The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

August 1, 2025
Melite sat beside mother and son in the arena that night. They had moved to the pavilion to pick at remaining hay from the morning delivery. It seemed to our heroine that the nightly chorus of crickets and katydids sounded with unusual fervor, as though the performers sensed the imminent departure of their audience and judged one last encore in order. While three listened to the song, only one took from it a sense of finality, for a new adventure awaited them and the placidity, which she shared with the behemoths, would soon be disturbed.

written while listening to:  Francesco Baiguera, Giacomo Papetti & Emanuele Maniscalco - Prèludes (Aut Records, AUT067, 2020, Germany, cd, discogs.com)

August 2, 2025
The Egyptian returned to Melite on the following day. He presented her with the new clothes. She gratefully accepted the chiton and sandals. She was pleased with the fit; he had paid attention to her petite stature. The cloak and jewelry she told him to hold for her as she had no place to lay them where they might be safe from the behemoths. Djedi-Khnet announced that she would lead the young beast to the port of Lato on the morrow. Melite had not realized until this moment that they intended her to separate mother from child.

written while listening to:  Guillaume Gargaud, Patrice Grente & Thierry Waziniak - Omusue (TORF Records, TR007, 2023, Poland, cd, discogs.com)

August 3, 2025
"We cannot leave his mother behind," Melite squealed in an anguished panic. "The beast is weaned, is it not?" Djedi-Khnet asked, confused by the vehemence of her objection. Despite her many pleas, he was in no position to compromise. Minos had resolved to make a gift only of one behemoth and to keep the other on Crete. Moreover, the ship was prepared to transport only a single beast. "The mother will still be cared for in the arena," he assured her. His repeated attempts to calm her failed miserably. As soon as he departed with the hairpins and bracelets, Melite began to weep.

written while listening to:  Splitter Orchester - Splitter Musik, disc 3 (Hyperdelia, HEX 008, 2024, Germany, cdx3, discogs.com)

August 4, 2025
The mother stood in the shallows of the marsh, oblivious to her sentence of solitude. She paid no heed to the new garment donned by the ibis but sensed distress in the bird. Peering around the arena, she detected no sign of predator threatening her son. The behemoth felt the bird lean against her, wrapping her arms around her neck as far as they would reach. She did not understand the portent of the wracking sobs that reverberated against her. She turned her head, exposing skin between folds of flesh, which the bird in sorrow dutifully cleaned.

written while listening to:  Derek Bailey & Han Bennink - untitled (Incus Records, INCUS 9, 1972, United Kingdom, lp, discogs.com)

August 5, 2025
By starlight did Melite pledge an oath to the behemoth. "I swear to you by all that I am or will be that I shall care for your son and let no harm come to him. I will protect him with my life. I will never abandon him but will stay by his side until the end of my days." The ibis did not typically sing at night so the mother found this song peculiar. She emitted a consoling low in response, which we translate as, "You needn't hold to such extremes. When he is grown, you may let him go."

written while listening to:  Shoji Hano - Tayhei Nipon (Package Records, PACM-1001, 1991, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

August 6, 2025
Melite found little use for the gods, save to forgive them for the calamities, which they in their indiscretions allowed to come to pass. Nevertheless, she prayed that night for the safe-keeping of both mother and son, though parted they would be. Rather than direct her prayers to Artemis, who looked over all creatures of the wild, she remembered the words of Djedi-Khnet and beseeched Taweret, a foreign goddess known to protect mothers and their children. Fervent was her faith in this moment of despair. If nothing else, her vow to the heavens strengthened her own resolve.

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre & Andrzej Karałow - Flint (Fundacja Ensemblage, no catalog #, 2025, Poland, cd, discogs.com)

August 7, 2025
Come dawn, the handler appeared at the head of a train of two carts. The first brought the morning forage for the behemoths. The second, larger wagon was drawn by four horses and bore a reinforced wooden cage. While the mother and son fed, Melite approached Djedi-Khnet, who lingered back at the gate. She attempted a last ditch tactic, declaring, "I will not go." But the scholar responded with an irrefutable rebuttal, crafted to exploit her most vulnerable weakness. "How will the beast survive if you are not there to care for him?"

written while listening to:  Michael McNeill - Barcode Poetry (Infrasonic Press, IFSP-08, 2024, United States, cd, discogs.com)

August 8, 2025
The mother waded in the stream as Melite coaxed Theopompos up the ramp onto the wagon. The ibis would never have convinced the beast to enter the cage had she not gone first then crooned to him of the comforts within. With tentative steps he ascended the boards, which creaked beneath his weight. When his hindquarters passed the threshold allowing the cage to close, Djedi-Khnet urged Melite to hurry out but she refused. She would ride with her charge to Lato. Standing against the bars, the bird presented a forlorn figure, waving farewell at the mother as she rolled out of the arena.

written while listening to:  Tyshawn Sorey Trio - The Susceptible Now, sides C & D (Pi Recordings, PI104, 2024, United States, lpx2, discogs.com)

August 9, 2025
As for the behemoth left behind, she eventually wandered out of the marsh to investigate the grounds, searching for signs of her son. Beside one of the pavilion posts, she found the old gown of the ibis, folded neatly and laid atop the sandals. In these remnants, she breathed deeply the scent of the bird. Throughout the day, flocks of buntings, choughs and blue rock thrushes presented themselves in turn for her inspection as substitute companions. Given the freshness of the abrupt departure, her reticence to exuberantly welcome the birds was understandable.

written while listening to:  Tomeka Reid, Kyoko Kitamura, Taylor Ho Bynum & Joe Morris - Geometry Of Trees (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1144, 2022, United States, cd, discogs.com)

August 10, 2025
They passed the village of Lato without stopping and made directly for the port of Sitia where the galleys awaited them. Sailors and stevedores paused in their labors to line up for a view the behemoth. Tavern owners and barmaids crowded doorways along the wharf as Melite persuaded Theopompos to leave the cage and venture up the reinforced gangway leading to the ship. She relied on no rein nor any other manner of restraint. Some townsfolk expressed indignation that their safety should be put at risk. Others thrilled at their proximity to Minos' beast.

written while listening to:  Harris Eisenstadt - Recent Developments (Songlines Recordings, SGL 1620-2, 2017, Canada, cd, discogs.com)

August 11, 2025
Theopompos was sheltered in a covered pen on the deck. The horses were billeted in stalls below deck. With the beasts secured, Djedi-Khnet again called for Melite to join him on a different galley, outfitted somewhat more appropriately for ambassadors and staff. Having formed an accurate opinion of her character, he was not especially surprised by her refusal. She insisted on remaining beside the behemoth, for the safety of all passengers aboard, so she claimed. The Egyptian speculated that her obstinate altruism might well spell trouble on the road ahead.

written while listening to:  Wadada Leo Smith - Masnavi (Longform Editions, LE149, 2024, Australia, digital file, discogs.com)

August 12, 2025
Unlike his mother, Theopompos had never been to sea. The shifting response of the vessel to each passing wave was a new sensation for him. Because the ibis remained unflustered, he drew strength from her and was largely able to dismiss the initial, unsettling effect on his stomach to find a wonder in the entirety of the maritime experience. The sea wind passed continuously through the bars of the pen. The cries of the gulls followed the galley far from the coast. The scant pressure of the bird as she leaned against him fluctuated with the lilting of the ship.

written while listening to:  Evan Parker - The Heraclitean Two-Step, etc., disc 3 (False Walls, fw16, 2024, United Kingdom, cdx4, discogs.com)

August 13, 2025
Their destination was Sidon. At this time, King Pygmalion had ruled the Phoenicians from Tyre for twenty years. His keen interest was to expand trade into the Great Sea, which created an opening for Greek merchants to move inland. Still, Minos had no interest in a clash over access to markets. Thus, the fleet avoided Tyre and sailed to the north. The government of Sidon, which recognized its own monarch and maintained a degree of autonomy from Pygmalion, might well turn a blind eye to a trade effort that benefited them at the expense of Tyre.

