Fair & K. – Baltimore Ekphrasis Project

Cheryl Fair and Dave K. traded art and words. Cheryl shared this image, entitled “Transcendental Homelessness,” with Dave:

In response, Dave K. wrote this poem:

SHUT UP YOU IDIOT PT. III

there is smoke coming out of my suitcase
my dress fans out from the waist pooling
over the vibrations in the sand
vessels bulge and pop under me hissing
at my calves and bare thighs

i chase egrets down a long spine of beach bent to
confusion by the cracked and broken tide
my feet bruise the black sand along the water line

the water’s apnea rhythm makes me
check my own heart. i have lived longer than
anyone i’ve ever admired.

i try to close my suitcase but the latches
won’t catch. more white milk smoke rolls out and
blanches the air. i throw the suitcase into the water
and run under the boardwalk, out of the sun, rolling
my hair behind my head

at a crowded motel bar all i can see are
lit cigarettes, slowly burning down and away

fissures in the sand are blooming green and
purple, splitting the darkness of my sleep.
my suitcase bobs through the water spilling
smoke unaware of our meat and physics

i did not pack for this. i only packed for one day.
i did not expect to see another.

* * * * *

Dave  shared this poem with Cheryl:

YOUR PARENTS STILL HAVE SEX

my butt doesn’t fit into any of
the denim i own right now
i am all studs and rivets

i consume 919 gallons
of water in my life cycle

i unzip in the middle. my
mother unzipped from the left
as Heloise instructed

pumice the excess
pigment away

symmetry makes
sweat in my palms

i have the strangest sensation of
really needing to brush my teeth
except like all over my body

please grow eyes in the
back of your head so i can
stop staring at your feet

please repeat after my
hands with your hands

In response, Cheryl made this image, entitled “Genes/Jeans”: