Tom Gallison  2.12.1969 - 2.25.2000

the illusion is that you are simply

reading this poem.

the reality is that this is more than a poem.

this is a beggars knife.

this is a tulip.

this is a soldier marching

through Madrid.

this is you on your

death bed.

this is Li Po laughing

underground.

this is not a god-damned

poem.

this is a horse asleep.

a butterfly in

your brain.

this is the devil's

circus.

you are not reading this

on a page.

the page is reading you.

feel it?

it's like a cobra.

it's a hungry eagle

circling the room.

this is not a poem.

poems are dull,

they make you

sleep.

these words force you

to a new

madness.

you have been blessed,

you have been pushed

into a

blinding area of

light.

the elephant dreams

with you

now.

the curve of space

bends and laughs.

you can die now.

you can die now as

people were meant to

die:

great,

victorious,

hearing the music,

being the music,

roaring,

roaring,

roaring.

                           Splash  --Charles Bukowski

Open your mouth and maybe you'll open your mind

just take a taste and don't go on wasting your time

and if you're looking for a way out of a bind

black beans and cornpone you will surely find,

Black beans and cornpone

ham salad and stir-fried rice

Thai chicken and pot pies

a concoction to make everything nice...

                                                             --Tom Gallison and joe Wilford 1989

                                                                                              written on the back of a placemat of a New Jersey diner.

We miss you, Mot!

Tom Gallison Tribute - A Portrait of the Artist

About  the creation of Art Never Dies