Screen Dump 180

Apparently someone else made it all the way through . . .
and tried on the vernacular . . .
You've seen these parlor tricks before . . .
We all have . . . last year . . . in fact . . .
So let's do them again . . . and get really ho-hummed . . .
Always good to go to the white board, yes? . . .
Re-up (as they say) . . . and get pumped . . .
You're only as good as? . . . Really? . . .
Is that it? . . . Well . . . I'm OK . . . if you're OK . . .
Even if you're not OK . . . OK? . . .
Watch out for sedentary recluses crossing against the light . . .
Make it happen . . . and look what happened . . .
Approximations of the examined life . . .
but with a generous retirement package . . .
drop-kicked from the 10th yard line . . .
And please don't forget to enter the drawing . . .
for Opera Maven of the Year . . .
Streamed . . . every hour on the half . . .

Sarah Moon

Screen Dump 179

Parking a silver Bentley Mulsanne in your back pocket . . .
with miles to go before you sleep . . .
the sleep of innocents . . .
picking through a bin at the corner iCandy store . . .
your finger in the pages of Murakami's Strange Library . . .
even more hushed than usual . . .
You have videotaped hours of makeovers . . .
and found yourself nights in the editing room . . .
with frosting on your doctored nose . . .
pockets bulging with parking tickets . . .
posing as Lottery tickets . . .
By the way, your iPhone called in sick . . .
The times? . . . They are indeed a-changing . . .
It's not so much do this . . . do that . . .
It's something else . . .
A new do, perhaps . . .
A reworked scene . . .
Whatever it is . . . will be massaged . . .
like the donor's heart . . .
to answer the questions that have been airdropped . . .
and to be corrected analyzed blue-penciled . . .
and returned . . . for revision . . . later . . . in the month . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 178

If there was no term for something, it might be thought that the
commodity is of small importance.
          - Donald Richie, A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics

Pocketing onomatopoeias . . . or onomatopoeiae (either) . . .
The line from here to there . . . from me to you . . .
With you leaning out . . . bookmakers - especially - leaning in . . .
Celebrating life's fine-tooth combs . . .
A time and a place for that too . . .
What if you were called to provide expert testimony . . .
on this or that? . . .
Could you . . . at a moment's notice . . . pick up where you left off? . . .
And now . . . the day done . . . Can you imagine? . . .

Olivia Frolich

Screen Dump 177

Intrigued by the fetishism of bending the air . . .
Emigrants from the edgelands . . .
carefully toe the deep end of the pool (hall) . . .
A mathematical reluctance . . .
a devil-may-care attitude . . .
now that pretty much anything can be undone . . .
The unofficial countryside . . .
of patterns . . . and proofs . . . and gaps . . .
The lost encores swelling the scene . . .
populated with players on the edge of your memory . . .
Your finger on undo . . . just in case . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 176

You ride out superfluous comments . . .
passing a room of garrulous mannequins . . .
whose painted-on eyes . . .
prevent you from doing the right/wrong (circle one) thing . . .
The times change . . . elsewhere . . .
You worry the consternation of some . . .
after consulting a dictionary . . .
feeling energized by alphabets . . . near and far . . .
especially those for multiple platforms . . .
It's time for the future . . .
You are thankful you have done your homework . . .
and smitten with the thought of more . . .
But then you learn there is something deeper . . .
something hiding in the shallows . . . a deeper consideration . . .
appropriating words . . . willy-nilly . . .
from award-winning crossword puzzles . . .
This is only the beginning . . .

Adamo de Pax

Screen Dump 175

With you . . . glittery gowned . . . examining the aftermath . . .
afraid that too much happened . . . too soon . . .
A plate of spaghetti forgotten . . .
Your lush life reflected . . . in too many mirrors . . .
Before you know it . . . you are recast as an opportunist . . .
or an optimist . . . which is it? . . .
who will do anything to curry favor . . .
for a dime bag . . . of antioxidants . . .
You sleep in the spare room . . . within its spareness . . .
within its untrammeled willingness to accommodate . . .
within its DSM-5 single axis assessments . . .
to say nothing of its outlandish vistas . . .
There are voices in the walls of the spare room . . .
narrating the pixels of your unexamined life . . .
dealing anecdotes on the sullen streets of your city . . .
You feature countless times . . .
and appear . . . a moment too soon . . .
on several occasions . . .
Little of import happens . . .
until the players . . . with their parts . . .
enter the spare room . . .
relinquishing their passed-over lives . . .
all spiffed-up, of course . . .
just like in the good old days . . .
when spare rooms made for exaggerated expressions . . .
by players escorted therein . . .
following the dotted line of the body's shadowy escarpments . . .
and where by chance . . . and only then . . .
would the truth of the matter rear its head . . .
Three sheets to the wind . . . again . . . and again . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 174

You have sped through intersections . . .
and gotten away with murder . . .
in a surprising conjunction of opposites . . .
When was the last time you checked your email . . .
for walk-ins . . . interlopers . . .
and other borderline personalities? . . .
In absentia . . . can be fun . . .
and you will have enough time . . . this time . . .
to complete the assignment . . .
should you choose to do so . . .
and . . . it would behoove you to do so . . .
The intimacy of the bubbles . . .
slipping out of Jobs's dent in the universe . . .
is good . . . and wishful . . .
We should be happy . . . and we are . . .
despite the bloodshot eyes of time . . .
which never close . . .
Your therapist has been briefed . . .
to see or not to see . . . which meds . . .
do the trick . . .
the trick . . . not unlike priming yourself . . .
by scanning lines . . .
from a few of your favorite reads . . .
I myself will go with the aftershock . . .
of discovering misspellings in ATMs . . .

