M Community Newsletter
Communication
Transportation
The Sports by E
Divination
The Weather
Community Bulletin
Communication
Did you ever play the clavier in rhythm band?, her dad asks
I wasn’t in rhythm band, that was ____
(Silence)
Oh
(She knew he knew that)
I played clavier in rhythm band. It was the first instrument I ever played
Like Bach?
No, not like Bach. I was in grade 5 and our teacher was particularly ambitious so she pulled out all the percussion instruments that were hidden away.
(Silence)
(he continues)
I got to play clavier. Other kids played the bongos and xylophone. It was cool.
#
A story about a talking spider
A story about a stalking crow
A story about a dead raccoon
A story about a pony in the attic
A story about plucking a chicken
A story about stuffing a turkey with its neck
A story about paranoia in which the narrator grows so unsure of what they are writing they determine they must restart
A story about plaster shapes
A story about a fish
A story about the river where that fish lives
A story about bruised skin
#
I stripped to a bra and loose pants, then lay on my back under fluorescent light.
She draped a hot blanket over my body, tucking the corners into my bra straps, which was not difficult given their thickness.
I closed my eyes as the machine powered on to suck dead skin and release crystals at the same time.
“I always tell people it feels like a cat licking your face.”
That sticky pink abrasion
Transportation
And then again,
On the other hand,
There I was, in error,
Can you repeat that once more? I didn’t hear you the first time,
Was it this one you liked?
More on that later,
Returning to my previous point,
What was I saying?,
Anyways,
Sooner or later,
There I was,
Moving on,
The Sports by E
Kampala Suburb, Michael Armitage, 2018
The Thrill of Affection, Naudline Pierre, 2018
Living Doll, Anthony Cudahy, 2014
The Wailers, Maja Ruznic, 2019
Miroco Machiko, 2017
Divination
The soul and past lives:
The soul is an energy that comes from the force of the earth. Our earth is a closed system; its materials and energies are finite. Energy is recycled through various manifestations and comes to inhabit a body as a soul. A body is made of the material and energies of the earth, and contains a soul, or a consciousness. A body and its energy are one of the many interdependent closed systems of our earth. The purpose of a spiritual practice is to unite the body with its energy, and the soul with its past lives, manifestations and embodiments. A union of the multiple lives of the soul is possible through movement! (Of the body, of energy, of objects)
Try hot/cold nostril breath: imagine one nostril’s breath is blue, the other red. Depending on whether you want to heat up or cool off, imagine breathing in one colour, and breathing out the other. Hover your right hand over the bridge of your nose, with thumb and pinky released. While you breathe in, close the right nostril with your right thumb, while you breath out close the left nostril with your right pinky. The direction of breath can be altered—right in left out, or right out left in—depending on the desired energy flow.
The Weather
the sun did not rise today
from thick darkness to surreal blue
(a hyperlink, a Joni Mitchell album cover, an epoch of paint)
to a baby boy shower,
to grey, to blue, to black again —
in that blue I feel the light’s clasp,
the skin of the sky peels
as though off my back
until the thick dark settles
Community Bulletin (for the slow return of light)
1) get rid of plastic knickers! do you know what this means? 100% cotton underwear
2) to act of love instead of fear
3) boil your rubber sex toys! clean your crystal dildos! we are entering a year of hygiene beyond our hands and breath
4) to cultivate a life with rituals and intention
What is your ideal setting for reading? For writing? For making art? For eating? For spending time with friends? What objects are around? How does your body feel? What time did you get up? Do you feel rested or tired? Do you prefer warmth of cold? Do you prefer darkness or light? What are your intentions for the day? For the week? For the year? What is your calendar of rituals?
“End of Winter,” The Wild Iris, Louise Glück, 1992