Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Poem: "The Space Cadet from Indiana"

"The Space Cadet from Indiana" By Michelle Morgan

She stands in a muddy puddle of trampled dirty daisies in the springtime holding her kite of tin foil and copper wire in the middle of the night. It was raining red wine. An eloquent, almighty cascade of amaranthine, ethanol, and peroxide pouring down from the sky. Sharp tacks and nails and knick-knacks piercing the soft warm earth beneath, splashing in bloody puddles as far as you could see. It was a hell of a storm that night, my friends.

The sky screamed over and over again with lightening crashing to the ground like falling pieces of a white picket fence. The flashes would yank so hard at the wires of your eyeballs it would send sparks popping out your nose singeing your lips. You could smell the burning of the fires the sky set to the ends of her hair. It was so beautiful against the dark. Black. Night sky.

She was wrapped from head to toe in red and blue wires, batteries clanking around her waist. Arms wide open letting the sky drip down her throat, she twirled around in circles. Barefoot. Singing old songs of the Dead Kennedy's and Stiff Little Fingers. Dancing. The mauve pelted her skin, scouring and scraping until her entire body was bloody with the most alluring ruby red. She smiled at the man with her pink teeth and edges of her mouth dripping the rich, wet, chunky cruor.

With a lick of the lips she said, “How long do you think it will be before we don't need keys?” When she gets drunk she likes to talk about the future. She was tossing her kite up over and over only to have it smashed down again and again. Whip after whip after whip. Her kite was crinkled and ripped.

Pointing to the sky, she yelled, “Merry Christmas! Your a good friend!” “What are you doing Miss? That looks dangerous!” He yelled at her through the wind. “I'm making candy LIGHT!” she screamed, “Electrified Sweets!” “If your scared sir, I suggest you go back inside. What are you made of? There are termites out here, my friend. They'll eat you alive.”

Her hair fell wet over her shoulders and lips. Her toes sank into the soppy ground. You could smell the warm acidity of the dirt. You could feel the earth drunk and dizzy with bliss.

“Do you have a smoke sir?” she winked at him. “You can't smoke a cigarette in the rain, where the hell are you from? What are you doing all the way out here on the west coast at a time like this?” “Well,” she said, “I was very flat on the ground this morning when I awoke. Like a paper doll in a world of cut-outs. It was sad. All I could notice were the edges of things; I kind of crinkled a rib when I lifted my head.”

“A passing wind asked me if I would like to join him for a picnic of peaches and cheeses and such; But before I could gather my things he had already gone,” she shrugged her shoulders. “There was only a weak breeze who remained. And nobody likes to hangout with a pathetic zephyr. All the complaining and whining, “Boo-hoo, what a flippant gust he is!” But I guess that’s just the way the wind blows.”

“I tumbled along with this breeze like a dead leaf for a bit just till I got some food in my belly. Here I am. What the hell are you doing out here sir? It's raining.” Before he could reply, lightening CRASHED on her grounded kite! IGNITING THE FOIL! SPARKS POPPING!

The electricity raced up the copper wire in her hand and flushed through her fresh green apple soul; It came up and out the top of her head and ends of her fingers like bursting fire! The blood of her spirit turned red and rich as ginger; Her body now just the violet wisps of smoke twisting and drifting up and up!

Higher and higher til the shy stars wrapped around her and bathed her in their sugary delight. They danced together that stormy night and cheered, “Salute Old Friends! C’est La Vie!” Smiling, laughing, and singing. They spun around in circles till they all fell down. Down from the night sky, they sprinkled like little glowing peas. He picked a couple up off the ground and put them in his mouth. The sun came out. “Hmmm...” he said, “Candy light.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show

Come nightfall, Humble Heart hosts The Beat

"The Space Cadet from Indiana" By Michelle Morgan

She stands in a muddy puddle of trampled dirty daisies in the springtime holding her kite of tin foil and copper wire in the middle of the night. It was raining red wine. An eloquent, almighty cascade of amaranthine, ethanol, and peroxide pouring down from the sky. Sharp tacks and nails and knick-knacks piercing the soft warm earth beneath, splashing in bloody puddles as far as you could see. It was a hell of a storm that night, my friends.

The sky screamed over and over again with lightening crashing to the ground like falling pieces of a white picket fence. The flashes would yank so hard at the wires of your eyeballs it would send sparks popping out your nose singeing your lips. You could smell the burning of the fires the sky set to the ends of her hair. It was so beautiful against the dark. Black. Night sky.

She was wrapped from head to toe in red and blue wires, batteries clanking around her waist. Arms wide open letting the sky drip down her throat, she twirled around in circles. Barefoot. Singing old songs of the Dead Kennedy's and Stiff Little Fingers. Dancing. The mauve pelted her skin, scouring and scraping until her entire body was bloody with the most alluring ruby red. She smiled at the man with her pink teeth and edges of her mouth dripping the rich, wet, chunky cruor.

With a lick of the lips she said, “How long do you think it will be before we don't need keys?” When she gets drunk she likes to talk about the future. She was tossing her kite up over and over only to have it smashed down again and again. Whip after whip after whip. Her kite was crinkled and ripped.

Pointing to the sky, she yelled, “Merry Christmas! Your a good friend!” “What are you doing Miss? That looks dangerous!” He yelled at her through the wind. “I'm making candy LIGHT!” she screamed, “Electrified Sweets!” “If your scared sir, I suggest you go back inside. What are you made of? There are termites out here, my friend. They'll eat you alive.”

Her hair fell wet over her shoulders and lips. Her toes sank into the soppy ground. You could smell the warm acidity of the dirt. You could feel the earth drunk and dizzy with bliss.

“Do you have a smoke sir?” she winked at him. “You can't smoke a cigarette in the rain, where the hell are you from? What are you doing all the way out here on the west coast at a time like this?” “Well,” she said, “I was very flat on the ground this morning when I awoke. Like a paper doll in a world of cut-outs. It was sad. All I could notice were the edges of things; I kind of crinkled a rib when I lifted my head.”

“A passing wind asked me if I would like to join him for a picnic of peaches and cheeses and such; But before I could gather my things he had already gone,” she shrugged her shoulders. “There was only a weak breeze who remained. And nobody likes to hangout with a pathetic zephyr. All the complaining and whining, “Boo-hoo, what a flippant gust he is!” But I guess that’s just the way the wind blows.”

“I tumbled along with this breeze like a dead leaf for a bit just till I got some food in my belly. Here I am. What the hell are you doing out here sir? It's raining.” Before he could reply, lightening CRASHED on her grounded kite! IGNITING THE FOIL! SPARKS POPPING!

The electricity raced up the copper wire in her hand and flushed through her fresh green apple soul; It came up and out the top of her head and ends of her fingers like bursting fire! The blood of her spirit turned red and rich as ginger; Her body now just the violet wisps of smoke twisting and drifting up and up!

Higher and higher til the shy stars wrapped around her and bathed her in their sugary delight. They danced together that stormy night and cheered, “Salute Old Friends! C’est La Vie!” Smiling, laughing, and singing. They spun around in circles till they all fell down. Down from the night sky, they sprinkled like little glowing peas. He picked a couple up off the ground and put them in his mouth. The sun came out. “Hmmm...” he said, “Candy light.”

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tundra # 12

Next Article

One Night in Las Colinas

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader