10 Dizain Poems for the 10mg Collection
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The 10mg Collection (2020) is a series of 10 micro-games by as many teams, collected together as a showcase of smaller experiments within the medium. A Dizain poem is a form comprising 10 lines of 10 syllables each, with an ababbccdcd rhyme scheme. This collection of poems is an attempt to bring these two things together.
a cannon of known forms (after :))
a cannon of known forms, play since compiled.
what of the spaces between? The movements
through which a game dissolves which once beguiled;
small joys in the gaps between monuments.
still I long to move beyond cracked pavement
and in these transitions see something new
gestures at play that’s unfixed and askew
but which reminds me of some childish zeal
some naïve scene leaking rose residue
of flash and freeware feeling more than real
a dry well’s basement (after Always Down)
i am going away; bye bye, so long
but i won’t be far, just a moment gone
compel me down with earth and siren song
orchestral strings played just ahead, beyond
through damp angular caves long since withdrawn
dark hued chiroptera and fire strewn pits
break me and send me back out this dead ditch
at last thrown into a dry well’s basement
i have arrived and just as quickly pitch
thrown up towards home i make my ascent
remember brown frond (after Cover Me In Leaves)
break my skin and sketch upon it my fear
each new carved hope itching inked scar tissue
dead strip malls eulogize each new lost year
talking - fucking - strangers, picturing you
too cruel to hold, too cruel not to–
remember brown frond, the crack of oak twigs?
leaf littered asphalt from our first last kiss?
walk this memory, press my body close
trace lines down my arm, draw in what i miss
arching limbs of this tree, a future chose
i thought i heard you dreaming (after HANDMADEDEATHLABYRINTH issue 0)
i thought i heard you dreaming, over there
behind the stranger, the golem, the roach
blocking the way, pushing you back up here
bolstered and burdened, failure caught your throat
asking for help within dreams you reproach
what a fool, what filth, ignorant to all
no torch or spell will let you out this hall
embrace your new life of sewage and grime
blip blip says the guard, a pitiful call
nobody leaves in the shell of a slime
where nobody cries (after Locked In)
they’re fighting again, out in the kitchen
i shouldn’t move, just play dead, stay in bed
maybe they’ll quit, come back to tuck me in
i just want it to end, to not feel bad
is it my fault, dad? why’s mom always sad?
crawl under deeper into covers so
the words can’t reach you, just til tomorrow.
don’t listen to them yell, just close your eyes
send your dreams to a place only you know
somewhere far away where nobody cries
remedy was here (after Sealed Estate)
remedy was here, cracks in the tv
static hissing through the dim lit hallway
minigolf lanes and notes looking past me
the flashlight dies to let the shadows play
don’t listen to the cds, sonic castaways
i’m an intruder looking for shelter
i lie aloud, try to con my answer
hollow faces growl, my eyes start to run
eyes upon me, insulted i’m not her
the end comes too soon i gasp at no one
wood wrapped hearts (after SLASHER, interrupted)
crack! the limb snaps, wooden splinters feather
the ground, a crow’s nest, something wet drips down
yellow sap on an arm, fool’s fake leather
heavy in this post-rain mist that chokes, drown
the song of cackling birds, red bitter sound
echo off the white picket wall, fall
at that familiar door, this dusty hall
always the same names carved in wood wrapped hearts
knowing before it’s voiced whose name they call
always the same end, now the curtains part
the snake drifts past (after SNAAAK)
snake the vines, lost broken tunnels, paste in
orange goo and techno sentries, slowly
slip towards new exits, fresh contraption
dithers and divides, harsh fragility
collides, eating its vast extremity
all’s toward freedom, cold isolation
buckets of crabs grasp emancipation
left behind nature takes ahold, biting
at the glass, waiting for inspiration
the snake drifts past, desperately climbing
sonic (after Stroke)
when i was eight i popped my cheek, split it
on the edge of a china cabinet
and ruined our movie night. i couldn’t spit
as they pulled my face back, stuck laminate
hospital glue, reversed the accident.
i remember how dark the ceiling was
the masks and confusion, getting sonic
at eight on a school night, staining the gauze
with ketchup blood hands, acting aphonic
thinking i’d come out ahead with this flaw
internet of kitty things (after You are such a Soft and Round Kitten)
a round floof defies gravity, beyond
physics, up the wall to another place
untold knowledge beneath their fur, bleach blonde
perfectly combed, carting a frog through space
digitizing themselves with an embrace.
irony poisoned and fully immune
a computer virus, softly consume
and hue this death in blue boxes, pity
eyes melted in the glare, monochrome doom
sending me back out to me you, kitty