OMNIPOLLO FATAMORGANA

Omnipollo Decuple (10x) Dry-Hopped (on Nelson Sauvin hops) Fatamorgana Quadruple India Pale Ale. 1 pint. 12% abv.

Fruity Pebbles, pineapple, papaya, mango, biscuits, butterscotch, orange juice bitterness, white wine, hint of alcohol burn.

$8 for 16 ounces. Was it worth it? It was good, but not worth 50¢ per ounce.

—

There seems to be a new style of brewer that is getting a lot of attention. It's the "nomadic brewer." At one point, they were few and far between. Evil Twin Brewing (brewer Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø) of Denmark being one of the best known. But now there seem to be more and more of these nomadic brewers.

Omnipollo is not only a nomadic brewery, but the duo consists of a brewer and a graphic designer. So, the design of the cans seems to be as important as what is inside. There is obviously a lot of thought and care that goes into their work, but is is style over substance. Does something really need to be dry-hopped ten times? It justifies the eight-dollar price tag, I'm sure, but I'm not sure that I would be able to tell the difference between double dry-hopping and decuple dry-hopping.

While it was a fun experiment for me, I'd rather have a six-pack of a favorite beer, such as an Iron Horse Mel's Magic IPA. For about the same price.

O GRIEVOUS PICKLE PANTS

"O Grievous Pickle Pants," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, and acrylic paint on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O GRIEVOUS PICKLE PANTS

O Grievous Pickle Pants (yes, I named it)
of the Western Lands (yes, you claimed it)

you polished your jar to a crystal shine
as it glittered with the dense brine within.

What sweet dreams will we savor together?
What outposts will we flavor forever?

You have nine circles of afterlife to fill
with denizens collected from various planes

of existence, whether known or unknown,
imagined or realized, deflated or firm.

Know this: even if it never works out in the end
it doesn’t matter, sings the forgetfulness…

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O PILLAR of SMOKE by DAY

"O Pillar of Smoke by Day," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, and acrylic paint on 4" x 6" recycled postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O PILLAR of SMOKE by DAY

A thin layer of smudge films
all of the window glass in the house

when O Pillar of Smoke by Day appears.

The cloud comes from a cleansing fire
that devours all in its path—

thousand-year-old redwoods
as well as upstart saplings and underbrush

animal carcasses and fleeing bodies
residences and habitations

asphalt and vinyl siding and aluminum
tires and teddy bear and televisions—

an appetite of divine provenance.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O TWILIGHT

"O Twilight," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut paint chip sample, acrylic paint, and art marker on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O TWILIGHT

wildfires beget wildflowers
sprouting out of charred death

while we are refracted in amber light
marbled in smoke beneath a red sun

speak to us O Twilight
of an earlier age—

a moist age, a green age, of foliage
and folly and an age of leisure

rather than of labor to live
and little time to love another

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O VULGAR LANGUAGE

"O Vulgar Language," Montana BLACK spray paint and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O VULGAR LANGUAGE

O Vulgar Language, cursed and uncouth
failure of diplomacy—

languid and loose become
tense and cutting—

clinging to our teeth
with moist and dank phrases—

return to your roots
branch out with new life

speak a grammar of hope
spore a new world.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O GRAPES of WRATH

"O Grapes of Wrath," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut paint chip sample, and art marker on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O GRAPES of WRATH

O Grapes of Wrath
gift of land rescinded—

once granted to use
but never to own

stewardship entrusted
to you and I, one and all

abuse not allowed
prohibited—

except that we chose
bigger barns.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O MYTHIC MOTH

"O Mythic Moth," Montana BLACK spray paint, cardboard, and India ink on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O MYTHIC MOTH

O Mythic Moth, holy and firm
you burn incandescent

a beacon of the Ages
warm and welcoming

mystical and mysterious
a constellation transformed

from a cluster of stars
to an unclenched heart

from a glimpse of wings
to a flutter of fabric

ephemeral markings against the wall
outlined in the dust of your life.

(all apologies to Annie Dillard!)

