Wherever Time Finds You
—Poetry by Joyce Odam and Robin Gale Odam,
Sacramento, CA
—Photos and Original Art by Joyce Odam
—Poetry by Joyce Odam and Robin Gale Odam,
Sacramento, CA
—Photos and Original Art by Joyce Odam
CALANDO
—Robin Gale Odam
When the credits roll, when happily
ever after is embraced and the story
cleaves to a strand of illusion, the music
becomes slower and softer, dying away.
(prev. pub. in Brevities, October 2016;
Sacramento Poetry Anthology 2017;
Song of the San Joaquin, Winter 2017;
and in Medusa’s Kitchen, 6/29/24)
—Robin Gale Odam
When the credits roll, when happily
ever after is embraced and the story
cleaves to a strand of illusion, the music
becomes slower and softer, dying away.
(prev. pub. in Brevities, October 2016;
Sacramento Poetry Anthology 2017;
Song of the San Joaquin, Winter 2017;
and in Medusa’s Kitchen, 6/29/24)
COMMISERATION
—Joyce Odam
Sorrow came to sit with me again,
as many times before,
claiming to be my mother—
again with her old sad story,
her soft tears burning in the light
reflecting every word upon her face.
(prev. pub. in Medusa’s Kitchen, 10/22/24)
GHOSTS
—Joyce Odam
…something that lingers
not quite gone
diffusements in memory
hanging on
to the spent realities
like a tune that teases
of a half-remembered song
ghosts stay on
where they are wanted
they belong
to your disturbance
to your relinquishment…
as long
as you want them
ghosts stay on…
(prev. pub. in Aquarian Dream, October 1996;
and in Medusa’s Kitchen, 11/1/11; 11/1/22)
MIRAGE OR NIGHTFALL
—Robin Gale Odam
I
The one-subject notebook, the frozen
poem, the one metonym for yesterday.
II
Just something about this night.
III
At the underside of the water tiny fishes
sip at the veneer of another world.
(prev. pub. in Medusa’s Kitchen, 4/4/23)
HAUNTED
—Joyce Odam
I wrestle with your obstinate ghost,
ever-angry and unforgiving,
what a wild loving and hating—
never resolved,
the push and pull of difference—
ever-faithful to the war.
Even now, you assail me in dreams,
still wanting my surrender.
(prev. pub. in Medusa’s Kitchen, 12/31/24)
STALEMATE
—Joyce Odam
we are not friends
we are not
lovers now
we are
a cage
we lock each other
we threaten
freedom
(prev. pub. in Prophetic Voices, 1992;
Lovebites Chapbook by Joyce Odam, 199l;
and in Medusa’s Kitchen, 10/16/10; 7/7/20)
MOMAZIA
Band 10, Lifescapes by Emanuel Kirakou
(Relaxing Guitar and Cello)
—Joyce Odam
Oh player of sad music that hurts
my heart—I need to feel what you
make me feel—music that holds me
so still, so haunted—oh player
of sad music, too beautiful to
bear—this is what I want to hear.
(prev. pub. in Medusa’s Kitchen, 7/10/10; 1/16/18)
WE WHO ABANDON, WE WHO SEEK
—Joyce Odam
Oh, father, who left me, who
I equate with god—what do I mean
by refusal to love, to let return?
Why keep the question alive—
that cry without answer—
seek nothing where nothing is?
Oh, father, who became a forge,
I am incomplete.
(prev. pub. in Medusa’s Kitchen, 6/19/12)
SHADE
—Robin Gale Odam
counterpoint of light
no one knows that she is gone
into dark of day
searching for a memory
searching for a memory
(prev. pub. in Brevities, December 2017)
HEALING
—Joyce Odam
I shall not look again to sorrow
with its bruised wing that I
have pushed away. I am not
its love. I will not let it
stay with me, though it calls me
winter and starves when I
look at it. I am going to be in
love with happiness—with
its safe heart and hands
that flutter
ever-so-softly
about my habit of weeping.
(prev. pub. in Sorrows Mini-Chap by Joyce Odam,
2002; and in Medusa’s Kitchen, 10/22/24)
Today’s LittleNip:
MIND-POWER
—Joyce Odam
You are that maze
I never get through.
How did you
make yourself so clever,
without an exit?
How did I
get in?
(prev. pub. in Parting Gifts, 1996;
and in Brevities Mini-Chap)
___________________
Joyce Odam and Robin Gale Odam have shown us some of their poetic secrets today for our Seed of the Week, Dark Secrets, and we thank them for that.
Our new Seed of the Week is “Beyond Absurd”. Send your poems, photos & artwork about this (or any other) subject to kathykieth@hotmail.com. No deadline on SOWs, though, and for a peek at our past ones, click on “Calliope’s Closet”, the link at the top of this column, for plenty of others to choose from. And see every Form Fiddlers’ Friday for poetry form challenges, including those of the Ekphrastic type. And be sure to check each Tuesday for the latest Seed of the Week
___________________
—Medusa
A reminder that
Sherre Vernon and Paula Sheil
read tonight in Modesto, 7pm.
For future poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column at the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column at the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
send poetry and/or photos and artwork
to kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world—including
that which was previously published—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!