Akif Hakan

Screen Dump 173

Riding the buses was like being trapped in a Samuel Beckett play.
          - Lance Austin Olsen

As if these award-winning vignettes . . . informed your life . . .
The steps to . . . and from . . .
Your life as hypertext markup . . . with sidebars . . .
for family . . . and friends . . .
La familia de Cecilia . . . remember that . . . from freshman lab? . . .
Recording five piano suites . . .
commemorating imaginary events . . . in your life . . .
Isn't this what matters? . . .
Little consensus here . . . As expected? . . .
A knock on the door . . . the scene begins . . .
with widescreen guitar rock . . .
Field recordings . . . and why not? . . .
Improvising on the script . . . always a trip . . . and he/she knows it . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 172

Never use the definite article . . . with me . . . she said . . .
I realized then I was wearing a tie . . .
and fiddling with it . . . fiddling with it . . . fiddling . . . with it . . .

Emmanuelle Seigner

Screen Dump 171

The gaming tables open with rhetorical questions . . .
and you . . . dressed for the roll . . .
insist on the provocativeness of Polaroids . . .

There is always something else . . .
always something cutting into the rapprochement . . .
always something that needs to be done . . . or should be . . .

Building an argument for change, for example . . .
Your pins reflecting wanderlust . . .
as if you have been waiting all your life for the barbarians . . .

You tally moments . . . archiving appropriations . . .
with an eye toward sitcoms . . .
Off camera, you worry perspective . . . and momentum . . .

This is not the first time . . . or the last . . .
Taking what's happening now . . .
and imagining what would happen if it kept happening . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 170

You like to start the day . . . with your own coffee . . .
in your own cup . . .
despite the distress of your heels . . .
on the sidewalk . . . at four AM . . .

You never stay the night . . .
What would you talk about in the morning? . . .
You're speaking in a rumor of pentameter . . .
as Dante's Francesca . . .

You have stepped outside for a smoke . . .
taking notes . . . codifying liaisons . . .
(You're tempted to tweet but there's no cell service down here) . . .
The thought of beauty provokes rhetorical escalation . . .

but the winds in the Second Circle . . .
make it impossible to interview Phlegyas . . .
who has taken on the role of tour guide . . .
as if on a London double-decker . . .

What's with the coins in the passengers' mouths? . . .
Doesn't this boat have autopilot? . . .
And why is it so damn hot? . . . I could use a drink! . . .
Where's the waiter? . . . The service here sucks! . . .

Your husband's brother, yes? . . .
Ten years, yes? . . .
And now? . . . the game over . . . the word out . . .
banished . . . forever . . . to this maelstrom . . .

How often did you sillify encounters . . .
dismantling the false sincerity with jelly dripping from your lips? . . .
How often . . . in your excitement . . .
did you drop the hardcover into the bathwater? . . .

Screen Dump 169

You fill your notebook . . . with admonitions . . .
Not bothering to correct misspellings . . .

Screen Dump 168

You take a number and stare at the meats in the deli case . . .
You have survived another trip to Neverland . . .
where incomplete sentences are diagrammed in full view . . .
and pieces of jigsaw cavort to exhaustion . . .
Oblivion changes color . . . again . . .
You are tempted to phone a friend . . .
The deficits of seduction stare you down . . .
Not since . . . you can't remember . . .
An RV goes by . . .
brimming . . . with circus performers . . .
from your old neighborhood . . .
friends who spent far too many nights . . .
brushing with whiteners . . . while asking ATMs . . .
over and over . . . How do I look? . . .
Could it have been any other way? . . .
Review . . . again . . . your options on the drop-down menu . . .
the ones not grayed-out . . .
The caged bird sings off-key . . .
dreams of coloring outside the line . . .
lip-syncs Pulitzer'd composer John Luther Adams's . . .
In the White Silence . . .
You begin to fog from Abilify . . .
when images of your analyst texting . . .
while you spill your guts . . . slap you back . . .
A session In the Night Kitchen would upend his redacted ass . . .

Screen Dump 167

The unmooring . . . abandoning the original phrasing . . .
losing the delightful peculiarities . . .
of playing rubato . . .
as if the subtext from Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage . . .
had made its dispassionate way . . .
through cyberspace . . . into your inbox . . .
You are between scenes . . . between roles . . .
between lovers . . . between . . .
an exemplar of élan . . .
of sweetening the stakes . . .
which more often than not plays out in your favor . . .
as the lights of time quench the sky . . .
with the warm repetition of place . . .
The motion to open has been ignored . . .
or misplaced . . . whichever . . . the redundancy resurfacing . . .
reassuringly . . .
as votaries engage an infinite loop . . .

Marie Fleur Charlesworth

Screen Dump 166

Reading between the lines to new ways of listening . . .
Curatorial duties aside . . .
Who knows? . . . You could be next . . .
With those ramifications . . .
Snowshoeing? . . . On a shoestring? . . .
Into Great Silence? . . . To hear what you see . . .
Pirating conversations with yourself . . .
with others . . .
then doing a one-eighty and returning to your yurt . . .
far from the insistent irrelevancies . . .
of ubiquitous machines . . .
Say again? . . .
Several are impressed by the way you handle intrusions . . .
Wild nights - wild nights! . . . Were I with thee . . .
Not that you couldn't shine . . . if pressed . . .
Have you read the latest doggerel . . . per whomever? . . .

Screen Dump 165

It matters if you want it to matter.
          - Maxine Kumin

But what about contextual heft? . . .
Words corralled from undergraduate syllabi? . . .
Cashing in before stepping out . . .
or stepping on . . .
or stepping over . . .
Always the problem of irrevocability . . .
Of crossing the bridge . . .

For work? . . . Pegged pants and cable knit sweaters . . .

Act 2 Scene 1 . . . In the red Cobra . . .

My height intimidates players . . .
They love it! . . .
Especially after googling wine lists . . . as if . . .
Always the same sluggish words . . .
Where are you from? . . . What do you do? . . . blah blah blah . . .
I traffic in consumables . . .
Packaged as in . . . As You Like It . . .
I hold the aces . . .
Control the scene . . .
Flip the roles . . .
But always . . . Far from the Madding Crowd . . .
I never anticipate counting ceiling tiles . . .
Make the most of a (sometimes) pathetic situation . . .
Ready or not, here I come . . . Oh yeah! . . .

The food networks . . . among others . . . want in . . .
As was Sappho's choice on Lesbos . . .
And now? . . . All accounting? . . . Retrospective . . .
Appropriated and - ideally seamlessly - embellished . . .

Take me in . . .
Feed me . . .
What big lips you have . . .
All the better . . .

David Benoliel

Screen Dump 164

A thin arm makes a face sadder.
          - Anne Carson, Short Talks

All subsequent failures will be given the benefit of the doubt . . .
All subsequent features will be given the benefit of the doubt . . .
Re-examined for negligence . . . sort of . . .
Encouraged to resubmit . . .
It's the paperwork that's work . . .
Pressed into service . . . by whom? . . .
Did you really think you could/would get away with it? . . .
Many of the dead walking behind us . . . are victims of love . . .
Too many are chomping (champing?) at the bit . . .
Worrying aloneness . . . as a talisman . . .
In abeyance . . .
Of course? . . . he/she said . . . eventually . . .
Relishing the idea of thick skin . . .
Of thin skin . . .
Of second skin . . .
Of skin . . .
And this too with little regard for the moment . . .
Doesn't it seem advantageous to be left high and dry? . . .
To be left . . . on your own . . .
I mean the matter at hand, yes? . . .
To be fascinated by frontispieces . . . as it were . . .
and makeshift shelters which . . . who knows . . . could hold the key . . .
He/she has put out feelers . . .
working on his/her profile late into the night . . .
with several chiming in . . .
after the (Greek) chorus . . . had eaten their fill . . .
and packed it in . . .
The importance of someone to yearn for . . . to pine after . . .
To lean on . . .
Lean on me when you're not strong . . .
And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on . . .
The first geisha were men, yes? . . .
jesters, entertainers . . . talk show hosts . . . life coaches . . .
My head spins . . . with images of gambits . . .
A red Cobra . . . with you . . .
In transit . . .
In hot pink costume . . . zippered no less! . . .
In control . . .
In charge . . .
In and out . . .
In touch . . . (as in I'll be) . . .
In the moment . . .
In as far as I can go . . .
In too deep . . .
In . . . terruptus . . .
The finds at archaeological digs have led many astray . . .
And continue to do so each and every day . . .

Sarah Moon

Screen Dump 163

I understood that I was wasting time that would never return,
that I was losing hours that could have been beautiful.
          - Alexandra David-Neel

You reinsert pronouns . . . into your stories within stories . . .
because they welcome a seductive angularity . . .
the intricacies of intimacy . . . of running into him/her . . .
in a parking lot . . . in the next town over . . .
You're happy that he/she is happy . . .
(and you're pretty sure you're being honest with yourself) . . .
Memories flood the five minutes . . .
both of you blue-penciling the script . . .
both sides of the menu vying for your attention . . .
Not interested in the specials? . . .
Ghosts of living friends as character witnesses . . .
In another place . . . another time . . . there would be . . .
There would be what? . . . Unanswerables? . . .
Unfair! . . . and unnecessary! . . .
You have wasted enough time . . . polishing the stones . . .
of the New Year . . .
Move on to the next item on your to-do list . . .
Perhaps you should retrieve dry eyes . . . from the dumpster . . .
examine them for their provenance . . .
their classic lines . . . their beautiful unexpectedness? . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 162

A fatuous day . . . A feet-on-dash kind of day . . .
smacking of meta . . . This is happening . . .
and this is happening . . . about happening . . .
And you . . . again . . . engaging and animated . . .
They flocked to the watering hole . . .
pining for the way things used to be . . .
I wanted to pontificate about something . . . about anything . . .
but there were signs all around spelling out appropriate behavior . . .
competing with signs for administering the Heimlich . . .

We interrupt this screen dump for the following PSA . . .
Of the 12,982 forensic autopsies performed . . .
between 1947 and 1988 . . .
78 cases of café coronary due to bolus impaction in the larynx . . .
(bolus death) were reported . . .
[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1424826] . . .

You never know . . . You just never know . . .
You collected empties (not new) . . .
and compared paint chips (new) . . .
rarely returning before 4 AM . . .
to your monkishly regimented life . . . in the exurbs . . .
Few got past second base . . .
despite your prancing around the dugout . . .
in a short puffy uniform . . .
Since back then it was all about you as comptroller, yes? . . .