written while listening to:  Full Community - untitled (Nice Things Records, NTR006, 2023, Norway, digital files, discogs.com)

August 14, 2025
Neither the navigator nor anyone else consulted with Melite regarding the course that they would take. Ordinarily, Greek ships followed routes that kept to the coast, allowing the oarsmen to disembark each evening, as there were no sleeping quarters on the ship for the crew. Spending nights on the open sea was avoided unless circumstances dictated otherwise. Their special cargo provided such a reason, for repeatedly loading and unloading the behemoth was deemed impractical. Therefore, the captain made his prayers to Poseidon and guided the Minoan galleys into the open sea.

written while listening to:  Lemuel Marc - Replace the Population (Relative Pitch Records, RPRSS038, 2025, United States, cd, discogs.com)

August 15, 2025
Even with favorable, westerly winds, the trip was to require ten days. The oarsmen knew beforehand the span of their time at sea though it had not been shared with Melite. The Athenian woman was deemed responsible for the unlucky cargo that forced them to take a dangerous and uncomfortable route. She made herself useful, feeding and watering Theopompos and cleaning up after him. When she heard the distressed whinnies of the horses below deck, she asked her leave of the behemoth to tend to them as well, soothing them with the whispers of Auntie Ibis.

written while listening to:  Amir ElSaffar Two Rivers Ensemble - Crisis (Pi Recordings, PI59, 2015, United States, cd, discogs.com)

August 16, 2025
At night, the sky transformed into a black tapestry upon which the wrinkled cloth of the Milky Way had been flung over a backdrop of uncountable, precise pinpoints of light. Melite slept beside the behemoth. Cramped on their rowing benches, sailors muttered that they would wake to find a blood stain on the wooden deck, where the keeper had been crushed by the beast as it rolled over in its sleep. These men underestimated the sensitivity of Theopompos, for, while he was indeed of brutish proportions, he acutely felt the presence of the ibis beside him.

written while listening to:  Milarepa Dorji - Grimoire (Ramble Records/Echodelick Records, RAM-172CD/ECHODELICK061, 2024, Australia/United States, cd, discogs.com)

August 17, 2025
The three galleys kept within sight of each other, though their formation often stretched due to vagaries in the intensity of the oarsmen's strokes and local surface currents. Far from land, no other ships appeared, which would have prompted them to close ranks. Still, there were moments when the vessels drew sufficiently near that Djedi-Khnet was able to make out the figure of Melite standing upon the back of the beast. The wind whipped at her long, brown hair and the edges of her cloak as she shielded her eyes to gaze upon the blue horizon.

written while listening to:  Henry Threadgill Very Very Circus - Spirit Of Nuff...Nuff (Black Saint, 120 134-1, 1991, Italy, lp, discogs.com)

August 18, 2025
The discomfort of the journey was felt by all. Of course pain of any kind seems long in the moment but fortunately can be recalled in brief after the fact. We dwell neither on the physical nor mental misery endured by man and beast. On the afternoon when the dim coastline of Phoenicia appeared upon the eastern horizon, a surge of adrenaline powered the arms of the men at the oars to reach shore ere darkness fell. The skills of the navigator and helmsman were confirmed when they identified the walls of Sidon but a short distance to the north.

written while listening to:  Chet Baker Trio - Daybreak (Steeplechase, SCS-1142, 1980, Denmark, lp, discogs.com)

August 19, 2025
The captain put ashore away from the city, mooring the ships on the beach as they would have done each night had they followed the coast. Once released from their duties, the men clambered off the boat to stretch their legs on the golden sand. It seemed that they might leave the beasts aboard for the night until Melite pleaded with them to consider that the confinement of the animals had been no less than their own. They begrudgingly erected the ramp and led the horses to land. A chorus of contented neighs and nickers repaid the sailors' efforts.

written while listening to:  Hank Mobley - Dippin' (Blue Note, BLP 4209, 1966, United States, lp, discogs.com)

August 20, 2025
When the behemoth was the only creature left on the ship, the men argued against unloading it. A corral had not been erected to contain it on land. Melite assured them that no such pen was necessary for she could keep the behemoth in line. She was horrified when they brought out shackles and chains. Curt was the explanation given her. Under no circumstances could they risk a diplomatic incident should the beast run amok. Thus Melite entered the pen and attached iron rings around both ankles of Theopompos' forelegs. Then in a sad, jangling procession she led him off the ship.

written while listening to:  John Zorn - Filmworks VIII (Tzadik, TZ 7318, 1998, United States, cd, discogs.com)

August 21, 2025
Away from the men's camp, the chain was attached to a spike set in rocky ground. Across the beach, the surf beckoned rhythmically. The consternation of Theopompos at his inability to reach the water was matched only by the distress of his keeper. As he tugged against the chain, she laid her hands on him reassuringly. Turning his body, he backed up toward the sea but the shackles held. "Pull harder," whispered Auntie Ibis. With a jerk of his legs, the spike ripped free. A short, happy gallup had him frolicking in the water, waves breaking against his side.

written while listening to:  Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra - Galactic Parables: Volume 1, disc 2 (Cuneiform Records/Infinity Dogs, Rune 409/410/ ID 8467/8468, 2015, United States, cdx2, discogs.com)

August 22, 2025
After Theopompos had played for a good while in the sea, he swam to shore and allowed the ibis to lead him across the beach to his resting spot. She perfunctorily stuck the spike back in the hole left in the ground, though all accepted it as a meaningless gesture. Suggestions were made for more secure restraints until one sailor opined that it was impossible to chain a behemoth, such was their nature. This sentiment spread through the crowd and they left the beast and its keeper alone for the rest of the night.

written while listening to:  Henry Kaiser, Mari Kimura, Jim O'Rourke & John Oswald - Acoustics (Les Disques Victo, VICTO CD 025, 1994, Canada, cd, discogs.com)

August 23, 2025
In the morning, Melite asked for aid in carrying hundreds of pounds of feed to the behemoth. The crew were of two minds. She was the only woman among nearly six hundred men; any interaction with her was welcome. At the same time, she kept close company with a terrible monstrosity, which they judged liable to tear them apart with its fierce tusks should they look at it the wrong way. Still she managed to recruit several volunteers, who boasted of their bravery after the fact.

written while listening to:  Miles Davis - Bags' Groove (Prestige, 7109, 1957 (rec. 1954), United States, lp, discogs.com)

August 24, 2025
As an ambassador, Djedi-Khnet was to lead a small party of men into Sidon, bringing gifts to the city ruler. He intended for Melite to join him, but the captain insisted that she remain behind for he did not want the beast untethered and running loose unsupervised. The Egyptian had to be content with paying Melite a short visit before he left. She was examining the behemoth's skin for parasites while he ate. Djedi-Khnet bade her good morning and she returned a smile of genuine joy. He envied her ability to adopt such an unabashedly positive outlook.

written while listening to:  Ahmad Jamal - The Awakening (Impulse!/ABC Records, AS-9194, 1970, United States, lp, discogs.com)

August 25, 2025
As Djedi-Khnet had hoped, the lord of Sidon was pleased to be entreated directly by a representative of King Minos. He presented a seal of safe passage through his lands, enabling them to bypass Tyre completely. With this sigil of protection in hand, they could move due east through Phoenicia until they reached its eastern border with Aram-Damascus, a journey of no more than a few days. Moreover, a guide was provided who knew the route and was fluent in Aramaic. Returning to camp, Djedi-Khnet reported his success to the captain.

written while listening to:  Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey - Brink (Intakt Records, INTAKT CD 425, 2024, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

