John M. Bennett - 5 poems

John M. Bennett has published, exhibited and performed his word art worldwide in thousands of publications and venues. He was editor and publisher of LOST AND FOUND TIMES (1975-2005), and is Curator of the Avant Writing Collection at The Ohio State University Libraries. Richard Kostelanetz has called him “the seminal American poet of my generation”. His work, publications, and papers are collected in several major institutions, including Washington University (St. Louis), SUNY Buffalo, The Ohio State University, The Museum of Modern Art, and other major libraries. His PhD (UCLA 1970) is in Latin American Literature.

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 1.

 scène

a runny gate a

a dead frog a

a mute mask a

says floor

*** 
2.

 checkbook

colunchmeat's soulful

gain the ashex tou

sled dome rat

tled wind the

mask afire your

center watch

was frame for snack

yr teeth clankk

holds a ball of dirt

***

3.

fort e said

bestial impaction ,f''er

fought off ah shelf pla

ticante ,defrasis umsho

ldered ahn the spitting

driveway ,eat your each

,nil said ,borbotante ,in

fúlvido y twisted with

yr gristled pencil arm

was shovel ,up to

Hhilt :no he la nada

dicho dije adan dije

nown the loss of K

)strode off to gas

***

4.

dental surgery

purrs down ahn sl

anted toothache g

lib er ate ah brillo

pie sack of sewage

in a suit the ants' pree

xcision labored thru eh

fog clam wrest ,w

restled time o wind

gugulped inside out unh

Raw Used Car yr gunned

skinhead in a wig bent

vis ions dintersectioned

in sun armchair s mold

ered in uh coupon maze

ment was yr snakes will

humming cakatipalista

tunnels th rough yr

c rumbling b rain a

void the vessel “O

pen mouth and he

ave”

conveyor globs pap

er shit out fish let

ters ttwwisted in

yr ophaptic gravel

Glommed out of 3 essays by

Jim Leftwich of Dec. 7, 2016

***

5.

all holes day

hole in my face where the

clouds roll out hole in my

face where your finger shines

hole in my face where a mask

licks its lips hole in my face

where a door loses its hinge h

ole or hole of my face where a

tree burns in the sky hole in

my face where your book is

soaked in oil hole in my f

ace where a lightbulb spins in

smoke hole in my face where a

hole swallows a hat hole in my

face where a dog chews its tail

hole in my face where the k

itchen fills with crickets spell

your name in reverse on the

wall where the hole in my f

ace o pens and c loses opens

and closes was a mouth pou

ring eyes and glasses was a

bottomless cup explaining

the toilet hole in my face

where a shadow enters and

takes the form of a knife

hole in my face where a

key dissolves and the garage

is consumed in flame