelson
45. to Arlene Naganawa (Good Afternoon Frog Card)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.11.07
Arlene!
It has come to this. A land
defended by ancestors
of Stuckabsh who evolved
from snake people who night
mared themselves over invaders
in love w/ the smothering
nature of asphalt who see (saw)
the frog as messenger between
realms who mimic the poets
w/ a cheery croak in the morning
in the evening
in the good afternoon
w/ a frog card
to you.
Redeep!
Paul Nelson
46. to Deborah Brink (Lightning Moon, Comet Card)
Longview, WA
YAKIMA, WA
8.12.07
DEBORAH!
Lightning Moon over Yakima
but noone sees it, so
new, but it’s there
for now because plums
have fallen postcards
are flying & the destruction
of time is right on
schedule. So here
in room 107 of Cedar’s
Inn they’ve left a
sonnet clock that, in red
numbers says 5:41.
The card is done.
Happy August – Paul Nelson
47. to Suzanne Edison (Einstein in Yakima)
Seattle, WA
Yakima, WA
8.12.07
Suzanne!
Here in Yakima a room
at the Cedar’s Inn festooned
w/ a sonnet clock!
Same poetics as the School
of Quietude, but some
see the organic, try
to fake it, send out
the same old poem
over and over. Some prefer
postcards over sunsets.
Not us, eh? Abrazos!
Paul Nelson
48. to Florencia Milito
(1 Family Under Brother Panther’s Ojo) San Francisco, CA
Yakima, WA
8.12.07
¡Hola Florencia!
Que tal? Here in Yakima
the cuisine’s been changing
to mas frijoles yet few
celebrate the coming
of the Lightning Moon
or the passing of the Ripe
Plum Moon. Indeed here
the clock says Sonnet
& my measure’s a post
card & our family stays
together under
Brother Panther’s
watchful
ojo.
Abrazos - Pablito
49. to Kim Bridgford (Tibetan Rug Card Recipe)
Wallingford, CT
Yakima, WA 8.12.07
KIM –
How to send a Postcard Poem
1) Look for the next person
on the address list.
2) Pick a card, not any card
(Keep receiver in mind.)
3) Link to previous poems
when possible.
4) Write (1st thot best
but that don’t mean
chronological.)
5) Write to destroy time.
6) Write to bleed Chronos
7) Write to deepen the brother
and sisterhood of poets.
8) Remember
the Infinite
is not measurable.
9) Remember
to affix
proper postage.
10) End w/ good
wishes
&
post
card
sal
u
ta
tions
!
Paul Nelson
50. to Holly Anderson (Blumen Postcard Garten)
Jackson Heights, NY
Yakima, WA
8.14.07
Dear Holly –
Postcards spew out the mail
box out my pocket brain
pen corkboard, old poems
from old friends, new ones
from new & you (while I
await a bigger slice
of the Lightning Moon) you
are the first half of a
postcard experiment: Are
poems better on empty
stomach, or one festooned
by left
over
enchi
ladas?
Abrazos!
Paul Nelson
51. to Charlie Stobert (Break on Thru)
Reading, United Kingdom
Yakima, WA, USA
Break
ON
Charlie –
Thru
Other side of the leftover
microwaved El Porton chicken
enchilada dinner other side
of the Cascades, other side
of breakup re-start romance
fuckwheel other side of the ocean
from you mired in war addiction
and fear and the largest
cars since the pole shift
other side of RR’s
driving life now started
we find ourselves Bönless & normal, one Lha
Khu short of a combination plate
& yet somehow we remember moments
of Thunder Island & understand what’s
real & what’s a guru’s broken ego.
8.14.07
Blessings my Brother –
Paul Nelson
52. to Suma Subramaniam (Silence of the Whales)
Woodinville, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.17.07
For Suma –
My little mailbox opens today
w/ an explosion of silence.
The silence of cellos
in transit silence of aching
glaciers coyote silence blood
moon silence and for you
dear fellow poet card traveler
THE SILENCE OF THE WHALES.
w/ HUGE REGARDS
PAUL NELSON
53. to Janet McCann (Beatles en Silencio)
College Station TX
Slaughter, WA 8.17.07
JANET What would you say
if this card arrived
out of tune instead
of being festooned
w/ all the grand silence
of those other cards?