August 26, 2025
When word spread of their impending departure, Melite experienced a tinge of disappointment. She had thought traveling to Babylon would expose her to many exotic people along the way. Before last night, she had never set foot in Phoenicia. That the entirety of her experience of their empire should consist of viewing city walls from afar while surrounded by a throng of Cretans was not at all what she had envisioned. Poor Melite! This was only another intimation that the travels before her would not take the form of a recreational holiday.

written while listening to:  Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet - Tails Out (DIW/Disk Union, DIW-946/TGCS-1898, 2003, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

August 27, 2025
Sixty men, composed of soldiers and porters, would accompany them on their mission, while the remainder returned in the ships to sail a comfortable route along the coast to Knossos. In part because it had come to be known that his mother was Cretan, these men treated Djedi-Khnet almost as one of his own. What reticence remained was due to his questionable vocation as a scholar—excessive learning invariably spoiling a man. In any case, they were sufficiently relaxed that they did not conceal from him their ogling and carnal fantasies regarding Melite.

written while listening to:  Varèse - Density 21,5 / Hyperprism / Intégrales / Ionisation / Octandre / Poème Électronique (CBS Masterworks, MP 38773, 1983 (rec. 1959), United States, lp, discogs.com)

August 28, 2025
That evening, Djedi-Khnet dined with Melite not far from where the behemoth remained ostensibly staked. If deprived of a bath for more than a day, the beast emitted a faint smell of rotten eggs. It seemed not to affect Melite, though the scholar set aside his plate. "Put these on," he said, handing her the bracelets that he had purchased in Lato, "They mark you as the property of Minos." She saw them now as akin to the shackles that Theopompos wore. Swallowing a knee-jerk objection, she donned them, thinking that if he could bear his fetters, so would she.

written while listening to:  Theresa Wong - Journey To The Cave Of Guanyin (Room40, RM4248, 2025, Australia, cd, discogs.com)

August 29, 2025
As the hour approached midnight, Melite was roused by the shifting of Theopompos in his sleep. When he saw the bird rising to her feet, he did likewise. The moonlight cast heavy shadows on his face, giving it a mournful expression. Melite leaned into him and rubbed the skin behind his ears. "I miss her too," she whispered. She unearthed the stake and led him to sea. They both entered the water and imagined his mother wading in the mountain stream inside the arena. The night guard watched from camp but raised no alarm; they were an eccentric pair.

written while listening to:  X-Legged Sally - Slow-Up (Sub Rosa, SUBCD 024-46, 1991, Belgium, cd, discogs.com)

August 30, 2025
Come morning, the sailors departed early, leaving the men of the caravan alone on the shore. They breakfasted then fed the behemoth. A sulking Theopompos showed little interest in ascending the ramp of the waiting wagon. Not even the encouragement of Auntie Ibis could persuade him to enter the cage. After half an hour of futile wrangling, Melite announced to Djedi-Khnet, "He feels like walking today." There seemed no point in arguing with a beast. The horses pulled an empty wagon while the keeper trod beside her ward, his chain in her hands.

written while listening to:  Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll (4AD, CAD 807, 1988, United Kingdom, lp, discogs.com)

August 31, 2025
So began the sojourn of the fugitive from the labyrinth and her bestial companion across the lands lying to the east of the Great Sea. They left the coast in early fall when the weather was neither too hot nor too cool. That there is no historical record of their journey only serves as evidence of its absence of any widespread consequence. Nevertheless, each of us imbue the events in our own lives with personal significance and, in this regard, Gentle Reader, Melite was no different than you or I.

written while listening to:  Hans Reichel - Variations on Jay (Table of the Elements, O 8, 1993, United States, 7", discogs.com), K.K. Null - Cryonics/Winter Solstice/Memes (Table of the Elements, F 9, 1994, United States, 7", discogs.com) & Henry Kaiser - Delirium/Homesickness (Table of the Elements, Ne 10, 1994, United States, 7", discogs.com)