Quarter View

With so many of us unable to leave our homes during the Coronavirus pandemic, I looked into my notebook of sketches for future (Soma)tic Poetry Rituals that we can all do at home. First, cut out a quarter section of paper or cardboard. Choose a television show you have never seen. Do the ritual for five consecutive days while smelling a different spice or fruit from your pantry each day.

DAY ONE: Watch the entire show with sound off, and using your cardboard cutout, cover the screen, so only the upper right quarter is exposed. Take notes, take many notes in your notebook throughout the show. Try to stare at the screen, not looking down at the paper while you write. I like to use my 3 Basics method.

DAY TWO: Watch the same television show with sound off, but flip the cardboard cutout, exposing the lower right corner. Repeat with notes. DAY THREE: The same as the other days, but with the lower left of the screen exposed. DAY FOUR: The same as the other days, but with the upper left of the screen exposed. DAY FIVE: Shut the screen light off and listen to the show from beginning to end. After that, choose whether or not if you will ever watch the show with the sound on and the full screen exposed.

JUPITER HUMANIFESTO: A (Soma)tic Poetry Entrance

IF CREATIVITY IS AN ORGAN, THEN IT IS A VITAL ONE! IT IS HOW WE IMAGINE OUR PLANS TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE! POEMS PROPEL US ONWARD THROUGH THE SHAPE OF OUR LIVES! POETS SHAPED THROUGH ANYONE WHO MADE US FEEL UNWORTHY, STUPID, UGLY, AS MUCH AS ANYONE WHO HAS SHOWN US TENDERNESS, SAFETY, TRUST, AND LOVE! JUST AS CREATIVE IS EVERY READER OF POEMS, FOR A THOUSAND DIFFERENT READERS OF A POEM, MAKES A THOUSAND DIFFERENT POEMS! COLLABORATION IS SUPREME, AND WE ARE HERE RELYING ON ONE ANOTHER WHETHER WE WISH IT OR NOT! FALL IN LOVE WITH EVERY SIGN OF THE ZODIAC, IGNORE ALL WARNINGS, CONSULT NO ASTROLOGERS! EXPOSURE TO EVERY COMBINATION CAN EXPAND OUR BANDWIDTH FOR NEXT-LEVEL DEEP RESONANCE CLEANSE AND ATTUNEMENT! WE MUST ACCEPT OUR VERY BODIES AS FUNDAMENTAL OCCULT TOOLS FOR FORGING POEMS! RESIST HOARDING THINGS, STOP ANCHORING OUR LIVES IN WASTE! WE MUST DEFY A CULTURE THAT IS ANTIPATHETIC TO NATURAL AGING AND DEATH, YET BUILDS SOPHISTICATED WEAPONS THAT CAN KILL MILLIONS OF LIVING BEINGS IN SECONDS! ACCEPT THE WORM AS OUR TRUE MASTER OF PLANET EARTH! THE WORM MASTER MAKES OUR HYPNO- INTRA- DIMENSIONAL EXPANSION POSSIBLE! IF WE ARE EXTENSIONS OF THIS WORLD THEN WE MUST BECOME EXTENSIONS OF GARBAGE, SHIT, PESTICIDES, BOMBED AND SMOLDERING CITIES, MICROCHIPS, CYBER, ASTRAL AND BIOLOGICAL POLLUTION, BUT ALSO THE BEAUTY OF A PATCH OF UNSPOILED SAND, ALL THAT CROAKS FROM THE MUD, TALONS ON THE CLIFF THAT TAKE ROCK AND SILT SO SERIOUSLY FLYING OVER THE SPECTACLE FOR A CLOSER EXAMINATION IS NOTHING SHORT OF NECESSARY! WE CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW MUCH THIS MECHANISTIC WORLD, AS IT BECOMES MORE AND MORE EFFICIENT, RESULTING IN EVER-INCREASING BRUTALITY, HAS REQUIRED US TO FIND OUR BODIES TO FIND OUR PLANET IN ORDER TO FIND OUR POETRY! IT IS OUR DUTY AS POETS AND OTHERS WHO HAVE NOT LOST OUR JAGGED, CREATIVE EDGES TO RESIST THE URGE TO SUBDUE OUR SPIRITS AND LOSE OURSELVES IN THE HYPNOTIC BEEP OF MACHINES, OF WAR, AND THE BANAL NEED FOR POWER, AND THINGS! THE LAST LARGE WILD BEASTS ARE BEING HUNTED, POISONED, ASPHYXIATED IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, AND THE TRANSMISSION OF THEIR WILDNESS IS DYING, TAMING! A DESERT IS RISING WITH THEIR FALLING PULSE! WE MUST RETURN THIS WORLD TO ITS SEISMIC LEVELS OF WILDNESS! THE MOST IDLE LOOKING PEBBLE WILL SUDDENLY MATCH ANY HUNGER, ANY RAGE! SUDDENLY, AND WILL BE REALIZED AT NO OTHER SPEED THAN SUDDENLY! IF YOU USED TO PAINT, PAINT AGAIN! IF YOU USED TO WRITE, WRITE AGAIN! THE POTENTIAL MAGIC OF THIS WORLD REQUIRES OUR PARTICIPATION! I AM NOT A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER; I AM A POET! I AM NOT AN OPTIMIST; I SIMPLY BELIEVE IN THE POSSIBILITIES OF OUR COLLECTIVE GENIUS! EACH NIGHT WE BOW OUR HEADS TO THANK THE WORM MASTER FOR MAKING OUR TRACTION THROUGH LIFE POSSIBLE! OH GREAT WORM, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!