Anna Couani #123 inks

over coffee, we discuss art materials

and methods chemicals

toxic and non-toxic

cyanotype, the old technology

used for blueprints

how to create a particular effect

with coloured inks and black ink

that particular artist

our friend, champion of scorn

belittles certain styles

in particular

fantasy and sci fi illustration

because adolescents may not graduate

to something better

he says

as he unwraps his new anvil

talks about making things

from metal sheet

and painting them with ink

the coffee needs sugar

is so bitter in this café

we're thinking

should I ask the artist

how he did that thing with ink

and wonder about his age

at the Point

minnows are schooling

by the thousands

already bigger than last week

at low tide

the water is clear

close to shore

but more milky as it gets deeper

seaweed trees

standing upright spreading their branches

in the milkiness
like crystals growing in solution