Thursday, December 14, 2017

Blackthorne--Scene 73



image from arualmk.deviantart.com


Blackthorne

Cinemagenic Seventy-Three

Heart Tug

“Do no harm, open your heart--but take no shit”.
--Anonymous.

1(sound cue) banjo & harmonica.
2(medium close-up) Ryker searched for Bronson’s 
face, but 
3(cut to two-shot) Cash had already moved up 
alongside Johnny: This horse is stone mean, breed
--even you can see that, right? It would not hurt, now
that he’s in my rotunda, to break some of that damn
pride of his.
The Eagle did not respond, keeping his intense gaze
on Ryker.
Cash: I want him broke in for Paulie, and you know 
he’s not much of a horseman--this stallion has a 
wagon load of too much spirit. 
Johnny: But this is not the way.
4(medium close-up) Yes, he is a medicine horse. He
is strong, and he has great pride. But he was Nez
Pierce broke, and has been ridden in battle. I tell you
he would rather die, or he will kill one of you before
you break him with a whip or spurs.
5(close-up) Ryker: You damned flea-bitten squaw--
this horse needs to learn some respect. This ain’t
the first horse I ever broke--you know that. If you
don’t start out with him my way, he’ll be riding you
within a week.
6(sound cue) piano & Indian seed rattle.
7(two-shot) Johnny: I will do this--let me ride him:
more a statement than an inquiry.
Cash took a long look at the stallion. What will it 
cost me for your services?
Johnny: About an hour.
8(medium wide shot) Cash: What do you think about 
all this, Paulie? 
Buck turned to gaze at the youngest brother. When 
Paul recognized him, he froze for a second as a ripple
of fear passed over his face--but then realizing he was 
safe, he smiled a pitiful crooked smile, and spoke in a
small voice: It don’t matter a damn to me who ends up
riding this fucking horse.
9(close-up) Chatawa bobbing his head, flashing
his angry eyes.
10(medium two shot) Graff watched the Eagle--
obviously still angry about his past humiliations,
his face reddening, he spat out: Mr. Bronson, if
this lice-assed halfbreed, says he’ll do it for
nothing--just let him. No sense in getting one of 
our own crew busted up. Probably that damn  
jughead is going to throw him over the fence, 
and we’ll all get a good laugh out of it.
11(close-up) Cash:  Alright, Johnny --we’ll try it
your way. Ryker, get your sad ass out of the corral.
12(sound cue) piano & banjo.
13(medium wide shot) Grumbling all the way, 
Ryker dropped the blanket back over the sawhorse, 
and tossed the whip into the dust, before crawling
up onto the rails.
14(sound cue) six-string blues slide.
15(two-shot)  The Eagle asked as he dismounted
the gate, staring at the waiting stallion: Well, my 
Buck, what do you say?
Buck: Sure, let’s get it done--as he opened the gate
and stepped into the corral.
16(sound cue) the old leather hinges on the gate, 
and crowd murmuring over guitar chord.
17(cut to overhead crane shot) the whole corral,
as Johnny moves toward the dappled stud, and
rail riders were jockeying for better sight lines.
18(sound cue) saxophone & juice harp.
19(two shot) Johnny: Hey, my brave Chat-a-wa.
The stallion’s ears perked up, and he shook his 
head yes--These people have been treating you
like an Army mule, haven’t they? Well, relax son,
for we’re here now, me and the buffalo. Do you
remember the buffalo? Chatawa nodded. So, are
you ready for a treat?
20(medium wide shot) Johnny dipped into a partial
bag of oats by the fence and strolled right up to the
stallion. Buck was three paces behind. The stud
flattened its ears and backed up.
21(sound cue) Indian branch flute.  




Glenn Buttkus

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Diamond Tipped



image from pinterest.com


Diamond Tipped

“I’m a Hip Nip--it just sounds groovy. A drummer
laid it in me,”--Pat Morita.

Hell--you don’t hear the word/term groovy that
much anymore; more of a 60’s kind of thing.

I remember the giggles I received from the young
nursing staff, just before I succumbed to the boss
anesthetic for my recent colonoscopy, when the 
last thing I said was “far out”.

Maybe I’ll utter that at the very moment of my 
death transition as I tune in to what’s shaking
beyond the veil--it will definitely be big time
groovy, and I’ll probably dig it. 

Being in the groove is 
not the same as being in a

rut--so just groove on.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Visitors



image from amybarickman.com


Visitors

“Fish and visitors stink in three days.”
--Benjamin Franklin

We visited frail Miss Lucille
on her 90th birthday, honoring her
request to attempt to renew her
expired Driver’s License.

The line was hours long at the DMV,
a typical bustling state office;
my wife stood in line for her--
when it was finally her turn

She requested a folding chair.
They were kind to her, but
refused to renew her driver’s license.

She had expected that result,
but you could see her disappointment.
She passed away three days later.

Neruda Sonnet
***********************************************

Since my mother-in
law died, I just don’t feel like
visiting Texas.
At ninety, she was much more
than only matriarch; much.

Tanka
*************************************************

In my home, we have
portals; visitors appear
at very odd times.

senryu
***************************************************

For most of my life, I have enjoyed both visiting
with friends and relatives, and welcoming them
to my home--but ill health has trumped sentiment
and reduced practiced candor & civility to ragged
bursts of crankiness.

We are expecting all three daughters and eight
grandchildren to our home for Christmas. My 
latest bout with my immune system has placed 
nails in my mattress, stones in my innards, and
barbs in my belt.

Hordes of arachnids 
become visitors during
winter; fantastic.

Haibun



Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub

Monday, December 4, 2017

Erotica Horribilis



image from picstopin.com


Erotica Horribilis 

“I just wanted to test myself, to see if I could
overcome the dire situation I was headed toward.”
--Timothy Treadwell

Though he 
was in shock,
he could clearly
hear the terrible
crunch as
bear 141,
a rogue grizzly,
bit his left leg off
at the knee.

It happened
in slow motion--

after thirteen summers
in Alaska,
he was being
devoured alive.

Death
had 

teeth. 


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub Q44

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Blackthorne--Scene 72



image from fineartamerica.com 


Blackthorne

Cinemagenic Seventy-Two

UNBROKEN

“You are the road--show me the way. Light up my
day; no more tears, for I am unbroken.”
--Darren Styles.

