Look into my eyes
 
green vinyl records
 
messages bright.
 
Look into my eyes
 
Wide open
 
To the core.
 
Look beyond my eyes
 
Speak, though not
 
my muscles.

COELACANTH

Look back back millions of years
back and back through through infinite tears
filling an ocean
I walked crying
filling an ocean
Until I had to swim
 
I walked oceans far and near
all my ancient friends disappeared,
I walked,
walked away from tomorrow
escape escape sorrow.
I am a ghost.
Living Fossil.
 
Waiting in water
on old 4 legs
Spineless-
Naturally selected
Tiny hearted,
Glowing eyes,
Teeth,
Peculiar
Old
oily
ugly
SILLY
Can’t you see?
 
Did I walk to sea?
swim to land
devolving evolving
legs and hands
iridescent dark colors
Silly, can’t you see?
 
Swim with me
into oceans
swim into depths
no more regard for life
For breath
 
I’ve been to depths
Without being crushed.
 
Walk with me
along the food chain
Top
Bottom
JUST don’t stop
 
I’m still, out there
where ever you are
Ancient “MONSTER”
of deep dark
       Not hiding
JUST not seen
Mucousy and clean
JUST on purpose
Unpalatable
 
Perhaps
              True
 
The missing link was you

 - THEODORE
Written at sea 12/28/17

Drew Maillard and Theodore DeGraff graduated Kingston High School (NY) in 1992. There they studied mythology and made movies, hung around a comic book shop by day, and with the old PUNKs at night. This collaboration has been over 25 years in the making.

Drew went on to the Army reserves and then earned a degree from the School of Visual Arts. He is a regular at the MF Gallery and his COELACANTH, featured here, was recently acquired to the permanent collection at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center.

Theodore holds degrees in words from the University at Albany and Loyola University Maryland. He enjoys bouncing around concerts and riding roller coasters. Theodore writes and edits for a cool magazine called CARPAZINE.

Look into my eyes, corneas scratched
 
green vinyl records memories in context
 
messages bright- pupils dilating.
 
 
Look into my eyes’ gray matters
 
wide open nerve ending
 
to the core cortex collapsing.
 
 
Look beyond my eyes descending aorta
 
speak, though not give way to circumflexed
 
my muscle’s heart deviating.

Corneas scratched

memories in context

pupils dilating

Gray matters

Nerve ending

cortex collapsing

Descending aorta

give way to circumflexed

Heart. Deviating.