Man With Black Hammer Going to Kill Someone steps across the street and the world gives way there is need of death no hammer to the coffin but hammer to the head a voice a rich deep voice slides the stairs to greet you a photograph or a painting both in a picture book. to meet you “Hello I am... Show moreMan With Black Hammer Going to Kill Someone steps across the street and the world gives way there is need of death no hammer to the coffin but hammer to the head a voice a rich deep voice slides the stairs to greet you a photograph or a painting both in a picture book. to meet you “Hello I am death to greet you " this unsurety of life may find you can be pointed to is true for the heavy breathing will breath you will smell you Love will be hated the Block Hammer cared for until you are dropped iPeler Wmlnrr _35_ Show less
The Institution Rocking straight-backed chairs scrape out hours like Xs on calendars, Disjointed words fall from slack jawed redwet lips like uneaten food and forced-smiled nightengales patiently rattle pills into staring palms, nodding at each answering swallowi There's a dry-eyed crying sound... Show moreThe Institution Rocking straight-backed chairs scrape out hours like Xs on calendars, Disjointed words fall from slack jawed redwet lips like uneaten food and forced-smiled nightengales patiently rattle pills into staring palms, nodding at each answering swallowi There's a dry-eyed crying sound that hangs in the air, it twists in a slow dance with the smoke and the minute hand that never gets to lunch time soon enough. Newspapers idle unread, gathering yellow dust and decaffeinated coffee spills. The television shoots prime time onto floursacked faces. like slides from last year's vacation. Unsedated laughter cuts through the smoke and howls like midnight coyotes. The rocking-pacing-crying medicated minute stops shrugs its shoulders and rocks on, —Birgit Olsen Show less
and insert this scientifically designed hard plastic nipple up your rectum and squeeze this whole gallon of chilled liquid inside you. Remember. don't let up on the pressure or everything will be sucked back inside the bottle and you'll have to start over again. Once the liquid is inside you stay... Show moreand insert this scientifically designed hard plastic nipple up your rectum and squeeze this whole gallon of chilled liquid inside you. Remember. don't let up on the pressure or everything will be sucked back inside the bottle and you'll have to start over again. Once the liquid is inside you stay put until the urge to evacuate is too strong to hold.‘ I looked around for something to read but there wasn't a T. V. Guide. Reader's Digest. People magazine, or Efferdent bottle anywhere so I sat back and contemplated the job before me, About fifteen years ago Clarence replaced the toilet I was about to use. Clarence went to the junkyard. picked out the cheapest toilet he could find. took it home and installed it himself. lt was a nice looking toilet, basically white and relatively chip free. Its only real problem was in the engineer- ing. For example, the hole that the waste water goes down is a little smaller in diameter than the average—sized human turd. and the tank holds enough water for a thirsty herd of yaks, but the bowl is barely big enough to make Cup~a~soup in. Now you don't need a degree in fluid mechanics to see you have a problem. About all you can do when you're at Grandma's is hope you're either constipated or you're visiting cousin Jackie in the next town at just the right time. “Let's see." I said to myself, “What am I going to do? How am I going to get this toilet to flush? Will I have to stop right in the middle and complete my job in two, maybe three, parts? Will I get lucky and go in little McNuggets instead of one big log? Do l hope for the diarrhea or that my bowels will recon- sider the situation?" But my train of thought was interrupted by a cer- tain pushing feeling deep in my bowels. Instinctive- ly my body went taut. I made a face that looked like l was walking into a hundred mile an hour wind. I clenched the toilet seat in my fingers until they hurt. Suddenly one question seared through my mind. “Why are you holding back?" My pulse was racing, I felt dizzy, and now I had to whiz besides; things had deteriorated exponen» tially since I had watched Bob the mechanic jump- ing up and down yelling. “Come on big money!" I opened the flood gates and let it all go. I felt like I was laying an ostrich egg, Too much volume, I thought. too much diameter. When it was over I felt like a rag doll. I reached over for the toilet paper then realized it would have to wait. lt would be bad enough