Shows
The 365 ProjectNew DigsWell folks, I’ve met the storage capacity maximum for this site (and just at the halfway point)! The saga continues to its completion at http://songjournal2.podomatic.com/ so please take a minute to update your bookmarks and subscriptions. The first entry at the new location will be Tuesday, Oct 23 and this site will remain up as an archive of the project to this point. My deepest thanks for everyone who’s been following along and for those curious enough to drop in.
See you on the other side!
Eric
2007-10-2200 minThe 365 Project#186 no salvation premiumi’ll live a month
of sundays all
in one day if
only i could
make them
them go away
the tea kettle
mousetrap reflection
tool doesn’t work
as planned
and the sun sets
as quickly
as it rises
no holy ghost building
no pilgrim stranger
or salvation premium
the band doesn’t
even attempt
to tune before
they begin the
sad waltz for
monday
nor do i
dance
no holy ghost building
no pilgrim stranger
or salvation premium
bhagiti 10.22.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-2202 minThe 365 Project#185 face upgoodbyes and leavings
beginnings
middles
and ends
there’s no place to stay
no place to stay
the machine moves
with or without me
sometimes i’m on
sometimes i want off
a puzzle piece
turned upside
down doesn’t fit
unless the rest of
the world is too
if the world is
upside down
then i’m
face up
bhagiti 10.21.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-2102 minThe 365 Project#184 when we crossed the divide (together)wide open spaces
enclosed in a moment
all that meant anything
surrounded by so
much detail and
pointlessness
was you
and then we crossed
the divide together
it was the only thing
that mattered not the
elevator bread nor
the hopeless
microfine lines
they drew
when we crossed
the divide together
bhagiti 10.20.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-2001 minThe 365 Project#183 another old houseit was all
desks and beds
dark from the lamps
and faulty wiring
and doors leading
nowhere
and natalie
disappeared
into the ductwork
of a new old
house we never
knew
another old house
devours us
another old house
swallows us whole
so i bought
a tiny japanese
man he was on
the lam to find
her he disappeared
in there too
another old house
devours us
another old house
swallows us whole
bhagiti 10.19.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-1901 minThe 365 Project#182 take a picturetake a picture
it lasts longer
it’s a thousand
misunderstood
words but it holds
no candle
to a thousand
incarnations of
a rose
take your comic
book x-ray
specs and tell me
can you see
my secret desire
my longest day
my dream of the
eternal return
or just the pixel
myth of the
last day
take a picture
it lasts longer
take a picture
it lasts longer
bhagiti 10.18.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-1801 minThe 365 Project#181 choosing's a gamethere are roads
and there are roads
no matter which ones
you take you always
end up in the same
place
we can run headlong
into heather birds
and bees escaping
into dry leaves clinging
to sweaters all the
same
choosing’s a game
win or lose
choosing’s a game
win or lose
spin the big wheel
and watch yourself
roll off the tracks bells
and whistles look best
with party hats and
shame
choosing’s a game
win or lose
choosing’s a game
win or lose
bhagiti 10.17.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-1701 minThe 365 Project#180 you first or mein these empty passenger cars
with no engine to pull them
we can live out here in the cold
pile everything around us and
make a go
we’ll pretend to be buried alive
though this coffin is too small
and whoever digs us up will
be our forever and in the cold we’ll
make a go
will it be you first or me
another blanket please
will it be you first or me
another blanket please
and when they come looking for us
i’ll try hard not to laugh as they
poke their way through blankets
and phony...
2007-10-1602 min2007-10-1501 minThe 365 Project#178 you got to look up to see what's comin' downthe leaves know nothing
of a mile
the dirt underneath can’t
see the stars
sometimes you have
to be dead before you
can be born again
frost on the pumpkin says
it’s time
ice and mist leaks from the
sky
sometimes you have
to be dead before you
can be born again
at the gate
what’s your name
i said
what’s your name
(nobody)
sometimes you have
to be dead before you
can be born again
bhagit 10.14.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-1401 minThe 365 Project#177 time is longer than ropewe knew the mask
you wore to hide from
yourself didn’t cover
the words you tore up
and swept under
the rug
words piled high
into a balcony from
which lovers spurned
or otherwise fling
themselves into
senselessness
you can get yourself
some time
or a rope
but time is longer than rope
and we all knew the
mask was better than
the cranberries and
salamanders you
were so close to
becoming
you can get yourself
some time
or a rope
but time is longer than rope
bhagiti 10.13.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-1301 minThe 365 Project#176 oars in our fishbasketsit was always the thinnest
of thin ice spiderwebbing
through your veins like lost
highways no longer making
the trip home afraid of what
you thought you’d find there
and at camp like canoes
we slept overturned our
oars in our fishbaskets afraid
to laugh and you never did
and i knew you couldn’t and
that you didn’t care for the moon
and neither could i
but i did
and neither could i
but i did
and later in january when the
ground was as cold as you
could take it you pulled me
outside and pulled everyt...
2007-10-1202 minThe 365 Project#175 pull the plugsleep comes always
just before the alarm
through the night
trains scream and i want
them to take me away
or run me over
the cold through the
window is finally real
this time and the
bed that wouldn’t let me
sleep now won’t let me
go but i do
when does it all stop
when will it be quiet again
pull the plug
pull the plug
i will daydream my
return in blankets sitting
in the middle of the
autumn woods covered
in leaves and twigs warm
and content
when does it all stop
when will it be q...
