Things to Do in Ghost Town

After Ted Berrigan

 

hide under an awning

dodge killer cars

watch out for skeletal

raccoon-eyed tweakers

wear flip flops in January

begin drinking at noon

take a class

attend an open mic poetry reading

have a crepe

look at some art

laugh at Juggaloes

make a visit to the courthouse

document freight train graffiti

talk to crows, bluebirds, red-breated robins

hunt mushrooms

marvel at hundreds of geese

as they fly by

making Toni cry

pray for sunlight

(never) get used to passive aggressive communication

not knowing where you stand

try not to explode at every unreturned email and phone call

watch a toddler crack her head open

on the jagged edges of the rocks

in the fountain at Esther Short Park

try to forget how you got here

miss friends and family

take walks to the Land Bridge

avoid ghosts along the way

hurtle over tumbling tumbleweeds

start anew

 

 

Christopher Luna is the co-founder, with Toni Partington, of Printed Matter Vancouver, whose books include Ghost Town Poetry, an anthology of poems from the popular Vancouver, WA open mic reading he founded in 2004, and Serenity in the Brutal Garden, the debut collection by Vancouver poet Jenney Pauer. His books include GHOST TOWN, USA  and The Flame Is Ours: The Letters of Stan Brakhage and Michael McClure 1961-1978, an important piece of film and literary history that Luna edited at Brakhage’s request, available on Michael Rothenberg’s BigBridge.org.