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O DIMINISHING LIGHT

"O Diminishing Light," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, acrylic paint, and mica powder on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O DIMINISHING LIGHT

O Diminishing Light, as the sun sinks
below the horizon at the ocean’s edge—

sunset, dusk, twilights three—
civil, nautical, and astronomical—

before night arrives and only soft light
from glowing embers of the beach fire

and faint starlight remain—
earth and heaven attempting to keep

the darkness muted and muzzled
while a group of youth listen to electronic

Indi-pop and laugh and drink
in the sand near the scrub pine and dunes.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O THEOTOKOS

"O Theotokos," Montana BLACK spray paint, acrylic paint, art marker, and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O THEOTOKOS

O Theotokos, bearer of God
creation and cosmos clasped at your breast

robed in the blue sky—
cerulean by day and ultramarine by night

spangled with constellations of stars
celestial crown announcing

both your glory
and the burden you bear—

a Pietá of galactic proportions
and entropic stellar form.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O OBFUSCATION

"O Obfuscation," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut painted cardboard, and art marker on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O OBFUSCATION

O Obfuscation, rice paper screen madness
with your shadow puppet pageantry
and Vaseline-smeared camera lens—

will you let us glimpse the paths
of our own meanderings
or would you rather we simply arrive

out of breath… flailing… floundering?

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O HEART of HEARTS

"O Heart of Hearts," art marker and India ink on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O HEART of HEARTS

O Heart of Hearts
blessed and blood crossed

veins and arteries
oxygenated and starved—

drop a phat beat
of drum-and-bass pleasure

pulsation     cessation
resuscitation

to keep the party going
to strive on.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O OXBOW

"O Oxbow," Montana BLACK spray paint and papercut paint chip sample on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O OXBOW

What a bend in the river
you are, O Oxbow—

a channel     a plan
reconfiguration

layer upon layer
accretion of soils and clay

ever shifting banks
and roiling rapids.

We think we can contain
you within dikes and chutes

knowing all too well
your yearn to curve.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

"O Enough Is Enough," India ink and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

We scream: O Enough Is Enough
referring to this particular Year of Our Lord

Anno Domini Twenty Twenty-One
annus horribilis and best forgotten—

with its parade of biblical plagues
and unwelcomed proportions—

drought and wildfire, hurricane and riot
insurrection and political maneuverings.

We are ready for a hard reboot
planted in the good soil of hope

seed and prayer that unfurl
into a new branch on the Tree of Life.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O MANNA from HEAVEN

"O Manna from Heaven," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut paint chip sample, acrylic paint, and art marker on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O MANNA from HEAVEN

O Manna from Heaven, dew dropped
and stone backed in desert sunshine—

cakes provided for the prophets
nourishment for the birds of the fields.

No sparrow shall hunger
the ravens will serve without pause

those stranded in the wilderness
the haunted places of gloried days.

The refugee shall receive
and be lifted up as honored guest.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O WORD GOLEM

"O Word Golem," India ink and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" recycled cardboard postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O WORD GOLEM

O Word Golem, built of ideogrammatic bricks
the masonry of a good story—

phrases, sentences, paragraphs
chapters, novellas, full-fledged tomes

and once fully maturated
a proper magnum opus—

roars against the illiteracy of the age
created to defend libraries and colleges

all while keeping the safe word
its Achilles heel

hidden deep within its own pages
so that it cannot be spoken or erased.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O HARPY of HARPIES

"O Harpy of Harpies," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, and acrylic ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O HARPY of HARPIES

O Harpy of Harpies, cherubim and seraphim
Ezekiel’s wheel rolling across the heavens

thunderstruck, Valkyrie, Day of the Lord
your names and manner of appearance

mysterious, manifold, and varied
yet still you manage to arrive

accompanied by trumpet song
armed with a pitched fever

taloned, barbed, feather-winged
“Do not be afraid” a declaration

easy to ignore and overlook
as you begin your celestial hymn—

hallelujah and alleluia and aleluya
amen and amen and so shall it be.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O JAZZ-SCENTED MIDNIGHT

