N a p a
l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 3 : S p e c i
a l E d i
t i o n
L o n g
P o e m M a s t e r p i e c e s o f t h e
P o s t b e a t s
MARC OLMSTED
Photo by Dion Olivier w/ Suzi Kaplan Olmsted.
Karmapa In America ‘08
Touching the Void mountain
climbing book read by Berkeley intense young man
void opens from tunnel over concrete veins of highway
FORTUNE COOKIE fast delivery ghetto
red motor chair Granny diabetes taking a spin
portly East Indian man, buzz flat top cocks eyebrow corny wrestler
daring action (in deeper fear)
eyes locking w/ me –
he thinks the world bullies him – perhaps right –
but this wrestling match already lost
“& the winner is…Decay!”
Earth Bearing Witness 8 centuries of the Buddha
glass case statues on the way into security
airport checkpoint I pause – look at them all
“Crowned Buddha”
Black Crown Karmapa for sure
on my trip to Seattle to see his new 17th face
Whisper Transmission Tibetan lineage Head
“clear, unlocatable, nondiscursive,
naked emptiness-awareness
is the authentic lama”
– Jigdral Yeshe Dorje
Virgin America’s purple–lit air cabin reading
William Gibson’s latest cyberpunk novel –
which happens in the present –
electronica music in the toilet – a
trumpet doing a mediocre stab at Miles –
I could be frightened in this Bardo
Distance to go
73 miles – red jet on USA map –
Google journey graphics back of the
heardrest in front of me
In the bathroom mirror I am shocked that I’m old
But the smell
\in the airporter bus is the same
from last century
like a pink chip in an old urinal
- Karmapa in America
- Panic in the Disco
- Return to Forever
6
6
6
- - Paramount Theater marquee 5/31/08 Seattle, WA
Later in the Seattle bar
back of seat sticker
crossbones dakini?
“skydancer”?
DAKINE
Hawaii islandspeak “the word you use when you don't use the word”
But the waitress
did have a Buddha tattoo
giving me
sugarless Red Bull –
in 2 weeks 2 days
sober 23 years
3 times w/ 17th
Karmapa
3rd
time by invitation only
he acknowledged
he was
back will be back
“like Groundhog Day” movie said
Dzogchen Ponlop –
over and over
(“But he does it
for us”)
Bill Murray actor
returning
vast space
Karmapa
in Seattle of the
skateboard
homeless punks of
gloomy sky
every 3rd
on crank
I’ve heard though
already
apparent their
harsh energy
Exploring the
night by myself
mad professor in
the all ages club
where The Melvins
played
The Black Angels
I am a Black
angel
of the Black
Crown Karmapa
I wrote Black Leather Tantra
and was old even
then
1992
but I still like
this dark planet
illumined black light
glowing purple
in a dream
in a skull
Skywalking night
Space Ghost Coast-To-Coast
Soon I leave your
physical form
O Karmapa
less soon I leave
mine
talking to the 20
year old w/ Dharma parents
born in Halifax
saw Trungpa Rinpoche when he was 5
He pieces
together my Naropa U. backstory
“You knew Allen
Ginsberg?” he guesses
“Yes.”
“You’re old
school!”
Gave him my card
after we sat
took Chenrezig
empowerment together
OM MANI PADME
HUNG – later
looked at my
ticket – I’d sat in wrong seat, wrong row & nobody’d come
Over and over we
come back for us
I’m the Black
Angel of the Black Crown
over and over
I’ll eat less
meat
though skull cup
runneth over
Over and
over
like Groudhog’s Day he does it for us
and the world
needs help
Black angels
unite
coast to coast
10 directions
black light
poster
peace sign
skateboard
down from the sky
5/29-6/2/08
[Used by permission of the author.]
Allen Ginsberg said, "Marc Olmsted inherited Burroughs' scientific nerve & Kerouac's movie-minded line nailed down with gold eyebeam in San Francisco." Olmsted has appeared in City Lights Journal, New Directions in Prose & Poetry, Outlaw Bible of American Poetry, Signs Of Life, (a Manic D Press anthology), Processed World, Flesh Eater Chris D's Bongo Chalice, Blue Satellite and a variety of small presses. His work includes two books, Milky Desire (Subterranean Press, 1991) and Résumé (Inevitable Press, 1998). In the 1980s, Olmsted’s band The Job was part of the San Francisco New Wave, playing the Mabuhay and other local clubs of the day. Allen Ginsberg, taken with the punk scene, performed his poem “Birdbrain” with their backup on a number of occasions. Olmsted has also made two short films, Burroughs On Bowery, a portrait of the Naked Lunch author, and American Mutant, with Burroughs, Ginsberg & Timothy Leary. His latest film project, The Count, stars Dion Olivier, lead singer of Late Young. Olmsted, a senior student of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, has studied Buddhism since 1974 and completed a 3-year retreat supervised by his teacher. His book about that experience, WHAT USE AM I A HUNGRY GHOST? - POEMS FROM 3-YEAR RETREAT (Valley Contemporary Press, 2001), has an introduction by Ginsberg. Later, he was encouraged to teach in the San Francisco chapter of Tharchin Rinpoche's students, Last Chance Gompa, now in Oakland. Marc Olmsted's current book project is Don’t Hesitate: 23 Years Knowing Allen Ginsberg, a memoir including their correspondence.