{"id":5769,"date":"2019-06-24T22:04:29","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T22:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/?p=5769"},"modified":"2019-07-10T16:52:17","modified_gmt":"2019-07-10T16:52:17","slug":"the-latest-from-most-fronts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/?p=5769","title":{"rendered":"The latest…from most fronts…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a huge relief to have the cast removed after six weeks. Any degree of debilitation is irritating so a fractured radius constituted a huge challenge to my finances and morale. I am grateful for the Internet and good friend Thesa Pakarnyk who kindly facilitated a GoFundMe to cover rent, bills and groceries while I was off work. I had applied for income assistance to no avail. Ignored for two weeks, when the ministry finally made contact I was given nothing but a series of hoops to jump through; sent in 20 documents and still they wanted more! I gave up in disgust.<\/p>\n

My latest challenge is buying a new old car with a $2000 budget, financed by my dear son. The Volvo is on its last wheels; broken doors and a leaky sunroof. I’ve decided I will not drive out to Surrey to look at cars, no matter how long it takes to find a deal closer to home. So many scam artists on Craigslist!<\/p>\n

Oh! And speaking of poetry, after years of searching for a home for Rattler<\/em>, the 80s zine Peter Haskell and I published in Los Angeles,\u00a0Simon Fraser University Library’s Special Collections<\/a> has acquired it and are in the process of cataloguing. Oddly, no one in So Cal could see its value.<\/p>\n

And lastly but not leastly my poems Houla<\/em> and Birdwatching<\/em> appear in the current issue of EVENT Poetry & Prose. Nice to be reminded that I am a poet. I hope to write verse again in the not-too-distant future. Might as well post them here:<\/p>\n

HOULA<\/strong><\/p>\n

An infant is not a toy.
\nAn infant cannot breathe underwater
\nOr fly though the air. Do not drape it
\nOver the prone man\u2019s head<\/p>\n

Or dress it up like a doll.
\nJournalists view the grisly scene.
\nPost. Share. Tweet.
\nUN observers abort,<\/p>\n

Prominent commentators punt.
\nBut the drunken skipper acts,
\nOrdering clean sheets and neat rows
\nDown below in the hold.<\/p>\n

Rogue unidentified man
\nHoists the limp boy
\nAloft.
\nLet\u2019s not quibble.<\/p>\n

It matters not if the child
\nIs southern or northern,
\nWhined or knew pride.
\nIt is as good as dead.<\/p>\n

Crooked passages.
\nLimping messengers.
\nFrantic, dog-chasing-tail orbits.
\nA million ships cannot transport us.<\/p>\n

BIRD WATCHING<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Binoculars resting on the sill<\/p>\n

Blackly inveigle us to look.<\/p>\n

The luxury of observation,<\/p>\n

Rackety silk.<\/p>\n

Cotton sheets abuzz,<\/p>\n

I sleep with a mad bomber<\/p>\n

In a bed too narrow<\/p>\n

To contain explosives.<\/p>\n

Eroding acres encroach<\/p>\n

Shores of receding flesh.<\/p>\n

Grip off, I watch<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Elfin hummers amok,<\/p>\n

Flap-happy mallards<\/p>\n

Swarm a blustery afternoon.<\/p>\n

I recall bionic gunrunners, East Van,<\/p>\n

First day back from gangster land.<\/p>\n

Recoiling at the forecast I\u2019d fled,<\/p>\n

Cramped in a compact car,<\/p>\n

A woman piloting the wife at last.<\/p>\n

Blindfolded against his scrutiny,<\/p>\n

Foiling implicit shame, I skirted<\/p>\n

Roadblocks, sculpted my spine<\/p>\n

Straight, forced it<\/p>\n

To withstand gales. Tolls.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lousy steward, I drop<\/p>\n

The argillite raven,<\/p>\n

Gleaming abalone eyes divided.<\/p>\n

I slap my back with hot plasters<\/p>\n

So it might bend when necessary.<\/p>\n

Fit inside. Repair.<\/p>\n

When will listening<\/p>\n

Reveal the shape? When<\/p>\n

Will seeing decode the trick?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a huge relief to have the cast removed after six weeks. Any degree of debilitation is irritating so a fractured radius constituted a huge challenge to my finances and morale. I am grateful for the Internet and good friend Thesa Pakarnyk who kindly facilitated a GoFundMe to cover rent, bills and groceries while […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5769"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5803,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5769\/revisions\/5803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}