Number Two • 2013 $25 Over 170 Poets in This Issue INTERVIEWS essays by reviews by with RD R aindog Armstrong Alvaro Mark Dan Doty Fante Cardona-Hine Simon Nancy Kevin P. Perchik Shiffrin Sullivan Daniel Jared McGuinn Smith Judith Norman Christopher Skillman Olson Barnes Number Two Place Edited by RD Armstrong “Poetry is important, the poet is not” Octavio Paz Editor-in-Chief RD Armstrong Art Director Chris Yeseta Published by LUMMOX Press P.O. Box 5301 San Pedro, CA 90733-5301 www.lummoxpress.com Submission Guidelines Micro and flash fiction, novel extracts will be considered but it must be high quality material, inquire before sending. Essays on poetics, biographies, and the craft of writing, along with well written rants will also be considered, along with interviews. Articles that are topical in nature will be considered as well. Additionally, art work will be considered as long as it is conducive to a B&W format. Mostly, LUMMOX is about poetry, so send your best. The Guidelines: Send 3 poems via email. Poems should not exceed 60 lines (including blank lines—single spaced) and should not be formatted. Previously published poetry is fine, just let us know where. Please attach a 6 line bio (bios that are a paragraph long will be edited). Reading period for the annual issue will be from May 1st to August 1st. Please send subs via [email protected] in the message window (attachments will not be opened, unless I know you). If snail mail is necessary, then send to LUMMOX c/o PO Box 5301, San Pedro, CA 90733-5301 Ad Rates: • Full Page (6″x8″)—$200; • Half Page (6″x3.875″)—$150; • 1/4 Page (2.875″x3.875″)—$80; • 1/8 Page (2.875″x1.875″)—$45. • Friends of LUMMOX get 25% off all ad sizes. 4 • NUMBER TWO / 2013 LUMMOX NUMBER TWO ©2013 Lummox Press All rights revert to the contributors upon publication. All rights reserved. No part of this book can be reproduced without the express written permission of the editor, except in the case of written reviews. ISBN 978-1-929878- 47-5 First edition PO Box 5301 San Pedro, CA 90733 www.lummoxpress.com Printed in the United States of America Acknowledgements Some of these poems have been previously published; all credits are cited at the end of each poem or poems. The Editor-in-Chief gratefully acknowledges the wisdom of all the previous editors who saw the value in these poems. Cover art by Raindog NUMBER TWO / 2013 • 5 THE POEM IS IMPORTANT, THE POET IS NOT – Octavio Paz This issue is dedicated to the POEM and to those who write them. I learned the hard way that separating the poet from the poem is easier said than done. I lost the friendship of the proponent of this ideal last year over a silly misunderstanding. I cannot believe that this happened, but it did. So I dedicate this issue to poets everywhere; to poets and their frail egos…may we all gain some measure of insight and tolerance for each other’s foibles. So, let’s update the motto to this: INGENIUM NON CELEBRITAS – GAME NOT FAME LUMMOX #2 PATRONS LUMMOX has to thank the following people for helping other poets get into this issue by donating more than the requested $10. They are Mike Adams, Carly Bryson, Peter Carroll, Tim Hunt, Ed Jamieson, Jr., Frank Kearns, Victoria Locke, Angela Mankiewicz, Terry McCarty, Edward Nudelman, Michael Paul, Zaida Ramos, Paul