her arms attracted his attentionthey looked  weird her shoulders were symmetric but odd  off    her elbows under sleeves were bowedrounded  no anglesher hands hidden inside long gloves

                                                                                  her gait was impeccable he enjoyed the sway of her hipsthey were nicely rounded anthats saying something since he wasnt a fanny man

                                                                                                            yet something was amiss

the docks were mounted on brightyellow floats  tethered so they could rise with the quiet tides and should the sea menace they could manage the storms torque or sustained high sea levels

 

when he approached herhe used the excuse of curiosity he couldnt distinguish her scent from the seabreeze

she was agileshe asked him if his excuse wasnt actually his reason

                                                                        he was honest  You affected me

Affected? Affected.   I’m unsure how to take thatIt isnt necessarily complimentary.

Perhaps the tone of my voice I apologise  I don normally approach strange women         

Strange? Strange.   I’m also unsure how to take that.

                                                          her green eyes heightened

You are teasing me arent you

Perhaps perhaps notWhat would you like?

Id prefer I humoured you  I would carevery much if you felt uncomfortable

                                                                                I would walk away immediately

she hesitated but her eyes didnt waver off his

                                                 her eyes were  odd    too

Let me be bold would you care for a drink  Grog

she didnt cover her mouth when she laughedhe liked that

                                                                    Grog?

Its overcast I thought a warmed drink  we could warm our bon . .

. . I haven’t bones needing to be warmed.

Then to warm mine

You need your bone warmed?

he could swear he saw fireworkssparklers go off in her eyes he was attractedhe played  A warm bone is better than a cold one

  Yes.

        Let’s have a drink together.

Yes  Please

              Im not from around here if you are could you make a recommenda . .

. . For grog?

If not a pleasant repose for drinks and conversation

Drinks?

         her odd eyes twinkled

A drink If we hit it offIm hopeful drinks

You don’t sound confident.

As I told you Im outside my realm I don approach strange women an particular not when theyre alone

Wellthen . . actually, too, I’m out of my realm, men constantly approach me, bear a whiff of entitlement, that because I’m a woman I am somehow obliged to appreciate, attend to their attention.

Are you from around here

I am, I was born here, in the sea.

In the sea

Yes, in the sea.

Mygoodness  your parents were they hippies

I didn’t know my father, he was a sailor, maybe a girl in every port, but my mother was infatigable, she’d die her voice piquedsuddenly rawclouded of emotion She’d die . . before she let anything happen to me.

                                                                                            hair fell into her eyes

she swept it back with her gloved hand

Grog.

          I know a place her eyes fell from his . . if you’re still interested.

I am

 

they had several drinks not one grog

he called her a cab

she insisted he come with her

                                I’ve always wanted to ask someone in for a nightcap.

he couldnt resist

he followed her up the steps her fanny swished side to side before his face  he was mesmerised

her house was on a bluff above the ocean

                                            its woodwork shingled walls permeated by the salt air  brine  aged limegreen purple lichen abound  he was entranced

                                          he thought of the cool deep dark places secured by the sea which most men didnt have the appetite to exploredidnt dare explore   safe landlubbers

she had a cast iron turnkey to unlock the burly front door the glass in it was coloured imperfect  from another time

entering she said  Please, make yourself at home.  the moon coming through the unadorned French doors at the balcony lighted the livingroom  Is dark rum, molasses rum okay?

Yes  Please

he heard the tinkle of crystal glasses kiss each other  the gurgle from the bottle  healthy pours

he raised his voice so she could hear him

                                            IM TERRIBLY HAPPY I SECONDGUESSED MYSELF AN APPROACHED YOU

she slipped into the room silentlyhad removed her shoes held the glasses on an old tarnished silver tray  offered one to him

      she still wore her gloves 

I am happy you did also  she laughed brightly

                                                   I may never have asked anyone if theyd care for a nightcap

he may have laughed brighter than her

they finished the rum

he had sat on an overstuffed leather couchshe in a wingback chair across from him  a narrow table for their glasses between them

                their intimacy breached the short distance

he cleared his throat 

                      Its late I should be going  May I call on you for another time

 

You . . youcouldstay . . . if you like.

he thought his gulp was audible

                                  Stay the word sounded odd in his mouth  

If you would like.

