Die LEERE MITTE
Random Access Journal
BERLIN
Issue n.21 7 05/2024 9.0°C 7 52.4802743 7 13.5441468
#include <stdio.h> int main()
t printf(“Hello, Berlin!”’); return 0;
Dir LEERE MITTE Guidelines
Broadly accepted: Experimental and conceptual writing, theo- retical papers, asemic and concrete texts, vispo, theorems, axiom collection, quantum weirdness, reviews of books addressing these topics and the like.
Texts: poetry (60 lines max. overall); prose (500-600 words max. overall). Format: Times New Roman 12; single line spacing; all in one .doc or .odt file. Languages: Catalan, Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish.
Visual: 1-3 B&W images. Format: jpg, tiff, png, 72-300 DPI.
Simultaneous submissions are welcome, provided that the piece 1s withdrawn if accepted elsewhere, as well as previously published works when properly credited. Each issue will be free to download (.pdf). A printed version will be made available through KDP/lulu for collectors. No reading fee; no payment or copies to contributors at present. Authors assume responsibility for the originality, intel- lectual property rights and ethical implications of submitted works.
submissions: leeremittemag@gmail.com
home: https://leserpent.wordpress.com/category/dlm/ twitter: @LeereMitte
Edited in Berlin by Horst Berger and Federico Federici. ISBN 9798324057329
cover art: Ohne Titel, Werner Preu8
CONTENTS
Patrick Sweeney short forms, p.7 Nam ‘Tran Arachno Permutation, p.10 Joshua Martin fwe poems, p.11 D. Seth Horton To Wnite the Wrongs: An Author's Note, p.16 Border [Patrol] Assemblage, p.18 Nathan Anderson Three poems, p.28 Dominik Slusarczyk Bigger, p.31 R.C. Thomas haibun, p.33 Harald Kappel Trilogie des Athylismus, p.35 John M. Bennett five poems, p.38 Charles March Quash, p.43 Annalise Kristensen Novos Visual Poetry, p.47
Patrick Sweeney - short forms
he left us an Act of Contrition
a salute from a cardboard box
sharing a beer with a Dollar Store cactus
Taps for another subordinate asset
mourners secretly watching Edgar Bergen's lips
green noumenon...forest overtaking wallpaper palms
hairpin of jade... sheltering
keeping Asimov's candy store hours
pine barrens: clavicles of bootleggers leeching whiskey
that's little sister smashing all her ballerinas
cocooned-thunder the nerve shot beginning to take
chewing on tv-dinner gristle... our secret slant of yellow kitchen light
the boy who left the cricket cage door open
giving his undivided attention was penological
some nights _ no matter which way he turned he was at McKenna's funeral
the neighbor who bends to touch the dew
planet's having more than a hissy-fit, he instructed the dissembler
mid-day ecstatic visions at residential plumbing
she shuddered with the sufferers and quieted the sirens with a sign of the cross
even at the movies, the thought that Tarzan will step on a thorn
Nam ‘Tran : Arachno Permutation
‘Tarantula ‘Tamarchedtula ‘Tawalkedtula ‘Tacrawledtula Tatiptoedtula Tajumpedtula Talepttula Tahoppedtula ‘Taskippedtula Tadivedtula Tajoggedtula Tarolledtula Taslidtula ‘Tacartwheeledtula ‘Tadancedtula ‘Tacrouchedtula ‘Tadashedtula Taboltedtula ‘Tasprintedtula ‘Tabouncedtula ‘Taclimbedtula ‘Tapushedtula ‘Tastaggeredtula ‘Tadartedtula ‘Tascurriedtula ‘Tacatapultedtula ‘Tadraggedtula ‘Talimpedtula ‘Tascamperedtula ‘Taswayedtula ‘Taambledtula Talopedtula Tastruttedtula ‘Taspuntula ‘Taswamtula Tafelltula ‘Tacrashedtula
10
Joshua Martin - five poems
Disguised [famous & wearied], an above angle
limp whispers fReeZe ,,,,
hold Up ===== fork mimic buffalo Hide ‘ngo SEEK _ [bawdy container] =| wearied cosmic dancers | = | wallow cheesy smashing] ;;;
once / wandering / fulfillment centrifuge gown ///// doctor & schemer & rumbling coach attendant miserably poking regenerative yAWN [sMoKe], , , (w)(a)(D()(o)(w) = === {orange diagnosed perchance} | merry golden sardine fumes | wash whoosh abandoned yielded mOtHs =/=/= forcefield of tropical curling >.
1]
UN[avail]able SpOOfs
spruce | obtuse | moose JaR lock=ing , , craven seedling errand ,, , rUn
Chop NoT poisoned dArT gOO = \ [spiral INSERT muddled storm[ing] hit parade], | red callused BoRiNg |,,
representative busted graphite bowling shaNkS /////
memorial backsplash
COURSE; | determined | ; | left, like milked ghostly pools | textures of
abscess & florid shells
12
March / Seek, Toll Free Booth
>>> > > traipse kettle fishery , ahose by AnY other lobby = horse training skedaddle <<<<<
] optional TraininG wHeeLs [ (((b))) (((e)))(((a)) ((T))) 1/7
acTioN sTrIvEs pUIsE | wing (envy) pausing set-ups purse | - - - all of friday boiling down spendthrift mutant
ls:
the lounge Maximum fleeing
larynx daredevil kite : ‘Which spun magical grief pancakes
elastic [buoy] = knife INTO heart stone
| phone a fiend|,,, , , deliver decoy zoo | [toddler braces beaver dam] | ; holiday gorge requests \ unpublishable kitten doddle / jwatch BuRsTs envious geyser! , field of drawn stick figure weeds , drowned facelift spinning basket
14
See-Saw Belt Buckle
, the deck a wimpy workshop calendar [must a cavalier lucidity] - - - notorious injuries storming deafblind all gloried chapels : : : : futuristic squirting non-athletic rotundity :111: soggy fortnight , a wallop , blurting / tuned / robust tablature , , intellectualized truthful zebras [striped memo balm] (CCD) ICO) )MCCCCN)))
(((C)))) (((((T))))), graph touchscreen stroking fun & beaten egg
15
D. Seth Horton - To Write the Wrongs: An Author's Note
When I was writing my experimental collection of stories set throughout the U.S.-México borderlands entitled, On a NASA Ihght to Heaven (forthcoming this fall from ‘TCU Press), I had to routinely cross and recrossed the border. With rare exception, the U.S. Border Patrol agents who interrogated me seemed power-hungry, tired, rigid, dead- ened, unnecessarily aggressive, and worse, sometimes all the above. In- evitably, ’d get pissed off at some point during the whole question and answer performance of the interaction, which seemed about as predict- able as it was pointless. Yes, ’m an American citizen. No, P’m not telling you what I was doing in Mexico. Because it’s none of your business.
Occasionally, though, there was little enmity between a given agent and myself; instead, the encounters were lifeless and hollow, and afterwards I ended up feeling overwhelmed by an existential loneliness that even had me pondering suicide once or twice. If this was my reac- tion from such relatively brief interactions, how must the Border Patrol agents feel after asking the same boring questions over and over again, day after day, year after mind-numbing year? After all, we can only as- sume they were people too, even if their humanity was hidden behind a badge and the bullshit of a civil service assignment. More importantly, how might similar experiences affect other civilians who found them- selves needing to cross the border, and was there any way we might col- lectively work to reimagine the deadly militarization of what was now becoming a hyperreal place?
My new manuscript, Border [Patrol] Assemblage, which includes the eight image-texts below, is my attempt to work through these ques- tions and write at least a few of the wrongs.
