November 2018

slim volume
the poet lives not
on bread alone

refugee status
the migration of lice
from the newly dead

a sightseer
overlooks
the obvious

the prostitute
widens a flea's experience
of mortality

a minor inconvenience
aborts their night
of love

the refugee
successfully turned back on
like God's presence

between her lips
the tongue
I almost mastered

after Buber
I and Thou whispering
in the shadows

after the best
of everything
an overdue notice

turning in
i become as one
tuning out

over the top
the beginning
of the final scene

This month began with an email from Otata editor John Martone accepting 26 of 27 parallels submitted with these words "These are marvelous, just the sort of thing I've been waiting for."

News of this acceptance was a perfect accompaniment to winning a case for a court hearing before the Residential Tenancy Tribunal, in which I sought a unlawful termination notice to be overturned and for exemplary damages to be awarded for threat to our continued quiet enjoyment of the home we rent.