a four pass alchemy
The poem:
The source material is Organs and Gold, a poem by Deborah K. Kelly, who first called the work I do here “alchemy” rather than “erasure.” In her post of “Organs and Gold,” Deborah noted that her poem, from 2022 applies now, right now.
An off-cycle post during a Stage 1 drought
On March 25, 2026, The Denver Board of Water Commissioners declared a Stage 1 drought due to record-low snowpack and below-average levels in reservoirs. Mandatory outdoor watering restrictions of two days per week (on assigned days) were imposed through October 1, 2026. Water use reduction of at least 20% has been requested.
What might come next: Stage 2 drought = increased mandatory water use restrictions, including prohibitions on outdoor watering. Stage 3 = water rationing.
Drought may be top of mind right now, but it is only one of many threats.
“Nusquam Ire” was first published by X. P. Callahan on Diary Poems, January 24, 2025.
Things have not gotten better.
The poem:
Source text: “Quarter of freshwater animals are threatened with extinction” (Associated Press, January 20, 2025)
How the poem rose to the surface of the source text:
for MN
For my dear friend Jenny-Lynn Ellis, who writes gorgeous prose and the occasional poem (including the source material for “how to witness”), but who does not speak Icelandic.
an old school erasure
Source for this three pass erasure (four, but only if one counts the title): “[It’s that time of spring]” from frank: sonnets, by Diane Seuss.
old style, three pass erasure with shadow mountains
Source: John Mastin, from Through the Sun in an Airship (1909)
alchemy for DKK
The alchemized poem:
Image and source material, Where I Live Now, by Deborah K. Kelly.
a multiple pass poem
Source material: War Came to Ukraine and Its Dogs Are Not the Same
Source material for the source material: Dogs of War: The Effect of War-Inflicted Environmental Damage on Free-Ranging Domestic Dogs