I would like

Ah . . there is one thing.

he heard there is one thing on several occasions

                                                   none thus far had detered his affection

the moon began falling behind the horizon

she leaned back unbuttoned her pants  drew them off

                                                           it was hard to see he couldnt see panties

then from each arm she slipped off her long gloves

a quiet rustle

               a snake shedding skin

                                             tentacles unfurled sinuously tickling the air

her blouse followed

her breasts were unmistakable

he thought  stupidly

                         I swore I wouldnt eat octopus

her skin tickled scarlet and green

                                  she smiled vivaciously

You could hear that

I can intuit it You cant possibly imagine how vast or how sensitive my senses are.  

No  I cant imagine a brain in my every limb

                                            she writhed spectacularly sensually It would be like being with eight women

her laughter was musical 

                           Ya captured that too

                      

Maybe you should quit thinking.

Maybe I should

I have something for that.

                           she began undressing him with multiple armsunbuttoning the bone buttons of his shirt unbuttoning his 501s  stroking him

he shut up

quit thinking 

threw himself over to pleasure

                                   and pleasuring

2329,  Sunday,  17  10. 21

1653,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  20  10. 21

Lennon  What Ever Get You Through the Night  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lFTD9O-XMw

he went outside to take a leak in the yard

it was California

                werent gonna get rain any time soonthought hed help when he got a chance

                                                                                               why flush urine down a toilet

plus there was the happy benefit of the full moon throwing his shadow down on the groundit was uppity on occasion  it wasnt meant to humiliate it  rather to invoke a sense of modesty   

coming back in  bladder emptied

                                 seemed a good time to also empty his mindshutdown the fast cast iron flywheel he was outfitted with

he sighed

        he agreed with himself

lighting a beeswax candlerunning a hot tub he nestled inhunkered down Aaah  he braked the flywheel

                                                                                                              it slowed

however no fail  trying to empty it some substrate or flake or scale brokefree and clogged the drain

his bath wasnt going to be soothing

the marbled bruise on his left hip unsoothed

a woman in a tall Mercedes van banged him in the crosswalk

                                                                  if it had something of a hood he might have been able to get his hand downarch his hip above impact  he was tossed to the street

                                                                           he popped upwent at the empty passenger side windshield and windowfracturing them with the heel of a Baldwins hardbound Price of the Ticket  Try to make trouble for me over this glass he yelled at her  yare on CCTV an Im getting your license plate an the vehicle behind ya 

When yare drivingDRIVE

he thought she might be from out-of-town Nevada   a Cali plate followed

that wasnt the substrate that peeved him

he rolled onto his right hip to massage his bruise

                                                 hard harder  harDER  in his vigor and discomfort his hand went wideerrant his middle and ring fingers briefly stroked his anus and at that provocation his body farted

                                                                                                           threefour translucent freshwater pearls of flatulence bubbled outbroke the surface he couldnt imagine they were spherical and because he couldnt see  head north tail south  if he could have then he wouldnt have been paying it no mind anyhow  that bendy hed be blowing himself

                                     thered be a marketplace for that talent he was sure  hed hunker downworkout some Chippendale dance steps become a male stripper

                                                    blowing himself would be his acts finale  its climax

he did say substrate clogged his mind when he tried emptying it

2344,  Sunday,  17  10. 21

1211,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  20  10. 21

Who  You Better You Bet  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCfO9zClQ8I 

 

Hahaha HA   HAHAH ahJesus  almost split his gut    shoeshine boy

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/trump-admonishes-colin-powell-day-after-his-death-n1281919?icid=recommended

Powell wouldnt have Trump polish his boots

                                              because hed fuck it up in front of everyone on a busy street corner near a newsstand or outside a barber shop

