New Iowa ( a work in progress )

footsteps on the head of a ram
....descent



There is no strength from holiness, the fetus in this weather must learn to fend
for itself. The new Buddha will form a line in the air, never to cross. Without death
the breath of gods are little more than the crunching rocks of an exodus. The precise
tracings of a circle that was first formed around the rim of a crest of fire. Shatter the
cave and your left with the sounds of dust smashing up against animal skin. Orpheus
slain to protect the hour of stillbirth.

trembling before the darker trees, hair spread on the ground. Angels like mucus-covered
crows jumping around in the skies. Younger ones yelling in indirect speech about the
ground rising, sweat becomes the bodies only defense to the odor of fear. Burn like a
direction and separate.




unmask, resin for flesh
cavernous omnivore, gestures
animate animal tones



Terrifying.


Imagined center of a bloody pit, faces in cadaverous cold. Emerging slowly from a crawling movement to dusk, misery running on the ground. Into the darkness where bulging eyes stare back in milky and horrifying expressions. Steps. Submersion. Hermetic
Ancients swinging axes of bone over shoulders scared. Silence. Coming out of the darkness upside crosses appear and stretch for miles in every direction. There is no movement except for the passing of air between scavengers who press their faces together.


Lit from a hundred wells, the meatiest obstruction penetrating the lips of the passerby. The horrid aroma of death consuming signaling the skeleton beneath the skin of intense displeasure.

The inhabitants remaining still, only vegetation, reduced almost to ash as it was, moving at all. Stopping upon the severity of the heat, the sounds becoming intolerable.



Dialect of approbation


Dead and whiten. The ground sunken. When they stopped a small form of animal formed its shadow upon them. It stopped away from them a short distance. The others in the distance still did not move. Still facing away towards the trees of darkness it was eerie. When they looked closely at the ground there were sticks, sharpened, facing out of the ground.

Water began to come up from the ground. Slowly at first and then more. The sunken ground began to fill and they moved to higher ground.

As they attempted to settle the animal spoke and approached.

That’s the reflection of hell. In the water….there. When it ignites, they’ll come.

Then the animal made his way back to where he had been. They looked around and noticed that many had turned to look their way, away from the dark trees. They turned to look at the water that increased its flow up from the ground faster and faster.

The ones who pressed their faces together were moving together as one. All around them there was movement. Suddenly there was a great heat coming up from the water. Their faces froze. Suddenly they heard thunderous movement coming towards them. Men with axes screaming in a language they did not understand. They were coming from every direction. The air grew very cold. Flames began jumping from the water as they dropped to the ground and held on to one another.

The first jumped over them and swung his axe at the flames. His body was engulfed in fire. His axe swung wildly as his body kicked and fought the fire. Others approached immediately. Some were dragged into the fire by the men with axes and were killed.
Ash covered the men as they collapsed onto the ground. Their milky eyes staring into nothing.


The sounds returned.

The horizon was masqued, severed in agony of ash and darkness. The ghastliness a foretelling of travel further on into this land. The men were up now and stood motionless with their axes at their side. Facing into the trees their heads slowly hung from exhaustion one could only surmise. The sounds were unbearable. A constant pounding. Not knowing the language, they offered what food they had at their feet and gathered together and moved on, moving closely together. Keeping sight of the ground and the minority of water they passed great hills of stone that appeared to have been wrecked into the earth.

Their procession was brought to a halt when they were met by a group of men with large hammers swung about in both hands. They gestured towards the children and kicked at the ground. They were confused by this until they looked past the men to see the ground in the valley below corrupt with huge insects. The insects were thrashing about and screeching.

Then a man stepped out from behind the men and spoke, “My name is Bots. These men are known as the Rau. They will help you.” The people spied Bots suspiciously. Finally one who had led the others spoke to Bots.

“We have passed through one land where water burst into flame. Men there came to our aid. This land too is strange to us. We have no destination, only to escape the darker times.”

“There is no more dark and light. Hell has come and all has come to pass. God has come and gone. There are no more revelations, no more second comings. We are all that’s left.” Bots said.

The insects began to approach and the Rau turned and raised their hammers. Their tails swung about and thrashed at the Rau, fangs gnashed and the Rau fought just feet away from Bots and the others. Bots guided them to a cave for sanctuary.

The noise outside the cave grew more intense until Bots spoke again. He bent down at the opening of the cave protecting the others.

“They can smell you. You have put them in danger by coming here. Once you were over the path they went into a frenzy.”

Again the leader spoke, “God has come and gone, you said. What is the chance of survival in a land….” he looked around at the others he had traveled with. “Who are you?”

“I am Bots. I have always been here. In one form or another I have always been here.”



prescience, shoulders dangerous
half-covered and prophetically fearful
outward peaks and inward/hellish image
Ancestral snakes, scorched from a hole in the
sky
Bots explained the origin of the insects. “They came from the riverbeds. Their births mixed with the collapse of vegetation. The vulva of their reproduction was misrecognized as disease, and was taken for weakness. Their incest became violent.”

They could hear the fighting growing ever closer to the entrance of the cave. They huddled together. Bots did not move away from the opening, even when the shadows of the insects towered over him.


Intimacy, incapable of anger/intimacy
Cracking the whiteness. The body/shudensha(last train
I confess,
…moving within.

Gravedigger, moving with his hands
forehead against stone
my impression is shaky

..give me

a photograph of hell.


The stones in the cave began to shake. You could feel the percussion of the insects slamming into the rocks. They gathered in a small group for protection. Bots stood still. They didn’t notice the water coming up from the ground until smoke crowed around their feet. Bots turned and stepped outside the cave.




- Chris Mansel