Big Daddy, Part IV

Heather, Megan, Michelle and I toured the El Toro/Big Daddy Flea market. We did find fleas, and voices, and sounds, and this time in a round-robin poetry collaboration, we distilled all of these with our own structuring, tones, and inner poetic sensibilitites to come up with our project for this week.
Here's another:

Engine (Dust and Gravel)

Money for trinkets, lost items in this show

Take these, these coffee makers and see what you can get

The glass clinking - did it break?

The vendor’s inhaled breath almost stands up

His fists - ready from the discotecha beat

One person’s money, another’s knick-

Knack, clack-clack of a spatula or

para amor y los caros*

One woman sings along the ta-ta, ta-ta

This lady, her clothes look nice

it fits you, the glass looks nice in your hand, buy, buy

2-stroke engine or dentist drill in the distance

“The Mexican flag jello smells like fleas”

The last thing bat girl said before she hopped the bus

With her hot pink high heel shoes

The discotecha music accompanies her

Crunch of high heels going, going

She passes by a Ladies Poncho with Attached Hood

You can have it for $2

Humming, a light buzz again

*(love and cars)

Blue Moon/ Big Daddy

And another from the big daddy excursion...

Blue Moon/Big Daddy
It all depends on what you say.
Late night pooll hall, mellow my little love night,
casting her impressions on $2. porn,
screaming as the children slipped past.

If you paid for the computer
you'd get a computer job,
it all depends on
step, step, step, music step music step.

If you go for porn and 50 fist dates
your daughter will never grow broke-
she will be tall, a "bath 5 cents" house and
A mattress firm commercial, easy sleep after the bong,

and hot pink high heels. "Where's he
going?" she'll ask, she's going to master
it all, switch her shoes, right?
Cause pimpin' ain't easy, Queda Bien?

It's the Peruvian training, depending on where the dust settles,
Mi primo, I left it with you (the computer I mean.)
"How much to make milkie?"
You can have it for $2.

Big Daddy's: Megan, Michelle, Floydd, and Heather

Below is another one of the poems that we came up with together--using the sounds and impressions we got from our Big Daddy's trip.

The Peruvian Training in Me

Dando la vuelta--they are many things to see
the crunch, crunch of a stroller, loose gravel
dusty tires, dust on the hem of my jeans, brand new
a mixture between Mexican and Jersey boy, a milkie drip in this galaxy.

Carta Blanca, it's the Peruvian mojo
in me--a Sega for $15? Bounce, bounce
your puffer blows--"Queda bien?"
All that goes well with you lately sounds good to me.

But here the children scream, "Let me out of this
bouncy balloon before the walls cave.
Let's switch your shoes, to keep out the dust.
Step, step, step to your Tejano drum--
beat, beat, beat the mornings a cold one.

And no one say so much by the cars
if it gets on our shoes, so much dust
use the "5 cent Bath House"
It's the Peruvian training in me--

No one says so much. On our shoes dust
and you know and you know I say "Bueno" to all the vendors.
They mouth "Bueno" back--pressed lips, cheap lipstick, and crack--
there is so much to be lost: the chanting children,
their flat tongues--dragons sipping air.

Group 3

Ocean Manga

The sign, spray-paint, still inviting,

as I make my way to the oasis down Madrid

a few tables, a headshop next door, a chalked up menu

but no books to browse in a manga shoppe

the girl says they rent them, the manga,

and recommends a smoothie

Brick sprayed blue, under

a neon sign. In the reading

room, empty spaces have names

Sammiches, she says, surrounded by stars

It’s almost as awesome as the flavor,

claims the window.

SubHERBin promises high hopes.

When I walk along Madrid

Avenue I wonder why

there is an ocean in the desert

and why it’s a manga and not a mango.

The spray-painted blues

and reds animate,

and they animate hard,

and they animate hard to be seen.

Images of Japanese and MTG characters

coat the walls and hang in reflective pastels

I take a paper menu – they only sell food

that starts with “S,” everyone's friendly,

free internet for members, but without advertising

who knows such places exist –

an ocean nook, down a dusty road

in a small desert town

The only ocean is a photo

landscape stretch of beach

spread under the counter

in this desert diner 800 miles

the closest sea water

200 million years ago

this desert last an ocean.

Japan is a far away fantasy

doe-eyed comic book faces

with shag hairdos the only heroes

in this sashimi café

windows barred like jail cells

and we like two girls trapped

desolate on Madrid avenue

desire to be elsewhere

animated in manga imagination.

Ocean's 200 Million

landscape stretch

you say you want white sand

or wheat

and i hear there are fish bones

somewhere in that

geological animation

Contributors: Jeanine, Adam, Tim, Aaron

Group Wildcat Jethro Tull

A Costly Quest for the Dark Heart of the Cosmos

We watched history being made that day.

there was a sense of expectation in the air.

he’d go today if the ship was ready.

“I promised to build the first. And here we are.”

writing a new chapter to build the world’s first.

it was déjà vu all over again.

The Indians used to call the falls, ‘the place of tumbling moonlight’

a little jealous, his gaze wandered out

plump face paled in the early light.