Powell appreciated skill efficacy he exhibited a willingness to dig in when trouble may have confounded lesser men he volunteeredfought armed adversaries with exemplary tact steely resolve

                                                                          HELL  Trump hadnt spit to muster at Powells feet

1702,  Twosday,  19  10. 21

 

he sensed she liked him right off

he liked being liked by a scientistliked the cut of her jib she studied peregrine falcons for the state

after meeting the first time when she came into the officehe worked with cellphones  if she had to wait to meet with him she took a seat

                 going through the lobby hed see her acknowledged her said I might be a halfhour maybe someone else could helpthough knew the answer

No, no thank you, I’ll wait for you. she smiled large  My day off, I’m in no hurry. he hurried to get to her

he was an affectionate man

                              their familiarity came fast by the third time they met he hugged hercaught her offguard

Didn’t see that coming, what a lousy hug I gave you, may we have another go?   Love to   they were physically fitmight have been able to crack a walnut between their bodies   There ya have it thats wha I call a hug  thereafter whenever they met they huggedhugged in the lobby

eyeballs bugged

she knew he was married

once his wife stopped by the office with their two girls he introduced her to them his wife said So you’re Sammy, Sammy the Scientist, peregrines, Joe’s enamoured with you, he mentions every time he sees you.

Thank you. Joe said you both studied biology in college, your girls are keen and prone to it as well. they exchanged a firm hand shake it was nice to see women shake who knew how to shake hands  his girls did too

before the peregrine study finished up Sammy had an opportunity in Wyoming  she said shed be insane if she let it slip through her fingers

                     she was picking up and leaving

he versed her on how to use her phone on the road told her hed manage her travel minutes after the fact so the company couldnt screw her with their deficient packages

Joe, you’re such a sweet guy. Too bad you’re married.

Thats kind of you to say Sammy

she reached over and took him by the wrist

                                               I have something for you. It’s illegal.

I prefer illict

she smiled bemusedshook her head You’re such a tease.

Ya get good at something when its the extent of how far ya can go

I know, I know. smiled sweetly now

                                        she handed him a state embossed envelope Inside is a peregrine feather. then she hugged him hard  I’m really, really going to miss you, Joe.

You know where to find me kiddo

Yes.  I do.

 

day and a half later she called him from the road

she couldnt take her whale bones  You have my address, there’s a trailer out back, they’re under it covered in canvas, if you like they’re yours.

Hellyah ya kiddin me  Ill head over after work

Yes, please, landlord’s stopping there tomorrow; I’m sorry it didn’t occur to me earlier, then I thought what better house could the bones have.

Sammy thank you Im grateful you thought of me

                                                   The girls are going to flipI aint breathing a word why Ill be late

Joe.

     I often think of you. 

there were two sperm whale rib bones and three teeth   also illegal he preferred illict 

he thought hed hear from her when she settled in Wyoming

                                                               never did

2355,  Saturday,  16  10. 21

1349,  Twosday,  19  10. 21

 

sometimes he had a hard time reading his handwriting

                                                        he remembered this particular scribbledone in tepid bluelight emitted from the television set across the room as he watched a DVD film

                                                                             the scribbleishness was exacerbated by the irritant of neighbours dogs barking on three sides of him when he first moved in there was one old dog wasnt much that excited an old dog sometimes he WOOFed but he thought it was probably nothing more than to hear its voiceNOW three yardsfive young dogs he was sure their barking was only to hear themselves and to compete with the other unseen dogs

he scribbled a large word that looked like SHUTUP Might have been SHTUP subliminally it was a German film the actress was comelyvery very attractive the veryverys were her breasts

                                                                              but push come to shove hed say SHUTUP

there was another scribblehe scribbled in capital letters What was that

                                                                                  he eyeballed it turned it upsidedown it was like him to fuck with himselfkeep himself amused because no one was around  he really scrutinised it

