For Natasha Marin, Hailey Higdon, Tanya Holtland, and Raanan David. Images taken during a recent trip from Seattle to Walla Walla and back. This is the third of three parts in this series of images and poems. The first part may be viewed here. The second part may be viewed here.
A Soundcloud recording of this post can be found here.
Washington
Space: Etch
Hollow
Grind
Loan
And Groan
And stay
And be
And us
We are
Or are: not
Washington
Erasure: Space
Lastly
Firstly
Knowing
Light
Trick
Push
Nob
Twist
Horrific
Washington
It is Space: Space
Tremble
Throttle
Throb
Strobe
Slabs
Drip
Rush
Flush
Tamper
Washington
Cold Space:
Heat
Home
Trace
Fledge
Spoken
Prongs
Flown
Thieves
Naked
Dangling
Washington
Space:
Rage and
Ragged and
Sage and
Sagging and
Trays and
Flays and
Made and
Makes and
Rays and
Displace and
Space
Washington
The good one came
Adjusted their necklace
And said it all before Space:
Listener
Returning of the burial
Returning of the mound
Returning of the turn
Transformation
Merge
Washington
Space is the flow that causes Space:
To exist by itself and with us
To create for and destroy for
The bifurcation and sweet melody
Moment of caustic and chaos
And clastic and trance
We were made for this
We were made for this
We were made for this
Washington
Time has given us
And Space: Rest
Space: rests with us
Resting and brooding
The rest is following
Such as we see it
Such as our eyes
Move glinted
Tinted into effect
Affect notions
Loss and betrayal
Betrothal of earthen
And solemn gravity
Washington
Space: Space
Laced with honeybee
Laced with lavender
Shame we had to
Damn shame we had
Open: Old
Discovery
Trust
Ribbed and Robed
Movement to mirror
Washington
And I have come for you
I will eat
And Space: will be devoured
And then destroyed
Trampled upon and crushed
By that pale gaze
Blue eyes of fire to burn and
You will be here unrecognized
I will be here unresolved
Lust and pray to me prey
Play with palates and palpates
Me to be three in size
Washington
Holding I
Do not
And you
You do
Strengthen
Forever
Space:
There
Me: Not
The disappeared
The blanket
Of black
Washington
And so
Space came
And space went
And I knew
It would be
And I knew
Intact and
Comradery
Tactful
Rupture
Space:
Thanked
Washington
Hold me, space,
For I have begun
To begin
Again
As you have
As you have come
To begin
Again
The tone
More known
The space
More Space:
Finally
Greg Bem is a writer, media artist, librarian, and traveler of a proud white privilege writing out of Seattle, but with roots in New England and Philadelphia. He has visited Walla Walla twice in his life and is determined never to repeat the route to and from. His recent major male writer influences include Edward Abbey, Rene Char, Georg Trakl, and John Steinbeck.