Scene Report At Half Century by Laurence Lillvik
With the inertia of a
cooking tip we rabbit through
sawgrass toward the prerequisite
Chernobyling of our recent
triumphs. You weird-walk beneath
the star-dead moonshine enough
times and the enemies start
wishing you were a comet.
I can only be a true,
unholy, conduit if
you allow for my missteps.
I have deployed airbags and
airbags have deployed me. A
detached history offers
insights into our subtle
gristle. So many strings are
attached, they can either act
as a net, or a nest. Modes
of mania, sniffed out and
cauterized, scar our mindscapes.
Capital is lost in an
orgy of diminishment.
It's exciting when sharks travel
inwards, the brackish waters
are home to your lesson plans.
The luthiers forgive your
imbalances. Assigning
attributes of the super-
natural to the under-
served and marginalized crops
is a way of dealing with
planetary stress-points. I
commend you on your polite
accommodations, it's rude
to inhabit the stardust.
You are the most welcoming
when you are clinically
dissecting our enemies.
I will not pretend I'm not
inhaling their villainy
with each breath as long as you
remember that stardust stains
our intentions. Understand?
Two dimensional birds are
crafted to replace ritual.
I implore you: don't mention
the fichus in mixed company.
All of the angst is angled
parking. Liver is always
an unkind word. Leave me be.
I like typing “blast furnace “
in the back row of the bus
as the driver slaloms fresh-
paved irregularities
making us bounce. No one is
chuffed as you slowly build cairns
atop luxury bungalows.
Performative politics
are gutting the scenes. Kindly
set fire to my easel in
an enchanted root cellar.
It's absurd, the relentless
notion of recognition.
The drizzle necessary
to keep the roots wet, finer
delights dug out of the dust-
bin. I'm only here for a
little while before the
hummingbirds take my place in
all the narrowing vistas.
Laurence Lillvik is a poet and musician in Portland, OR. Laurence is the editor of Skullcrushing Hummingbird, an international arts and lit zine. He's published several chapbooks including "Criterion" on Greying Ghost Press, a featured small press at Powell's Books. He is the founder of KalloHumina, a bedroom recording project and collaborative ensemble for live compositions. He's worked at the public library for 22 years.
Substack: larstonovich.substack.com
Instagram: @larstarts
