Karl Kempton


from eleven directions

a line

1.




becomes a wave




(


O


n  ~~~ w








2.


tidal wash shoreline




curlew family drills for sand crabs





)	)	)	)	)	(	(	(	(
 



















bloom stems dance

twist wind-wake
eddies


weighted lavender aromatics
 


is a day a sentence


for astrophysicists

not even a diacritical gesture for quantum physicists
an unabridged oxford dictionary with unending new word search

hidden in inkwells within inkwells zenoed
all the way

to  inked inkwell tattoo

on the arm

of the one hand
clapping

another reaches satOri
 


other uncountable hands busy weaving maya’s tapestry

including quantum physicists like children smashing rocks

in their hands for the joy of twirling sound & powder

will they ever find the words for the ocean’s cursive reply




after heat wave










walking grover beach north pismo beach

(south
our oceano beach?

too many vehicles again)

foggy morning three foot tall grey heron

stands in surf wash fishing

had i my camera could have captured

the
?
neck moment




by  the 1000s

upon coastal cliffs & nearshore rocks 
brown pelicans set up for the season

to fish

gravity drop

30
feet



















!




at the end of the line

the inexperienced surf fishing
know not fish
or
kelp









                          )  
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈





those who tasted know not what

but how slippery the
uncaught caught




bowl










never empty

until not

bowl


***


words

all empty

though empty

always full

of itself




towhee

began in a rain gutter 
banging around

to head butting 
small bathroom window

to bouncing off a window 
back onto jade plant

finally to car mirrors to sit on 
drop off & fly into

until tired 

day after day
crazy bird you say

i say look around 
note wrong identifications

egos butting against each other & walls 
of desires the friction heats the globe

seeking whatever 
false fortune promised

with rare exceptions our psychologies 
do not cultivate higher consciousness

weaponized to harvest hypnotized consumers 
& cull followers for ideologies of hate

even in the tangled mazes of scripture 
pickpocketed by clergy & priests

without a true wisdom guide 
twists & turns insure getting nowhere

to find the true wealth 
note

r ch

Karl Kempton lives in Oceano with his beloved wife, Ruth. Where they reside is 20,000+ years deep in history beginning with the Chumash. Early 1900s all of adjacent Halcyon and much of Oceano was owned by The Temple of the People, a theosophical community. In the 1930s several acres were purchased by Gavin Arthur, who became instrumental as a financial supporter of the Dunites and the Dune Forum.

footnotes appeared mid last year in India (https://kobitadihiblogspot.blogspot.com/2020/06/karl-kempton.html?fbclid=IwAR1va0meMHxwPSdelHAj1lc-38LeJ_sJC9VGmWQIY-1CSdIDzGGKpy6vQfQ). His Rune 2: 26 Voices: January Interlude was recently reprinted by Derek Beaulieu’s https://derekbeaulieu.wordpress.com/2020/10/24/26-voices/.

Forthcoming from Michael Jacobson’s Post-Asemic Press: Intimate Hands.

 
 

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