Here are some of the specifics. I first began by pouring through the US. Customs and Border Protection website (https://www.cbp. gov). Initially, I simply read through all the tedious webpages, docu- ments, files, and reports housed on the site. Soon, however, I noticed hidden qualities in the language: the strange juxtaposition of certain images here, the poetry of a compound gerund there. Not to mention how impish I felt when discovering the occasional typo or grammati-
16
cal mistake in a text that was supposed to be an official account. Like a verbal archaeologist, I started to dig through the dregs of mostly bad writing in search of buried treasure, and in the process, I happened to uncover something.. .let’s call it poetry.
In terms of composition, I deleted most of the original mate- rial until I was left with the literature that had previously been hidden within the bureaucratese. ‘To be clear, I added no words, punctuation, or capital letters to the body of these texts, nor did I change the original word order in any way. Instead, I simply erased what was in the way and then moved the words that remained into appropriate line breaks.
Once the poems were composed, I scoured the National Ar- chives for appropriate images and then manipulated them using vari- ous visual effects and cropping techniques so that they would strength- en, elucidate, complicate, and even contradict “my” written text. For those eccentric individuals interested in comparing the results against the original source material,
I have included notes at the end with all the necessary details.
17
D. Seth Horton - Border [Patrol] Assemblage
Directive No. 2310-008A
The actual language of foreign-made words, terms or descriptions, bear marks of criminal
counterfeiting.
18
Directive No. 2310-011A
According to the statute, any person arriving in the United States authorizes the Secretary of Treasury to carry out the person for sale.
1g
Directive No. 3220-004
As of April
the country
should reflect
grace ona
case by case
basis.
An audit
should be undertaken annually to
ensure compliance
20
Directive No. 3230-037B
Premature withdrawal
or release , may be discharged 4 without intent j i | | 4 t In that case, the filling | ] or overfilling
should cover
the Director.
21
22
Directors
are responsible for ensuring that the personnel within
Directive No. 3230-040A
23
their jurisdiction are liquidated after 14 days.
Directive No. 3240-034A
To establish consistency and uniformity
at the party,
the presence of a Customs officer is required.
24
the final
essential
ensure
that
shall
accordingly
29
Directive No. 3550-071
followed
all regulations
be
to
Notes
Page 1(source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 2310- 008A: Trademark and Tradename Protection.” https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2310-008a_3.pdf.
Page 1 (image): “Letter of Marque.” National Archives Identifier: 39054132. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/39054132.
Page 2 (source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 2310- 011A: Personal Use Exemption: Unauthorized Trademarks.” https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2020-Feb/2310-11a_3.pdf.
Page 2 (images): The top and middle images come from “Fresh Caught Crabs for Sale at Bayou Gouche.” National Archives Identifier: 544209. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/544209. The “Uncle Sam” image on the bottom right comes from "| Want You For The U.S. Army Enlist Now." National Archives Identifier: 513533. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/513533.
Page 3 (source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 3220- 004: Manifesting of International Mail by Air Carriers." https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/3220-004_3.pdf.
Pages 3 (images): “[Assignment: 48-DPA-08-12-08_SOI_K_AZ_Border_Pat] Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to [Pima County,] Arizona's Border Area with Mexico, [Where He Joined] U.S. Customs and Border Protection Personnel for Meetings, Tours, [Flights, Inspections] [48-DPA- 08-12-08_SOI_K_AZ_Border_Pat_lOD_2693.JPG].” National Archives Identifier: 7934435. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7934435.
Page 4 (source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 3230-037B: Quota-Class Merchandise: Processing and Reporting." https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/3230-37b_3.pdf.
Page 4 (images): “[Assignment: 48-DPA-08-12-08_SOI_K_AZ_Border_Pat] Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to [Pima County,] Arizona's Border Area with Mexico, [Where He Joined] U.S. Customs and Border Protection Personnel for Meetings, Tours, [Flights, Inspections] [48-DPA- 08-12-08_SOI_K_AZ_Border_Pat_lOD_2512.JPG].” National Archives Identifier: 7934334. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7934334.
