Blue Moon (by Dianne Borsenik)

 

Blue Moon
by Dianne Borsenik
[from HardDrive/SoftWear (2009, Crisis Chronicles Press)]

lunar fingers
elongated
bone-white
penetrate
cloud curtain
slip through
crawl across
scarred wax
frozen landscape
slient night

mocking
star-lacquered
pickpocket
fingers dip
into cracks
raise gooseflesh
trail snail
slime shadows
diaphanous
lunatic fringe

forever dead
fingers draw
chalk outlines
steal passage
on blackwater
broadcast
syllables
of lust
naked longing
high tide

 

Dianne Borsenik is active in the northeast Ohio poetry scene, and is founder/editor of NightBallet Press. She also co-founded the legendary Lix and Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest.  Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, and Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, among others. Her most recent chapbooks are Braless (Blasted Press) and Blue Graffiti (Crisis Chronicles Press). She also has chapbooks forthcoming from Recycled Karma Press and Kattywompus Press.  You can find Dianne on Facebook, at www.nightballet.com, or at www.dianneborsenik.com.

“Blue Moon” originally appeared in Dianne Borsenik’s 2009 Crisis Chronicles Press chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear. To order a signed copy, please send $9.99 to Crisis Chronicles Press, 3344 W. 105th Street #4, Cleveland, Ohio 44111.

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One Small Step (by Dianne Borsenik)

Orion Nebula – photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

One Small Step

Hubble’s on YouTube
tele-scope it out
it’s a step inside invitation
a belly up to the Milky Way bar
and order a draft
of whatever’s on celestial tap
a blast from the past
through honeycombed glass
it’s a raucous carnival night
our blue and green bubble
afloat on the fairway
lost in the crowd
just a cell on the skin
of a universe too vast
to comprehend

nebula and quasar
tibia and fibula
somehow all connected
we are here
you are there
yet how can we be anywhere
without being aware
we’re but one microscopic dot
on the blotter of the entire universe?
hearse comes to take us
and we’re gone
while the anything but black
whole of the universe
lives on
our backwater galaxy
just a vanity
an affectation you can barely see
with the naked eye

radius and ulna
orbit and circumference
I don’t know if you can say
we belong to the universe
or it belongs to us
all our little fuss and bother
hunger and whoring for war
doesn’t affect the galaxies
one way or the other
trapezium and trapezoid
trapeze and trampoline
cluster and infrared dust
this spangled event continues
night after night
all those uncurling fists
flinging wide
their confetti
of polychromatic light

we like to think
we’re inquirers
explorers
“Indiana Jones”
Amelia Earhart
setting new records
charting unknowns
we like to feel we’re
Asimov, Hawking
Carl Sagan
mindsurfing the Cosmos
mapping the night
unraveling Einsteinian mysteries
of this ring or that moon
or some other sparkly satellite
we like to dream
we’re lifting the lid
of a sleepy god’s eye
and peering inside
we like to imagine
that we can see
behind the curtain
that we have star sight

but here we are
unmasked and marked as rubes
not so much Magellan
as Mr. Magoo
bumbling around our little system
blinded and blistered
by a golden solar spotlight
waving our umbrellas
like swords at the reign
of destruction and hate
not even noticed
as gatecrashing ants
under the Big Top of the Bang
all but invisible
wistful and wishful
our bubble world
an impermanent shimmer
ready to pop
at the drop of The Bomb

Hubble’s on YouTube
there for the asking
a blast from the past
irising open and inviting us in
one small step and we’re through
the metaphysical door
one small step and we’ve gone
where no one has gone before
and if we go exploring
we just might discover
that we’re already there
might discover ourselves
in the stardust
of what’s already here
(and whether or not
we find any Others
or they find us)
we aren’t lost
to this Universal history
but
we should consider
our tickets are punched
and we’re all of us
along for this trip

on this mindblowing
cosmic
Mobius strip

poem (c) 2011 by Dianne Borsenik — used with the poet’s permission


Dianne Borsenik 20 July 2008 at the Huron Boat Basin — photo by Jesus Crisis
Dianne Borsenik, a former flower child and current redhead, lives with husband James near Elyria, Ohio’s beautiful Cascade Park. She has had poems and haiku published in a number of journals and anthologies, including Rosebud, Slipstream, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac and The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry. Her two chapbooks, HardDrive/SoftWear and Blue Graffiti are available from Crisis Chronicles Press.  With poetry partner John Burroughs, she has co-produced/co-hosted the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest series.  Find her at http://www.pw.org/content/dianne_borsenik_0.

Borsenik & Burroughs pt. 6 at Feed the Gays 2 in Cleveland – 3/27/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA-sBdDfRfs

Part six (conclusion) of a joint featured reading by Borsenik & Burroughs
that was recorded on Saturday March 27th 2010 during Feed the Gays 2
an event benefitting the GLASA @ Cleveland State University scholarship fund
held at the Union Station Video Café, 2814 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

John Burroughs is a poet, playwright and musician in Elyria, Ohio, as well as the founder and editor of the Crisis Chronicles Online Library and co-founder (with Dianne Borsenik) of both the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest.  Discover more than you’ll probably ever want to know about John at http://crisischronicles.com.

Stalk Lix and Kix on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lixandkix.