Peter Lindbergh

Screen Dump 161

You tweaked street signs . . . then pulled up stakes . . .
with no forwarding address . . .
And now it's your turn to shave . . .
Your turn to become an A B C D . . . F student . . .
a Playboy (Bunny) of the Western World . . .
long in the tooth . . .
mis-directing traffic . . . down one-way streets . . .
littered . . . with black and white . . .
round-screen Stromberg-Carlsons . . . from the '50s . . .
retrofitted for Netflix . . .
and Once Upon a (Prime) Time . . .
You were hyperaware of incidental music . . .
A pro in the confessional . . .
The plot may not even be fully summerizable . . .

Anka Zhuravleva

Screen Dump 160

But there's an untidiness to it . . . a seductive untidiness . . .
An untidiness that can spellbind . . .
As in green . . . the fugitive and unstable pigment . . .
If the green's good . . . it's all good . . .
all pigments . . . on copper . . . especially . . .
Taking notes . . . in invisible ink . . .
Handing in assignments . . . in invisible ink . . .
Hanging upside down . . . for extra credit . . .
demonstrating the latest . . .
in roundabouts . . . in cardiac care . . .
the dilemma continuing . . .
through railroad crossings . . . checkout counters . . .
heavy metal detectors . . .
streets of suspended sentences . . .
A three-ring circus . . . a one-ring circus . . .
a private session . . .
with you . . . bows in your hair . . .
as resident sword swallower . . .
Tracking the progress of (dis)cards . . .
The nitty-grittiness . . . and all that jazz . . .
The hills alive with sublime iterations . . .
of your (dance) routine . . .
And you . . . through the eye of a needle . . .
fingered . . . in the three R's . . .
comparing nursery rhymes . . . to-do lists . . .
Fancying ourselves special . . . if for no other reason . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 159

I was not in the mood for visitors.
          - André Breton

Alone, I think of cloud cover . . . and the state of affairs . . .
that took possession of you late last night . . .
forcing you into a '70's mood ring . . .
trampled by the exoticism of time and place . . .
I always try to gather myself, yes? . . .
and last night was no exception . . .
You could have at least cleared the air . . .
opened up, so to speak . . .
but instead . . . you got behind the wheel . . .
and drove away . . . into a summer day . . .
while coffee tables sighed . . .
under pics of manspreads . . . and failed hustlers . . .
Playing visiting nurse . . . cold turkey . . .
wiping the hours clean . . .
your muse grabbing a ride from the party . . .
of the first part . . .
when relinquished opportunists . . .
flooded the anti-chamber . . .
bottlenecking egress . . . for visitors who wouldn't listen . . .
and drove you bananas . . . with their could care less . . .

Paolo Roversi

Screen Dump 158

The new epoch began a few minutes ago . . .
without . . . Buy One . . . Get One . . .
without fanfare figuration or abstraction . . .
(as if those elements have something to do with it!) . . .
I too have felt the persistent drama . . .
of stalemate . . .
the appropriation and embellishment . . .
of both open and closed mics . . .
though I find it hard to imagine . . .
each of us with a common core . . .
Never forget the sodium levels of lame ducks . . .
They preceded us . . . and unrecognized . . .
they could blow clear through the roof . . .
He/she is running out the door . . . in summer pants . . .
Can you believe the aimless ceremony? . . .
The disproportionate translation? . . .
The squalor . . . marvelous . . . yet form-fitting . . .
inciting a melee among those in transition? . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 157

Your usual definition of fun jumped bail . . .
Out the window . . .
Now what? . . .
Now you're re-arranging polar opposites? . . .
Mis-labeling intentions? . . .
Insisting on misrepresentations . . . mis-translations? . . .
What about sandwich money? . . .
Entering the day . . . cold . . . then colder . . .
OK, we can do this! . . .
It's not so bad . . . Not bad at all in fact . . .
Ha! . . . once yoga class is behind us . . .
On a clear day . . .
But it's not a clear day! . . .
Just assume the position . . . and don't let on . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 156

Flirting . . . again . . . with the outer limits . . .
With movements . . . gestures . . . monodramatics . . .
Pics . . . of you . . . 10, 20 years ago . . .
unabashedly autobiographical . . .
the too-clumsily-explicit sections excised . . .
leaving nothing but self-translations . . .
Notwithstanding . . .
Sucked in by the makeover . . .
By the that was then . . . this is now . . .
Such unironic enthusiasms . . .
Never again . . .
I have come undone! . . .
and escaped through a hidden panel in the refrigerator . . .
Beating yourself up? . . .
You were you . . . wrestling with demons . . .
who . . . out of habit . . . made the doughnuts . . .
and the parlez-vous français? . . .
and the midnight rides . . . to all the wrong places . . .
Defacing profiles with neon pink spray paint . . .
and misquotes . . . from overdue library books . . .

