Medusa's Kitchen: What the Fortune Cookies Said

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

What the Fortune Cookies Said

WHAT THE FORTUNE COOKIES SAID
—Bradley Buchanan, Sacramento

Tonight the fortune cookies were right,
down to the newborn baby, who
got the last unopened one,
saying she sparked enthusiasm
in everyone who looked at her,
which was true enough to seem solemn.

The sirens passing us by are no
concern of ours, or anyone’s
within reach of our compassion or reason.

We’re closing in on a lifelong cocoon
of safety, thanks to this little one-
track mind we’ve brought to reality.

The dinner was paid for; politeness forgotten,
we didn’t know who to thank, so we
sent a late blessing by frequencies
too high and subliminal for a cell phone.

No need to call them up to say
thanks or I love you—we’re family
all of a sudden, now that our offspring
throws us back on each other’s unguarded
affections and intimate admiration.

A beautiful girl shows the whole world the way
it could be perfect, or, at the very least,
close-knit with delight casually prophesied.

_______________________

Thanks, Brad! Bradley Buchanan teaches full-time at CSUS; his specialties are British and World Literature, with some Creative Writing courses "here and there". Brad was born in Canada, came to study English in the US in 1995 and has lived in Northern California for the past ten years. He has published poems in more than 100 journals worldwide. He also has a new book out from Poets Corner Press, entitled The Miracle Shirker, which is available at The Book Collector. Brad will be reading at Sacramento Poetry Center on August 15, and he also serves on the editorial staff of Tule Review, though much of his time is taken up with that new baby—the first for him and his wife!

Don't forget the emu-fest; check yesterday's posting for the highly seductive list of prizes. And try to stay cool. Stay inside the house and write!

—Medusa

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.

THE REST OF THE B-BOARD! Enter at your own risk; NorCal poetry is SMOKIN'!

Watch Medusa's UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS page on a daily basis for what cooks in NorCal poetry! (Like everything else, it keeps on changing...) Other sites to check for poetry news and area events include: •••www.facebook.com/sacpoetry.center

•••SPC's Community Calendar of Lit. Events: www.facebook.com/groups/SPCgroup/?notif_t=group_name_change&notif_id=1468146125061336

•••poetryindavis.com/archive/2016/10/2812

•••www.facebook.com/El-Dorado-Poetry-1237910429583182 for news about what's going on in El Dorado County poetry

•••sacramento365.com (go to Poetry & Literature under Performance)

•••Want to learn about some Bay Area events? Debralee Pagan (debralee@astoundnet) publishes an e-newsletter called "Strictly East" (Poetry Past the Caldecott Tunnel)—email her for a free subscription. See also www.poetryflash.org/.

Don't see your reading event listed on Medusa? That's probably because you didn't send it to us! It's such a shame to invite poets to read for you, and then fail to advertise them. So try to get your message out in a timely manner.

Online and otherwise—

Here are some journals and other publications that are local-ish (okay, there are some Bay Area ones in here, too). If we've left anybody out, let us know!

Plus, keep an eye on the college scene. Some of those journals accept submissions from non-students, though they usually have more limited (mostly annual) deadlines. Go to Medusa's Hot Links for Calaveras Station, Penumbra, Suisun Valley Review, Cosumnes River Journal, but be aware that college journals come and go in this time of tight funding.