Beats the Hell Out of Dying...!

GRANDMA'S PROPHECY
—Ray Dunn, Red Bluff

Grandmother always told him
He would come to no good end,

But that was on the eve
Of her execution which
He attended wearing a brand
New Get-a-Life Tee shirt;
A shiny, black, silk bikini;
And a floppy, blue hat
With a bouquet of lovely
Lavender roses attached
To the brim.

Grandmother was right!
As you can easily see,
He has come to no good end,
But, on the other hand,
He has, most certainly,
Come to no bad end either;
Which he considers a paradox—
Whatever that is.

It is good for him, anyway,
That he continue—at least
It beats the hell out of dying.

___________________

Thanks, Ray! Ray Dunn has been a loyal contributor to the Snake since Issue #1.

Two deadlines loom: The Tenth Annual Focus on Writers Contest, sponsored by the Friends of the Sac. Public Library, which awards cash prizes for poetry (also short stories, articles, first chapters of novels and young-adult books). Send up to five unpublished manuscripts (along with $5 each) by August 31. Info: 916-264-2880 or www.saclibrary.org.

The other deadline is Tiger's Eye: A Journal of Poetry—August 31 for both the journal and the contest. Click on the link to your right for info.

And of course August 31 is the date of Ray Tranquilla's reading and rattlechap release (An Ocean-Front Hotel Room) at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sac., 7:30pm.

Meanwhile, Song Kowbell of Penn Valley continues to have trouble with spiders. She says they're Daddy LongLegs, that they've taken over her house, that she suspects their motives, and thank God for tree frogs and various reptiles—by which she of course means Snakes! I say, if they spin webs, they're long-legged house spiders and not DDL's, but that's a discussion for another day.

Apparently Song is not averse to tiny orange spiders, though:


SHE SPIDER
—Song Kowbell, Penn Valley

Tiny orange spider
lets go,
parachutes off
my reading lamp
spinning her web.
She ascends
to descend.
Hangs now in front
of my computer screen
watching to make sure
I speak the truth
about her abilities.

________________

Thanks, Song! More about Song, who is doing the October broadside, later.

—Medusa (who also sings the praises of reptiles)

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets.