Kentucky Is Not The South

Kentucky is not The South,
is not the red-clay drawl of the sweet magnolia
blossom-watered down home.
It is the dogwood and mountain laurel
copper-tubing neutral recluse up home,
who had slaves but treated them well
and let them go,
who coined the phrase brother against brother,
split right down the middle,
and we don't take sides,
and we don't refuse the fight, but
Kentucky is not The South.

Our consonants are hard and our vowels
are not quite lawng eenuff.
We are in a borderland with our own resolutions,
lungs heavy with coal, at the head of the holler,
hemp-growing, bible-loving Baptists and Christians,
and we did not vote for The Catholic President,
and we did not cripple George Wallace,
we make no noise and hold no malice
and, Kentucky is nowhere near the Mason-Dixon line, folks.

We do not stomach that sweet Tennesee sour mash
gonna-do-it-again, gonna-rise-again whiskey.
We sent our sons both ways, tobacco-grown
mine-blackened bootleggers' sons, no cultural guilt here.
Our bourbon-candied aristocracy is not old money, not English loyal,
but dirty money, got by hard work and smart gambling,
got by gun-running to the Cherokee,
and we never agreed to secession,
and we never committed to the union,
and Kentucky is not The South.


for Jay Davis

Excavations

Hard pressed to conjure artifacts,
evidence to validate existence,
I pushed my fingers into the dirt,
down through the layers of the lost,
and brought up fistfulls,
ceremonial masks which have
hidden too many faces,
pieces of broken pottery,
domestic rubble,
arrowheads and buckshot,
most of which missed their marks.

And where were you when I was digging?
On some far point, gauging the wind velocity
between the things I said to you then
and who I might be now?
Were you expecting ruins?

I am bound to these old things
but no longer of them.
They are the remains of a
dead civilization, pictures
drawn on the walls of caves,
you on a repelling rope,
me in a ravine,
and time has settled it's dust on us,
evolved and unrecognizable.

We are fossil hunters,
studying our own lives,
trying to make sense
of the bits and pieces,
trying to find patterns
and putting forth theories
which we cannot prove
or disprove.
There are no quiet rooms
to hold this history,
no one walks the halls
of this museum but us.
We are alone in our re-search,
our desperate compulsion
to unearth things better left buried.

Put down your tools,
your brushes and trowels,
and I will abandon mine.
The evidence of existence
cannot be found
in what we were then,
but in who we are now.

for Stokes

Dispatches from Rich K. in Kawagoe, Japan

As some of you may know, our friend Rich went off to Japan a couple of months ago to teach English, (he's nice like that!). The following is an email transaction between he and I.


dear richie-san,

i have relayed all messages.
meanwhile, some of us were wondering;

how's the movie rental thing done in japan? do you have a blockbuster nearby? do all the movies have dubbed japanese dialog? what do you have for breakfast? do you wear your shoes in your apartment? what is the weather like in kawagoe? are you taller than everyone in the country? have you been to any temples? do they have baptist churches? catholic churches? does it in any way resemble Bladerunner? what are the names of the days of the week in japan? do they have seven days in a week? do they give you forks and runcible spoons or do you always have to eat with chop sticks? is the sushi better? do they have pidgeons? what season is it there now? have you watched any japanese game shows? do you have cable? do you get the BBC? what kind of uniforms do the policmen wear? do they have hats? do they have a chinatown in kawagoe? do they have coffee? cappucino? how many days of the week do you work? what time do you go to work? have you seen any geishas? samurais? do the grocery stores have american foodstuffs? can you get captain crunch? what do the vaccum cleaners look like? do they have a lot of robots running around? do the billboards really talk? are all the cars japanese-make or do they have a plethora? have you been to the countryside? seen any peasants? do all the women really wear Lillaz? do people give you gifts everywhere you go? are there homeless people on the street? what do the graveyards look like? do they have round door knobs?
well, that is a sampling of some of the things we were all wondering.answer what you can! (or not!)
big hugs from all of us.
cyndi