1(sound cue) six-string blues slide & French horns.
2(overhead drone shot) the Bronson auction barn 
corral, an Appaloosa in the middle kicking up a fuss,
with the rails full of spectators, necks jutted forward
like anxious crows.
3(sound cue) heavy hoofs, stallion screams, sax riff.
4(drone in wide shot, descending)
5(sound cue) bullwhip crack and crowd noise.
6(close-up) Chatawa’s angry eyes.
7(cut to medium wide shot) the stallion on his hind 
legs, hopping and snorting, neighing like it was in 
the middle of a buffalo stampede, slicing the dusty 
air with its front legs. There were two ropes around 
his neck, one lashed to a breaking post, and the 
other was being dragged around in the dust. One of 
Bronson’s hands, a grizzled wrangler, stood behind 
the post, the rope around his wrist and waist. A 
younger cowboy jumped down into the sawdust and 
swept up the end of the loose rope. 
8(sound cue) snare drum and coronet.
9(medium close-up) the Appaloosa leaped forward 
and the young cowpoke was almost jerked off his feet. 
In retribution, the old wrangler lashed his rope even 
tighter.
10(medium wide shot) Cash & Thor Bronson were on 
the rails near the gate. The auction foreman, Graff, 
and Paul Bronson were on the rails to the other side 
of the gate.
11(two shot) Cash and the wrangler; Cash yelled out 
across the noisy corral: Ryker!
12(close up) Cash: I want that jughead broken today!
I want a women to be able to ride him by sundown.
13(sound cue) crowd laughter & cajoling over clarinet.
14(wide shot) Ryker ordered the youngster to lash his 
rope to a second post, and to get a horse blanket. He
rapidly did so, and stood waiting for more instructions.
15(close up) Graff’s red flabby face: Come on, Ryker,
get on that damned plug and show him who’s boss!
16(sound cue) piano & harmonica.
17(medium wide shot) the wrangler told the youngster
to hang on to the breaking rope, taking up the slack, 
while he took the horse blanket and walked toward the 
stallion.
18(close-up) Chatawa watching him warily.
19(medium close up) Ryker: Easy, big fellow, easy.
20(two-shot) Ryker kept up his soothing banter as he
approached the flecked stud. Chatawa arched his 
neck, bobbed his head, and stamped the ground with 
a front hoof. The wrangler got within two feet of the 
stallion, and stopped.
21(sound cue) harmonica huffing.
22(overhead crane shot) Neither one moved. There 
was a long frozen moment while they stared at each 
other.
23(two-shot) Ryker reached out to stroke the horse’s
neck. The flesh on the stallion’s neck quivered, as he 
pulled his head back.
24(sound cue) French horn, saxophone & coronet 
bleating in harmony.
25(wider shot) the stallion leaped forward, pulling 
the young cowboy to his knees, raised up on hind
legs again, pawing the air with lethal hooves, backing
Ryker half way across the pen.
26(sound cue) crowd response, cursing & catcalling.
27(medium close-up) Ryker: You damned blockhead!
No more bullshit! It’s time to knock some of craziness
out of you! --his voice an angry growl.
28(two-shot) He whirled around to a sawhorse near 
him, and grabbed a short bull whip with multiple tails.
29(sound cue) If you use it on him, I will use it on you!
some one yelled.
30(wide shot) Everyone turned. Johnny Eagle 
straddled the gate, watching Ryker like a hawk watches
a rodent. Buck stood just behind him, his big hands on

the gate.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub OLN  

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Change is a Bitch



image from flicker.com


Change is a Bitch

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels,
the troublemakers--because they change things.”
- Rob Siltanen.

Remove change,
and there is less
conflict & chaos--
                                 but the sad fact remains
                    that without change, progress
          stalls out like a tractor out of gas,
  like lungs without oxygen, like fish
flopping on a bloody deck.

As recipients of unerring
seasonal shifts, every 
one of our days is rife
with change.

As we age there are new limitations that appear
like lichen or rodents or barnacles in the night.

As we mature,
one hopes that
wisdom, better judgement
and compassion
will embrace our sphere.

As we learn, we are given opportunities to
incorporate and apply changes to our personal
perceptions, our interactions & relationships.

Yet, I have
railed against,
rebelled and resisted
change, as if it were
a plague ship,

allowing my well mantled fears
      and well constructed comfort zones
             to complicate and obstruct, even though
                    I understand that most times change
                                 is inevitable, & often inexorable.

                                 When it comes to “Change”, the
                        only thing I hate more than my
                   mounting health issues, more
               than all those things I have to 
           cross off from my plans and
   activities, is my daily bitter dose 
of Trump-madness, as the 
ghosts of Mussolini and 
Boss Tweed’s Tammany
Hall combine in filthy depths
of their corruption,

and America, as the bastion of liberty is now
developing crippling cracks in its white columns,
and grievous wounds to its spirit. All I possess 
is anger and grit to sustain me.

Donald J. Trump,
like the institution of slavery,
like the Inquisition,
like pogroms & gas chambers,
like Witch trials & McCarthyism,
like boils on my butt
shall pass.

It may be a painful transition,
like pulling teeth with rusty pliers,
like passing stones through your urethra,
but history is sharpening its daggers

and sanity is gathering its forces.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub


Monday, November 27, 2017

Quill Strokes
























image from abstract.desktopnexus.com


Quill Strokes

“Beware of advice--even this.”--Carl Sandburg.