cleaning up what was underneath me without adding soggy soiled toilet paper to the mess. I stood up and checked the bowl—my worst fears were realized. “What do i do?" I thought, “Do I pull up my pants, fix the bowl. wipe myself later and hope I don't ruin my Valentine's Day underwear? Or do I fix the toilet with my jeans around my ankles and the family jewels dancing around?" I took five tiny shuffle steps. almost fell, then decided I would take my chances by wiping later. l _22_ pulled up my pants, dug around in the bathroom closet and found a plunger. About this time the bathroom began to get a little aromatic. There was no exhaust fan and the win— dow was painted shut so I decided l better work quickly, I moved the rug away from the toilet, of» fered up a prayer, pushed down on the little silver handle and turned away. I watched the water level rise and rise and rise and rise while visions of Kracatoa filled my head. In a last ditch effort to save myself from having to clean up the floor with Clarence's favorite brand of paper towels—generic— l slammed the lid shut and jumped up on top of it, The water didn't overflow and. yes. I felt like an idiot standing on top of the toilet. [climbed down. opened the lid and gingerly stuck the plunger in the bowl and began plungering, being careful not to slop anything over the edge. I didn't spill a drop or a chunk. but I did turn the water a shade of brown Crayola doesn't even have in its 64 pack, A few more pumps and the water level was down. the floor was still clean. and my socks were still dry. A shallow victory though because the debris clinging to the side of the bowl made me feel like tossing supper. I swallowed hard. not wanting to see what half-digested lasagna would do to the color and texture. Patience has never been one of my high suits and l was anxious to flush the works because I was starting to feel a little crusty in back. The toilet was refilling so slowly I figured I'd have to steam clean my behind by the time it refilled. It was then lgot a great idea—something on par with the Edsel. ltook a cup that was setting by the sink. Clarence's den- ture cup I think, filled it up with water and went to take the top off the toilet and help the filling process along. But when I went to remove the top. my damn toothbrush slid off and probably would have missed the toilet had I not tried to catch it, Now there was no way I was going to reach my hand down there and fish it out. but I also knew that if I left it and gave the toilet another flush. I might be up to my ankles in the pitch. 50 l rolled up my sleeve. extracted my exvtoothbrush, made a dash for the sink proclaiming. “No child of mine will be a proctologistl" Four plungering and flushing cycles later the water was running clear enough for a healthy dog to drink. I dropped my pants to wipe myself. but by that time it was more like something Freudian than an act of personal hygiene. So stiff-legged and crusty I began the trek back to the La-Z-Boy, I walked back down the stairs into the living room and Mandy asked. “Are you O.K.? l thought you had gotten sick or something." "No." l winked, “l was just going to the bathroom." She said grinning. “Jackie invited us over for ice cream. We would have left earlier. but you were in the bathroom. Wanna go?" -Scott Miller Show less
Trip 1. ll. lll. Bring: Toy Rug Prop Paint Jumble Balloon Costume Furniture Incense Candle Ladder Robot Light Wheel Mask Self—and all others Who will be there? Poets pop singers hoods American homosexuals 20 do w ns Blues musicians one murderer Sculptors politicians punks Business men bus boys... Show moreTrip 1. ll. lll. Bring: Toy Rug Prop Paint Jumble Balloon Costume Furniture Incense Candle Ladder Robot Light Wheel Mask Self—and all others Who will be there? Poets pop singers hoods American homosexuals 20 do w ns Blues musicians one murderer Sculptors politicians punks Business men bus boys People were masks of silver foil Headdresses, third eye reflective dishes Stuck to their heads. Glitter dust, ka/tans, sheets. gorilla costumes, Jackets of the hussarns and other regimental regalia. Body paint, rubber goods, rouged nipples and net tops. Droning sounds coming from the stage, Twenty five hundred people Dancing to keep warm. —Thomas M. Slulsman _5_ Show less
