of leaves (a Ten-Link)

shrinking möbius strip
you notice the darkness
this evening

dread tightens its grip
in an opiate haze

not sure
about the curtains
a willow in the IV

as if light to the touch
an afterimage of leaves

ignoring the news
we trade eyes and ears
for lungs

turning in
on its own tail
the serpent of

original sin
one drip at a time

downcast spirits
invest in death
on the installment plan

24% APR
the last time you feel rain

with timefall
the chiral network
splits at the seams

Michael O'Brien
Hansha Teki 

Free Space (a Ten-Link)

northern lights forecast
you let the child
paint your toenails

before the windowpane
a golden dance of motes

your love
sixty-two miles
above sea level

we transgress the liminal
beyond the blue halo

cloud covered clay
the astronaut's continental
fingerprints

on a meteorite
on display
an ancient graffito 

finding your skeleton
we build a giraffe

scraping the cirrus
our own private
babel

a transparent mannequin
floats over Idaho

now, a silver phallus
rockets through
free space

Michael O'Brien
Clayton Beach

weltschmerz

The details of the shooting were vague. The coverage seemed focused on reporting that it occurred at a video game tournament. Iʼm not sure why thatʼs important - but itʼs important to some narrative beyond me. Multiple fatalities - the police urged people to stay away. The police created a nifty hashtag. Were they in on the story? Just point me to the bad guys. One of the videogame players got hit by shrapnel - but theyʼre ok. The shooting occurred near St. Johnʼs river.

One year, two months and one third of a day after the shooting a famous director, no one remembers their name, bought the adaptation writes of the shooting. The director was previously famous for using non-actors in the lead roles in a way to make the film seem off. This at first seemed good - that is, a good idea. The sheriff was even quoted as saying - this is good. What the people of St Johnʼs river didnʼt know was that the director was going to take the famous use of non-actors to a whole new level.

The director bought a ouija board and summoned the spirits of the victims of the shooting and cast them in the movie. The victimʼs families found this in very poor taste. Hollywood critics found the idea bad. One critic went as far as saying - ʻthe idea is badʼ. A blogger that lived near a river on the other side of the country wrote: ʻWhat the fuck is this? A fucking casper the ghost reboot? Fuck this shit?ʼ

death camp 2

autumn colour the bowed heads of munch’s figures

houseplant delivery
you fall
into a middle-class terror

distant whistle
between the reddening trees
enemy soldiers prepare a meal

you put sunflower seeds on a cow’s head and tell the child to eat

First cold day of the season. Stroll downstream of the White Cart. The low sun nourishes. A flower lost in a field. Wander the maized suburbs of Newlands. The cold air harsh but good. Home. Take a nap.

Up. Take tea. Take more tea. I watch a horror movie about a magical board game. A car with an uber sticker pulls up outside. A cool looking neighbour jumps into the front seat. The car moves off.

Write up these notes. Edit a blog. Take a bath. My hair still wet. Skip lunch for a halloween cupcake. It was orange - the top was orange.

Morning light. in the last week the light has moved on into Autumn. How to explain this. Soft. Powdered. Baby vision. Nostalgic. Iʼm nearly there. Itʼs early this year. Trees have been turning since mid August. With the scene set up I follow the White Cart water down stream. Seems like a sensible thing to do on a day like this. Pick up some shopping. The Autumn harvest vegetables starting to fill the shelves like familiar friends - corn, squash, sweet potatoes and other roots. I buy some. I put them in an oversized shopping trolley. They seem indifferent towards their fate. Well, they are vegetables. It comes to me - if I was a vegetable Iʼd hope someone would make a burrito out of me. Thinking of burritos, later that day, for the evening meal, I make burritos.

☵

metal flamingo 

starting to collapse

the actor’s head