Cyndi and other questioners

Your questions made me laugh. I hope some of my answers make you laugh It seems you all would like to know my day to day life. It is not so different from yours. I spend the majority of my time here in Kawagoe. I surf the internet and I read. I tackled the first half of Clintons autobiography. I just purchased an interesting book edited by two University TEFL engish instructors. They had there most advanced students write essays about the many unique cultural things that go on in Japanese life. I also go out for a beer or two on occation with the other american I am here with. On sunday I go get a coffee and cake at my favorite place and I study Japanese. I bought a really nice wind chime a few weeks ago. I cook. I clean. I teach english and I commute to work. I also started to jog.

how's the movie rental thing done in japan?
I have not seen a blockbuster but I have seen a tower records in Tokyo. Furthermore, I have not rented a movie. To due so requires my alien registration card. I filed for one at the municipal office as required by law but I have not actually picked it up. I should have picked it up a month ago but I didn’t. So there does exist video and dvd rental places her in Kawagoe but I have not rented anything.

do you have a blockbuster nearby? do all the movies have dubbed japanese dialog?
Read above for answer. When Star Wars comes out here in Japan (July 9 I think) I will go to it. And I am sure just like Slovakia and in Romania (where I saw a movie to kill time before catching a night train) the movie will be heard in English and subtitled in Japanese. I hope.

what do you have for breakfast?
Well, Star Wars cereal boxes have been popping up at my local super market. But what I have been eating for years is either oatmeal or granola. Here I eat granola. It’s a bit expensive but I gotta be me.

do you wear your shoes in your apartment?
I don’t’ where my shoes in my apartment. I am not really sure why I don’t wear my shoes

what is the weather like in kawagoe?
It is about 75 degrees and usually over casty. Since the monsoon season kicked in it has rained about three or four times a week. And it is very very very very very very humid. I take a train about ten or so miles to where I teach and once it was so clear that Mt Fuji was visible.

are you taller than everyone in the country?
Yes

have you been to any temples?
Yes

do they have baptist churches? catholic churches?
There is a Christian church near my house but I don’t know what denomination.

does it in any way resemble Bladerunner?
Only when you are really drunk

what are the names of the days of the week in japan?
Sunday= Nichiyoobi
Monday= Getsuyoobi
Tuesday= kayoobi
Wednesday= suiyoobi
Thursday= mokuyoobi
Friday= kinyoobi
Saturday=doyoobi

do they have seven days in a week?
The earth spins slightly slower over here. The japanese decided not to add an extra day but to simply give each day more time. So we have 27 hour days here in japan

do they give you forks and runcible spoons or do you always have to eat with chop sticks?
I always eat lunch in the university cafeteria. And to my amazement about half the students use a fork/spoon/knife. I always use chopsticks. I think I impressed the old women who serve the food but that is all who took notice

is the sushi better?
Yes. It is so fresh. I sometimes go to a cheap sushi boat place in the train station to have me some sushi. And god damn it is the freshest sushi I have ever eaten. Last Friday I went to a traditional Japanese bar/restaurant with my boss. He ordered us some octopus. It came with the suction cups and all still on the arms. Delicious

do they have pidgeons?
Flying rats I am afraid these creatures somehow populate the entire world.

what season is it there now?
It is the dawning of the age of Aquarius

have you watched any japanese game shows? do you have cable? do you get the BBC?
I have TV and I have some form of cable but I unplugged my TV and put it in the closet.

what kind of uniforms do the policmen wear? do thaey have hats?
A lighter blue than SFPD. I don’t think they were hats. there are also police women and they wear the same thing.

do they have a chinatown in kawagoe?
No but in one of the malls there is a store called San Francisco Chinatown Dough Nuts.

do they have coffee? cappucino?
There are three starbucks in Kawagoe, and a bunch of other coffee places not to mention the countless vending machines that have coffee of all sorts.

how many days of the week do you work? what time do you go to work?

Monday through Friday 10:20 – 6:20. I have seven forty minute lessons throughout the day. I usually get to work at about 9:00. I prefer to prepare for my lessons in the morning.

have you seen any geishas? samurais?
Yes a few women in Kimonos; no samurai. But I saw some really cool samurai costumes on display in a temple. I was thinking that a five foot tall warrior is not so scary even when decked out in swords. However, he could still kick my ass. I am still hoping to catch a glimpse of a ninja

do the grocery stores have american foodstuffs?
No twinkies or any other american brand. but plenty of other sweet and salty Japanese treats. Yes Coke and Pepsi and grape Fanta. Budweiser beer. And of course meats, fruits and vegetables. But fruits and vegetable are super expensive. like 50 US cents for one onion. Or about a dollar for one apple.

can you get captain crunch?
Haven’t seen the captain

what do the vaccum cleaners look like?
Well women look very much the same as they do in San Francisco

do they have a lot of robots running around?
Havent seen a robot.

do the billboards really talk?
A few trains have announcements in Japanese and English. Some billboard talk but it all Japanese to me. I bank at the postal bank and the ATM near my house speaks english if you press the "english" button. Its a very sexy voice

are all the cars japanese-make or do they have a plethora?
Plethora

have you been to the countryside?
Not really but I see a lot of farms on my way to work.

seen any peasants?
I guess but this is Japan. Even peasants live in nice houses.

do all the women really wear Lillaz?
Of course. And they bought them from ABS

do people give you gifts everywhere you go?
No. I have received exactly 0 gifts. Except for a box of cookies from Ohio. One of my students went to Ohio with his professor to give a lecture on some bio electrical technical stuff

are there homeless people on the street?
Not as much as san Francisco. In fact not in the street. I have only seen the homeless in the train station.I haven't been to enough places in Tokyo to answer. But the few times I have been there I have not seen any homeless.

what do the graveyards look like?
Every temple and shrine has one. Lots of buddhas.

do they have round door knobs?
Back in 1983 Japan made the switch to door bars. Apparently its more effecient to pull a door bar down than to twist and door knob. Something about the wrist and its muscles and tedons explain the reasoning. that is all the guidebook said.

end of dispatch.

Nympheas

In the gallery I was not alone.
I was touched deep, deep,
had water lilies laid upon my new eyes,
had portions of my soul set aside
in brilliant corners.
Dark, darkwhiskey neat,
that burns in the belly,
that makes light in a cold train,
that goes on for miles,
talking to a waitress,
fingering the mouthpiece,
straight, no chaser,
like Mingus Bird, smooth,
smooth, those green dolphin shades
of shorter saxaphones
and fountains of clarinets.
Easy does it, easy,
like a Divine One
on a scat dive in the Five Spot.

I was not alone,
I was out there, elsewhere
with a monk who danced in brilliant corners,
with melting clocks and golden tramps
in Parrish blue, mathematical ribbons of faces,
a jungle flower behind my ear,
playing with tigers, playing with matches,
playing in 6/8 time until
the sunlight left a certain leaf,
so I could believe in the Lost One,
Perdido, I could believe in Spain,
in lettered subways
and poplars in a row
on the banks of the Epte.

In the gallery I was not alone.
I was lost in a garden in Giverny,
had water lilies laid upon my new eyes,
had portions of my soul set aside
in brilliant corners,
brilliant.

for K.L. Hill

Dim River

I

The long awaited rain arrived

spun me down

into some river dream,

some water wheel spoke of a girl,

some slipstream velvet calm

where I muddied up and floated,

muddied up,

no thunderstruck, no lightening fire,

just a mindful mist, eddying out,

dew mist, unbreathable and slick

under my bare feet,

felt like wet clover,

felt like some lost summer,

some goneby where the leaves turn over

backside up to the tears, to the gray blanket

and I put my toes in

and tried to walk the dams the kids built on the curbs,

tried to make branches and tributaries,

tried to get in up to my chin

so I could hear the leaves change color,

but the downpour downpulled at my wet dress

and I slid forward into a public pool,

smelling like Coppertone and hard cold Hershey Bars,

and smelling like the way my Mother laughed

when I launched myself off the deepend,

and I sputtered and coughed and spit chlorine,

into the breakwater,

into the dim undertow

of the dim river dream rain.

Diplomystus


I come, everyday, to this garden
where the stones sing ancient biographies
and clinging vines grapple
with desirous flower trees.
I always find, in the pond,
one pale fish, turning endlessly
in the murky water of words.
I always hear the wind of your vowels
poured over straight bourbon
and blown through too many Salems.
The sound of your swimming
back and forth calms me.
You have come before me
and hacked a path throught the tangle
and purchased the map
by which I am to travel.
I cannot shut windows against the sirens,
cannot recusitate and hold you,
cannot ask you to be more alive
than the recorded message you have left me,

so I count the syllables
and meter the lines of my own demons
and dip my fingers in the water
to touch you.

for Anne Sexton, circa 1993