The Laws of Physics Like an object at rest. I tend to stay at rest. Until something comes along. Knocking me into motion. They say chaos is an attractive force. And so you are, And lfall, Overcome by inertia. Once in motion, ltend to stay in motion. Foolishly unstoppable, Until meeting an... Show moreThe Laws of Physics Like an object at rest. I tend to stay at rest. Until something comes along. Knocking me into motion. They say chaos is an attractive force. And so you are, And lfall, Overcome by inertia. Once in motion, ltend to stay in motion. Foolishly unstoppable, Until meeting an unmouable object. They've always wondered what happens . Well. it stings for a while. And I pick myself up, Keeping a sense of humori —Lyda Morehouse Show less
Trust Trusting. like taking of] pantyhose is such a relief one doesn't notice the restrictions of suspicion until they are gone— hanging limp and ragged as nylons on the shower rod —Jody Kristine Johnson -19-
Settling Out At frustrated times I've boiled an apple. tictacs, and food coloring in a pan of water on our stove. or hidden my ten-speed by the riverside bike trails and climbed up some bent-over tree to escape the world in a less destructive and more reasonable fit of loneliness than the former.... Show moreSettling Out At frustrated times I've boiled an apple. tictacs, and food coloring in a pan of water on our stove. or hidden my ten-speed by the riverside bike trails and climbed up some bent-over tree to escape the world in a less destructive and more reasonable fit of loneliness than the former. but, as neither was productive. I turned to writing till I matured and learned to attack that isolated feeling by cooking oatmeal for my family. or biking with a buddy, or just relaxing, since eueryone's gotta be alone sometimes, —Nathan Peterson _12_ Show less
Familial Rites: The Wedding After years of defining separation. I'm drawn again into the circle: first. through time's quelling the old engulfing terror: then. through my own union. not in the image of theirs. but nonetheless a dim reflection and a common joy. Lastly. my literally little and my... Show moreFamilial Rites: The Wedding After years of defining separation. I'm drawn again into the circle: first. through time's quelling the old engulfing terror: then. through my own union. not in the image of theirs. but nonetheless a dim reflection and a common joy. Lastly. my literally little and my only sister. today's bride. commander now of priests who try to stipulate catholic ceremonies she insistently invents— Cathy crosses toward me after the whirl with uncle. father, brothers, Catherine crosses toward this one. parting the crowd. with the full force of recent past and ancient tradition, her face blushing our common blood. mine pulsing in return; Catherine comes to me. dressed in nineteenth-century ivory. her semitic features recalling those (uncoverted) before us— aboue all. the regal presence of our childhood matriarch. our “Dearma. " Ethel. our mothers mother's mother— now dancing toward me as the ghetto women never danced until this brave new world. stepping to the old eastern sounds. the Balkan music played now by a catholic band to please families both faithful and converted. So on our eclectic island home we dance as our ancestors would have. had the women been allowed and the times less trying. we dance to the barking leader. we dance to the applause of neighbors. friends. and kin. to sentiment. laughter. and our own brief history. to things remembered and forgotten— warm milk tested on a childish wrist for an infant mouth— we dance to an irretrievable past. momently captive to our steps. we dance and she sweeps me sweeps me back sweeps me back into our circle. —Douglas E Green -25- Show less
Letter from the Shelter Dear god, [just wanted to check if you still member me. The reurind said you always would. Other people get money and some silk pajammas and go on trips. Why do I neuer get nuthin more than a paper and some leftover turkey. If you dont member me how come the reurind said ... Show moreLetter from the Shelter Dear god, [just wanted to check if you still member me. The reurind said you always would. Other people get money and some silk pajammas and go on trips. Why do I neuer get nuthin more than a paper and some leftover turkey. If you dont member me how come the reurind said [got to member jesus on his birthday, The reurind gave me some bread and wine and said this is how you member me every day and this is better than money or pajammas or trips, [guess [should wait to see if you and him are liers. Me and my frend JD are gonna selebrate my birthday. -Mark Muhich _.1s_ Show less
Lap & Swirl You lap my toes 1 lap your lap Lapping stone's throw Let me go Watching waves plunge Hot horizon born Our famous ocean Salt sauor smine Sublime brine We burst foamward Can’t stand still deep The sand still moves When I’m with you Sliding slowly Swirling Sucking Swirling —Barb Passeul
