{"id":4725,"date":"2014-05-04T02:00:05","date_gmt":"2014-05-04T02:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sporkpress.com\/?p=4725"},"modified":"2014-05-04T02:00:05","modified_gmt":"2014-05-04T02:00:05","slug":"school-of-fish-marcus-slease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/2014\/05\/04\/school-of-fish-marcus-slease\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcus Slease || School of Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"

___________________
\nSCHOOL OF FISH<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The wind<\/p>\n

is getting<\/p>\n

saucy today,<\/p>\n

a little spit<\/p>\n

mixed with<\/p>\n

dry winter<\/p>\n

leaves.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t<\/p>\n

bring<\/p>\n

a shield.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all<\/p>\n

getting in<\/p>\n

my eyes.<\/p>\n

I want<\/p>\n

to get<\/p>\n

saucy too.<\/p>\n

How do<\/p>\n

I get<\/p>\n

saucy?<\/p>\n

Just blow<\/p>\n

along<\/p>\n

with the wind.<\/p>\n

At Deer Park,<\/p>\n

near Richmond<\/p>\n

American University,<\/p>\n

there are dogs<\/p>\n

running around.<\/p>\n

I used<\/p>\n

to have<\/p>\n

a dog<\/p>\n

named Lady.<\/p>\n

And a god too.<\/p>\n

I am trying<\/p>\n

to reconnect<\/p>\n

with nature.<\/p>\n

Is it god?<\/p>\n

What is<\/p>\n

nature?<\/p>\n

What is<\/p>\n

a dog?<\/p>\n

My stress level<\/p>\n

was code red.<\/p>\n

I was lost<\/p>\n

in the crowds<\/p>\n

and clinging,<\/p>\n

trying to do<\/p>\n

things perfect,<\/p>\n

and I am waiting<\/p>\n

to let go again.<\/p>\n

It takes<\/p>\n

too long.<\/p>\n

I need<\/p>\n

a new haircut.<\/p>\n

I need<\/p>\n

to get new<\/p>\n

to see things<\/p>\n

different.<\/p>\n

What is<\/p>\n

the big picture?<\/p>\n

Death and nature.<\/p>\n

There is<\/p>\n

too much job,<\/p>\n

not enough life.<\/p>\n

An orgasm<\/p>\n

and massage<\/p>\n

and its code green<\/p>\n

for a while.<\/p>\n

Up at 3.30 4.30<\/p>\n

and out of bed<\/p>\n

at 5.30.<\/p>\n

Christmas<\/p>\n

is on the way<\/p>\n

and there is<\/p>\n

no way<\/p>\n

to stop it.<\/p>\n

I am<\/p>\n

not home.<\/p>\n

Where<\/p>\n

is my home?<\/p>\n

I am making<\/p>\n

a new one.<\/p>\n

I need a hug.<\/p>\n

I am afraid<\/p>\n

if I get a hug<\/p>\n

I will forget<\/p>\n

all the things<\/p>\n

I am supposed<\/p>\n

to do.<\/p>\n

My ears<\/p>\n

are ringing.<\/p>\n

My toes<\/p>\n

are cold.<\/p>\n

It is 7.02.<\/p>\n

I am thinking<\/p>\n

of my immigrant<\/p>\n

status<\/p>\n

in the United<\/p>\n

States of America.<\/p>\n

An immigrant<\/p>\n

longs to be<\/p>\n

with aliens,<\/p>\n

legal or illegal<\/p>\n

we are always<\/p>\n

aliens.<\/p>\n

I want to be<\/p>\n

a saucy alien.<\/p>\n

This is the weather.<\/p>\n

I am going<\/p>\n

to turn on<\/p>\n

the heater<\/p>\n

to warm<\/p>\n

up my toes.<\/p>\n

I am reading<\/p>\n

School of Fish<\/p>\n

by Eileen Myles.<\/p>\n

Memory is an alien,<\/p>\n

dreams are an alien.<\/p>\n

I dreamt<\/p>\n

about my<\/p>\n

favorite aunt<\/p>\n

last night.<\/p>\n

She bought me<\/p>\n

goldfish<\/p>\n

at the market<\/p>\n

when I was<\/p>\n

younger.<\/p>\n

This was<\/p>\n

in Portadown.<\/p>\n

I could hear it<\/p>\n

swimming,<\/p>\n

bumping up<\/p>\n

against the plastic bag.<\/p>\n

Last night she was<\/p>\n

at the fish<\/p>\n

and chip shop.<\/p>\n

It was not<\/p>\n

a good fish<\/p>\n

and chip shop,<\/p>\n

and we both<\/p>\n

knew it.<\/p>\n

I sat<\/p>\n

on the curb<\/p>\n

near the fish<\/p>\n

and chip shop<\/p>\n

and said,<\/p>\n

it\u2019s not a good<\/p>\n

fish and chip shop.<\/p>\n

And she nodded.<\/p>\n

I had a hat<\/p>\n

over my eyes.<\/p>\n

I could partially<\/p>\n

see, and partially<\/p>\n

not see.<\/p>\n

I knew<\/p>\n

I was dreaming.<\/p>\n

I walked on past<\/p>\n

my childhood,<\/p>\n

to my youth.<\/p>\n

There was mosh pit<\/p>\n

all around me,<\/p>\n

people elbowing,<\/p>\n

a great wave.<\/p>\n

I swayed like<\/p>\n

I was on a boat.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t try<\/p>\n

to dance.<\/p>\n

I stayed sitting.<\/p>\n

Right smack<\/p>\n

in the middle,<\/p>\n

with my hat<\/p>\n

half covering<\/p>\n

my eyes.<\/p>\n

Like a half<\/p>\n

ass blindfold.<\/p>\n

Like the kind<\/p>\n

of blindfold<\/p>\n

we used<\/p>\n

for magic tricks<\/p>\n

in my youth,<\/p>\n

with Mormon<\/p>\n

missionaries<\/p>\n

on Monday nights.<\/p>\n

It was called<\/p>\n

Family Home<\/p>\n

Evening.<\/p>\n

The blindfold<\/p>\n

was not tight,<\/p>\n

you could still<\/p>\n

see if you put<\/p>\n

your head down.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t going<\/p>\n

anywhere.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t resisting<\/p>\n

the waves<\/p>\n

the crowd<\/p>\n

the silent<\/p>\n

music<\/p>\n

pushing<\/p>\n

and rocking me.<\/p>\n

I am full<\/p>\n

of sauce<\/p>\n

at Christmas.<\/p>\n

I am not going<\/p>\n

home.<\/p>\n

Why do we dream?<\/p>\n

What good<\/p>\n

does it do?<\/p>\n

Time goes,<\/p>\n

everything changes.<\/p>\n

I stayed seated.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t going<\/p>\n

anywhere.<\/p>\n

How big is this world<\/p>\n

and what is there<\/p>\n

to push against?<\/p>\n

I am a goldfish<\/p>\n

but I want to be a bird.<\/p>\n

I am going to be<\/p>\n

a bird today.<\/p>\n

I am going<\/p>\n

to get a haircut<\/p>\n

and start<\/p>\n

all over again<\/p>\n

with my immigrant<\/p>\n

status.<\/p>\n

I was eating<\/p>\n

raw veggies<\/p>\n

but now I am<\/p>\n

cooking them.<\/p>\n

I am going<\/p>\n

to turn on the heater<\/p>\n

and read Zen<\/p>\n

flash fiction.<\/p>\n

I am not escaping<\/p>\n

the weather.<\/p>\n

The first Zen<\/p>\n

flash<\/p>\n

fiction<\/p>\n

is about a person<\/p>\n

not turning<\/p>\n

back<\/p>\n

after leaving<\/p>\n

his old life<\/p>\n

of drinking<\/p>\n

and gambling<\/p>\n

behind.<\/p>\n

He became<\/p>\n

a zen master.<\/p>\n

Even this little<\/p>\n

notebook<\/p>\n

is ending.<\/p>\n

It is the last<\/p>\n

day of fall<\/p>\n

semester.<\/p>\n

Eileen Myles<\/p>\n

and Philip Whalen<\/p>\n

are my masters:<\/p>\n

conversation<\/p>\n

warmth<\/p>\n

energy<\/p>\n

expansiveness<\/p>\n

openness<\/p>\n

generosity<\/p>\n

honesty<\/p>\n

engagement.<\/p>\n

My alarm<\/p>\n

has gone<\/p>\n

off.<\/p>\n

It is 7.30AM.<\/p>\n

I woke up<\/p>\n

many hours<\/p>\n

early.<\/p>\n

The trees<\/p>\n

are bare.<\/p>\n

All the leaves<\/p>\n

have blown away.<\/p>\n

Everyone<\/p>\n

is on their way<\/p>\n

to work<\/p>\n

outside<\/p>\n

my window<\/p>\n

on Commercial<\/p>\n

Road.<\/p>\n

I am seeing<\/p>\n

it like a bird,<\/p>\n

with its great<\/p>\n

big aerial<\/p>\n

view.<\/p>\n

I am thinking<\/p>\n

of the really<\/p>\n

big birds,<\/p>\n

but the little<\/p>\n

ones too.<\/p>\n

I am seeing<\/p>\n

it like<\/p>\n

a goldfish<\/p>\n

swimming<\/p>\n

in a little<\/p>\n

plastic bag.<\/p>\n

what is IT?<\/p>\n

This poem<\/p>\n

never ends<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

___________________<\/p>\n

<\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object>
\n___________________<\/p>\n

Marcus Slease<\/strong> was born in Portadown, N. Ireland in 1974. At the end of 1985 he immigrated to Las Vegas to become Mormon. He is no longer Mormon or a resident of Vegas. He lives in East London and teaches English as a foreign language.\u00a0His poetry has been translated and published in Danish and Polish.\u00a0His latest books are\u00a0Spanish Fork<\/i>\u00a0(Country Music\u00a0<\/i>2014),\u00a0The House of Zabka\u00a0<\/i>(Deathless Press<\/i>\u00a02013) and\u00a0Mu (Dream) So (Window)<\/i>\u00a0(Poor Claudia<\/i>\u00a02012). Videos of readings from his work in progress, Another Kind of Mission, are available over here:\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9qOb4mRX5PI<\/a>\u00a0and over here:\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=MbOaoYLPmMc<\/a>\u00a0 and also here:\u00a0http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3073DcMsjI0<\/a>. A recent interview can be found here:\u00a0http:\/\/everestonline.tumblr.com\/post\/53433193690\/marcus-slease-interview<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0and here:\u00a0http:\/\/theconversant.org\/?p=5588<\/a>\u00a0You can find him at Never Mind the Beasts\u00a0www.marcusslease.blogspot.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

___________________ SCHOOL OF FISH     The wind is getting saucy today, a little spit mixed with dry winter leaves. I didn\u2019t bring a shield. It\u2019s all getting in my eyes. I want to get saucy too. How do I get saucy? Just blow along with the wind. At Deer Park, near Richmond American University, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-things"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4725\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thisissporkpress.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}