G^lenn B^ach

from: Atlas Peripatetic

12

Actual or imagined.

There, the ubiquitous plastic round tables,

the bendy chairs a tender approximation of café

(at least they’re green).

At a certain moment, common

falsehoods.

How many afternoons and evenings

for however many years sitting there

watching that tiny corridor of the world.

Favor of enactment,

a decade of everyday conversations.

Now I note them for the sounds they make,

their thin legs scraped against the sidewalk,

a set of circumstances for others to use,

modes of improvisation,

arenas in which to act.

Aloha means goodbye.

40

triggers

shrill cadence of bleats

siren

calls

first

1897

every 20 seconds

60

Slight

wind

falling leaf

ficus berry

faint lilt

earthquakes

trip sensors in the door

microphone

interior pressure

mercury tilt/shock

signals

crossover unit

closes

switches and activates

headlights

horn

pierce

rooftops.

They never.

will

until

first

until the end of the world

drained

Blaring! On wheels! An extensive library of data,

the experience of thousands!

77

This is important.

Quieter than metal,

the plastic grocery bag of 1977

type 2 HDPE

the New York City experiment,

the competition for traditional brown paper,

exclude—dark in color, made into lumber,

clean and dry thoroughly

these

baggies on a roll,

plastic produce bags on a roll,

2 and 4 yes,

7 no,

no greater than,

no less,

no length or width,

no longer or shorter,

free of charge

this

grocery

drug

convenience

department

specialty

discount

restaurant

t-shirt sacks,

merchandise bags,

grocery bags,

checkout bags,

non-sealable sacks and bags

with handles or drawstrings,

without zippers or integral extruded closures,

with or without gussets,

with or without printing,

although the bags are free—

high density polyethylene

(propane, butane),

light, sturdy,

easy to carry,

built-in handles,

cheaper than paper,

compacted into less space,

different resins

—check for the small holes,

the triple knot,

the environmental cost,

the coiled receipt,

the last slice of bread—

it goes without saying that these

are the good days, that which does not

need to be said:

since they do not break down,

the answer is not clear.

127

A muscle car and the engine roar,

exhaust, rims, and spoilers,

special intakes for the engines,

supercharged throaty sound of the road,

the most famous one the 409,

fostering:

the full-throttle youthsong of roar and thunder,

the smell of heat rising,

the pavement of America,

the hottest cars ever made,

the straight always,

the roaring pipes of lake,

the bottom out curves after air,

the satisfying nature,

the evident beauty of:

red

apple and bright

signal flare,

orange

grabber,

yellow

bright, light, and light,

beige

pebble and mist,

brown

tan and prairie,

gold

bright and morning,

bronze

copper,

copper

bronze,

green

bright and dark,

dark moss and ivy,

lime

new,

turquoise

young and frost,

aqua

dark bright clearwater,

blue

dark and diamond winter,

white

white,

gray

light,

silver

frost and smoke,

black

raven.

236

this new observatory

a trip through early yards of morning

of heavy air

of demolition and salvage

haul water

missing scene

1/64

farm supply

rugged . . . flatbed trucks

some of the bolts

ocean walls must be flat / smooth

with each passing day of lathe

and plaster

prices

corners rust-red

plywood walls

wrecker boom white wall

fountains

greenhouses

rollback

longratchet

helpwonder

placelift

slotsouth

singpulse

a rope tied tightly

the understanding of open vs. closed

[step back to issue 2]