The New York card card
of wicked (excuse me)
liquid embrace Siamese
oranges or Viva Las Vegas?
Pick out the head of a dead
hero and perhaps pass it on.
En Silencio – PEN
54. to Julia Bloch (R.I.P. Max Roach)
San Francisco, CA
Slaughter, WA
8.18.07
Julia! “If it sounds good, it is.”
Duke Ellington
On the lake of the one
mind the hands that Max
Roach used to curve
the silence of the Harlem
night are still, the view,
front row of the Buddhafield.
Forever to alter consciousness
w/ the greasy, low-down high
of the hi-hat, what will
we do w/o that tish tish tish…
?
Blessings!
PEN
55. to Lyn Coffin (Calm Tea Transparency)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.18.07
To the Esteemed Dr. Coffin –
Liberation ain’t cheap
(a cheap liberation can be
had w/ a libation, but you
know and I know the poet
can’t achieve “calm
transparency ‘cept
in the eternal moment
of the poem” so we reach
for it one postcard
at a time, but settle
for tea.
Blessings – Paul Nelson
*Sam Hamill on K. Rexroth
56. to Pit Pinegar (Postcard Weave Libation)
Plainville, CT
Slaughter, WA
Pit –
8.18.07
50 yrs ago Kenneth
Rexroth knew the poet
is one who “creates
sacramental relationships
that last always.”
Please
see this as postcard tempered
by candlelight, smudged
w/ altar incense and blest
by the sacred hands
of the Plainville mailman.
Yrs– Paul Nelson
57. to Rebecca Meredith (Matisse Paradiso I)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.18.07
Rebecca –
The lithograph a kind
of paradise. The poem
a kind of paradise.
Sake August Matcha
cat fur her scent
all paradise. In this
moment the flame
some call Slaughter
can be turned down
the candle, lit the
spark inside this sack of meat – Paradise. Love –
PEN
58. to Brendan McBreen (Matisse Paradiso II)
Auburn, WA
Slaughter, WA 8.18.07
Brendan –
Matisse thought painting
a kind of paradise.
The way John Coltrane
shaped Seattle air
w/ the bell of his horn
sound wave paradise.
Who knew the urge
to document Slaughter
in all its dirty mantra
manifestations was discovery
of a kind of wicked
3D mambo-inducing paradise? Your friend - Paul
59. to Sandra Lucke (Flavor of Nelson’s Surrender)
Bellingham, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.18.07
Sandra –
Back from Nelson
here in Slaughter
my surrender’s flavored
like sake, chicken sausage
w/peeled organic baby
carrots & scallions
in mole, scallops & prawns
in green curry w/ lemon
grass, lime peel, coconut
milk, compassion, Lushootseed
air & the road narrowed
to a red ravine.
Blessings –
PEN
60. to Anna Lena Phillips (Lavender vs Sorties)
Chapel Hill, NC
Slaughter, WA
8.21.07
for Anna Lena –
I put lavender in my
pocket like a rogue
President’s yes men
order sorties.
My fingers smell floral.
Thousands of silent screams
will forever hover around
his grave in hell there is
no silence.
Paul Nelson
61. to Robin Cherney (Poem Rug Transmission)
Redmond, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.21.07
Dear Robin This card is a poem.
This card is a transmission.
This poem is a prayer
for August and silence
and justice for Elvira
Arellano, mother, planecleaner, illegal immigrant
and the Rosa Parks
of the Dismantle the
Borders movement. May it
cleanse and heal, keep you
warm in the December night
and make shelter
for warm December
dreams of August
postcards.
Blessings!
Paul Nelson
62. to Jeremy Gaulke
(Elvira Arellano’s Wolf Watch) Walla Walla, WA
Slaughter, WA
Jeremy –
8.21.07
Some neighborhoods in America
only safe place, only place
for occasional silence holy
and sanctuary’s the church.
Adalberto United Methodist
Chicago West Side, Our Lady
Queen of Angels, downtown L.A.
Today Elvira Arellano
was sent back to Mexico.
Do you feel safer? Who
watches the wolves
watching the
Hen house?
Regards Paul Nelson
63. to Kelli Russell Agodon (RavenDancer/Ancestor Urges)
Kingston, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.21.07
Kelli –
Here on the Rez the dance
might be a Fancy Dance
might be one involves liberation
of the liver. But Rosa smiles
brings Hopi postcards & scents
of New Mexico to her Happy
Genius only acting out his Ancestors
highest urges.
Many Blessings!
PAUL N.
64. to Raul Sanchez (Frida and Fried Bananas)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
Raul!
8.21.07
Mi Hermano, Lana says Frida
wdn’t be muraled into a cage
not unlike the spider monkey
she freed not unlike the fried
bananas Mama used to make.
But Frida wdn’t set
the masculine hat on fire
teaching us still how
to overcome the urges some
call Slaughter.
Hasta Pronto.
Pablito
65. to Brian McGuigan (Bears Fan) Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.21.07
Brian!
He stops the August
rain to ask if he’s
“A Bears Fan?” Yes
walking in the path
of a Galloping Ghost
or Sweetness but Bears
fans prefer DEFENSE
don’t care about wins
& losses so much as
“We just want to see
you lay someone out.”
Ouch.
PAUL NELSON
66. to Suellen Wedmore (Tibetan Rug Epistle)
Rockport, MA
66. to Suellen Wedmore (Tibetan Rug Epistle)
Slaughter, WA 8.22.07
Suellen –
You are next in this post
card parade. In this eternal
August moment made
sacramental between you
and me by a poem
made w/ the care
of a Tibetan rug maker
weaving in the endless
dreamtime, and by the care
w/ which you open the hatch
of your mailbox and get a whiff
of this epistle from Slaughter. Many Blessings – Paul Nelson
67. to Brent Allard (See Phoenix, Raise
Thunderbird) Manchester, NH
Brent –
See your Phoenix and raise
you a Thunderbird. See your
wish card and raise a prayer
up to the beams of a half
full Lightning Moon. See a break
in August rain and run for it
as if Diego himself were chasing
me or the Devil who always
has a good excuse for ignoring
a potent myth, employing torture
or simply setting
it all on fire.
Peace to you & yrs. – Paul
Nelson
Slaughter, WA 8.22.07
68. to Gerald Schwartz (Least Careless Pollock)
W. Irondequoit, NY
Slaughter, WA
8.21.07
Gerald –
Here underneath the looming
Lightning Moon before traffic
relents in life during war
time few recognize. Here
somewhere left of ever
vigilant Slaughter where
(fortunately) a horse can
still spot a fool I slap
a few least careless and
least logical sounds (syllables)
onto the back of Jackson
Pollock’s card hoping you
find amusement
and something
approaching sacred
in this exercise
we christen “August.”
Blessings Paul Nelson
69. to Marjorie Rommel (Frida and the Deceased Dismas)
Auburn, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.23.07
Marjorie –
We finish in a blaze
of Frida, is this my fault?
Frida arrives as bride
w/ Diego 3rd eye, as braided
in the shape of a soft
hairy pretzel and
as DEATH, a reminder
to Slaughter, it means end
and new start but perhaps
San Dismas will end his grimace
and take Slaughter in.
Stay well – Paul Nelson
70. to Lois Jones (Warhol and the Water)
Glendale, CA
Slaughter, WA
98002
8.23.07
Hola Lois –
They sent me Fridas
of all sizes but I, for you,
have Andy. Perhaps a giant
Chairman Mao to festoon
your Glendale mailbox? Or
a soup can from the
boy who did the St. Vitus
Dance? Who iconed
Jackie O? Twenty
yrs gone o please Lois don’t
let my end come from water.
Be well – PEN
71. to Greg Watson (Brother Woodfrog)
Auburn, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.23.07
From one wily woodfrog
a foot in each realm
to another in this first
August festooned w/ many
Fridas and the silence
only a slew of morning
postcards can bring to a brother
who keeps Arthur Ballard alive
one ancient story
at a time.
Hoit! PN
72. to Peggy Miller (Postcard Tribe)
The Villages, FL
Slaughter, WA
8.24.07
Peggy –
A missive from Muckleshoot
Nation – the place where you
can see all over - to
Seminole Country – The
Unconquered People.
From under the Lightning
Moon in the shadow
of glaciers our band
of bards creates a new
nation one postcard at a time.