Shafer, Nancy Shiffrin, Jared Smith, Clifton Snider, HL Thomas, Jeff Walt, Mel Weisburd, Lavonne Westbrooks and Rebecca Yancy. Very special thanks to the following for their donations to support this project and your editor who was somewhat damaged by fate during its creation: Linda Albertano, Dr. Thomas Brod, Hank Beukema, Harry Calhoun, Georgia Cox, Frank Dvoracek, Ryan Guth, Gerald Locklin, Daniel McGinn, and Apryl Skies. Finally, lest we forget those who serve in the trenches, quietly doing the heavy lifting: Chris Yeseta (layout and art direction) and Alisha Attella (advertising ideas and general moral support)…I’d be lost without your help! RD Armstrong Editor-in-chief 6 • NUMBER TWO / 2013 contents Number Two / 2013 RD Armstrong Introduction/Passages / 10 POETRY I Michael Adams South Dakota Odyssey / 16 Rachel Andrews Birth / 17 RD Armstrong What Unites Us / 18 Anna Badua Virgin Mother / 18 Captain Barefoot Vientiane / 19 David Beckman San Francisco: Day / 20 Nick Belardes Quotas / 21 John Bennett Allegiance & Verdict / 22 Linda Benninghoff untitled / 22 Jennifer Jackson Berry Fat Girl on Winter Beach / 23 Byron Beynon Sorbonne / 23 Chris Bodor Half Staff Forever / 24 John Brantingham On a Bridge above the L.A. River / 25 April Michelle Bratten Wolf Point Montana / 25 John Bush Summer Chicken House Flea Market / 26 Carly Bryson 500 Miles / 27 Calokie Cantaloupe Island / 28 Don Kingfisher Campbell Thought I Saw Four Dogs On My Drive / 29 Pris Campbell Bamboo and Oak / 30 Doritt Carroll p.m. / 31 Peter Carroll Finding Red Bird / 31 Alan Catlin Bus Plus One / 32 Grace Cavalieri At Home / 33 Shebano Coelho Here / 34 Blair Cooper Phantom Creatures / 34 Karen Cooper Fearing The Trees / 35 Ed Coletti Freight Train / 36 DB Cox Elegy / 37 Jackie Craven Georgian Colonial / 38 Ann Curran Dagwood at the Diner / 38 Christine DeSimone Man Returns iPad / 39 Doug Drame The Writers’ Archives / 40 Karen Douglass Being Music / 40 Janet Eigner Cliff Notes / 41 Dan Fante 6-13-13 / 42 Patricia Fargnoli The Places Between / 43 Adele Foley Downtown Oakland / 43 Jack Foley NYC / 44 Michael C Ford Turlock / 45 NUMBER TWO / 2013 • 7 Amélie Frank The Bottomless Cup / 46 Bill Gainer The Great Adventure / 47 Matt Galletta You Remind Me of Philadelphia / 48 Jerry Garcia In Dakota They Wait for Weather / 49 Joe Gardner Home / 50 Susan Gardner Homebound / 51 Taylor Graham Mini-Feature—What the Wind Says / 52 R.L. Greenfield The Blue Sea / 55 John Greiner Dead Letter Office / 55 Steve Gross Summer of ‘65 / 56 Ryan Guth Five Views of the Sandia Mountains / 57 Gil Hagen-Hill We Were Twenty Then / 58 Vijali Hamilton She who Opens the Door / 59 Clarinda Harriss Charles Street + 1 / 60 Mark Hartenbach Roaming Skeletal Remains / 60 j/j hastain excerpt from her / 61 Doug Holder The High Line / 62 Tim Hunt Here and There / 63 Leanne Hunt Trailer Park Mazes Have No Exits / 64 Claire Ibara Reunion / 64 M. J. Iuppa Taking Off / 65 Mary Strong Jackson She Carries / 66 Gary Jacobaly life machinery / 68 Edward Jamieson Jr. Roller Derby / 69 Jackie Joice No Shortcuts / 70 Frank Kearns Border Fence / 71 Lalo Kikiriki Walking to Winchell’s / 71 Jen Kindbom A Kind of Haunting / 72 Robert King Famous Tree in Nebraska / 73 Mina Kirby Empty / 74 Diane Klammer My Mother’s House / 74 Steve Klepetar Full of Eyes / 75 Ronald Koertge Museum of Science & Industry / 76 Kyle Laws In a Year of Drought / 77 Brent Leake A Moment In The Uintas / 78 Julie LeMay Not a Fairy Tale Ending / 78 Michal Lemberger Notes on a Looming Milestone / 79 Lyn Lifshin 30 miles west of Chicago / 79 Jane Lipman Choreography of a Garden / 80 Victoria Locke the emergency room / 81 Ellaraine Lockie History Talks in a Boneyard / 82 Gerry Locklin The Museum of Fine Arts / 83 8 • NUMBER TWO / 2013 INTERVIEWS RD Armstrong Interview with Kevin P. Sullivan / 84 RD Armstrong Interview with Judith Skillman / 90 Grace Cavalieri An Interview with Mark Doty / 92 G. Murray Thomas Taos Poetry Circus Interview / 94 RD Armstrong Some Poetry Outfits of Note / 97 POETRY II Zack Lopiccolo Sweatshirt / 101 Father Luke Red light / 101 Rick Lupert Da Vinci Invented Everything / 102 Radomir Luza My Soul / 103 John Macker tracking the words / 104 Anne MacNaughton Returning To A Mountain Cabin In March / 105 Angela C. Mankiewicz Anniversary / 106 Robert Manaster Holy Land / 107 Georgia Santa Maria Igor’s / 108 Ellyn Maybe untitled / 109 Terry McCarty Missing Tower Records / 109 Daniel McGinn Wave Goodbye / 110 Michael Meloan Freedom Village (story) / 111 Michael Miller Museum of Tolerance / 112 Joseph D. Milosch Sunday School / 113 Tony Moffeit All Messed Up / 114 Carter Monroe Some Enchanted Evening / 115 Gregory Moore Coming of Age / 116 Raundi Moore-Kondo Space Station Distress Signals / 117 Christopher Mulrooney hive / 118 Laura Muñoz-Larbig In Greg’s RV / 119 Evan Myquest Yerington Nevada / 120 Sheryl L. Nelms summer was / 122 Robbi Nester An Outsider Looks at Proffitt / 122 Ben Newell we appreciate your input / 123 B. Z. Niditch Returning From War / 124 Rachel Nix Sweet Potato Biscuits / 124 normal Crossroads / 125 Edward Nudelman Lizard Status / 126 Terrence Oberst Night / 126 Anne Britting Oleson Laundromat / 127 April Ossmann Dark Chocolate / 127 Lorine Parks bog queen / 128 NUMBER TWO / 2013 • 9 Tim Peeler Henry River Poems 33 / 128 Alice Pero California Sunset/Backyard / 129 BC Petrakos Rainy Days in Los Angeles / 130 Darrell Petska Register of Historic Places / 131 Rob Plath To Balance the Scales / 131 Rabbit A Poem for Robert / 132 RL Raymond February / 132 A. Razor In the Company of Shakespeare / 133 Frank Reardon War In Silent Places / 133 Kell Robertson A Family Joke / 134 Judith R. Robinson even lovers (haiku) / 134 Levi Romero One Last Cruise Around the Plaza / 135 David Roskos The Applegate’s Lake Memorial Irrigation Ditch / 135 Walter Ruhlmann The Soil / 136 Lisa Sandoval Marriage on a March Morning / 137 Elizabeth Schultz Harvesting Pine Knots / 138 Patricia L. Scruggs Yangtze Passage / 138 Eric P Shaffer. Lovers on Pūlehu Road / 139 Nancy Shiffrin the Rough Surf / 140 Linda Singer Fields / 141 Apryl Skies Legacy / 142 Judith Skillman Canary / 142 Jerry Smaldone As I climb / 143 Carol Smallwood Midwest Dirt Roads / 143 Jared Smith It Happens Right Here in Loveland / 144 Rick Smith Old Man In Exile / 145 Wanda Vanhoy Smith Places Of Worship / 146 Clifton Snider Waving Not Drowning / 146 Laurie Soriano Diary: September 3, 1928 / 147 Michael Spring The Circus Train / 147 Jayne Lynn Stahl Dancing Shoes / 148 Winnie Star The Alone Factor Place / 148 Julia Stein Where is Mr.