Dear This Land “Hurry, hurry step right up for the fabulous closing of another American mind . : l. the aforementioned do hereby swear that my mind is closing due to unforseen debts to creditors and societies and stuff. In lieu of taxes, I offer: item: six hundred Stroh’s cans, empty item: one... Show moreDear This Land “Hurry, hurry step right up for the fabulous closing of another American mind . : l. the aforementioned do hereby swear that my mind is closing due to unforseen debts to creditors and societies and stuff. In lieu of taxes, I offer: item: six hundred Stroh’s cans, empty item: one lunar blue resume with three comma errors, lack of relevant experience and overqualification for entry-level position item: one copy TV Guide, used item: framed fifth grade prize-winning essay titled “If I could be any vegetable I'd be a platypus" item: volume complete works of Wm. Shakespeare no lines committed to memory item: 8x10 glossy of Donald Trump converted to dart board: Mom and Dad, please send money. Love. Youth —Devoney Loaser _13_ Show less
[couldn't understand why the affair became so bitter and yet more bitter until the disguise wore off then there I saw you in all your nakedness— the spider. licking your tasty deception With each hairy. hoary leg you swung at me shattering me. laughing when lbled and gustily drinking the... Show more[couldn't understand why the affair became so bitter and yet more bitter until the disguise wore off then there I saw you in all your nakedness— the spider. licking your tasty deception With each hairy. hoary leg you swung at me shattering me. laughing when lbled and gustily drinking the innocence Still. ltried to believe it was not you lsaw. mandibles whispering sweet lulling sounds Until lsaw it all for what it was— the poison retching slime from my mouth. the cocoon constricting my appetite. the stinger making me a whore. the ugly. broken misshapen bug I had become in your design Thinking that I could never escape from your cleuer web— that you could eat me slowly. year after year. sucking dry all traces of what I used to be, lgiue you this. I had become a freak of my species, —Lisa Dietz _29_ Show less
Blame When I was five. [sat in the middle of the back seat Of Grampa and Grama's sky blue Ford. Leaned forward on my elbows. Sang “Little Red Caboose. " Channel 10 usually played polkas. But the windows were down and the radio was of] On account of the late September heat. We were coming back... Show moreBlame When I was five. [sat in the middle of the back seat Of Grampa and Grama's sky blue Ford. Leaned forward on my elbows. Sang “Little Red Caboose. " Channel 10 usually played polkas. But the windows were down and the radio was of] On account of the late September heat. We were coming back from Christmas shopping At Murphy's Department Store Where [spent 50 pennies On machine candy and gum. I balanced my multi—colored collection In a turquoise plastic bowl. munched periodically. [didn't notice when we got to Dale Street. 50 I wasn't prepared [or Grama's ritual call: "Roll up the windows. Lock the doors. It's nigger neighborhood. " [jumped obediently to the window Crank. The candies danced off the floor mats. My grandma still blames that accident on the blacks. —Deuoney Looser -24- Show less
Photographic Effects "Just about everything has been photographed. Or so it seems." Hardly conscious O] the crisscrossing streets, he drove To Lagoon Antiques to buy a Rollei/lex. a Zeiss Lens among a jumble of photographic effects (Leather metal glass) whose images have Disappeared, home movies.... Show morePhotographic Effects "Just about everything has been photographed. Or so it seems." Hardly conscious O] the crisscrossing streets, he drove To Lagoon Antiques to buy a Rollei/lex. a Zeiss Lens among a jumble of photographic effects (Leather metal glass) whose images have Disappeared, home movies. birthdays. Mom and Pop. heartbeats in a stethoscope. He paid $75 plus tax. On approval for ten days. 12‘: change. Somewhere. he surmised. there will be a thing In a certain light. which. brought level With the ground glass and its grid. Ishall lmitate. And this will be the only record Of its shadows. its glare. its it. vilohn Mitchell _31- Show less
Fork You I scrub furiously Thinking what a fucker you are Sweet Scottish ballads neuer sounded so unholy. But I like it loud. And I scream out the love song, Hoping to drown you out. You are speaking of HER. And you smile bashfully, Looking for approval, Shaking as you read the sexiest poem You... Show moreFork You I scrub furiously Thinking what a fucker you are Sweet Scottish ballads neuer sounded so unholy. But I like it loud. And I scream out the love song, Hoping to drown you out. You are speaking of HER. And you smile bashfully, Looking for approval, Shaking as you read the sexiest poem You ever wrote. And the others in the lecture hall Nod knowingly and applaud, The forks go in the other drawer, stupidl I quickly, irritatedly, Rearrange my life, My forks, And I hit the volume up, With a soapy. wet shaking knuckle and l mutter that it’s all your fault That my forks are wrong, My life. —Lyda Morehouse -4- Show less
