Chaos Unscrambled (Constantly Risking Absurdity)

CONSTANTLY RISKING ABSURDITY
—Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Constantly risking absurdity
and death
whenever he performs
above the heads
of his audience
the poet like an acrobat
climbs on rime
to a high wire of his own making
and balancing on eyebeams
above a sea of faces
paces his way
to the other side of the day
performing entrachats
and sleight-of-foot tricks
and other high theatrics
and all without mistaking
any thing
for what it may not be
For he's the super realist
who must perforce perceive
taut truth
before the taking of each stance or step
in his supposed advance
toward that still higher perch
where Beauty stands and waits
with gravity
to start her death-defying leap
And he
a little charleychaplin man
who may or may not catch
her fair eternal form
spreadeagled in the empty air
of existence

____________________

L.F. is 87 years old today—Happy Birthday!

Sacramento Poetry Center President Mary Zeppa writes: For a variety of reasons, the HQ Anniversary Celebration originally scheduled for Saturday 3/25 has been postponed. It will be rescheduled! We hope the new date will be sometime in April. Thank you!—Mary

Tonight (3/24), Luna's Cafe (1414 16th St., Sac.) will host the opening of an art show featuring the work of B.L. Kennedy, 7-10 pm. Music is provided by Spoken Blues, and Bari also plans to have local poets talk and read poetry. All art that sells (and it's priced very cheap, he says) goes to help The Archives Group (T.A.G.) Project. Bari says, The major thing with the art show is to raise $$$ for T.A.G. through the sale of the art. The second reason is to celebrate 30 years in the Sac art/poetry community.

The South Natomas Library will hold a book sale from 9 am-3:30 pm tomorrow (Saturday, 3/25) at 2901 Truxel Rd., Sacramento, to benefit the library branch's activities, including children's programs. Info: 916-264-2920.

____________________

A VAST CONFUSION
—Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Long long I lay in the sands

Sounds of trains in the surf
in subways of the sea
And an even greater undersound
of a vast confusion in the universe
a rumbling and a roaring
as of some enormous creature turning
under sea and earth
a billion sotto voices murmuring
a vast muttering
a swelling stuttering
in ocean's speakers
world's voice-box heard with ear to sand
a shocked echoing
a shocking shouting
of all life's voices lost in night
And the tape of it
someow running backwards now
through the Moog Synthesizer of time
Chaos unscrambled
back to the first
harmonies
And the first light

_____________________

SEASCAPE WITH SUN AND EAGLE
—Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Freer
than most birds
an eagle flies up
over San Francisco
freer than most places
soars high up
floats and glides high up
in the still
open spaces

flown from the mountains
floated down
far over ocean
where the sunset has begun
a mirror of itself

He sails high over
turning and turning
where seaplanes might turn
where warplanes might burn

He wheels about burning
in the red sun
climbs and glides
and doubles back upon himself
now over ocean
now over land
high over pinwheels suck in sand
where a rollercoaster used to stand

soaring eagle setting sun
All that is left of our wilderness

______________________

—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. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.)