2007-10-1101 minThe 365 Project#174 leave it to the birds (i dream of an airplane crash)the high altitude
jet plane
reimagining cumulous
with straightedge
vapor trails
is a phantom
whose presence
is unclear
i suppose that
everyone
who has fallen to earth
regretted in an instant
believing
in a phantom
whose presence
is unclear
leave it to the birds
leave it to the birds
i’m happy sticking to
the ground
firmly attached by forces
beyond my control
believing
in a phantom
whose power
is clear
leave it to the birds
leave it to the birds
bhagiti 10.10.07 perrysburg
2007-10-1001 minThe 365 Project#173 the penny that refuses to reveal its other side is a hidden notebookgliding gliding
hypnotized
penny for
your thoughts
how much to
keep them
to yourself
make me guess
what broken bread
can’t be fixed
again what fish
eaten can’t swim
again what wine
can’t return to the
vine
meanwhile
night peeks
through blinds
and my light
sneaks
back though
neither have
eyes needing
blinding instead
a threshold
between life
and living or
knowing and
not
gliding gliding
hypnotized
america
a main drag
that isn’t
a cowboy
that’s neither
a continental divide
that doesn’t
a jacket that smells
of leaves and
leaving and in
the breastpocket
a notebook
...
2007-10-0902 minThe 365 Project#172 oh why ohioohio stretches like a lie
toward the plains and
promises of the west
to the sleepy south
below the cool green
east and the endless
forests of the north
roads lead in or away
roads lead in or away
ohio is a heart that no
longer beats kept alive
by trains pumping its
crisscrossing veins and
sad eyed summer
slaves to the catsup trade
roads lead in or away
roads lead in or away
ohio dead or dying no
arrow filled sebastian
merely an unavoidable
swamp that continuously
tries to refill itself with the
muck long removed
roads lead in...
2007-10-0801 minThe 365 Project#171 between crows and grapesthe sky is as black
as a crow
and as beautiful
my belly
full of grapes
makes no complaint
and the cool
humidity of morning
struggles
between the death
of summer and the
birth of death
it caresses me
seduces me
kisses me
licking my face
as if to say
take me now
for tomorrow
we are gone
bhagiti 10.7.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-0702 minThe 365 Project#170 and in a field of aging heather a dream of the future fell like ballast tossed from a failing ballooni stand in the middle
of ten thousand streets
all at once and everywhere
they lead is nowhere each
screaming in concrete
seducing with slick
rainsoaked curves but each
a dead end none to
salvation nor even
to acceptable ruin
ten thousand streets
all at once everywhere
a spiderweb traffic jam of
industrial strength chaos
linear asphalt beauty
a din of scrape and roar
all leading to madness
madness of desire
madness of restlessness
madness of choice
madness of singularity
madness of loss
madness of responsibility
madness of hope
madness of hopelessness
bhagiti 10.6.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-0602 minThe 365 Project#169 which side are you onmorning makes
no compromises
it reveals to us
the actions
of the night
and hides
the moon
in its light
everything before is meaningless
everything before is everything
which side are you on
we are not
morning
like prospectors
without pans
we wade in
murky water
that hides
untold
riches
everything before is meaningless
everything before is everything
which side are you on
tripping over
pebbles
and god we
stumble toward
nothing when
everything
is directly
below
everything before is meaningless
everything before is everything
which side are you on
bhagiti 10.5.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-0502 minThe 365 Project#168 re-partingi went to the station
no suitcase in my hand
and there an old man
you leavin or stayin
i’m re-parting
remaining and departing
at the same time
that is
i’m here
but never
here
so there i sat on the
platform watching the trains
come and go people’s
faces staring out at
other possible
realities each better than
their own
that is
they’re here
but never
here
bhagiti 10.4.07 perryburg, oh
2007-10-0401 minThe 365 Project#167 once again i dream (of the round piano)outside now
we are all seated
around a large
round piano
we each have
the notes
that are ours
we begin
playing each after
the other and
it is strange
beautiful music
before it
begins to rain
out of the night endlessly
twisting i lay dreaming
the piano
fills with water
soon goldfish
appear flickering
in the dark
water born
from the music
jay closes
the lid and folds
everything up
until it’s gone
water fish and all
before it
stops raining
out of the night endlessly
twisting i lay dreaming
bhagiti 10.3.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-10-0302 minThe 365 Project#166 my barn is full of starsmy barn is full of stars
pitched up high with
blankets of blue and
green glowing strange
sequins and when it’s
cold i see my breath
and in the breath-dust
are spelled out the words
i can’t seem to say
letters spill out like
a vaporized soup backlit
by the barn-glow that
the neighbors know
isn’t quite right but
later at night i return
to the blue blankets awash
in the radiance of my
celestial secrets each
within five points of right
removed from their seas
of night there with me
burning into me dreams
of olden days a...
2007-10-0202 minThe 365 Project#165 harvest timehey now
stop cowering under
barley rows and hiding
in the rye
no escaping into wheat
and corn
leave that for the birds
the mind’s
pastures harvested
soon will sleep for the
moon will too
plump again for the last
time and
leave you to the birds
as the husks dry
the worm reminds
that fruit is sweetest
before it dies
as kids
my brother and i
ran barefoot through the
corn
unafraid of what the crow had
known and
left us to the birds
hey now
stop cowering under
barley rows and hiding
in the rye
no escaping in...
2007-10-0102 minThe 365 Project#164 what way what way (what would penelope wait)got to get this all together and
reconcile the pines with the silver
the damp with the wet and the
sand with the secrets of the soul
in a st. vitus dance like a bonfire
taunting all the ghosts of the forest
while the flames flicker and the
stars shimmer before turning away
what way what way
what penelope would wait
and for how long
the birds at the window ruffle their
sad feathers waiting for seeds
to grow more flittering bellies to
rule the trees and windowsills
the compass won’t stop spinning
nothing looks the same anymore
the mo...