"O Jazz-Scented Midnight," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O JAZZ-SCENTED MIDNIGHT

O Jazz-Scented Midnight
with warm waves of your hair

cascading over my half-slumber
as you shift scale and tempo—

I embrace your sax-squawk
unlike the thousand unwelcomed

paper cut changes of each
day to day grind—

for here in the soft night dream
is artistry improv heartbeat hope.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O TRAPPED by CIRCUMSTANCES

"O Trapped by Circumstances," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, acrylic paint, and acrylic ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O TRAPPED by CIRCUMSTANCES

O Trapped by Circumstances
brooding and melancholy
abandoned to sacrifice upon the altar
of the convenience of others

rise up with mournful heartfelt song
raise your fist, stand up and shout
speak your name and your cause
shake off the shackles binding your limbs

for you are alive and vibrant
the melody and harmony
that all need to hear ringing
an echo and an echo and a half.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O WORMWOOD

"O Wormwood," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, acrylic paint on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O WORMWOOD

O Wormwood mixed with gall
a foretaste of the famine to come

a descent, a fall from the starred heavens
space and time buckling beneath your wait

your delay, your deus absconditus—
the watchfires of the beacons will be lit

once more and then again
night upon night without moon

without constellations with which
to navigate our way back to you.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O GREAT UNCERTAINTY

"O Great Uncertainty," Montana BLACK spray paint and papercut paint chip sample on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O GREAT UNCERTAINTY

Once upon a wobbling moon
once upon a sunny day flood of epic proportion

we turned to you, O Great Uncertainty,
seeking confidence that we ourselves greatly lack:

once in a lifetime, the hundred-year event
became an occurrence every five or seven years

and you merely shrugged your metaphorical shoulders,
drew in the vapor of the stratosphere

and exhaled in a soft wind
that became monsoon, typhoon, hurricane.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O MOTHERBOARD

"O Motherboard," Montana BLACK spray paint, iridescent calligraphy ink, and papercut paint chip sample on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O MOTHERBOARD

We lived online while the real world atrophied
once-conditioned muscle now weakened

and feared lost, O Motherboard.
Will you guide us back to the tangible—

our daily bread and forgivable flesh,
filled with familiar calamities,

mass extinctions, protests, and failings
the things of this life whose glimmer

was eclipsed by the neon-night trappings
of your proffered golden calf lifeware?

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O ESCHATON

"O Eschaton," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut paint chip sample, papercut adhesive labels, art marker, and India ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O ESCHATON

At the end of the age,
all creation will cry out, O Eschaton

and after the last echoes die out
the carrion birds and rats will move in

and when in their turn they perish
they will be replaced by the cockroaches

who will finally have their day to rule
upon the “King of the Mountain” rubbish pile

Gregor Samsa and Archy will sit sipping tea
in the concrete and steel shells

where you and I once sat
where you and I once danced and sang.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O BECKONING SHORE

"O Beckoning Shore," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut paint chip sample, and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O BECKONING SHORE

O Beckoning Shore, ever-shifting line
separating sand from sea

calling the prophets from their homelands
as refugees to proclaim judgment.

Hiding the reefs and shoals that bite
at the hulls of ships, snack on rudders—

testing the likes of the Apostle Paul
with shipwreck upon shipwreck

in attempts to carve our new histories
from the oceans of old.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O TREE of LIFE

"O Tree of Life," Montana BLACK spray paint and papercut paint chip sample on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O TREE of LIFE

O Tree of Life, roadmap to the various worlds
legend of leaves and branches and ripened fruits

to guide the way between the nether roots
and the heavenly canopies—

history meets topography in rings and burls
treasures of barked geographies—

yet fire and drought and clouded desert skies
threaten our journey

stifle our progress once fueled
by the sticky sap of sugared stems.

Will we now chart a new course
compass forward into a forest of dream?

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O CLOUDED VISION

"O Clouded Vision," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut paint chip sample, pencil, and layered cardboard cutouts on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O CLOUDED VISION

O Clouded Vision
20/20 bleeding into another year

looking glass just as smeared
with the drained fluids of our lives

coated with the ash of wildfire
coated with the dust of drought

yet in the micro-ravine
of parched clay at the lakebed shore

a sprout emerges and seeking sun
dreaming of the gold blossom within

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

SHOTOKAN

For the past two months I've been studying Shotokan karate at the Karate Edge dojo. Over the past six years, my participation prior to joining as a student has been as a parent, supporter, and spectator of The Child's martial arts career.

Officially joining the dojo was an excellent decision.

As one of the more "mature" students it has been humbling to try and keep up with the teens and younger adults. I'm starting to be able to do some of the exercises that have eluded me recently. (Hello, sit ups!) I've already lost some of the "COVID weight" I gained over the past year of "lockdown." I'm working on my core strength and posture, which is helping counter some of the issues I have with my back. I'm enjoying trying to figure out how to perform some of the basic stances and blocks, and how to make my arms and legs move in unison.

And I'm getting to do it alongside The Child, who is years ahead of me, and has been gracious and patient with my questions and requests to perform a move or two. (We are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum of belts!)

It's been fun and enjoyable, while simultaneously challenging. And, as someone who believes in lifelong learning, it has given me something to engage and study and figure out.

O SYMBOL

"O Symbol," Montana BLACK spray paint and India ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O SYMBOL

We surround you, O Symbol
strip you of your connotations

deride your denotations
humiliate you.

You remain stoic
calling out to us in a voice

that echoes throughout all the ages:
O O O O O —

an open-ended invitation
that we cannot quite decipher

that will leave us wanting for more
but of what we are still unsure.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O GREAT COMFORT ZONE

"O Great Comfort Zone of 72º Fahrenheit," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, acrylic paint, and mica powder on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O GREAT COMFORT ZONE

O Great Comfort Zone of 72º Fahrenheit,
no more and no less,
bless us with your blowing fan

     your wind of no wind
     your there of no there nowhere

temper us with perfectly humid brows
talc us with persistently deodorized underarms.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O COMRADE

"O Comrade," Chinese face mask manufacturer's card and Montana BLACK spray paint on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O COMRADE

we breathe as one, O Comrade
     we breathe as one

we inhale together
     as we likewise exhale—

lungs of wet paper bags
     that tear if they touch

so we take care to keep them
     inflated and well apart

even as we share the wind
     the breath that fills them

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O SWEET REVELER

"O Sweet Reveler," Montana BLACK spray paint, art marker, papercut paint chip samples, YUPO Translucent watercolor paper, and India ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O SWEET REVELER

Will you sniff me in, O Sweet Reveler,
holy language swallower?

What will be your concert pitch,
upon which scale will you run your fingers?

     (Now that we’ve begun,
     how do we sustain?)

Clever instrument that you are,
the right note you will always emit

a half step ahead of the rest
a pause, a semiquaver, then silence.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O INCHING CATERPILLAR

"O Inching Caterpillar," Montana BLACK spray paint, papercut paint chip sample, acrylic paint, and mica powder on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O INCHING CATERPILLAR

O Inching Caterpillar, with your thousand-fold
tempest hunger that cannot be satiated—

we ask that you would spare the leaves
of the pear tree in our modest backyard orchard

so instead we offer you these marked-down
discount annuals from our local supermarket

as a supper that perhaps will still provide
future wings of unparalleled glory.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.

O CHRYSALIS

"O Chrysalis," Montana BLACK spray paint, acrylic paint, and iridescent calligraphy ink on 4" x 6" watercolor postcard.

One of the cards I sent out as part of my "O Eschaton" series of poems for the 2021 Poetry Postcard Fest.

—

O CHRYSALIS

Do you remember your former routine,
your drib and quotidian life?

O Chrysalis—now a segment of carapace
peeled back into wing
filled with zest and urgency

      (structure becomes mess and gore
      before order appears once again)

sing deeply into the sugared dawn
and dry yourself out

you have new tasks at hand
a day or two to grasp the stem of life.

—

All artwork and poems by Troy Kehm-Goins © 2021 Troy's Work Table Publishing.