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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

OREGON COAST

It was time to bid the Oregon Coast farewell, but we took out time doing such. We packed up and headed north, stopping off at Fort Stevens State Park to view the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale and spend a few more moments walking in the sunshine and on the sand.

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Then we visited Astoria. We stopped at the Astoria-Megler Column, enjoying some views from its observation deck 164 steps above its entrance. After hanging out at the Column for a while, we headed to downtown to see the Garden of Surging Waves, a collection of public art dedicated to honoring the Chinese community of Astoria.

OREGON COAST

The day started out a bit cooler than those previous, which worked out well. We rented three-wheel recumbent beach trikes ("fun cycles") and covered six miles of beach in 90 minutes. At times it was leisurely and at other times it was like "real life" Mario Kart. In other words, it was relaxing and work (and a workout) and enjoyable.

We spent the rest of the day walking/hiking, playing card games such as Boss Monster, reading, and generally taking it easy.

For dinner, we checked out a fairly new restaurant, Kiki's Taco and Margarita Bar.

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We returned to the beach for another campfire in the sand at sunset. Once we got the fire going (finally!) it was an evening of shoes off, beer, dark chocolate, and conversation. It was nice to "turn off" the bullshit of the 24/7 media stream (social and otherwise) and just engage one another and share our outlooks and worldviews.

OREGON COAST

We drove north to Warrenton and High Life Adventures for a tour of eight zip lines. The tour of the lines took just over two hours and the combined distance of the lines was almost a mile. We had excellent guides who kept the day fun and safe.

Most of the time I was on the lines, I wasn't thinking about how high above the ground I was or how fast I was moving, but keeping myself upright and having a blast.

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In the afternoon, we spent time on Cannon Beach. We walked from Haystack Rock to downtown along the shore and then back. 

For dinner, we grabbed a second round of Pelican Brewing (pub fish and chips!) and then watched Babysitter 2: Killer Queen, which was even more corny, campy, referential, and fun that its successor.

OREGON COAST

On our first full day at the Oregon Coast, we explored the beauty of Ecola State Park. We visited the Ecola Viewpoint and then hiked from there to Indian Beach, watched the surfers, and then hiked back. We were hiking through pine forest, with every so often the switchbacks opening up to a bluff that would look out upon shore and sea. It was stunningly beautiful with perfect weather of 61ºF and sunny. What a great way to spend the day.

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For dinner, we visited an "Asian fusion" food truck, Rice and Shine, in the coastal town of Wheeler. We eventually made our way back to Cannon Beach for a campfire on the beach, where we could enjoy more Slide Tackle Hazy IPA and watch the sunset. It was nice to sit out beneath the stars and slowly watch them appear as dusk became the various twilights—civil, nautical, and astronomical—which in turn became night.

OREGON COAST

I desperately needed to recharge and find there is no better place to do so than at the ocean. I have a friend who owns a house in Cannon Beach and allowed us to stay there for a few days. The first we thing we did upon arrival is head down to the beach near Haystack Rock. 

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After we settled in, we went and picked up dinner and beer from Pelican Brewing and brought it back to the house. I enjoyed a can of (limited edition) Slide Tackle Hazy IPA and Beer Sausage Flatbread. There is nothing better than a good ale and pizza at the beach. Bring on the pub food!

After dinner, we watched the corny and campy comedy-horror movie Babysitter. It was just the right amount of film fun—not taking itself too seriously, referencing plenty of other horror films in a tongue-in-cheek manner, and still managing to believe in its own storyline and characters.