Sarah Moon

Screen Dump 155

Spooool!
          - Samuel Beckett, Krapp's Last Tape

Spool! . . . Spool! . . . Spooool! . . . Spool! . . . Spooool! . . .
Miles . . . Blue In Green . . .
There are no mistakes! . . .
Spool! . . .
The evidentiary moment . . .
Assemble the players . . . and the accoutrements . . .
Life as analogy . . . as oxymoron . . . mishap . . .
Spooool! . . .
Re-position the pieces . . . please! . . .
Attempt a recap . . . a remix . . .
But I want this! . . .
I am ready for this! . . .
The tutoring . . . over! . . .
The hand-holding . . . over!
The hiatus . . . over! . . .
In the starting blocks! . . .
Ready! . . . Set! . . .
Yes! . . . Yes! . . . Yes! . . .
This! . . . Now! . . .
Tweeting the hell out of insignificants . . .
Spool! . . . Spool! . . . Spooool! . . .
What . . . spool? . . .
The Age of the Mac . . . upon us! . . .
Grocery shopping . . . at best . . .
I am so into Amazon Samples! . . .
and haute cuisine . . .
There will be . . . then . . .
And you will have flashbacks . . . setbacks . . .
They will bludgeon you . . . Knock you from sleep . . .
Force you to follow . . .
No darkness . . . Spooool! . . .

Lydia Roberts

Screen Dump 154

Your inner stand-up comic insists he/she never blacked out . . .
Always delivered lines . . . impeccably . . .
I am sure about who I did what with . . .
Is that who . . . or whom? . . .
Trawling for the Big One . . . (or the almost Big One) . . .
Earth Angel Earth Angel . . . will you be mine? . . .
Sanding down the bedposts . . . again . . . trashed . . .
That we could all be so perfect . . .
Segue to you . . . texting the Greek chorus . . .
I'm unclear about one spot only, your Honor . . .
Certain follow-throughs were off-limits, of course . . .
at the funeral . . . the wedding . . . the arraignment . . .
Can't you see I'm costumed as Aphrodite? . . .
Walking in . . . delivering lines . . . cold . . .
They were marionettes . . . all of them . . .
Eager as altar boys . . . Wouldn't you be? . . .
I reversed the roles . . . set the pace . . . faster . . . slower . . .
You tell me . . . I'll tell you, yes? . . .
Eyes wide . . . cued the 12 steps . . . Ready Set Go! . . .
All episodes . . . Now streaming! . . .
Why is Popeye here? . . .
And why is he having second thoughts about Olive Oyl? . . .

Lydia Roberts

Screen Dump 153

Your sequined angularities . . . at a time like this . . .
A time when sidewalks . . . can lead you astray . . .
Can compel you to tweak your memories . . . your incidentals . . .
They make me want to re-script my dreams . . .
and join the picture-perfect crowd . . . for drinks . . .
Sometimes it's like that . . .
Quite frankly, yes? . . .
Not to be confused with the truth of the matter . . .
Now what? . . . A new view? . . . A new you? . . .
Always the gamble following the initial ice-break . . .
We'd like to blame it on the snowstorm, yes? . . .
Images . . . flooding in . . .
There's only so much your finger in the dike can hold back . . .
At this stage . . . anyway . . .
And then . . . the tabloids arrive . . . with payback time . . .
And a delivery boy/girl demanding a tip . . .

Wendy Bevan

Screen Dump 152

Fact checkers check your facts . . .
Riffling through your backpack for dark chocolate . . .
and other antioxidants . . .
Instead of the usual . . . you order the special . . .
Flipping through a Lands' End catalog . . .
You notice them at the race checking you out . . .
Lycras have a way of doing that . . .
The supermarket opens its doors . . .
with free courses for seniors . . .
Perhaps Interpersonal Dynamics of the 1200s . . .
holds the key . . .
Fictionalizing . . . but not storytelling . . .
A giant divagation, yes? . . .
Watching trailers on Netflix . . . subtitled . . .
It's always good to be packed and ready . . .

Paolo Roversi

Screen Dump 151

The cereal box opens with a soft shoe . . .
Interrogators are again trying . . . to map your profile . . .
to make sense . . . of your odyssey . . .
The syllabus for your canon . . . cryptic . . .
You highlight . . . the (pen)ultimatum . . .
in red yellow blue . . .
and get stuck on the word s-p-o-o-l . . .
as the elements of a Rough Guide . . .
skitter out of earshot . . .
Pics of players . . . squeeze into the Cloud . . .
tracked by the trance music . . .
you have come to be identified with . . .
You decide to put it all down . . . in a book . . .
inspired and intimidated . . .
by the masters of your art . . .
the masturbators of your art . . .
staring down at you from their place on the wall . . .
If only you had the wordmagic of a Patti Smith . . .

Screen Dump 150

You toggle between you and you . . . and you . . . and you . . .
Between now and then . . .
Between couch and cutting room floor . . .
Between window . . . and door . . .
The HOT button dumping reams of words . . .
Mounds of insignificance . . .
Dancing on the edge of dreams . . .
What else can one do? . . .
When all we have is language . . .
That's it . . . nothing else . . . in a bell jar, yes? . . .
The voice distant . . .
connecting . . . disconnecting . . . connecting again . . .
You . . . walking across a field . . . of ficus trees . . .
Every step . . . a new step . . .
Handlers . . . as sound designers . . .
Falling off the wagon . . . climbing back on . . .
It's crowded out here . . . in the waiting room . . .
The therapist suggests a monologue . . .
As a ficus tree . . .
Just what the PA ordered, yes? . . .
Not sure what that's all about . . .
Kind of like a call-and-response . . .
You call . . . but there's no reply . . .
Now what? . . .
Do you call again . . . or pack it in? . . .
The camera zooms in on a clock . . .
The clock's hands are trying to grab something . . .
Anything . . .
The camera pans a crowd . . .
They're waiting to see what you're going to do . . .
Bookmakers are giving odds . . .
A few hookers are giving head . . .
You decide to re-sing the lyrics . . .
to (what you hope will be) your next big hit . . .
Tweeting your whereabouts to dispassionate third parties . . .
It's all scenery . . .
No it's not! . . . He/she said it's all theater! . . .
Ah ha! . . . Please have him/her contact me! . . .

