abovegroundtesting
the magazine
May 2007 issn 1488-0024
Welcome to the May issue of the ezine. I want to thank you for coming along and downloading this issue, since it represents the 97th issue I've put out into the Internet. Things are continuing along in the world that is http://www.abovegroundtesting.com/, I did change my web domain company, hello htthttp://www.godaddy.com/. This is to say nothing negative about 1&1, it just I could never figure out what I was doing as it pertain to links and pictures. Believe it or not, my almost nine year old angelfire account was easier to use. So not only did I transfer but I went for more space on the account. What that means in the end is I'm planning to stay for a while. I hope that meets with everyone's approval. I'm sure it does because you keep sending me material to include in future issues. I open up my mailbox and there it is.
Speaking of 'there' and 'thee', I went to a Renaissance Faire over the last weekend and saw scenes from “A Midsummer's Night Dream” performed by young people. It was a good way to spend the afternoon even if it was very cold. By the way I'm composing this as I sit on my porch in the evening, what a nice way to finish the day I believe.
Thinking about Go Daddy, I suppose I will simply have to buy one of the t-shirts to wear, yes not only do I have t shirts of various Internet shows and Operating Systems, next I will own a t shirt of a web hosting company. Isn't geekdom wonderful?
What else can I share with you on this May evening? I suppose I could say that I should go in and find something to eat, popcorn would fit the bill. Say I've never done an issue on food have I? Coffee, yes. Tea, certainly, but food no, never have. Perhaps that should be a summer theme, the food Issue. It could feature your favourite recipes and the poetry as well as photographs inspired by food. We could really have fun with it can't we? Okay, I am now going to make it official, the August issue will be dedicated to Food. It will be the literary version of the Food Network, so get thinking. I will announce more about it in every upcoming issue from now on.
I am still waiting for my interview to come. I'm not worried, she's a very busy person.
I have an announcement and something further to say later on. Let's read some poetry.
Poetry
The first poet for this issue is Dr. Charles Frederickson
TWILIGHT EPIPHANY
Where even survivors are doomed
Death not a viable option
Living corpses cast no shadows
Walking through doors slammed shut
Nerves uptight as bivalve oyster
Clenched teeth gritty crooked smile
Grain of sand unlikely pearl
Shucked raggedy edges pried open
Migratory avians nestlings prematurely ousted
Seasoned instinct group tour de force
Windswept follow the leader obeisance
Plucked tail feather spiraling downward
Afraid of flying too close
To moon suffering deliquescent meltdown
Hemmed in repossessed lunatic fringe
Driven batty hovering downside up
Wide-open spaces double-crossing parallel lines
Flattened curve horizon bent straight
Connect the dots dashed hopes
Cloudburst cracks glued back together
V-shaped silhouetted glisten reflected in
Shallow bottomless pool sunken rainbows
Drop by drop recollected memories
Fade away gliding into obscurity
Exiled to restless nomadic existence
Betrayed innocence husking maize kernels
Solo renegade craving boundless freedom
Destined to take alternate route
SHRUNKEN MASTHEAD
Coming unglued grant me patience
Tweezers putting enigmatic jigsaw together
Dovetail inlay cemented in place
Intricate minute detail beyond grasp
Scale model kits exacting precision
Drastically reduced originals downsized copies
Topmast rigged with hairpin trigger
Neat fore-aft shipshape arrangement
Narrow minds like parachute spinnaker
Retard free fall when open
Triangular sail set atop spar
Swinging out racing unrestrained breeze
Small world artifacts meticulously crafted
Collapsible sails stuffed through bottleneck
Bumper to bumper traffic jams
Tight squeeze huggy bear kiss-offs
Faceless unanchored soul ports recalled
Mooring wherever filling nebulous void
Displayed with own shadow intact
Top shelf replica seafarer curio
Snapping turtle powerful hooked jaw
Clamps prehensile lobster claw pincers
Pivoted together working in opposition
Embodying rebellious spirit of resistance
Molten shattered glass blown chances
Life sucks air through tube
Corked message slipping through cracks
Tossed into frothy rip tide
ARTIFACTUAL FICTION
Long unvisited musty art gallery
Sense of emptiness stillborn life
Hush-hush powerless silence gathering dust
Outside frantic angst blocked out
Time overripe with yellow enthusiasm
Plump ravishing hot stingray sunlight
Too sweet to be sour
Delicate mottled skin sugared through
Stuck in the pronghorn middle
Tense bifurcation between back then
Past imperfect omnipresent obliterative smears
Irreversible retrospective mistakes painted over
Vertical cliffs nocturnal plunking waterfall
Collected tearful downpour spilling over
Reflective pool flirting with moon
Winking at patronizing lunatic fringe
Bored security guard yawning catnap
Lap-dancing butt ash smoking itself
Self-portrait saggy chins held up
Shed inhibitions naked truths exposed
Midnight snips hand-carved marionette strings
Collapsing like prunes fallen plums
Diminishing returns ultraviolet brushstrokes horizon
Wading into oblivion before drowning
Forgotten elegant masterpieces storage confined
Lying in neglectful wait crypts
Hoping to someday be rediscovered
Meanwhile not holding stagnant breath
Latent dreamscape not yet awakened
Uncertain future sent back unclaimed
Destined for driftwood bonfire regrets
Surreal visionary trance premonitory illusions
Dr. Charles Frederickson
239 Soi Asoke; #5B
Bangkok 10110 Thailand
(02)261-2068
charles_frederickson@hotmail.com
Dr. Charles Frederickson is a Swedish-American-Thai progressive visionary, feisty vagabond and passionate do-gooder who has wandered
intrepidly through 206 countries, an original sketch and poem for each presented on http://www.imagesof.8k.com. This e-gadfly is a
member of World Poets Society, based in Greece, with 200+ poetry publication credits on 6 continents, including: Above Ground Testing,
Angelfire, Ascent Aspirations, Auckland Poetry, Blind Mans Rainbow, Both Sides Now, Carillon, Caveat Lector, Cordite Poetry Review,
Dance to Death, Decanto, Eclipse, Flutter Magazine, Fullosia Press, Gangway, Greatworks, Green Dove, Indite Circle, International Poet,
Listen & Be Heard, Living Poets, Lunarosity, Madpoetry, Masque Publishing, Melange, Newtopia, Neon Highway, New Verse News, Planet
Authority, Poetisphere, Poetry Canada, Poetry Cemetery, Poetry of Scotland, Poetry Stop, Poets for Peace, Poetry Superhighway, Pyramid,
Sz, The Smoking Poet, Vintage, Ygdrasil, Ya’Sou! and Zafusy.
Our next poet is Taylor Graham:
SKY DANCE
Two skyhigh divers
clasped together
at the wrist
perform their aerial-blue dance
to slip the wires, to string
a line that zings the
current
out of air.
They keep their grace
tucked into
flight suits, ligament
and muscle, yet the sky
insists a
kiss
before such flyers spiral down
embracing their dark
shadows
and the ground.
LOST
Caught on Tri-X
film in bad light,
her silhouette dissolves
into granite,
conifer and snow;
details scattered into pixels.
Over so
many years you’ve tried
to crop or fade the background,
manipulate this photo to show
her as she was that
day
standing atop a boulder, head
lifted into the wind as
if
searching the distance, even
while you tried to keep
her
in this briefest pose.
ALCAN SUMMER
Can
a car-trip ever exceed a child’s
expectations? In a Montana
trance
you rode a paint cayuse all the way
to Calvary. The
Stampede was better than
any circus, with a raffle for a pony
you didn’t win. Still, you cantered
under the wings of its
imagined withers.
At Lake Louise, sky swam blue as waters
beyond
the sea, clearer than glacier
or the great-beyond, where every
mile-
post marked a further separation
from the known world.
Each night
in a roadside shelter against never-
ending rain,
with drenched clothing
strung from every rafter, you spun
the
matrix of your life. Did it matter
that you couldn’t see the
stars?
LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI
Sir Frank Dicksee c. 1890
Hair as red as you can get to blood
and still be artist’s pigment;
her gown’s a flame.
When
her knight put off his helmet,
did he also put aside his qualms,
face burned with that same red,
transfixed and grounded?
He’s on foot. She’s mounted
on the horse, its mane
charged
with the force that made this craggy
landscape, last
light of the far
horizon drenching
what might be, already, a
ruined
city. Sunset ignites her merciless
red hair.
Our third poet is Michael Lee Johnson
Playful
Unknown Poet From Rue Montpelier
Caricature Of An Early Planter
Mr. Michael Lee Johnson lives in Chicago, IL. after spending 10 years in Edmonton, Alberta Canada during the Viet Nam era. He is a freelance writer and poet. He is heavy influenced by Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, & William Carlos Williams, Leonard Cohen.