2007-09-3001 minThe 365 Project#163 somewhere in betweeni am not one
to take to the road
i listen to the trees
and stare at the
moon wondering
how far is far
it rains in spirals
inside my head the
hissing always in
my ears reminding
me to keep the
windows open
let it in let it out
let it in let it out
as leaves leap
like lovers and fools
and night regains
control over the
glass i will take
it head-on
the fish eagle
cannot swim nor
can the flying fish
fly but we all know
truth is somewhere
in between
let it in let it...
2007-09-2902 minThe 365 Project#162 tie a bell around your neckwhat’s your favorite anything
does it have to do with
dime turn decisions or the way
telephones make the tormenting
stop
once in a minute i dreamt every
dream i ever had
vivid as life and i drank them in
cool and slow so they wouldn’t
stop
tie a bell around your neck
let everybody know you’re there
let’s erase constellations and make
‘em up new this light
is long dead before we were born
our light soon will sometime
stop
like some crazy lunatic who
would shoot me just
to see me try there has got to
be...
2007-09-2801 minThe 365 Project#161 dustspeck pennieswhat dustspeck floating by
teeming with tiny mystery
was your disappearing act
where did everyone go
where did everyone go
your headsup penny was
one of the best stuck full
of wisdom and lucky magic
i know you know I know
i know you know I know
hope hangs like a wish
on a string under daisies
ripe with pollen and tears
listen, i can’t look away
listen, i can’t look away
bhagiti 9.27.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-2701 minThe 365 Project#160 time is time (make up your mind make up your mind)the tree outside squeaking heavy with tiny hollow-boned birds weightless
brown puffs of seeded white bellies behind them the dusky sky before the
curtain is pulled back illuminating the deception of old gods constellations pinprick white lights waiting for some kid to shoot ‘em out
you know how it goes your petals drop though your feet are deep in the dirt
like daisies pushing up through the rainy day sidewalk in kid’s colored chalk
the lobster sings when he hits the pan he takes it like a man
the cook faces the music as the glass pinches the sand
time...
2007-09-2603 minThe 365 Project#159 staring back at me like a religion of photographsi have bathed in the stream
of consciousness under
the featherbed pillows of
reason and rhyme
the dust under boxcars
makes me sad like how the
purple summer sun sometimes
seems all alone
it all means something
doesn’t it
it’s all nothing
isn’t it
staring back at me like a
religion of photographs
torn from a stranger’s journal
or breastpocket
an alchemist’s crucible
the gloomy vessel of
powdery failed attempts at
dreaming in gold
it all means something
doesn’t it
it’s all nothing
isn’t it
pound grommets into anvils
of soap and birdfeathers
st...
2007-09-2502 minThe 365 Project#158 my slow boat has just come in (this must be the place)what four questions
would i ask
that i haven’t asked
already
i know the answers
won’t come
it’s ok
the barn doors are
open and
the horses are long
gone they
won’t return again
it’s ok
this must be the place
this must be the place
my slow boat to china
has just come in
what i wouldn’t
give i long
to see japan i
dream of
underwater
seaweed
it’s ok
this must be the place
this must be the place
my slow boat to china
has just come in
bhagiti 9.24.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-2402 minThe 365 Project#157 pull the blindstime winds through
the by and by
one moment is all
it takes
and running through
it a single
shiny thread of liquid
silver
but that’s not what
the thief wants
the root of the root is
obscure
pull the blinds
pull the blinds
the worm knows both
the apple and
the heart both sweet with
desire
inside a forest
silence and flight
fight for impossibility
alone
pull the blinds
pull the blinds
bhagiti 9.23.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-2302 minThe 365 Project#156 it will have to doa piano wrapped
around a room
it will only play
one tune
it will have to do
it will have to do
a birdcage big
enough for two but
mine only knows
one tune
it will have to do
it will have to do
if there was only
one song would
it need to be sung
would we secretly
dream up the rest
and keep them
hidden inside like
sidewalk pennies
and good luck charms
one year wrapped
around me like a shroud
tune after tune
it will have to do
it will have to do
bhagiti 9.22.07 perrysburgh, oh
2007-09-2201 minThe 365 Project#155 i'm going to have my way with you (song to the muse)i’m going to press
this song up against
the wall and in no
uncertain terms
i’m going to have
my way with you
i’ve had it with you
let me love you stop
resisting you know
we’re halfway through
i’m going to have
my way with you
let me take you
to evergreen pines
trampled leaves
under toe
tucked inside
wool blankets
under snow
or slip past the
undersea
green weeds
i don’t ask for much
in return just give
up your silver threaded
pearls of impulse
i’m going to have
my way with you
bh...
2007-09-2102 minThe 365 Project#154 reach inside and touch the dust of dreamsyesterday i saw a leaf leap
from a tree it just let go
an arc of awkward freedom
and instead of falling it
lifted up and out of sight
stand on a chair
lift your hands high
it is never enough
like slipping through
pale mist the kiss of
cold against skin every
button undone down
to the last one down
down down down
when you’re ready to leap
let go crop circle geometry
will be your guide you will
glide awkwardly lifted up
and out of sight
stand on a chair
lift your hands high
it is never en...
2007-09-2002 minThe 365 Project#153 i have forgotten why - tell me againi have forgotten why
tell me again
am i pushing this along
or am i being dragged
limply behind
sometimes i want to
pretend each day
doesn’t matter
can the angel-fueled
furnace churning the
words burning in turns
bake my blackbird pie
will the rope that keeps
me tied to the back
of this bakery delivery
truck cease to exist
besides
what’s so easy about
sugar fruit
flour
and heat
bhagiti 9.19.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1902 minThe 365 Project#152 you turn your leaves and greet the trees on hands and knees and wonder what kind of fool am iwhy is it like this
why does the day kiss
the light from
satellites above
what sleepybug journeyed eye
can compromise what i
have known all along that
there is nothing but a heatseeking
heart beating deep inside of me
why can’t i hide this
why do the birds miss
the sigh from
my eyes above
what tatertot tasted kiss
do i miss the most like
the pale ghost who hangs
from my bedpost a sad memory
of how everything used to be
you turn your leaves
and greet the trees
on hands and knees
and wonder what kind of...
2007-09-1802 minThe 365 Project#151 weightless resistancesometimes i float
sometimes i sink
in between there is
weightlessness
i am heavy
with weightlessness
it presses down on me
like a hawk before the kill
the moon begins
to swell for the sixth time
and the hawk clears the yard
before weightless resistance
lifts itself skyward
i will turn a corner
i will turn a corner
bhagiti 9.20.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1701 minThe 365 Project#150 requiem for an alley catagile grace under
four-corner street
lamp humming light
orange mystery
cool in the chaos
of shouts squealling
tires in the din you
ruled from the alley
i will look for you
always and again
otherwise this
city’s already dead
and then i lost you
under the wheels
they destroyed your
ginger symmetry
sometimes the only
thing that matters
is what we will never
understand
i will look for you
always and again
otherwise this
city’s already dead
bhagiti 9.16.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1602 minThe 365 Project#149 recovering the acorni look over the edge
and they’re all gone
not a single scrap
of paper to be seen
eaten buried or
retrieved this
transmission is
slowly weakening
nothing’s lost
that can be found
everything is
someplace
like a squirrel
who spends his
life searching
to find
nothing’s lost
nothing’s lost
bhagiti 9.15.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1501 minThe 365 Project#148 yes i said yes tonighti get so tired
sometimes
i want to disappear
into it
lose myself
wrapped in
the arms of morpheus
forever
tonight
yes i said yes
tonight
i will give in
very soon
i will slip past the gate
without fail
tonight
yes i said yes
tonight
bhagiti 9.14.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1401 minThe 365 Project#147 the submission of nightthe blankets wouldn’t
release me as i lay trying
to go back to where i was
minutes ago with the cold
from the open window
working its way
into my failed attempt
at dream recovery
morning is a cruel killer
of warm blanketed bliss
a destroyer of dreams
evaporating the gentle
black of night and pressing
the moon into submission
night keeps its greatest
secret during the day
in hiding from
the accusations
of
the sun
bhagiti 9.13.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1301 minThe 365 Project# 146 in a glass house you clicked your ringsa round house
in the middle of the
old neighborhood
and there i snapped
music around my head
before leaving
you lived in
a glass cube high
in the trees hidden
from others though
exposed to me and
to you i did climb
always and again
the same is never
the same is never
the same again
and after
we climbed out onto
a limb dangling our
feet over the black
water underneath the
moon and laughed
always and again
the same is never
the same is never
the same again
bhagiti 9.12.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1202 minThe 365 Project#145 i take you up in my arms but nothing is there, nothing is therei awoke to the crispy cool
of autumn in the air today
it’s chill embraced me with
its leaf mold caress as i lay
sleeping dreaming a kiss
fall the reverse resurrection
i love you and your harvest
moons and your chilly clarity
but you are no lover you
take but cannot ever give
i will be here
same time next year
i will be here
every day i will slip into you
surrounded by increasing night
and breathe deep your cool
before we part again never
having shared a single secret
i will be here
same time next ye...
2007-09-1102 minThe 365 Project#144 tell me something, anythingpeas in a pod
what does it all mean
the vines are long
but have surely
reached something
tell me something
anything
tell me something
anything
last night a
kitchen full of dying
birds in cages
we healed them with
sunflower seeds
tell me something
anything
tell me something
anything
everything quiet
speaks again but we
don’t always hear
it doesn’t mean we’re
not listening
tell me something
anything
tell me something
anything
bhagiti 9.10.7 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-1002 minThe 365 Project#143 why water whymy shoes
in a dream
and my feet in them
in awful
brackish water
where i found
indian drums and later
a man tried
to kill me
for them
i woke up
again to rain
already feeling the wet
seeping in
to my bones
wondering
what water means to me
and if it
figures in
my death
why water
why do i
never seem to escape
love and
death within
your cool
green and blue brine
at once
i breathe
then die
bhagiti 9.9.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-0901 minThe 365 Project#142 the dilemma of morningnothing beats
rain in the morning
before the sun
and bird worms
here the bed a
paradise of
non-escape
a warm refuge
in diaphanous
gossamer
at one with
lingering half dreams
and the hissing
against the leaves
outside
the moon that
tormented me
last week is gone
now and the sky
through my window
drips dark as i
make my way
out of night to
fight off the day
bhagiti 9.8.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-0801 minThe 365 Project#141 making the morning snowglobe cryno full range bleary
eyed evening moon
hypnosis can make the
morning snowglobe cry
daybreak dreams
everlast the
longest haunting
the rest of the day
for two weeks
here i’ve lingered
each of these
a cipher
shouts and kissing
nowhere running
underwater flying
clamshell mystery
stuck between night
and day a limbo
of consciousness
i can’t escape
for two weeks
here i’ve lingered
each of these
a cipher
bhagiti 9.7.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-0702 minThe 365 Project#140 a little less resistancei want to float
i want gravity to lose
its hold on me
just a little i want
to move with a
little less resistance
i used to dream
i was invisible
and that i could fly
i would disappear
and float away
over the playground
it sounds simple
but there’s no
comprehending this
now invisibility
is an impossibility
but there’s still
hope for light between
the earth and the
bottom of my feet
it sounds simple
but there’s no
comprehending this
bhagiti 9.6.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-0602 minThe 365 Project#139 some people have all the lucki once knew this girl and
rain poured from her fingers
but the only parade she
ever touched was her own
once i squeezed my finger
to see if the water would come
and just as i was about to
stop i could only raise a drop
some people have all the luck
some people have all the luck
when counting stones or stars
you need to go by thirteens and
sevens the logic of happiness
has nothing to do with elevens
the bridges crossed and
powders lost are not for coming
and going but for dandelions
growing and fingers...