After writing poetry, fiction, and technical reports for
sixty years my ambitions burn close to the bottom
of the wick, my goals have become simplistic--just
keep on writing. Over the years, my association with
dVerse has thrilled and enticed me, educated me, 
and helped to implement divers change in my style. 
Now Haibun has become my favorite form, and I 
enjoy the freedom to get creative with it.

30 years ago I wanted to get published, believing 
that this somehow would validate my talent and 
authenticity. Many of the poets I know finance their 
own publications--this just doesn’t appeal to me. In a
decade my poetry blog has logged in more than a
million visitors, and the international fellowship within
dVerse assures that my creative fires remain well lit.

It is a good time to be a poet, but the pay is still 
shitty.”--Bobby Byrd.

Photography has
become my reigning passion;

poetry stands alongside.


Glenn Buttkus

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Bruiser



image from wildlifeanimals.blogspot.com


Bruiser

“Regardless, I am still passionate about 
grizzly bears.”---Timothy Treadwell.

It’s November, and my den is hollowed out. I
just feasted on four fat turkeys--ha--a few less
for man’s table. I pick my teeth with four inch
claws. My jaws are so strong I once bit through
a cast iron frying pan to get all the bacon grease.
I mated twice in August, and I’m ready for the
big nap.

They call me Bruiser--which appeals to me a 
hell of lot more than Ursus Horribilis. There are
only a couple of a dozen of us here in the North
Cascades. I range a couple hundred miles, 
sometimes checking out the foothills of the Rockies.
I was raised in the Yukon, but over the last decade
I’ve worked my way down here. I once spent a
year in Montana, but it was just too damn crowded;
hundreds of bears competing for sex and food.

I’m about 30, old for a Grizz--most of us check out
before we’re 25. I think it’s because some of them 
choose not to hibernate; stupid kids--afraid they’re
going to miss something. I’m left alone, which is how
I like it. I’m 9 feet tall, and weigh 880 pounds. I had 
a tussle with a rogue Sasquatch last year. He was 
about 8’ tall, and weighed in at a skinny 425. He was
pretty nimble, but they’re not good fighters; small jaws
and teeth, with no claws. I had to stand erect to battle
him. He gave up after I tore one of his arms off; made
a nice lunch.

I’m expecting a big blizzard this week, so I’m eating
everything that moves, from ants to coyotes. I tend to
hibernate for 5 months. At my age, I enjoy the rest--
but I’ll tell you what, when I emerge in April, I am
both cranky and real hungry.

In Spring the grizzly’s
roar causes critters to hide, cuz

they will devour all.    


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub

Monday, November 20, 2017

So Dense


image from frugalhomedesign.blogspot.ca


So Dense

If Tao is like a river, it is certainly good to know
where the rocks are.”--Ming-Dao Deng.

Geologists ain’t afraid
of no rocks,
because
they love
the hard stuff.

Slim women rock
their tight jeans,
but how do they
get them on?

Blues men gave
musical birth
to both
jazz and rock.

Yeah,
rocks in your head.
but not yet
dead.



Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub Q44  

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Ode to Muscle



image from pinterest.com


Ode to Muscle

“If a writer has to rob memories of his mother, he
will not hesitate.”--William Faulkner


The last muscle car
I ever owned was
a 1973 Mustang, 
Pantera styling,
jet black & waxed,
a fastback, 
a 4-speed transmission,
and 400 horsepower
out of a 351 Cleveland V-8.

After a while though,
I began to realize,
it was damn heard to see 
out out the small back window,
it averaged 8 miles to the gallon.
and because it was a classic,
it was very hard to find parts.

Insurance was too high,
maintenance was prohibitive,
repair costs were outlandish,
and I banged it up twice
backing up blind.



Glenn Buttkus


Monday, November 6, 2017

Killer Kick




image from quintoquartobr.com


Killer Kick

if we become apathetic, art can kick our ass, give
us back conscience & focus.”--Erik Pevernagil.

Sunday got the blues
as I sat alone
watching the Seahawks

lose a game
to the Washington Redskins
17-14.