Borsenik & Burroughs pt. 5 at Feed the Gays 2 in Cleveland – 3/27/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wdo7O08BoU

Part five of a joint featured reading by Dianne Borsenik & John Burroughs
recorded on Saturday March 27th 2010 during Feed the Gays 2
an event benefitting the GLASA @ Cleveland State University scholarship fund
held at the Union Station Video Café, 2814 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

John Burroughs is a poet, playwright and musician in Elyria, Ohio, as well as the founder and editor of the Crisis Chronicles Online Library and co-founder (with Dianne Borsenik) of both the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest.  Discover more than you’ll probably ever want to know about John at http://crisischronicles.com.

Stalk Lix and Kix on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lixandkix.

Borsenik & Burroughs pt. 4 at Feed the Gays 2 in Cleveland – 3/27/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaglfe8hBEE

Part four of a joint featured reading by Dianne Borsenik & John Burroughs
recorded on Saturday March 27th 2010 during Feed the Gays 2
an event benefitting the GLASA @ Cleveland State University scholarship fund
held at the Union Station Video Café, 2814 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

John Burroughs is a poet, playwright and musician in Elyria, Ohio, as well as the founder and editor of the Crisis Chronicles Online Library and co-founder (with Dianne Borsenik) of both the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest.  Discover more than you’ll probably ever want to know about John at http://crisischronicles.com.

Stalk Lix and Kix on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lixandkix.

Borsenik & Burroughs pt. 3 at Feed the Gays 2 in Cleveland – 3/27/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=938JikSoQOc

Part three of a joint featured reading by Dianne Borsenik & John Burroughs
recorded on Saturday March 27th 2010 during Feed the Gays 2
an event benefitting the GLASA @ Cleveland State University scholarship fund
held at the Union Station Video Café, 2814 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

John Burroughs is a poet, playwright and musician in Elyria, Ohio, as well as the founder and editor of the Crisis Chronicles Online Library and co-founder (with Dianne Borsenik) of both the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest.  Discover more than you’ll probably ever want to know about John at http://crisischronicles.com.

Stalk Lix and Kix on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lixandkix.

Borsenik & Burroughs pt. 2 at Feed the Gays 2 in Cleveland – 3/27/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMd6DcpmnT4

Part two of a joint featured reading by Dianne Borsenik & John Burroughs
recorded on Saturday March 27th 2010 during Feed the Gays 2
an event benefitting the GLASA @ Cleveland State University scholarship fund
held at the Union Station Video Café, 2814 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

John Burroughs is a poet, playwright and musician in Elyria, Ohio, as well as the founder and editor of the Crisis Chronicles Online Library and co-founder (with Dianne Borsenik) of both the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest.  Discover more than you’ll probably ever want to know about John at http://crisischronicles.com.

Stalk Lix and Kix on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lixandkix.

Borsenik & Burroughs pt. 1 at Feed the Gays 2 in Cleveland – 3/27/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3crPT87MOH0

Part one of a joint featured reading by Dianne Borsenik & John Burroughs
recorded on Saturday March 27th 2010 during Feed the Gays 2
an event benefitting the GLASA @ Cleveland State University scholarship fund
held at the Union Station Video Café, 2814 Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

John Burroughs is a poet, playwright and musician in Elyria, Ohio, as well as the founder and editor of the Crisis Chronicles Online Library and co-founder (with Dianne Borsenik) of both the Lix & Kix Poetry Extravaganza and Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest.  Discover more than you’ll probably ever want to know about John at http://crisischronicles.com.

Stalk Lix and Kix on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lixandkix.

Dianne Borsenik reads poetry at The Beat Cafe – 15 August 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeQZSVeDtAM

Poetry written and performed by Dianne Borsenik

Recorded at the Beat Cafe, 29200 Hoover Rd. in Warren, Michigan
Event sponsored by Troubadour 21: Writers & Artists in the 21st Century
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

Dianne Borsenik & JJ Haaz at Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest – 1/16/2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLaw8O_51F8

Poetry written and performed by Dianne Borsenik
Music written and performed on 10-string guitar by JJ Haaz

Filmed during Snoetry: A Winter Wordfest — a Lix and Kix production
at the Last Wordsmith Book Shoppe in North East, Pennsylvania on 16 January 2010
(photography & editing by John Burroughs, a.k.a. Jesus Crisis)

About The Artists:

JJ Haaz is a guitarist, composer, web/graphic designer, journalist and music instructor based in Cleveland, Ohio.  His CDs include Live & Crazy, Studio Cutz (with Jackie Warren) and Dead & Back!!! (with the JJ Haaz band).  For more information, please check out his website: http://jjhaaz.com.

Dianne Borsenik, former flowerchild and current redhead, is active in the Cleveland poetry scene. Her poems have appeared in Slipstream, Rosebud, Ship of Fools, Nerve Cowboy, The Magnetic Poetry Book of Poetry, Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, Eviscerator Heaven, Deep Cleveland Junkmail Oracle, Voices of Cleveland, and Naturally magazine; her chapbook HardDrive/SoftWear was published in 2009 (Crisis Chronicles Press). Both the 2008 and 2009 Cleveland RTA poetry projects included her poems, and actor Jonathan Frid (“Barnabas” on Dark Shadows) used 3 of her poems on tour in “Genesis of Evil.” She has performed her poetry in venues throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.