                                                                                                 then halfway down the page he saw a hint three distinct word he guessed A SAVAGE MAW  A SIMPLE MAW  A Definitely     A HMMP  Not MAWNot MAW  MAN  MANYes  A HMMP MAN   SINGLE SINGLE    Yes SINGLE  A SINGLE MAN 

                                                                                                       his scribble wasnt CALM AS FISH Which was very possibleit made sense the trout didnt freak when he went up to the glass tank and chose it for dinner it wasnt CALM AS FISH

                                COLIN FIRTH Didnt often read the name COLIN however that day evening Colin Powell was dead we lost a very good manhe forgave him being played by Cheneyhis address to the United Nations in the runup to the Iraq War Wha a fucking crime no heads rolled for that  lost a very good man a Statesman a moral compass   A moral man

Hmm  Powell was CALM AS FISH 

2204,  Saturday,  16  10. 21

1234,  Monday,  18  10. 21

1116,  Twosday,  19  10. 21

 

2210  ReggaeFriday  15  10. 21

                                   thats 10:10PM if ones unfamiliar with military time it shouldnt be deemed military credit where credit is due between 147 and 127 BCE before the common era Hipparchus of Nicaea proposed dividing day into 24 equinoctial hours 12 hours of daylight 12 hours of darkness same cat founded trigonometry  

the Canadian military came around to Hipparchus way of thinking in ’27 the United States threw in in ’42 CREDIT WHERE CREDITS DUE

when one thinks of time inevitably they think of life  think of death too

                                                                              he was mindful

he didnt spend an inordinate amount of time thinking of one or the other however recently death in particular had robbed him more times than hed care to admit and those deathstheir deaths have hobbled him

                                                                                                     yet he chooses to remember them everydaygreet them every morning always to remember something upbeatremember exploits he was party to a goodly some only they shared   their secrets

                                                               now only his

death would be a curious experience

                                     he didnt remember his curious experience into lifeHA he wouldnt remember his exit but it would be on his terms if he could help it

he intended to die the animal he was

                                        living in California he could tolerate the weather year in an out without heat without airconditioning it wasnt a matter of paying the bills it was a matter of living closer to the animal he was the animal men and women had been longer than beating the cold with a fire or bearing up to hot weather with ice

modern Americans were less than they had been

                                                     creatures of comfort

he was a creature of discomfort

I am going to die the animal I am

would he have the grit to see it through

12 hours of daylight 12 hours of darkness

1207,  Monday,  18  10. 21

 

 . . . with your whole life ahead of you.

comforting words

whaif  what if a person doesnt have their whole life ahead of them whawords do you utter now

rather than the crapshoot ya told em Ya have your whole life ahead of you

                                                                              too many he knew died overseas

he thought America after the Second World War would have been better served sending the senators representatives the President and his gunho Cabinet over  pat them on their backs tell them You have your whole life ahead of you

 . . . your whole life is a lie

                                  although it does sound something dandy

a friend survived Trump virus

when he thought he was doomed he asked his wife Let me go, please let me go.

                                                                                    she communicated that with the ICU nurses and doctors they removed him gave his bed to someone who didnt vaccinate  they died   without extraordinary help he survived 

he was back to status quo though weaker status quo was contending with dialysis  his kidneys weaker

what would he tell him when he was able to visit through glass at the rehab center  Ya got your whole life ahead of you

hed tell him

            Ya havent had your whole life until it is over You didnt know what was coming your way when you were a teenager a young man Ya hoped but ya didnt know   Every days a gift Read the card Untie the ribbon Unwrap it slowly

Yesterday you didnt know youd make it to today tomorrow ya got no idea about the day after

thats ones whole life

a day at a time

relish it

2118,  ReggaeFriday,  15  10. 21

1402,  Sunday,  17  10. 21

Jewel Akens  The Bird and the Bees  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8fLheex1nA 

https://www.brainpickings.org/2021/10/13/alain-de-botton-normalcy-breakdown/

  

Wha are ya talking about

                          he saidhe was late as he walked up behind four pals who stood on the paver patiocalled em beer gardens outside the bar their drinks on a tall heavy café table they disregarded the stools

Ahshit . . great timing! one said without turning around You’re gonna stand up for ‘em. the others nodded

The ringleader has spoken Any of yaguys have an original thought without megaphone Mikes broadcast

                                                                                                              Monkey says monkey does

Wow! Not even a beer in, Mike nodded not even knowing what we’re talking about, you gotta jump down our throa . .

