A Triad of Formulaic Circumstance

Confidence seems to be
half genius
half stupidity

Genius may be
half confidence
half stupidity

Stupidity could be
half genius
half confidence

Recessions for One

26 ounces in a single draft
well under $3
only a couple people in town
Van Halen is here
he's ruling the jukebox as we arrive
a man plays pool
by himself
AJ takes a drag from his smoke
and resolves to quit
we talk
about poetry
about getting on our way after these beers
about not much else

Transformer Gallery presents the D'Steele Society of Advanced Poetics

D'Steel(e) Society of Advanced Poetics
-Dare to be brave.-
Come out and see us
Free @ 7 p.m.
Wednesday Nov. 29th
Transformer Gallery
1404 P. Street, NW

Age of Independence

The Age of Independence
The Age of Independence
calls for
The Age of Independence
calls for a party
The Age of Independence
calls for a party
w/ dancing on the 8th flr
of a place I've never been to
before
The Age of Independence
is not me
The Age of Independence
is
younger
drunker
happier
more awake

Fringe Age

an old woman and a young boy walk down the sidewalk
both feeling they have a responsibility towards the other
both proud of that responsibility
there is no age of independence to be found

Black Friday Happy Hour

Out and celebrating life w/ friends
the time is going fast
We know each other an extra year
each time we raise our glass

The Family Holiday of America

Riding out to celebrate a holiday of food and thanks
riding through the suburbs to a turkey
in the suburbs of America
Out here I can see my breath in the cold
and it's red white and blue
out here all birds overhead are Bald Eagles
and buffalo and cowboys wander along the highways



Here I can walk into anyhouse and have a home
this is the suburbs
and this is America
sometimes we get lost in cultisacs
but we take our time
it's Thanksgiving
in America
and we are on our way to see an American Family
And eat a turkey
the anti-eagle
My friends of friends I've never met are there
and there are more on the way
when all are present we begin to pray
a couple people leave the room
this is America
any belief goes here
when the prayers are over we eat the food
and praise it too
here in the Colonies
we eat their hearts out with
ham & turkey & adobo pork & squash & potatoes & noodles
everything swims in gravy and sauce on my plate
& down my throat
red white and blue
fills my stomach and makes me fall asleep
on a floor in a home I've never been in before
and when I wake up I sit up
from behind the couch
and I am surrounded by a Big American Family
This This This This This
this is America
And This this is Thanksgiving
America,
thanks for
food family & friends

The Airport of America

Riding the escalators all day in the Airport of America baybee
watching the watches under the counter
where are we going to see art?
to see the Streets Of New York?
right here in America?
the capitol city of the world bay-bee
NGA, the Airport of America baybee
sandwiches are $10
coming to you live from 4th Street NW
are there steps over here?
of course this is America we have steps everywhere
big Ivory, Marble staircases
We art walk everywhere
with our hands behind our backs
Artwalking in America baybee!
the Airport of America Baby



rain snow or cold
look out that window
it's hot outside
this is America
Bay-Bee
Coming to you live from the streets
from right off the streets of America
We are tourist on our own tour
this is America
our car is made of Granite and Marble
and we have the biggest buses too
we are Americans
we are in America
At the Airport of America Baybee

Breakfast in America

The recycling is all over the floor because there is no place for it
The heat is off it's cold and I'm coughing
in running pants and other clothes I found on my floor
My coffee pot only makes 4 cups at a time ensuring a fresh cup everytime
Half of the house is at work the other half in bed
The yogurt I ate was incredibly cheap and I have eggs too
I turn off the furnace to calm Freddy Kruger a couple runs from Starbucks
standing on the porch people are sniffing a man is sniffing
the bus stops at a light a girl wipes her eye the pause becomes a metaphor
the stairs creek
the roof leaks
the news is always bad
This is Breakfast
Go America Bay-Bee!



This is America
everything has a remote
I wish my coffee cup had a remote
I would send it to get more Half&Half
instead we drink coffee in the kitchen like a family
like the Bearenstein Bears
The cops are patrolling outside
did I mention this is America Bay-Bee?
(I should have a job coming up with catch phrases for the troops in Iraq)
Still reaping the benefits of my forefathers
I was raised by TWO gay couples
anything goes
This is America Bay-Bee!

Twilight Zone

Real Tales of True Americans of the Nation's Capital

This is a true tale of American Heroism performed today by NoN other than my friend and roomie, Andrew Bain. You see, Our landLord threw out a bunch of stuff from the basement and onto the curb. This caused the trash collectors to avoid even our legitimate garbage for over a week.