2007-09-0502 minThe 365 Project#138 my relationship with the moon is, shall we say, complicatedlast night the moon
waning
from behind dappled
backlit clouds
directed my dreaming
even so
cruel arid moon
i’ll still love you
there i witnessed
three deaths
including my own each
still heavy
within me i am shaken
even so
cruel arid moon
i’ll still love you
tonight i will pull the
curtains
in tight to keep that light
from seeping
into my senseless sleeping
even so
cruel arid moon
i’ll still love you
bhagiti 9.4.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-0402 minThe 365 Project#137 post-it notes and listlessnessall the notes to myself
the to-do’s and to-be’s
the unpurchased
groceries
reminders
and crazy ideas
have all fallen from
a bulletin board
in limbo
i tried to put it all back
together but all i got was
a paper version
of me
an effigy
full of crazy ideas
and unpurchased
groceries lying
legs akimbo
life is a day job
full of unheeded
to-be’s and
listless schemes
and then we realize
everything falls apart
bhagiti 9.3.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-0302 minThe 365 Project#136 seven stonesthese stones have fallen
from those stars
and these stones here
have fallen from
my ears
last night at dusk the sun
whispered to
the moon it’s going to
happen soon
you’ll see
come closer to me
like the ocean
i have become so
obsessed
with the pace of the day
that i have forgotten
who i am
bhagiti 9.2.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-09-0201 minThe 365 Project#135 freeing themselves from the rivulets and tributaries of the mind, a school of fish make their way into my secret sargassothere is a determined
hopping fish deep
inside me flopping his way
to the pool of green great
escape in my heart
it is where he meets
eternity
no one to rain on his
plans he speeds to his
school of wisdoms in
session everywhere
inside me and like in
that dream i am late
for class
there is no here
beyond there
there is no here
beyond there
don’t hold it against me
the rivers inside me
they are teaming with brine
who knows what futures
lie beyond the walls of
sleep deep within the
hollows and pools in...
2007-09-0102 minThe 365 Project#134 explain it awaysometimes we all
try to explain it
i do it too
but sometimes it’s
unwise to unravel
and dabble in
the why
because the fruit
is soft beneath
the rind
like they say
if you explain
it away
it’s gone
we have looked out
the window upon the
giant face
who strokes its chin
while we’re inside
quickly rendering it
invisible
the diamond
in the mine
is still
a stone
like they say
if you explain
it away
it’s gone
bhagiti 8.31.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-3101 minThe 365 Project#133 the short reign ofking loui the blank-teenth
your reign was short
an unlikely snow king
a loner from the get-go
unaware of your own
perfect purity
sometimes timetables
times three just
don’t make sense to me
you in your sweet pea
television set bed
plastic versailles with
your vices and habits
you could be cruel but
it wasn’t your fault
sometimes timetables
times three just
don’t make sense to me
king loui the blank-teenth
your reign was short
an unlikely snow king
but in an instant you
taught me how to love
a cricket i never knew
sometimes timetables
times three...
2007-08-3002 minThe 365 Project#132 the pharaoh's danceit’s unwise digging up
some pharaoh’s tomb
are the all wars
pestilence
and curses
worth it
for somebody
else’s dusty
flea market
and who’s curse is it
anyway ours or his stuck
for millennia with
an out of date
awkward
chair a
dead cat and
impractical
gold headwear
if there’s a lesson from
history it’s this the past
is dead and if you
die with lots of
stuff you’re
still dead but
we still keep
moving
million-year-old
garage sales into
better digs
bhagiti 8.28.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2901 minThe 365 Project#131 summer's endi’m anticipating
that day
when you can feel
that something
has changed
you can’t put your
finger on it but
you just know
that summer
is over
and you smell
autumn
in the air
the sky paler
the leaves beginning
to molder
the chill of the
morning and the
sharpness of
night
i do not mourn
the loss of summer
but i celebrate the
birth of
autumn
and its continuously
failing
resurrection
bhagiti 8.28.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2801 minThe 365 Project#130 nowhere is somewherecoming out of nowhere
what a place to be why
would anybody leave
trade you my here
for there
nowhere is somewhere
got to be
does it work in reverse
can the tables be turned
is it a key without a door
or the other way
around
nowhere is somewhere
has to be
someone once told me
you’re going nowhere
but i got lost on the way
now i’ve forgotten
the directions
nowhere is somewhere
has to be
nowhere is somewhere
got to be
bhagiti 8.27.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2702 minThe 365 Project#129 sleep's puppeteer won't let me dancesleep the great equalizer
and mystifier we have
not danced well together
for such a long time
what have i done
to turn you away
take me in your arms and
caress me seduce me
headlong into your
wetless dark waters
to swim with the
fishes of dreams
sleep the more you ignore me
the further i slip into
this waking coma strung
up by your puppeteer
who pulls the strings
but won’t let me dance
bhagiti 8.26.07 perrysburg
2007-08-2602 minThe 365 Project#128 in the forest with no namerain splatters the trees
out my window coming
in small crescendos the
hissing rising and falling
against the leaves
i want the
green glistening forever
in here the lights and
speakers hum but i am
detached squeezing
the life out of this through
filters and sieves
i am not
losing myself fast enough
there is a tree resembling
each one of us hidden
in a forest somewhere
we seek it stumble upon
it or hide from it
if we find it
we know how we die
bhagiti 8.25.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2501 minThe 365 Project#127 for-ends foreverwhen we were kids
it was always
tree-fort go-cart
for-ends forever
and then there was
no end
from start to finish
to start
and now oceans of
endings the
seas defending
clinging and
bending over
backwards
from start to finish
to start
so we’re for-ends
forever strange
loops blending
endings into
openings
from start to finish
to start
bhagiti 8.24.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2402 minThe 365 Project#126 time and time again (but i feel better now)i have reached the
breaking point
there is no more i can
do they
have asked too much
time and time again
here i am here i am
i’ll fold myself into
an paper moth
and toss myself over
the edge
flutter or fall i’ll be free
time and time again
here i am here i am
my shell has cracked
i am used up
i can no longer sleep
worried
i say it will change but
time and time again
here i am here i am
time and time again
here i am here i am
bhagiti 8.22.07 perr...