He is presently self-employed, with a previous background in social service areas. He has a B.A. degree in sociology, worked on a Masters Program in Correctional Administration, started a pre-Phd program & quit. He took a creative writing course in university on a pass/fail basis-he failed.
Mr. Michael Lee Johnson has several poems pending publication March. through Nov. 2007. He has a huge box of "unfinished" poems, dating back to 1965-67 to the present. They are getting published faster than he can revive or revise them. Yellowed papers, wrinkled napkins and all, they wait for the hand of revival. He have not submitted poems, till recently, since the early 70's,- remember, the "old fashioned" way, via mail. In 2006/2007, over 190 poems have been publisher or pending publication by Michael Lee Johnson. He is a member of Poets & Writers, Inc; Directory of American Poets & Fictions Writers: http://www.pw.org/directory/. A sample of published poems can be found at:
The Orange Room Review website: http://www.freewebs.com/theorangeroomreview/;
Bolts Of Silk website: http://boltsofsilk.blogspot.com;
The Flask Review: http://www.freewebs.com/theflaskreview/;
Apollo's Lyre, in their webzine: http://www.apollos-lyre.com/;
He has other listings too numerous. He is a well published poet.
Notice, we get notices and announcements:
I received this notice to place in the ezine:
About Purple Snowflake Marketing
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The book makes use of breaks and ample headings to break up the monotony of learning. Readers will find the multiple headings useful when they wish to refresh their memory on a particular aspect. Purple Snowflake Marketing provides reassurance to authors along with ample advice for avoiding pit-falls and setting a pace for marketing endeavors. Authors of most genres will find this inspiring book an essential component for marketing their book in a way that suits their unique situation. The book also provides more than 500 links - for free or frugal promotions including search engine submissions, website promotion, press release distribution, book announcements, ads, resources and much more. Purple Snowflake Marketing - How To Make Your Book Stand Out In A Crowd, will officially be released through Twilight Times Books (http://www.twilighttimesbooks.com) on June 30th.
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About Conscious Discussions Talk Radio Show
Dave and Lillian Brummet, authors of the book Trash Talk, are thrilled to announce their talk radio show called "Conscious Discussions". Listeners are invited view the website and click on the Test session to hear what the show will be about. Anyone interested in appearing on the 1/2 hour show as a guest is welcome to contact the Brummet's through one of their websites (see below). The show will be recorded live and airs every Tuesday at 10 am PST.
RADIO SHOW DESCRIPTION: Discussions about the environment, the value of the individual and the world of writing.
HOSTS: Lillian and Dave Brummet, authors of Trash Talk (waste reduction), Towards Understanding (non-fiction poetry) & Purple Snowflake Marketing (book promotion).
KEYTAGS: author, book, book promotion, education, energy, environment, family, interview, lifestyle, money, promotion, recycle, reuse, talk show, trash, trash talk, waste, water, writing, zero waste
LOCATION: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions
TIME: EVERY TUESDAY @ 10:00 a.m. PST - (First show airs on May 8th)
AUTHORS WEBSITES:
http://www.sunshinecable.com/~drumit
http://www.myspace.com/canadianauthor
If you are interested, I invite you to follow the links.
Closing Words
So I have set the theme for August, food. If you have an poems that are inspired by banana loaf, for example, you are invited to submit them to the usual places.
I announced the return of avantgardetimes and I have one submission already. I'm waiting for more so if you go to the homepage you will find the contact information. I hope you will take advantage of this sight for experimental poetry that stretches the bounds. It knows no boundaries so allow yourself to be free. The email address is on the page, so follow the link.
If you wish to contact me, you can send me an email, or you can contact me through Skype. Yes I have an account, I am paulg57. So plug that in to your skype program. If I'm on, you can chat or we can talk, I do have headphones that I plug into the laptop.
All work contained in this issue are property of the composers, respect their rights, they hold the copyright.
This is whole issue 97, May 2007. I can be reached at abovegroundtesting@yahoo.com
Thank you for reading and contributing. The next issue will come out in mid-June, I look forward to reading your work.
This ezine was composed on a Dell Inspiron 1000 laptop, running Ubuntu 7.04. The editor was the Open Office Writer, sadly I can't get Nvu to work on this Ubuntu. The editing and finishing was done on Nvu. It's a great program.