Many Blessings – Paul Nelson
73. to Jim Teeters (Dali, Not Frida)
Kent, WA
72. to Jim Teeters (Dali, Not Frida)
Slaughter, WA
8.24.07
Jim Teeters
You don’t get a Frida
card. You get a strong
man dismantling time.
You get butter all over
the Lightning Moon
and nothing but trouble
for your efforts. You get
one leg, no PANTS
leg up on someone and
the key to unlock
the life you don’t
see under your bare
left foot.
– Be well.
Paul
Nelson
74. to D.D. Wigley (One (Postcard) Love) Port
Townsend, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.24.07
Irie D.D!
Did you ever consider
the concept of One Love
could mean postcards?
Did you ever consider
postcard poems as missives
as epistles perpetuating
the sacramental nature
of this moment in which
you & I exist?
Clarissa said anyone who believes
no good will come from this
is not yet listening.
Peace – Paul N.
75. to Susan Rich (Sexy Mustache Whisper)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.25.07
Susan We’re all for the hip
shimmer, but I’m
for the destruction
of time. Maybe
the August postcard’s
a salty mambo, maybe
the mustache whisper
uncovers a scar we’ve
forgotten about, blazes
a meridian home.
– Best. Paul Nelson
76. to Iris Dunkle (Jasper’s DC Streetmap)
Washington, DC
Slaughter, WA
8.25.07
Iris Slaughter is America
the poem’s
and America, one big
the effort
Slaughter, where the capitol
to sort it all
city was laid out to foist
out.
invaders, left a city
of confusion, combined
w/ English (language of
I and separation) Lordy
what a mess! But even
in the bleakest roadmap
voices are near. Maybe dead
poets, maybe antepasados,
but
Blessings – Paul Nelson
77. to Barbara Joan Tiger Bass (Sacramental Rug (poem) Obligation)
Oakland, CA
Slaughter, WA
98002
8.25.07
BJ Hola. What makes gaiety
raucous and the moment
long term?
Sacrāmentum obligation
and I’m for you #7
and you for me 29
and we find in the moment
the sign of Grace maybe
visible – more likely aural
although no one else can hear.
Blessings – Paul Nelson
78. to R.D. Shadowbyrd (Blind Refs and Rexroth)
Kent, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.25.07
RD Rexroth said a poet is “one who
creates Sacramental relationships
that last always” and it IS
a desperate sport because it is
a task over which despair’s
a part.
Take the pain of passing
the August Stuck or Green by car
and know it awaits the kayak
now empty in the yard or the
intro task turned into extended
insult. But then some of us
remember to forgive and never
perpetuate the
Slaughter in any
old or new
manner.
PEN
79. to Diane Gage (Port Townsend Postcard)
San Diego, CA
Port Townsend, WA
8.26.07
for Diane Jotting here from what
once was The Inevitable
New York proof
again what’s flawless?
Change? Postcards? The
Book of Sushi divines
futu mori w/ oboro
whitefish under white-capped
mts - this sure ain’t
Montana – Blessings – Paul Nelson
80. to Bethany Reid (Port Townsend Postcard II)
Edmonds, WA
Port Townsend, WA
8.26.07
Bethany Greetings from the former
“Inevitable New York”
a respite from Slaughter
tho’ they still crave
their velocity. August
almost gone, has been
eyebrows & blood moons,
Silence and the futile
attempt to destroy time. Be well!
Paul Nelson
Slaughter, WA
For Brian –
81. to Brian Moreau (Wolf Papa)
Wilton, NH
8.27.07
Who may now be bathing
in full Lightning Moon
light. For Brian who
would live in a wolfbuilt house, who’d drag
his light heart in there
and watch fire, make liquid
fire w/ a wolf woman
and laugh at his half-human
half-wolf pup progeny who
piss all over
everything.
!
Paul
Nelson
82. to Diane di Prima (Postcard Shaman Disciples)
San Francisco, CA
Slaughter, WA
8.27.07
Under white ritual candle light
and a night on which the Lightning
Moon reflects full fire,
from the town
they once called Slaughter
in thick Lushootseed air
we call you lost moon sister
ask “Do you wander”
w/ jeweled breath
down Niagara to the mailbox
maybe on Mission?