2007-08-2301 minThe 365 Project#125 night and day: morning glory nightshadetoo much morning in here
not much night
both have their quiet
loneliness
but the morning’s
wonder is not the
night’s mystery
what is it to be ruled
by the moon
or the sun
life forces the day
upon us desire
compels the night
each a sentence
march into glory retreat
into shade the day
a battle the night
an arcade
emerge from one
and slip into the
other having changed
bhagiti 8.22.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2201 minThe 365 Project#124 the only thing that really matterslike the moth knows
the flame is warm
but deadly
and proximity
is everything
but the moth
was not made
for delicacy
it flits recklessly
unafraid
carelessly we
tumble unaware
that the wind
may dash us
on the rocks
our powdery wings
obliterated freckle
the moss with
the only thing
that really matters
bhagiti 8.21.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2101 minThe 365 Project#123 disappear into the skywhat are we
supposed to do
get lost in the fields
turn under the wheels
spit up apple seeds
or weep in the weeds
or disappear
into the sky
there’s one
thing to be said
about dandelion society
they lose their heads
and the wind just
blows them away
and disappear
into the sky
the balloon
let go over
the grocery store
is both joy and
horror like a ghost
it disappears
into the sky
bhagiti 8.20.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-2001 minThe 365 Project#122 sometimes rain is just rainmy roof has a leak
i am still asleep
i think
the puzzle is not
puzzling and i
should know better
the house tries hard
to keep the water
out
yet our bodies
work equally hard
keeping it in
what is the answer
what was the question
i have a friend who
says he is a laundry
room
he washes and he
dries and the dirty
clothes keep coming
my soul has a leak
i am still asleep
i think
the puzzle is not
puzzling and i
should know better
what is the answer
what was the question
bhagiti 8.19.07 perrysburg...
2007-08-1902 minThe 365 Project#121 what wonder i wonder whatit was the desert
before me from
a sliding glass door
everybody i knew
from childhood
was there
two tiny black spots
writhing in the sky
grew and twisted
into angels that
only i could see
then they were gone
i came to show you
a song i had made
and everyone there
was already singing
it
i took you to your door
to show you the angels
you held my hand
but they did not
reappear
bhagiti 8.18.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1801 minThe 365 Project#120 rattling like an empty boxcarevery morning the train
and every engineer
says hey it’s me
i want to be free
in his
horn
long and low
or three quick
high hits
and this one guy
today a melisma
born in a faraway place
or maybe here without
a home
looking for the familiar
face that means you
have meaning
it’s ok
we’re all dropped here
anyway it’s up to us to
find our way
out
so mr engineer
hit it like this
one time
for me
bhagiti 8.17.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1701 minThe 365 Project#119 i was getting ready to wrap myself up in the holes in your voice but you were gonei made my way
through crowded
streets and a
million voices i couldn’t
understand
it was the mystery
and melancholy
i had seen in a painting
soon i turned into
darkness and a stone
archway was lit by
candlelight
behind it a flea market
and a woman at a
table with a
single, oddly-shaped
container smiled
i knew what was inside
but i dared not look
she opened it for
me and i could not look
away
bhagiti 8.16.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1601 minThe 365 Project#118 a letter to georgiabillions of miles
away there is
a star with your
name on it
whose light
hasn’t reached
us yet
don’t stop
wishing upon it
deep in the
sargasso
a treasure
is hidden
protected by
eels and waiting
to be found
trust is a pearl
and a star
somewhere
there is a box
of all the stolen
pearls
and the light of all
the distant
stars
they are yours
bhagiti 8.15.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1501 minThe 365 Project#117 assume the positionwhat matters
make matters
worse
four horsemen
and madhatters
drawing and
dancing crazy
patterns
and
speaking
in tongues
and math
soon august’s
withering
will be a thing
of the past
and soon we’ll
be shivering
and dreaming
that the sea
is the sky
inverted
and the stars
are fishes
bhagiti 8.14.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1402 minThe 365 Project#116 the penance of memorywhat happens in an instant
can last forever
what takes hours is easily
forgotten
a falcon on a lamp pole
a haiku
on the way to the grocery
store
warm morning insects
the dawn chorus rouses me
i’m out of coffee
bhagiti 8.13.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1301 minThe 365 Project#115 our feet could be laughing at the starsi’d walk down the street
if there was a street to walk
upon
but nothing’s the same
now that everything we
once knew
is gone
the times they did change
but i’m afraid i’m the same
and it hurts me to say that
i still feel like i’m the
only one
would you lie in my bed
tell me it’s gone to my head
i’ll agree
that the things that i see
are not even the way they’re
supposed to be
and i’ll you a secret about
nineteen eighty three
that when you were gone...