Page 5 (source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 3230- 039A: Quota and Temporary Importation Under Bond (TIB)." https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/3230-039a_3.pdf.
Pages 5 (image): “Memorial to Father Kino, the 1* Missionary to the Southwest.” National Archives Identifier: 544076. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/544076.
26
Page 6 (source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 3230- 040A: Quota and Electronic Payments (ACH)." https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/3230-040a_3.pdf.
Pages 6 (image): "Government Pack Mules and Packers." National Archives Identifier: 530929. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/530929.
Page 7 (source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 3240- 034A: In-Bond Time Limits for Exportation." https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/3240-034a_3.pdf.
Pages 7 (image): Untitled. US Border Patrol Academy Facebook post on January 14, 2001. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=216003113474358&set=pb.100064633661502.- 2207520000.
Page 8 (source text): U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. "Customs Directive No. 3550- 071: 'Change' and 'No Change' Liquidation Notations." https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2017-Nov/3550-071.pdf.
Page 8 (images): The top right image is from “A Soldier Wearing Mission-Oriented Protective Posture Response Level 4 (MOPP-4) Gear, Including an M-17A1 Mask, and a M-16A11 Rifle.” National Archives Identifier: 6446899. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6446899. The bottom left image is from “This Weird Figure Is a Chemical Warfare Man Carrying Two Sulphur Trioxide Smoke Bombs.” National Archives Identifier: 204947726. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/204947726.
10
27
Nathan Anderson - Three poems
Capital refraction longlist
Tep id STRUCK DOWN Masi mmm gin Rea: tetas A Ss K # # # shattered as the door left swinging eAREeYOUeNOTe eLIABLEe? eAREeYOUeNOTe eREQUESTEDe? yes (and) yes/no
28
Friday [offer] Milkman
gnostic
in this
the break
the##mechanised##reaction##toi# #the#shattered##form#oftitat #sound##so##solemn##and##in# #nothin g##HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHE
AS SIMPLE AS THE 1 1 1 1 1 1 but not this dada shesectteteaed thread AAA and so it goes again
29
Sequestered Invocation
ha ===hip ha ha..
last
i heard
he 'had' CONCLUDED!
. (and) around<<<<<<<it<<<<<goes<<<
>>>>>>>>>>>>>again
{X} is a style and a satire
{X} is a sound and a salute {X} is a mouse and a meal {X} is everything they tell you {X} is
{X} is
{X} is
= isn'tit
30
Dominik Slusarczyk - Bigger I
You try to drag the bag out of my grip. I tug it backwards towards me, but I use far too much force. I am sent toppling over backwards. I hit the ground hard. You laugh at me. It is a boom- ing laugh with your hands on your hips and your elbows sticking out to the side. You walk over and pick up the bag that has fallen next to me. I close my eyes, resigned to my fate, thinking about how I am going to go hungry all day because I won’t be able to afford lunch now.
You take every penny out of my bag then you chuck the bag on top of me. I watch you walk back to your friends, all of whom are far bigger than me. They are snickering behind their hands. You show them the money you took off me. One of your friends pats you on the back. You turn, do a rude gesture at me with the hand not clutching my money, then you and your friends walk away.
My dad says I have to stand up to people like you. He says I have to stop you taking my stuff. He says I have to be strong.
II
I shove the bar high above my head. I am lying down on my back. My legs are too long so they hang over the end of the bench. There are so many weights on the bar people keep giving me weird looks. They probably think I am going to hurt myself. Pll be fine - I have lifted almost this much weight on numerous separate occasions. I know I can do it.
I do three reps then I put the bar back on the stand. I do not use a spotter. I do not need a spotter. I can do it on my own; I don’t need help. All other people do is get in the way.
I sit up on the bench. I curl my right arm to check out the muscles. They are bulging and beautiful. Getting them was not easy. ’ve had to work hard for years.