Kicker Blair Walsh,
the man with a golden leg,
missed three field goals,

contributing mightily
to the loss,
all three kicks

wildly to the left.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub Q44

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Blackthorne--Scene 71



image from pinterest.com 


Blackthorne

Cinemagenic Seventy-One

Hostage

“When you have a child, the world has a 
hostage.”--Ernest Hemingway.

1(sound cue) harmonica & accordion. 
2(two-shot) Salina, over Wallace’s shoulder:
I am my father’s daughter.
Wallace, smiling : It’s just that you can’t close
your eyes, click your heels, and Thor disappears.
His kind of mean hangs in like colic. I think you 
should give some thought as to how to straighten
things out.
3(close-up) Salina : OK, Pop. I figured I would cross
that little bridge when I get to it.
4(medium close-up) Wallace : Damn, girl, you should
be fixing to find a way to let him down easy. He is not
used to being told No.
5(voice over) Salina: Well, there’s a first time for 
everything--followed by a chuckle.
6(sound cue) piano & harmonica.
7(cut to medium wide shot/exterior) An old buckboard
reined up out front. Johnny Eagle was driving it. A 
young black mustang jerked against his harness and 
the tall gray mule alongside him. Rod Buck pulled up
and stepped down off his huge roan. Wallace walked 
out on the porch, squinting into the east as golden rays
began to edge up over the sign on the CHINA DOLL.
Wallace wiped his liver-spotted calloused hands on his
clean apron.
8(three-shot) Wallace: Nice to see you. Did you run out
of chuck?
Buck: Among other things.
Wallace: Hey, John--then turned on his heel as the
Eagle returned his greeting with a silent nod.
Buck stepped up onto the porch: Do you want to 
come in, old brother?
Johnny: Not today, boss. I think I will wander down to
the cantina and shoot the buzzard shit with Mateo.
Buck: I’ll join you there later.
The Eagle jumped down from the wagon; Buck 
watched him making his way along the dusty street, 
watched how straight he carried himself, how his 
shoulder and arm muscles rippled as he walked.
9(sound cue) guitar & coronet.
10(two-shot) Wallace was in the doorway : So
what do you need on this fine morning?
Buck: I’ll need some paint for one--stepping into
the store behind Wallace--What have you got?
10(medium wide shot) Salina was still at the fabric
table. She straightened up and stared at Buck, not
pretending to work.
11(voice over) Wallace: What quantity & color?
12(close up) Buck: Enough to paint a rainbow on
your crapper.
13(two-shot) Salina, over Buck’s shoulder: What a 
colorful way of speaking. Good morning, Mr. Buck.
Buck: Good morning, Miss Salina.
Salina: Does Johnny Eagle work for you now? 
Buck: That’s what he tells me.
Wallace (as voice over) Blue, black, red, white and
green--a fine selection.
Salina: Fixing up the old place?
Buck: We stay in the bunkhouse for now. The house
needs a ton of work. After I get things presentable,
you might could come out for a visit.
Salina, smiling warmly: Yes, I might could.
14(sound cue) violin & flute.
15(two-shot) She returned to her fabric bolts. He 
spent an awkward moment considering what to say 
next when Wallace inquired:  What colors?
16(sound cue) heavy boot steps just before the front 
door swung open, awakening the bee hive of bells.
The Eagle rushed in, a bit out of breath: Boss, I think
you need to come with me right now.
17(three-shot) Buck: Hey, fierce one. I haven’t 
ordered anything yet--nor have I had time to ask
Miss Salina for a date.
18(medium close-up) Another smile from the lady.
19(two-shot) Buck: Just tell Mateo to wait a few 
minutes.
Johnny: It’s Chatawa.
Buck turned and the two men tramped out of the 
store. Wallace shrugged his shoulders & followed
them to the doorsill. A large crowd had gathered

down at the auction corrals.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub OLN

Barbatos



painting by James Ryman 


Barbatos

“If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels.”
--Tennessee Williams.