Screen Dump 149

Your uniformed erotic other conjugates verbs . . .
for flower handlers . . . and Rockaday Johnnies . . .
after hours . . . on the desktop . . .
waterlogged . . . gasping for breath . . .
thinking it cool . . . by the metric of then . . .
The streets fill with Ferraris . . . and other aspirazioni . . .
Living casually . . . long windswept arms . . .
welcome rough liaisons . . .
the clock insisting on a face . . .
You are sized-up . . . for Paris . . . or Rome . . .
or wherever . . . but instead hook up . . .
with the Goodenoughs . . .
in a trailer park outside Atlantic City . . .
harvesting cartwheels . . . for pocket change . . .
and lonesome grins . . .
your gymnastics occasioning motion sickness . . .
The weather eventually arrives . . . with a show of hands . . .
breaking off the lush . . . to explore . . .
another aspect . . . of your to-die-for glamour . . .
asleep with excitement . . .
The schoolmarm's hourglass . . . pouting with bittersweets . . .

Sarah Moon

Screen Dump 148

The season of dancing was endless.
          - Mark Strand, The Delirium Waltz

Importunity knocks . . . and you know it's him/her . . .
in Spanish boots of Spanish leather . . .
against December's passing grade . . .
As if a transit strike struck . . . bottlenecking neighborhoods . . .
Nothing to fret about . . . bad weather is bad weather . . .
Yet . . . the downhill . . .
Your professed unworthiness preempted by costume . . .
iCandy . . . for victims of Seduction Theory 101 . . .
Never far from the panopticon of theater . . .
Words receding into the artisanal urns lining the walls . . .
pinned with pics of nobodies . . .
The season of dancing begins . . .
The lights are low . . . the air warm . . .
You glide with him/her . . .
across polished wood inlaid marble light snow shallow water . . .
You want to have arrived, yes? . . .
Of course you can summon the limo at any time . . . or thereabouts . . .

Sarah Moon

Screen Dump 147

You embrace evasiveness for those intuiting the darkness . . .
that is sure to arrive . . .
most likely when the bag of chips is only half-eaten . . .
And to those who smug their arrival with dogeared albums . . .
of yellowing photographs . . .
Past Masters of the Universe . . .
Big hair days . . .
Days of knights groping pawns . . .
You had a knack for racking near hits . . .
for the inevitability of amusement parks . . .
and head-turning with single-digit checkmates . . .
It is as it was, yes? . . .
How will you get through the rest of your life? . . .
A PowerPoint, perhaps? . . .
Clocking the brittleness of cluster flies . . .
flipping flopping eavesdropping . . . on the sill . . .
Checking your email for holiday doodads . . .
and buy-backs . . .
The crows with their tickets . . . the snow beginning . . .
You decide to slow down . . . again . . .
to savor the word . . .
to record the footsteps of your favorite writers . . . blocked . . .
Dreaming . . . the after-hour dramas in the pen . . .

Natalia

Screen Dump 146

The script is fumbled . . . the waiter brings bread and wine . . .
She says, I am Uma . . .
She tap dances with the specials . . . rummaging . . .
She sports a black clip-on bowtie . . . and black ballet flats . . .
She is credentialed . . .
You can hear a pin drop . . . during lulls . . .
Knowing how things work is somewhat of a relief . . .
but then scrutiny knocks . . .
and it's 1st and 10 . . .
Uma asks about HTML5 . . .
Suddenly, a pall appears . . . at the door . . .
several pick lint . . . drop back to punt . . .
From moment to moment . . . give and take . . .
Your life . . . a hashtag . . .
It's not time for softspoken huddles . . .
or reminiscences . . .
He/she remembers you . . . and the time(s) . . .
Even when thinking about someone you weren't that crazy about . . .
A switch flips . . . and there's a rush . . .

Screen Dump 145

The up-and-comers came . . . flashdancing unpronounceables . . .
Mitigating circumstances? . . . Posh! . . .
You have seen the illusion . . . and it is us . . .
Why now after so many trips to the outer limits? . . .
In a flurry of words . . .
How often have you stumbled upon the castle of disbelief? . . .
As in This is what needs to be done . . .
It was lost upon him/her . . . lost! . . .
And now the scene opens with yet another candied apple . . .
Being offered surreptitiously . . .
You're running out of raw material . . . and you know it . . .
Look, the air out here is friendly . . .
Backstroke if need be . . .
You'll receive full credit . . . from your sponsor . . .
Singing in ways we are not . . .
Trying to stay awake through the lugubrious moments . . .
We all have them . . .
Watching the players . . . build a new world . . . pixel upon pixel . . .
Wait, back-channel sniping is verboten . . .
Before you know it we too will be there . . . sooner other than that . . .
Ha! . . . Isn't it romantic? . . .

Paolo Roversi

Screen Dump 144

The convolutions though subtle are exasperatingly trivial . . .
Rather mediocre . . .
He spent his life drilling teeth . . .
Can you imagine the next floor? . . .
You shouldn't expect miracles . . .
especially after you've consistently refused updates . . .
quashing outside solicitations . . .
It's a question of overage . . . and how to deal with it . . .
Mastering last-minute tabletop conversions . . .
Why allow just anyone? . . .
Trying to plot a course pitiably colored with indecision . . .
especially after finding yourself here . . .
in the middle of this multitasked mess . . .
Pocket a convenient delusion . . .
Grab your paintbox . . . landscapes await . . .
The results will induce a trance unlike any other . . .