2007-08-1203 minThe 365 Project#114 count to thirteeni keep waiting and waiting
but all it leads to is more
waiting
i keep writing and writing
but all it leads to is more
writing
i keep wishing and wishing
but all it leads to is more
wishing
i keep loving and loving
but all it leads to is
nothing
i keep sitting and sitting
and all it leads to is
nothing
i’ll stand out here all night and count to thirteen
you can be all you ever want in a dream
bhagiti 8.11.7 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1101 minThe 365 Project#113 day in, day outsometimes
we earn our stars
and our stripes
sometimes our
stripes are black
and white
or our star
has fallen
prisons stand
where we build
them brick mortar
or invisible
stars don’t
actually
fall the world
merely turns
day in
day out
breathe in
breathe out
bhagiti 8.10.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-1001 minThe 365 Project#112 after swimming under swallows a shaman carved me a heart from a pyramid of hot silverin deference to the hills
the sun comes shining
for love of the trees
swallows on the wing
it is real
it is real
like night to the moon
your face is glowing
for love of the breeze
you trust in knowing
it is real
it is real
once a white dress
meant something
but after swimming
in the clear green water
i have forgotten my name
and what everything means
like shipwreck treasure
long fused together
the old man carved
an icon in silver
and placed it into my chest
and there it began to beat
it is real
...
2007-08-0901 minThe 365 Project#111 now has the shortest lifespan of anything known and it means more than anything elsetoday i beat the lowdrone
and the temple bell
ipushed them down
before they could seduce me
into twenty more minutes
of sleep
today the morning hums and rings
even before the sun sings
its heliocentric summer humidity
and i wonder if i’ll live today like it
was my last
so much wasted
so much forgotten
i know what i gotta do
but i can’t seem to get it done
maybe tomorrow i’ll let
the lowdrone and
temple bell hum and ring
and escape into twenty minutes
of dreaming and stillness
and be alive
what’s wasted is waste...
2007-08-0801 minThe 365 Project#110 like a mummer on the solsticelast night
i dreamt
my closet
was full of unrealistic
animal
costumes
bears
rats
rabbits
squirrels
and
a porcupine
they wore
tophats
and vests
the bear had a watchchain
i wore them everyday
it was both
liberating
and terrifying
like a mummer
on the solstice
i wanted it to be true
once again
when night falls
in my head
i’d like to know
that i know nothing
bhagiti 8.7.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-0701 minThe 365 Project#109 the moment of disbelief between dreaming and wakingi am moving
in spirals
both twisting
upward and
fainting in coils
bhagiti 8.6.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-0600 minThe 365 Project#108 bhagiti battles the muse and gives birth to a pink hippoit’s finally raining here again
the birds and worms are wriggling
the mud is letting go from my
head down to my toes
the empty cobwebs in my head
tell me that philosophy’s dead
that bats that were in my belfry
have all gone home to bed
this one’s not my best one
but i’ll do it anyway
i throw these things together fast
i don’t know any other way
it’s just my way to remind myself
to be here everyday
after gulping down my coffee
i got an idea for a line
i’ll wring it to...
2007-08-0502 minThe 365 Project#107 shoots and laddersi’m
sliding down a wire
i’m counting on the fire
that burns inside
keeps me dry
i’m
looking for a sign
i need a small reminder
fools are always kinder
if they are loved
i was told there is a lake
with a woman underneath
anyone who tries to find her
is never seen again
i’m
tripping up a staircase
i’ve fallen flat on my face
trying to get back
to the top of that wire
bhagiti 8.4.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-0401 minThe 365 Project#106 cricket in the afterlifeseason after season
my veins are full of blue
and my soul is ripe
my soul is ripe
there is an elevator
to the top of your flower
but the sign says
don’t bother
where did you go
where did you go
remember when
you were pregnant
with the sea
but you had
to give her up
where did you go
where did you go
there is a cricket
in the afterlife
whose leggy violin
will put us all to sleep
where did you go
where did you go
bhagiti 8.3.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-0302 minThe 365 Project#105 i awoke to august (in ohio)i had a dream last night
that i was sleeping
in a bed outdoors
in the middle of winter
it was snowing and i
was surrounded by
douglas fir and pines
it was freezing cold
but i was warm
but i was warm
i wanted to stay there
forever in my bed as
snow continued to pile
high and slowly bury me
but i awoke to august
but i awoke to august
it’s already hotter than hell
it’s already hotter than hell
bhagiti 8.2.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-0201 minThe 365 Project#104 the existential rappour it in
pour it out
fill it up
and dump
it out
again
full or empty
full or empty
worry not of this
fear more for the empty heart
than the empty life
life is a journal
the heart a tasty morsel
three vultures told me
bhagiti 8.1.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-08-0101 minThe 365 Project#103 before you can lose yourself you first must be foundwhat will i do
when there are
so many i’m
already forgetting
most all of them
is it better to
blend in and be
forgotten than
to be small and
shine for a moment
you can’t pour water into them
you can’t sweep the floor with them
i’ll ask myself
what’s better
a look back
a sidelong glance
or eyes fixed forward
you can’t pour water into them
you can’t sweep the floor with them
bhagiti 7.31.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-3102 minThe 365 Project#102 a desert songsilence
nursed from cacti
and a million
grains of sand
in a single square inch
each with its own
eternity
each capable of finding
its way into
a bottle
a beach
or nowhere
at all
each locked in its own
oblivion
secreted from
the buzzards
the lizards
the tumbleweeds
the noon hellfire
and the frigid moonlight
bhagiti 7.30.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-3001 minThe 365 Project#101 collusionlike a dentist
who gives kids
lollipops
for good behavior
we stare into the dark
and the light
our pupils
will adjust
to both
a dry
