Balan DWI 07


			Ants by Lee Balan I found an ant colony in a wine bottle / a chaotic group I found no order or efficiency I found no familiar ant uniformity This was a group of revelers Bohemians who preferred Thunderbird Wine over a normal mound of dirt

	February 23, 2007 Home Movies by Lee Balan I knew a man who said he was God He showed home movies He found people on the streets Or in shelters And Promised popcorn He took them to a warehouse There was a screen in the middle of the floor Folding chairs And Movie projector He did not look like God His face a web of folds One eye half shut His skin raw from exposure God wore a blue knit cap Hair sprouting at the edges like spider legs He wore a gray coat And socks On his hands To keep out the cold None of the people cared about movies But They all Wanted popcorn

		Original, 1987-88 Revised, 2005 How It Is by Lee Balan This is my last day the wolf said to the man I’ve fetched, crawled, and eaten from your hand Now I’m done The man spat at the wolf I’m your master, he said In fact, I am God to you You are nothing without me I am transcendent I float while you crawl You will die without me No, said the wolf you will die The wolf grinned as he stood on two legs The man felt fear He stumbled fell to the ground and began to crawl A man must crawl before he can walk

			July, 2006 Driving Past The Mountain by Lee Balan Bus ride Down crenellated highways Strewn with traffic Accidents Zombies wandering Across concrete war zones Images on a screen Flickering in-and-out of time Observed By one old man Face flattened against the glass Like a frightened child Abandoned Alone Trying to make sense Interpret Now everything is blurred Without his glasses No longer certain what is real What he sees Feeling rather than seeing The air congealed Cloying Fires on the mountain Changing times Plumes of smoke eviscerate the landscape Revealing ancient dramas Greeks Romans Etruscans Fighting Fucking Drinking from bowls of wine Creating art Killing Pillaging Inventing love And death Now walking a wire Balancing over a canyon of fire On the brink The old man stares at the smoke Incredulous Afraid to turn To discover his friends have all gone Leaving him behind Afraid to sleep Afraid to wake-up in a different world Another dimension Where people are bred and herded Where war never ends And where killing is easy

				LEE BALAN - Palm Springs PERFORMANCES Ÿ Emmaus House, “Verbiage Not Garbage“, San Francisco Ÿ Intersection, Reading with Paul Mariah, San Francisco Ÿ International Café, “Ravaged,” Berkeley, CA Ÿ Talking Leaves Books, Reading with Robert Volbrecht, CA Ÿ Karen Long Gallery, “Tongues,” Long Beach, CA Ÿ Palm Springs 2^nd Annual Book Festival, Group Reading, 2006 Ÿ Riverside Art Museum, Sponsored by Epicenter Magazine, 2006 PUBLICATIONS (POETRY, STORIES, AND ARTICLES) Ÿ Beyond Baroque Magazine, Venice, CA Ÿ Venice Beachhead, Venice, CA Ÿ Gay Sunshine, San Francisco, CA Ÿ Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco Ÿ I Am, San Francisco Ÿ Spectator, CA Ÿ The Sentinel, San Francisco Ÿ Back Roads, CA Ÿ Tenderloin Times, San Francisco Ÿ Lifelines, San Francisco Ÿ The Bulletin, Long Beach, CA Ÿ The Beacon, Long Beach Ÿ The Center Post, Editor and Columnist, Long Beach Ÿ The Wrigley Bulletin, Long Beach Ÿ Reactions, Columnist, Los Angeles Ÿ Special Times, Poetry & Fiction Editor Ÿ The Edge, Los Angeles Ÿ Bottomline, Palm Springs Ÿ Pulp, Palm Springs Ÿ MegaScene, Palm Springs Ÿ The Intrigust, Palm Spring

Copyright ©1995-2009 The Sun Runner, The Magazine of California Desert Life & Culture 61855 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA 92252, USA Webmaster: Steve Brown

Copyright ©1995-2009 The Sun Runner, The Magazine of California Desert Life & Culture61855 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA 92252, USA Webmaster: Steve Brown

Copyright ©1995-2009 The Sun Runner, The Magazine of California Desert Life & Culture
61855 29 Palms Hwy., Joshua Tree, CA 92252, USA
Webmaster: Steve Brown