In this summer of heavy rains
endless war, blood moons
& postcards
our candle to Tiamet
stays lit
smoke rises
and those who don’t equate power
w/ the sacred feminine
are in
for a big surprise.
w/ HUGE BLESSINGS –
Paul Nelson
Jessea –
83. to Jessea Perry (Death Mask)
Oakland, CA
August, so young and ready
for death w/a mask
of fat they call the Full
Lightning Moon Eclipse
a moon on fire, burnt orange
and Halloween-like & the howls
are again from poets
bemoaning August’s swift
demise & again doing little
in the battle to destroy
time. w/ Blessings – Paul
Nelson
Slaughter, WA
8.28.07
84. to Judy Jensen (Tea & Mescaline)
Austin, TX
Slaughter, WA
8.28.07
J
U
D
Y
!
Your friend, the
grammar-addled happy
Genius, has invited you to tea.
There will be matcha
or jasmine and enough
mescaline to put a shine
back in our war-addled
eyes. Enough to slow things
to a Lightning Moon darkened
mind warp. Enough to put some
flesh on all the ancient voices writing these poems.
Blessings - peN
85. to Aundria Martinez-Parkman
(Tibetan Rugs and Rez Dogs) Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
Aundria –
8.28.07
Your friend, the lonely
happy genius Rez-dog
loving fiend has invited
you to remember how
it all began under the Blood
Moon as the Lightning
Moon edges into a simple
reflection of fire, putting
the shine back in our WARaddled American eyes
in the hope you & I can
slow down Slaughter.
Blessings! Paul
86. to John Burgess (Earth, Stars, Dream)
Seattle, WA
Slaughter, WA
8.29.07
John!
To the left there is
a star. Billions, actually.
Perhaps we met on one
lifetimes ago and now
choose to re-inhabit
this rock as sparks
of light in sacks
of meat. Stars are
what we are and will
return to after this
lucid dream we burn through.
Buenos Sueños to you & Patsy - Paul N.
87. to Marit Saltrones (Quiet Monkeys Watch Eclipse),
Bainbridge, WA
Slaughter, WA
Marit!
8.29.07
All one thousand monkeys
are quiet as they watch
the full Lightning Moon
reflect full fire, quiet
except for thumbs
clicking off bleary-eyed
text messages while
watching the eclipse.
WTF? Moon all orange &
Halloween-like & this, still August!
Salutations! – Paul Nelson
88. to Lionel Kearns (Let’s Eat Money!)
Vancouver, BC
Slaughter, WA
8.29.07
Lionel!
MAYBE A Krugerrand
sandwich or a Loonie
McMuffin- you want
bonds w/ that? A hot
crude-oil malted, a
stir-fry of housing futures
in a dollar bill vinaigrette.
The “Shit where you eat”
crew’s running the world.
How much longer will
Slaughter prevail?
Blessings – Paul Nelson
89. to Carol Dorf (Eagle Fires)
Berkeley, CA
Klamath, CA
8.30.07
CAROL –
Apologies. Been putting off
your card 3 days now
& now headed yr way
w/ “Back on the Fire” the new
G. Snyder book of essays. Hope this
postcard fest lit a few little
fires for you. From where
Eagle sees
Lord knows
we needs ‘em.
Paul N.
90. to Carla Shafer (Ferlinghetti Freedom)
Bellingham, WA
Klamath, CA
8.30.07
CARLA –
From north
of Ferlinghetti’s natural
habitat lifting a mighty
(I hope) PEN of freedom
to you & every Bellinghamster awake enuf
to want one
w/August postcard fiesta
blessings for you & all
the fires we started. – Ashé. PN
91. to Jennifer Flescher (California Mission)
Arlington, MA
Jennifer –
I hate how this ends
amidst eucalyptus trees
and the drone of Hwy 1
so I drag it out
perhaps out of context.
Perhaps it makes August
more memorable. Or at least
this moment, still north
of the last Mission except
the one of mercy. Abrazos!
Pablito
92. to Julia Cousineau (Animal Soul)
Tacoma, WA
Castro Valley, CA
Julia –
8.31.07
Have delayed this card past
midnight, ergo August, yet efforts
to put the hurt on time
lost.
From the heart of my animal
soul to yrs, we see what’s left
of the Lightning Moon over the Bay
& know the moon prevails tho
poets can’t prevent the end
just like every
one else.
Love –
Paul N.