wilting ripple
and an eagle’s
echoing shriek
trying not to be
done in by
this garden
ripe with the
color
of sound
bhagiti 7.29.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2902 minThe 365 Project#100 survival kit for after the turn of the centurywe’re living in
dangerous times
everybody needs
a survival kit
pack carefully
there isn’t much
room
you’ll need:
three cans of irony
quick wit
spare hearts and
a book of unwritten rules
you’ll need a photograph
of paavo nurmi
a bottle opener and
an empty bottle
find some skin
thickener
a recyclable container
and a soft drive
with an undo button
you’ll need a redo button
a self-made songbook
writer’s cramp
travel pillbox and
an incurable disease
you’ll need
infinite capacity for love
and a healthy appreciation
of contradictions
bhagiti 7.28.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2802 minThe 365 Project#99 the 5am car alarm is a wake up callthe price for wisdom
is feeling
what’s locked inside you
is stealing
what you were meant for
a blue heart on a wall
another about to fall
make your case
to the judge
but no judgment’s
gonna come
you’re a blank sheet of paper
ask yourself this
what’s left to find
the bird
knows
what’s in his beak
but not
what’s in his breast
bhagiti 7.27.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2702 minThe 365 Project#98 recurrent and helpless they are perfect, they are perfectwho believes in the earth
do you believe in the sky
i believe in the sea
the oceans brimming with
fishes swimming
and they are perfect
and they are perfect
am i me beyond this sea
is it a reflection of me
or is it reflected in me
we’re all regular people
aren’t we
sometimes snowflakes
look like stars
sometimes starfish
dance like stars
sometimes people
feel like stars
sometimes stars
aren’t stars
and they are perfect
and they are perfect
bhagiti 7.26.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2602 minThe 365 Project#97 mea culpaeven if i had to write it
five hundred times on a
chalkboard
it still wouldn’t be enough
a midas touch in reverse
is hard to get unstuck
sometimes like natalie
slumped in her bed
the only reason
to get up is to show
you’re not ready
for the blue juice yet
the sun overhead
like a lightbulb
over a big stupid idea
laughs
like an overheated
man in the moon
the joke is on me
the joke is on me
i know what is right
but i’m not sure
what is left
bhagiti 7.25.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2502 minThe 365 Project#96 fish in the treesof all the fish in the trees
and birds in the sea
don’t pick me
i am a pile of pebbles
and each day i try to
skip one across to the
other side
some bounce
two or three
times before
they sink
others not once
not one
has made it yet
it’s a long way to go
it’s a long way to go
of all the fish in the trees
and birds in the sea
don’t pick me
bhagiti 7.24.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2401 minThe 365 Project#95 belladonnalove and
confusion
conspire
to tear you apart
still
you are
lillies
spilling
from the mouths
of lovers
but at night
belladonna
you become
its poison
numbs you
its gift
no pain
so you may
fulfill your destiny
the antidote
you
7.23.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2301 minThe 365 Project#94 we're all alive in someone else's souvenir tourist snow-globehow much smaller
can you go
if you could only have
three hundred things
what would you
keep
what would you
throw away
what dusty keepsakes
living in a shoebox
do you take
to remind yourself
of parties vacations
birthdays and funerals
long gone
did you take the pictures
steal the towels
or buy the t-shirt
because you wanted
to remember
or because you knew
you’d forget
bhagiti 7.22.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2202 minThe 365 Project#93 lo and beholdyour ghosts
silent
brushstroke
tombstones
behind
lilacs
and grasses
lo and behold
lo and behold
with one
silent
brushstroke
forever
ruling
matisse
obsolete
lo and behold
lo and behold
bhagiti 7.21.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2102 minThe 365 Project#92 earnesty is the best policyhow could you
of all people
be stuck here alone in toledo
i just don’t get it
what’s the matter with people
it’s something
else isn’t it
there’s something i can’t
put my finger on
what’s the rest of this story
i’ll ask
i’ll ask now
did you see me
look at your hands
there was something i wanted
to ask
i saw you turn in the mirror
i’ll ask
i’ll ask now
what do you say
bhagiti 7.20.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-2001 minThe 365 Project#91 the past is no friend's couch upon which to sleepthe past
is no friend’s
couch
upon which
to sleep
bedbugs there
hobnob
with haints
look back
and turn to salt
disobey
daedalus
and get yourself
dead
everyday
i deal in
yesterday
i dance
the dance
of death
one foot forward
do si do
one foot back
fall apart
at the end
i’ll sing
one last eulogy
for everything
that came
before
bhagiti 7.19.07 perrysburg, oh
2007-07-1901 minThe 365 Project#90 always the moon to mei’ve been here before
and it’s always the same
love lets them go and i’m
half drowned
do you not see the irony
i do
i tuned my strings too high
and they’re starting to
break my heart it won’t
make a sound
but i’ll listen real close
you too
a hundred thousand flowers
i give you just walk to the
top of this hill and look down
there they are
they are yours
they always
were
you always
will be
the moon
to me
you always
will be
the moon
to me
bhagiti 7.18.07 perrysburg,
2007-07-1802 minThe 365 Project#67 lowville (w/matt wallack)it’s been a while
i remember your
sandy pines and
stone quarry hill
your racetrack fairgrounds
deep gully ravine
remember me
we have unfinished
business
car wrecks and near
misses
the first kiss
that never was
what did you do
to earn your name
how low did you go
what else can you bury
i miss your mystery
and red brick
ubiquity
you were so close
yet so far away
i only made it
once by bike
it was a long ride home
bhagiti 6.25.07 lowville, ny
2007-06-2503 minThe 365 Project#66 you are it (w/matt wallack)sunrise here
in beaver falls
moving
over and
through
the pines
and in an instant
i realize it
all of it
is me
or rather
i am it
i
you
we
are the fence
the trees
the moth
the hawk
the sunrise
we are
every stranger
and they
are us
and all
of this
too
no selves
we are
everything
and
you
are
it
bhagiti 6.24.07 beaver falls, ny
2007-06-2503 min