Nearly 50 years later, I watched history being made again

For Sale

Do Not Park

Bank of the West

Black Box Theater

Downtown Expansion

Christian Science Bookstore

West Bank for Sale

Do Not Park Black

Christian Theater Park

Box for Sale

Christian Expansion

Park for Sale

Downtown West Bank

Downtown of the Black for Sale

For Science

Black Bank Bookstore

Black Expansion for Sale

Black Christian of the West

Black Park

Park Downtown for the West

Bank of the Expansion

West Expansion for Sale

West Christian Theater

Reese’s Pieces receipt lay watching

a black and brown couple intertwined,

a historic fountain and recently purified

water serve

as their backdrop. Near the fountain, neon

lights share a story with such brevity:

Unleaded $2.57.99. Yesterday, I gave

a cashier two ironless dollars and two chewed on

quarters; needed gas to mow the yellow lawn

for the lady.

*The city would like to sincerely thank

all of our bus riding patrons

Len Sugerman, Blue Horse, Philippou, Bohannan.

Please be ready, drivers

do not carry change,

and lost, stolen, free, or purchased

children will not be replaced.

Transfers are good.

If you need to transfer, exit the bus.

Exit through the rear

and watch your step,

firearms and hazardous materials

present an impediment

while the bus is in motion.

This is a cooperative transit service

we welcome your comments and suggestions

(batteries and gasoline are prohibited).*

**Your best body changes along

Steal her style – signature silhouette

Get lifted kiss and icon; feminine power

Really means six hot Latino athletes

Push up push up push solo rebel

As American jumps plastic

Women behind procedures of scenes

Only frizz-free spot slimming

Slicing women from about real own

Bodies; this is Latino superfood

Feminine power really means: Ugly Betty.**

***Yes, we do last minute alterations

³⁵He told the crowd to sit down on the ground

³⁶Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, he broke them

Medicare coverage and free petroleum, sweat them

and when he had given thanks, gave them to the disciples

Handle with care, especially when serving children

³⁷They ate and were satisfied, arrested and free in balance

Youth: your invitation to ramble free of obligation

Be young, awakening, the heart of our city, cog and wheel

Anticipate the cockeyed, intelligent, tinkering Devil!***

Business Access to
Center For Spiritual Living
Hard Hat Area No Entrance Without Proper Safety Equipment
Community Theater This Way

City Council Agenda
Look to Shook
Closed Session in Progress
Las Cruces' First Green Building

*Sourced and spliced from:

Las Cruces Roadrunner Transit Guide

**Sourced and spliced from:

Table of Contents. Latina. May 2010

*** Sourced and spliced from:

Juvenile Justice Services Children Youth Families - sign

Your invitation to ramble - sign

To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering -

Yes we do alterations – sign in window of store

The heart of our city. Awakening – sign on chain link fence, construction site

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. ³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. – passage posted in new Church window front

Handle with care especially when serving children – on Dunkin Donuts Styrofoam cup

Is this your medicare coverage? – random paper card on the ground

Be young - sign

Life in balance | Pilates - sign

Petroleum free in one year – half-torn piece of paper trash

Obligation | the anticipated | can be – piece of paper outside bank, looked to be from a court order

Last minute market – Farmers market invitation card/paper

Look to shook – window sign

Cockeyed – marquee of the black box theatre

Devil! – chalk writing on sidewalk

Man! I’m arrested – chalk writing on sidewalk

Sweat – marking made before cement dried

Sounds of Fleas

On Sunday, November 14, Michelle, Heather, Floydd, and my daughter Allyson and I met at a giant statue of a bull. The first thing my daughter said: "Momma, why is there a blue spot under the bull." The blue spot in question was the bull's balls. That about describes our experience at Big Daddy's Market--a direct view of the underbelly of Las Cruces' capitalism. Focusing on the sounds and other sensory details, we each gathered raw material in little notebooks. Floydd made locals nervous with his "FBI" notebook, and Allyson's Bat-girl mask drew more than a few admiring comments. Somehow, I'm not sure we mastered the "blend in" aspect...but we did find a wonderful
watermelon for $1. Thus, the trip was a success.

I can only hope that the "exquisite corpse" poems we developed as a group make you think you are a small child looking at spray-painted bull's balls...

Here's one of them:

Sounds of Fleas

Mellow, my love, it's Sunday.
Open big--that was a good verb,
quiet and gravely, our $3 dusty shoes
better than cheap lines at Wal-mart.
The air there is stiff with disease;
out here, at least we can breathe.
You know it's the Grace of God
They're going to be looking for us...getting lost.
Pimpin' ain't easy, very similar Tricky
as the gravel crunches under baby stroller wheels
& the click-clack of the spatulas--
Sounds of a dentist drill? an engine?
Or the police siren pimping its G6 song--
the you part--the crowds--I come through--sound--
But no one pays attention; they bounce, bounce
looking for American Freedom that isn't really free
& 25 cent headbands ¿Queda bien? Does the Mexican shift
fit on me? Diga amor--no one says much
by the cars, but speak about buying, about engines,
¡Andele! The sounds on our shoes, so much dust.

contact

Cabeza de Vaca wuz here. or near here.