Love Poem This nectarine that I bite is perfect. It makes me want to cry, If I could take a bite From my lover's upper arm With my teeth It would be like this, The resisting skin The gush ofjuice, The tangy, biting kiss In my greed I would soon Eat him up and then Be left with nothing More Than... Show moreLove Poem This nectarine that I bite is perfect. It makes me want to cry, If I could take a bite From my lover's upper arm With my teeth It would be like this, The resisting skin The gush ofjuice, The tangy, biting kiss In my greed I would soon Eat him up and then Be left with nothing More Than his flesh and bones to nourish my body. But not his mind to fire my souli —Bronwen Stine Show less
Consume your nice drugs You won 't feel so mad You won ’t feel so hurt You won ’t feel At the peak 0/ your oblivion You’re escorted to a small room You will be introduced to your Doctor He asks many questions How do you feel? Why are you here? What do you think I should do with you? You know the... Show moreConsume your nice drugs You won 't feel so mad You won ’t feel so hurt You won ’t feel At the peak 0/ your oblivion You’re escorted to a small room You will be introduced to your Doctor He asks many questions How do you feel? Why are you here? What do you think I should do with you? You know the answers Somewhere in the recesses 0/ your brain But a fog has numbed your tongue Can you rise above it? Probably not. And another day of Puke green walls Patronizing uoices Barred existence Drugged stupor Outrageous rules And doors that Click, Clank, lock. bolt. —Lisa Dietz _11_ Show less
Augsburg College George Sverdrup Library Minneapolis, MN 55454 Contributors Lisa Dietz, a freshman from West St. Paul. majors in English. In this world of insanity. she is happy to be discounted as one of the “sane " M. Anita Gay is the director of black student affairs. Douglas E. Green is an... Show moreAugsburg College George Sverdrup Library Minneapolis, MN 55454 Contributors Lisa Dietz, a freshman from West St. Paul. majors in English. In this world of insanity. she is happy to be discounted as one of the “sane " M. Anita Gay is the director of black student affairs. Douglas E. Green is an assistant professor, A newcomer to the English department. he has been exploring. this winter. the roadside ditches between Augsburg and his home in Northfield. Minn. Douglas Haney is a sophomore English and theater major from Minneapolis. He is a revolutionary youth who does not know enough (or knows too much) to take the future seriously: he is disconnected. yet he loves to look at asphalt Douglas has no career plans Jody Kristine Johnson is a senior psychology major from Minneapolis. Devoney Looser, a senior English major from White Bear Lake. Minn. is an official non-cook. Her motto is “Any idiot can follow a recipe " Scott Miller is a sophomore from Scandia. Minn. John Mitchell is an associate professor of English. He is a double exposure appearing in the English depart- ment. where he expects to be framed and hung for secretly courting Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, in his camera obscum Lyda Morehouse is a senior English and history major from La Crosse, Wis. Mark Muhich. from Hibhiiig. Minn . is a senior English major. A television and sportsjunkie. Mark hopes to stumble into much fame and fortune by becoming a “hadrguy” professional wrestling champion or by replac- ing Rohiii Leach Birgit Olsen is a senior theater major from Hot Springs, 8 D Nathan Peterson is a freshman from Sioux Falls. S.D,. whose major is yet to come. His life is a true story about a boy who just cant help being himself Barb Passeul (a k a. Portinga) is a senior English major from Minneapolis Robin Sanderson. from Brooklyn Park. Minn . is a senior English major in Weekend College. She read The Lord of Ilie Rings trilogy three times when she first went to college, Now she lives with an elf—still mythical after all these years Bronwen Stine is a junior English and philosophy major from Plymouth. Minn. Thomas M. Stutsman is a senior communication major from Edina. Minn. (Ba Dee. Ba Dee. Ba Dee. That's all folks). Peter Wodarz, from Eden Prairie. Minn . is a senior who majors in English. Show less