Paolo Roversi

Screen Dump 143

It's as if you were pixillated between then and now . . .
Your voracious appetites . . . and obsessions . . .
the charm of supersymmetry . . .
To feel wanted in a way that's not abusive . . .
One minute this . . . the next that . . .
And suddenly you're aboard a train in Russia's deep winter . . .
I doubt that it could have been avoided . . .
The summer was telling . . . but we weren't listening, were we? . . .
Or maybe we were . . . I don't know . . .
Can you imagine the purgatorial whisper of expats? . . .
And the cute little dog-and-pony shows . . .
in that bedraggled circus? . . .
Fueling you with enough esteem to begin the beguine . . .
Assuming the position . . . disproportionately . . . for whomever . . .
The inside of the dream . . . expanding exponentially . . .
Nothing was lost . . . really . . .
Dusting yourself off . . . turning the key . . .
And the sudden dumping of six feet of snow . . .
Stranding travelers . . . to say nothing of transmorgrification . . .

Anka Zhuravleva

Screen Dump 142

You asterisk-out several lines of email . . .
The flip-floppiness and incredulity build . . .
Words collide . . .
Tomorrow arrives as an addendum . . .
OK, share with me your deepest moment . . .
the one that won the stay of execution . . .
the one that periodically slips through your bedroom window . . .
that momentary apparition in red . . .
that settles in for the midnight ride . . .
kicking your REM sleep to the curb . . .
while short-circuiting the treasure trove of language . . .
ransacked and melted down for alumni weekend . . .
You knew about this, yes? . . .
About the first-person shooters on the beta team? . . .
About the disappointing closet-space in microcosms? . . .
About the players . . . and their parts . . .
delivering lines with the insensitivity of cold pizza . . .
the anchovies engaged in their own trancelike deceptions? . . .

Paolo Roversi

Screen Dump 141

You worry the ineptitude of surrogate understudies . . .
and have become a quick-study . . .
in the Art of Articulation . . .
friending one-trick ponies . . . and those . . .
decked out in micro-minis . . . with advanced degrees . . .
in wainscoting . . . and winter tire wear . . .
You . . . at the bus stop . . .
in down toolbelt . . . and silver stilettos . . .
haggling . . . with members of the audience . . .
awaiting the free lecture . . .
on the etymology of symbiosis . . .
The weather turning nasty . . .
You decide to specialize . . . in box lunches . . .
for all makes and models . . . of up-and-comers . . .
filling the air with tidbits . . .
pocketing some . . . for a late night snack . . .
with him/her . . .
You've managed to elongate time . . . and wait . . .
for an opening . . .
where you can study first flakes . . . first hand . . .

Paolo Roversi

Screen Dump 140

Let me put it to you this way . . .
There have been several . . . irksome bastards indeed . . .
who . . . having filed the necessary paperwork . . .
toyed with the idea of playing the role of sandbox . . .
before skeedaddling out of town . . .
A Marshall Dillon lookalike . . .
sidelined by a sidewinder . . .
wanting to know the whereabouts . . .
of the dime-store triplets . . .
who had headlined at the cobbled-together theater-in-the-round . . .
where you . . . always on call . . .
for whatever you are on call for . . .
parroted lines . . . pocketing necktied alter egos . . .
Reminds me of Ebenezer's partner . . .

Adamo de Pax

Screen Dump 139

You have the moves . . . so why the cryptic notes? . . .
Whenever he/she was blocked . . .
Instead of magnification . . . over-analysis and such . . .
But don't we all trod the boards . . . day in and day out? . . .
Formulating hypotheses . . . for the inner fortune teller . . .
masked . . . with satin opera-length gloves . . .
ready to rock and roll . . . after catching some shut-eye? . . .
I wanted to use a stacked deck . . .
The way we played make-believe . . .
your aunt filling us with pie . . . and pontifications . . .
At the swimming hole . . . surrounded by unknown weeping willows . . .
not yet understanding the signs and symbols . . .
Offshore . . . the alligators' red eyes . . .

Anka Zhuravleva

Screen Dump 138

I am awakened by a reenactor . . . tinkering with my thoughts . . .
You as reenactor . . .
The world as reenactment . . .
No longer self-conscious . . .
in the diner . . . the bookstore . . . beyond the stand of pine . . .
Where insects are clicking like crazy . . .
I can't name them . . .
You as tenth classical muse . . .
sucking me in with your unruly ritualism . . . and bedhead antics . . .
I need to grocery-shop . . . but I've forgotten . . .
Farm fresh at the server farm . . . is the only way . . .
Send in the memes . . .
The mechanisms of historical reenactment nudge the funny bone . . .
The artificial theatricality is mad . . .
The enjambments bottleneck . . .
The petitioners in the coffee shop morph into pensioners . . .
auditioning for yet another Night of the Living Dead . . .
You as telletubby teletubbied into the Twilight Zone . . .
A Rod Serling telletubby is asking you questions inside your duffel bag . . .
You engorge yourself on duffel blogs . . . submitted for your approval! . . .
Your potassium level drops . . . to an unhealthy low . . .
You contemplate settling for even less . . . most do, yes? . . .
But then . . . in the nick of time . . .
New morphological evidence appears . . . on your desktop . . .
shepherding your icons into the cloud atlas . . .
Third and fourth cousins thrice removed replace steampunks in the scrum . . .
You as steampunk . . .
And once again before the bell you realize . . . life is hunky-dory . . .