. . Yare the one talkin Provocation Yare gonna stand up for em A real leap of faithI know ya follow your wife to church yave said as much . . Mike

it got chilly

the three others eyeballed the toes of their shoes

he still hadnt joined the sloppy circlewas just offbehind Mikes shoulder

Yawere saying . . Mike

Mike turned slightly to face him We were talking about fat girls

Girls or women

                Weve had that conversation before

Fat women.

Whabout em

             I ask only because you guys aint the pick of the litter aint prime choiceaint  ones to talk

We’re not fat.

Yare stout  Not a sixpak among youme neither

But we’re not fat.

Nah A guys gotta get mighty fat obese before someone calls him fat

                                                                       On the otherhand if a woman hasnt a stellar bod mind ya no such woman would date yaguys if ya werent married  were dating because the playing field isnt level  Yad have to work for it to get a glance

You’re something else, I said you’d stand up for them.

We agree fat is cruel

Not if it’s deserved.

An yare the arbiter

I know what’s fat and what isn’t.

Althoughapparently you don know the difference between a girl and a woman

 

Ive forgotten why were we meeting tonight

                                             I don think it was to discuss fat girls  

one of the others said We hadn’t seen each other in a while and we thought it would be nice to get together for a drink.

Ah  Nice

1521,  ReggaeFriday,  15  10. 21

1215,  Sunday,  17  10. 21

 

hed wake in the morning after a hefty night of lifting dreamsfighting his way out or traipsing tenuous labyrinths without Ariadnes helpthe Minotaur snortinghot on his heels no cinema wire to fly from wall to wall to keep out of reach poor Minotaur like the disfigured Hunchback of Notre Dame Poseidon couldnt resist himselfhad to have his finger in the pie  he sent a pure white bull to Minos who ruled Crete revealing his favour the bull was to be sacrificed to him but Minos owing to the animals beauty could not so as Gods and humans are petty Poseidon made Minos wife Pasiphae fall in love with the bull and bewitched or beGodded Pasiphae had Daedalus the craftsman fashion a hollow cow so she could mate with the bull same Daedalus who took the gig to build the Labyrinth where the Minotaur was held

seemed Daedalus got the clean end of the stick

                                                              until Minos caught wind he made the cow

imprisoned with his son Icarus clever Daedalus collected feathers and devised wings for their escape but Icarus flew too near the sunwho listens to their old man the beeswax melted and he plunged to his death into the sea  the sea  which seemed to him better than filthy city concrete anall the gawddamned people crowding roundsniffing blood later telling their psychiatrists what the explodedmeat Rorschach meant

                                                               which would have been revealed from above for posterity by intrepid New York Times Washington Post Wall Street Journal photographers  with their fucking iPhone or Android

play with a bull ya end up getting a horn

but mornings hed wake and before he could make his bed he found himself with a snoot full and have to stop get a handkerchief blow his nose

                            also seemed that going from prone to upright filled his bladder

which he emptied first was a coin toss

if he was a betting man it would have made for a more interesting morning

nose emptied

bladder emptied

bed made

he hustled to clean the catboxes and feed his ferals inside and out

                                                                     an during his hustle an antics he entertained himself with remembered dreams and WHY THE FUCK did he have them because he believed his dreams werent overnite entertainment but rather germane to his life and existence

with cats cared for coffee brewing he wrotefilled journals  journals that were every bit as filled to brimming as was his morning nose and bladder

0951,  Thursday,  14  10. 21

1729,  Saturday,  16  10. 21

Joni Mitchell  Big Yellow Taxi  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdMSCdw20

Counting Crows  Mr Jones  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oqAU5VxFWs