By day, I am nearly invisible as I bus tables and
wash dishes at Denny’s. I live in my grandmother’s
basement--a nice little apartment with it’s own
entrance. Gramm is hard of hearing, and for me
that’s a blessing.

By night, I troll the bus station, back alleys and
the gay bars. I’m a big handsome Swede, with 
long blond hair & deep blue eyes--looking like
Thor and shit. Though for years my sexual
preferences were conflicted, I seem to attract
gay men, so it’s just easier to score with them.

My father used to get drunk and beat the hell out 
of me, before he was stabbed & killed in a bar fight.
My mother was a crack addict, and she died when
I was 14, just after an older homosexual had given
me a ride from school, and raped me in his garden
shed. I could have stopped him, but hell, I enjoyed
the attention.

Five years ago I discovered that I preferred to have
sex with young boys who agreed to be mute and
non-responsive. I had a part-time job in a mortuary,
and I developed a real taste for necrophilia; but
most of the lover boys still made noise & moved
about.

So I made the decision to start killing them, so 
that my sexual & emotional needs could be more
adequately satiated, I’m very strong, so strangling
them was the easiest & quietest solution. Soon I
became expert at cutting up their bodies in the 
bath tub, and dissolving them in barrels of strong
chemicals. Gramm noticed I burned a lot of incense.
I told her I was converting to Hinduism.

One bright day, I got to staring at the neatly sliced
up portions of meat, and out of nowhere, I fired up
my oven and made a delicious roast out of buttocks.
To date I have slain 37 young men, and eaten a 
dozen of them. The last seven of them as a lark, I
saved their heads in my refrigerator. As I sink deeper
into the darkness of depravity, murder, and sweet
cannibalism--I have no regrets. At some point I will
be caught, and that’s as it should be. I will probably
get 20 consecutive life sentences, and after a few 
months I will be cornered in the shower room by
several men & stabbed in the eyes.

I have become a
demon--every night is like

Halloween for me.


Glenn Buttkus

Monday, October 30, 2017

Compassionate Conflict



image from pinterest.com


Compassionate Conflict

“Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and
the blind can see.”--Mark Twain

Unfortunately, our kindness, like our compassion
and empathy, is that part of the human condition
that allows the unscrupulous among us to work
their cons, scams & lies--allows politicians to 
thrive, and lawyers to successfully defend the guilty.

I always feel the tingle of alacrity when a stranger
stops me in a parking lot, sharing some sob story,
asking for ten bucks for gas so that his pregnant
wife can get to the doctor; or those smiling sons
of bitches who come to my door offering bogus
services, or collecting data for a greedy corporation.

Yet if you approach me, then look me in the eyes,
tell me your situation. & I hear no alarms--I will 
give you food, a ride, or money, or all three. So,
yes, even though deceptions surround us, making
me paranoid, suspicious, or sarcastic--my heart
is still touchable.

Mighty maple first
puts on a show. then it

kindly shares its leaves.


Glenn Buttkus

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Nacori Cantina


image from flipsidesf.wordpress.com


Nacori Cantina

“BLOOD MERIDIAN seems to me to be the major
esthetic achievement of any living American writer.”
--Harold Bloom

Looking left,
the Judge’s pistol fired.
rolling clear--

got to his feet,
paying their respects,
the dead man fell;

Smith had drawn his Bowie,
the knife protruding,
dark arterial blood spray--

jabbing with their knives,
holding the wounds shut,
sound of gunfire--

stepping over several corpses,
huge pistols roared,
20 Mexicans shot to pieces;

bullet splinters blossoming out of the wood,
mud walls pocked with fresh holes,
blood splatter drenched stucco.

The Judge was like a cat,
sidestepping
he picked the man up;

screaming,
blood flowing from his ears,
the man did not get up.

Door frame filled
with smoke, jammed with
the dead and dying.

Suddenly,
a great ringing silence,
his back to the wall;

Figures stood frozen,
gunsmoke drifting through
like fog.


Glenn Buttkus

Blackout Poetics--Page 179

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub MTB