David Benoliel

Screen Dump 137

Wowed by the manhole-man's trifocals . . . one two three . . .
you bail out before getting in . . .
The bread truck . . . at four in the morning . . .
Another in a long line of fellow something-or-others . . .
Minor players in a major role . . . in a minor drama . . .
Life as shtick, yes? . . . Nothing wrong with that . . .
Eye-rolling has been shown to help six out of ten cases
of self-consciousness . . . and objectification . . .
regroup . . . re-costume . . . re-enter . . . reenact . . .
The fray is not what they say . . .
Ubiquitous holiday geegaws . . .
If only for a couple of bucks to inhale
and breathe the night away . . .
I've been having trouble following the instant replays . . .
Please resend the list of character actors . . .
The newspaper headlines jammed down your deep throat . . .
You hold your breath . . . you hold on . . . you are about to dive
at least according to the news anchor
following past online acquaintances . . . and liaisons . . .
(The physician's assistant will see you now!) . . .
Trying to find shelter in the storm
that slammed coastal towns . . . with unheard of references . . .
Just what do you give at the office? . . .

Anka Zhuravleva

Screen Dump 136

Something about the texture of our past lives . . .
The imminent imminent . . . falling like pollen . . .
You review the rewrite . . .
The spoken word . . . going deep . . .
Reconnecting with players from archival footage . . .
A comfort zone . . . at first . . .
At one time following-through made sense . . .
But now . . . entrapped in provocation . . .
you're lost . . . and not sure why . . .
Your re-entry into the dream makes sense . . .
if only for the therapeutic touch of others . . .
close . . . and not so close . . .
Calling for reservations . . .
you recognize the voice . . . from everywhere . . .

Adrian Blachut

Screen Dump 135

You as goth at 7-Eleven . . . no lines to memorize . . . all gesture . . .
and angularity . . . tangled in your wiles . . .
The User Manual's 18-minute gap . . .
wreaking havoc among the locals . . .
who lapse into a false pretense . . . at every convenience store . . .
Bored with board games with bar flies . . .
You announce check . . . with the enthusiasm of an afterthought . . .
The room is wired . . . you have no idea . . .
You were warned not to make a scene . . .
A megabyte of bluffing tumbles out of the back room . . .
Everyone pretends to be interested . . .
Why? . . . I haven't the foggiest . . .
You do remember him, yes? . . . and your run as resident stalker? . . .
His laugh and smell fueling your incidence . . .

Anka Zhuravleva

Screen Dump 134

I've lost my notes . . . the count . . . the sound . . .
I'm not so sure anymore that retrieval is a lucrative venture . . .
Surely you can make do with fewer crayons . . .
At least in my neck of the woods . . .
You know what they say . . .
Incidentally, the sidewalks have been rolled out . . .
for the brouhaha . . .
Everyone - well most everyone - will be partying on . . .
I hope there's a headcount . . .
It's always easier to pick up where you left off . . .
I've heard you've been sparring with Send in the Clowns . . .
when you should be concentrating on walking an imaginary line . . .
Don't get carried away by the lyrics . . .
You have all the necessary accoutrements . . .
the lucky trees, the rapidograph, etc. . . .
And now we . . . in the Cold Lands . . . are preparing ourselves . . .
Stockpiling rubber bands . . . yeah, there you go! . . .

Anka Zhuravleva

Screen Dump 133

If you didn't have so many overdue library books on your plate . . .
you'd be better able to face the day . . .
I have a solution! . . .
Introspection is offering buybacks . . .
You've heard, right? . . .
If you wait it out . . . you'll be able to walk in . . . head held high . . .
It's not just architectural mockups, either . . .
You feel uncomfortable . . . perfectly understandable . . .
If I had to wear that Halloween costume, I'd deep-six my journal entries . . .
Who's to know, anyway? . . .
Besides, who cares? . . .
We all have skeletons . . . in our bathtubs . . .
Remember that scene in Psycho, with Anthony Perkins eating a sandwich? . . .
And Hitch outside . . . in profile . . . having a smoke? . . .

Psycho (1960)

Screen Dump 132

Position the player . . . and begin jealousy . . .
Move to the other side of the room . . .
Position yourself . . .
You will be wordless . . .
Watching him/her . . . from the other side of the room . . .
Angle yourself to see yourself in the mirror . . .
Begin doing whatever you have to do . . .
Which of the seven levels? . . .
Do not break your concentration . . .
Watching him/her with him/her . . .
The momentary loss . . .
Leaving . . . with an article of his/her clothing . . .

Lena Olin in The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

Screen Dump 131

Losing track of fiendish departures . . .
You dole out emoticons . . . to the freshly laundered . . .
sampling the sake and sushi . . .
the dining room reeking restoration hardware . . .
You are yellow carded . . .
Fast forward the backups . . .
I want to review the anonymous donors . . .
In black and white . . . it's less distracting . . .
I was foolish to argue the point . . .
Threatening true happiness with a new coat of paint . . .
Some periwinkle mixed in to soften the tone . . .
Easing the players into position . . .
Feeding them arugula . . . and lines . . .
Then moving into the final scene . . .
The one that shatters the glass ceiling . . .

David Benoliel