It was worth it. Nobody would dare steal off me anymore. Nobody could steal off me. Nobody could push me around.
oil
Il
I tell him that he has to stand up for himself. I tell him he shouldn’t let people push him around. He says they are bigger than him. I tell him that there is a way that he could become big- ger than them.
I will show him the weights. I will teach him how to work out. I will spot for him until he can do it without a spotter. He will get big, maybe as big as me. Nobody would dare push him around then. When he is big he will be the one pushing other people around.
He tips up the box of his favourite cereal and a little toy falls out. I am a little shocked: I thought they’d stopped putting toys in cereal years ago.
32
R.C. Thomas - haibun I Dreamed the Universe: 24th September 2022
I dreamed the Universe rode a bike along a wet, stony midnight path. Its legs were tired, so it made the most of its downhill trajec- tory, easing off the pedals and steadying the breaks as it wobbled between lumps of gravel and the slippery rounds of rocks.
The sea was still. It sat silently below the embanked edge of the path, raised over the top of the water, making a gradual curve to the right. The Universe, on its way to get its bike fixed, glided across along. The pale moon followed, pushing its way between pastel blue and grey clouds. ‘The bike perhaps needed new inner tubes. Perhaps a new chain. Perhaps it needed taking apart and putting back together again or, perhaps, it was in working order as it was.
I followed the Universe for all of the eight miles, hovering in the air from a distance. Once at the bike shop, I watched from a damp, sticky corner as the Universe told two galaxies that its bike was 1n need of repair. Excuses and complaints for what was actu- ally a good bike poured from the Universe's mouth easily. The galaxies settled on a change of inner tubes. Not because they needed changing, but because it was late. They wanted the Uni- verse out of their shop and off their backs.
eects valve
earning to breathe through the thunderstorm
on
The Universe Dreamed I: 24th September 2023
The Universe dreamed I was leading us on a cycling trip through country lanes. I knew a gate along ite way that, once we'd ale ed over, would land us on a secret path, tumbled with stones, overgrown with yellow-green grass and weeds, that would lead us to the sea. As we climbed the hilly road we shifted our gears down, and down again, and down again. Once we'd reached lev- el ground, we'd find the gate just around the corner.
The gates passed one by one but none of them were quite right. Behind each lay an open field, but what I remembered was shrouded and narrow. It was important to get to the sea this way to relive a mix of two teenage memories. One involving a ragged path down to a beach, the other a wild path as a shortcut to a galaxy's birthday. I remembered the grass had reached up to my waist. I had made careful steps, afraid my foot would be snared in the overgrowth. And when the path finally emerged onto a quiet lane, parallel to the busy road that I'd been aiming for, I was relieved not to have to backtrack a mile.
Still trying to find the gate, a galaxy with an ashen beard stopped us. It was out walking with another galaxy who was overjoyed to see me riding a bike like I used to in my youth. I enquired about the gate but they knew of no such thing. They told us what the Universe and I were trying to achieve was futile. The galaxy with the grey beard told us to eat more meat.