Then our Hero stepped in;

1) Assessing the situation.

2) Straightening out the piles.

3) Duct taping things together for easier pickup.

4) Calling the District trash collectors for "bulk" pickup.

5) A much neater and organized pile of trash.

Eric Gregory Powell



Francis Michael Terzano

Evaporative Life

tires of parked cars slowly turn and slowly peel away
from the curb and cold pavement street
parking places are left behind for other later folks
during colder months the night is winding down at not even 12
there are suddenly a lot of people on the sidewalk
talking walking sirens collecting cars and people by the curb
everybody has somewhere to go but me
I'm standing by the subway and today 's the day I have no job
life sometimes offers interesting opportunities
when things from out from under you disappear
before you really realize they were there
the things I thought I had are gone
from here and reform over there

Getting a Ride

come on we can go to the Raven
the door sounds like squeaky bicycle brakes
cheap beer
you you
you you
'find-the-car'
parade

Hobart Street

I went to a place that had people in the yard
people on the stoop
people in the basement and the kitchen drinking beer
there were people that i knew
and there were a lot of others too
but it really didn't matter,
maybe, did it ?
there were people that weren't there too
did that matter, maybe too
but the thing that doesn't matter is the thing you say
when you find out the keg has been drank away

Fri Nov 17

Hatnim denies marrying a girl in California
I receive another, yet, another good fortune from City Lights Take-Out
A man who enters the shop looking like Senator McCain asks
'how I'm doing'
His wife also has characteristics of John McCain
It is 7pm and I'm drinking a small coffee
listening to what my boss calls 'headbanger' music
(but it's actually more like pop rock)
when people aren't looking I evaporate

Rain in America

there is no sun and
the puddles stay day after day
and the leaves are smashed into the ground
no one will come outside to play
but my feet are having fun
w/ sidewalk worms today



Different States than Life
if life would be so kind to let me die
in one thousand years a piece of dust of me
would form a raindrop high above the ground
no ears or eyes or senses to tell me what's around
but even so i'm whistling to the ground
side by side with other shuttles
towards a splashdown ocean-puddle

Repeating Melodies

Repeating Melodies
on white piano keys
from the old house
coming apart on the corner
inside students? and
young adults? make
their ways through life
the piano stops
and footsteps walk
up the stairs and hall

Sidewalk Coffee?

I always invite people for 'sidewalk coffee.' I meet a lot of people out on the sidewalk. The past couple days a dogwalker named Bryce has been stopping by to drink some coffee on the sidewalk drive.

Captivation

lots of screens of
t.v.s at the bar
lots of screens of
t.v.s at the bar
if you need to see
some news
then you needn't
look far
lots of screens of
t.v.s at the bar

Risk

When I walked in the door last night everyone was playing Risk. Marines always played Risk on the ship. I think that's a paradox or something. Either way Risk is very boring. They could make the game more exciting with metal figures, or sharper game pieces.

Spanish Steps

strong wind combs dead leaves from trees
and onto the Spanish Steps
a girl remembers poetry from childhood
another girl says her favorite poets name
sitting looking down the steps
down the street into town
I write and kick leaves
beep
a car brings me back
the next gust sends a chill up my back
leaves blow down the Spanish Steps
and I write
and brush a leaf from my notebook

Kicked in the Head

Me and my friend Rafal saw this guy being jumped. Went to see if he was okay, and we got jumped. Rafal got punched in the eye by a couple guys. He said three guys jumped me. I don't really remember, I was knocked out from behind. They did kick me in the head. But luckily the scans show that all of the trauma was under the surface and not deep enough to do more than be painful and scuffed. My friend Rafal has a black eye. He might have to get surgery on his cheekbone. I don't have my camera. The last thing I remember doing was setting it down along a fence before I was approached from the front.

Fine Art Photo Opening/Closing

It was good. Better. Than ever.

D'Steel(e) Meeting Minutes

We have sat here before
At this table at Cafe Mozart
This is the place the beer comes in liters
This is the place where Silvia plays her accordian
This is where everyone can get their fill of pils
Where few are on time
Few are sober
All are German
. . .
The D'Steele Society of Poetics will give a reading at Transformer Gallery on P St NW November 29.

Jenn & Jeremy

By a name
I know not how to tell thee who I am (Romeo and Juliet)


I'm pretty sure their relationship is nothing like Romeo & Juliet's, basically because they're both still alive.
But I took this picture and I wrote this quote down in my notebook today.

Apes w/ Slits & Killer Robots

"Oh My!"