-palmtrees & poets-
Monday, February 28th, 2005 | otherStuff
…not long ago i read during the ‘open’ segment of carlye a.’s poetry happening; ‘poets beyond the 1/2 shell’ , which takes place at the venerable ‘beyond baroque’ in venice
…also in attendance was one s.a. griffin, a CA poet whos work i am familiar w/ because he’s the co-editor of my favorite poetry anthology; ‘the outlaw bible of american poetry’
…after the reading he passed out flower seeds [!] to all who wanted them in honor of valentine’s day, which was right around the corner …a day or so after the reading i contacted him by e-mail thru a SoCal flavored poetry list-serve & let him know it had been a real kick for me to see & hear him read …he cordially e-mailed me back, & we went back & forth about this & that …then one day recently i found in my e-mailbox a piece he had written in response to my poem ‘unindigenous witnesses’ which he’d heard as an mp3 on my website,
[ & yes, the poem is still there as a free download ...just click on the c.d. cover graphic located under the menu on my home page],
& i cant tell you how wigged-out i am to be honored this a way …so, w/ mistah griffin’s kind permission, i give you:
*I Hate Palm Trees*
(for Stosh Machek)
they are wicked things
that find every crack
& live like towering
anemic poodles
w/out purpose
except to preen in the sun
a legacy of empire
that will never be
undone
2005 S.A. Griffin
…when i asked him if it would be ok to post the piece his response was:
“sure man, go ahead & post [it], i would be honored to ride yer wave”
…straight away i let him know that when stosh machek posts a poem of s.a. griffin’s, its obvious who’s surfin’ on who’s wave …s.a. claims to “truly hate fukking palm trees”, which he explained to me were originally “a gift from the missionaries…[who]…began to bring the devils over, along with the devils of their worship….to my knowledge, there is only one variety of palm indigenous to california, & that one grows in, of course, the palm desert”
…this was news to me as i was under the impression that the history of this emblematic flora went no further back than the real estate types trying to give SoCal desert a tropical taste to compete w/ the boom in fla. in the pre-crash ’20’s
…the indiginoues & otherwise flora of CA makes big impressions on displaced midwestern types like myself, we that never had hummingbirds hovering over our bird of paridise plants in the front yard, & thought we knew what the word ‘hill’ meant, & who were never able to see so far in any given direction before
…then i sent him the following cynical little sourball, which was written shortly after my arrival in CA 2yrs or so ago:
*welcome to L.A.*
the palm trees on the
travel posters did not grow
here; they were pounded
like nails into the
straight lines they form along the
buckled sidewalks …the
forces that scratched the
river’s course did not leave the
way paved with cement,
likewise, the sun would
bleach the stones, not cover them
in spray-painted tags
…the original
inhabitants of this place;
the bone crushing heat,
the hungry flames that
turn the moon blood red, & the
earthquakes that swallow
what remains
-natives the
settlers couldn’t kill off-
were splashed with stucco,
& painted pastel
…a charming tropical facade
to cover nature’s
violent
dances
…more thoughts from mr. s.a. on CA flora, fauna, & kultcher:
“i am california boy, top 2 bottom …grew up in s.f. bay area, (east bay in & around richmond primarily), then migrated down here in ‘78″
…”i truly do love el lay, & cannot imagine [living] anywhere else …part of the reason why: you can find just about whatever the hell it is you want within a few hours …all vistas, all people, languages, food, whatever it is you are looking to be a part of or see, it’s somewhere close by”
…”the past few years, we’ve had an explosion of hipsters & hype, but i feel that is a cultural phenom shared by all …full blown hype IS our culture, now more than ever”
…”you should check out the poppy fields, ( CA state flower), around mar/apr….this year they should be outrageous. i hear that the desert is literally alive with more color than ever too” …”i ain’t one for deserts, but the desert in the spring dressed in sweet bloom would be something to behold”
…”when you get to it, el lay is like any woman: listen to her, treat her right & there will always be a garden in eyes & song in her thighs”
…amen, & thank you mr. s.a. …these are certainly words to live by for thick mid-westerners like myself who continue to be as blown away by the beauty of the state of CA as i am by the constant brain jangle that is L. muthafrikkin A.
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