ageing processed flesh left in the can to sweat
34
Harald Kappel - Trilogie des Athylismus
Zaune und Wassergraben
ich bin fur sie uber Zaune und Wassergraben gestiegen um ihren Rauch zu atmen ich horte ihren Herzschlag unter den Briisten ihr Keuchen war mein Jubel ihre Wange war mein Trost und ihr Schnaps der Nachttopf eine Zumutung die Sprache ein achzender Morast ihr Erspartes war notwendig und die Klinge die Knochen eisern mein Kredit uberzogen ich bin fur sie uber Zaune und Wassergraben gestiegen
oo
mein letztes Glas
so kann es ja nicht weitergehen mein letztes Glas landete im Kopfsalat ich fischte die Scherben heraus das ist der Schrecken mit dem wir leben mtissen nun verbinde ich meine Zunge und fiittere den Hund ich glaube ich bin ein Anarchist starre nachts an die Decke warte auf die Flut das Meer kommt nicht auch nicht die Zartlichkeit im Hausflur warten die leeren Flaschen der Rausch kommt nicht auch keine Illusion so kann es ja nicht weitergehen mein letztes Glas landete im Kopfsalat
36
Horizontale
der Himmel tragt die Farben einer Margarita ihr Salzrand ist mein Horizont und meine Nahrung gestern habe ich mich an der Infusion verschluckt bin beinahe an ‘Tranen erstickt ich sollte mal wieder lachen uber mich ich weiB genau das tun schon Andere hubsch reflektiere ich meine Regression und frage wann Sprachlosigkeit siegt und meine Windeln gewechselt werden ihr solltet mal wieder lachen uber mich und die Margarita am Horizont
37
John M. Bennett - fwe poems putrefactas mis palabras palidas ext rioriz ant me corté la cu rda sang ante la mur alla espe} da con mi
m scara dr matica ado mida » p pel p lida ago izante
atadura del tiempo
las ci trices 1 fa , cue da
en boa .mi-_ om erte” era ,» mad ra , verso. inv rso_ y su no , hilo que me_ con...
ctaba con la v da_ fra ment da
38
the useless screeching of thought
th ught w rd_- grav |
wrod c mpaction — end’s st rt strat frag entation o f yr teteh slid ng dwon mi roar
I ate the nothing left
f llen cluod sp Il , my
ne k sl mp ants’ wide
c rcles on my _ ptale my hnad = scrab les air it
sp lls whats ys
39
bomb in my back
splendictectic f // you me set a cave af re a ire ins de necck my — s_oulder bo bed aback the air sporktic combrehension so , I flamed below yr ice w J/
)yr gate wire _ shshivers ( (
€
streaks
light’s hinge the fuse where ash th ink
40
you pearl in a sea of garbage
luncheon’s hand cut off fingers vacant lines a bove the rotting thumb it’s wind or door , cloudy one , enter paper’s crumpled tomb
. the flooded rooms near
under nostril’s half breath
soon the window flies soon the forking wrath its eaten core redolent fries the dented lid your hair decries the light
, an invention of the end
4]
entered the hole with epigraphy
the wh le light = det xtd thru a t ble cl ud qui t index f nger writ yr m atless fog pap r_ illuminates an
mpty h nd
or shadow collapsant gun 5 the silence eaten , fire
42
Charles March - Quash
“Zance”
Subjective is nota good historian as
dependency
€@8yo M with history of crack his latest period
he is unable to recall
Bec has been using mainly, heroin. He reports going on his binge. The patient has been smoking,
‘alcohol “a few times a week"
e is unable to tell me when he first
The patient is lying H
hehas otherwise bee) i ——_
feels anxious.
43
“Love at First Swallow”
Subjective 3yo M with history of cocaine dependency since 2019 presents for a few concerns The patient was| intubated believes:
He states that
it caused him to forget all events
cocaine usually calms down EER an ADHD patien
pins and
isunab the joint. He
aver EBD 0010) 13105 0 AE previo
The patient also has @pbeen
EEE 2 aa
44
“Brights”
Subjective
depen eee The patient was sober for
yo M with history of opioid ing V methamphetamine since ag
1 usi
some time before he relapsed @8 months ago minimal
Patient reports
WF jepression. He also reports difficulty driving
18 police officers
oped atic
been able to col
but is more aware of it and has
45
“Hay Ride”
Subjective
B0yo Mwith history of dependency began smoking
The patient is doing v
tom aie
However, in the past month he has been cor
46
Annalise Kristensen - Novos Visual Poetry
The dust is simply us. The confectionary sugar
| puton top
47
48
RENACTUS
yw 2 OF O> 0 $ ZY
SNLOVNAY SONON
SNLOVNAY
M10 IN] ‘ : MATTER
IMIAATTT EIR , : [M1 0 N)