JAYWALKING
—B.Z. Niditch, Brookline, MA
Footsteps lengthen
with sunshine's luster
breathes along
fatigued roads
leaving a magus
of encounters
waves daring zig zags
over mystified pathways.
You pass
echoless portholes
in correspondence
to the wind,
a bird leaps
over larkspur
into morning's air
a solo march by birches
the skylight companion
of disembodied shadows.
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Thanks, BZ! B.Z. Niditch is a regular contributor to the Snake, including the newest issue; he is a poet, playwright, fiction writer and teacher, as well as founder and artistic director of The Original Theatre in Boston. His work is widely published in journals and magazines throughout the world, including: Columbia: A Magazine of Poetry and Art; The Literary Review; Denver Quarterly; Hawaii Review; Le Guepard (France); Kadmos (France); Prism International; Jejune (Czech Republic); Leopold Bloom (Budapest); Anticoch Review and Prairie Schooner, among many, many others. He says he aims for euphony in his poetry—that is, sound musicality. He plays violin, both classical and jazz, and believes poetry should be read out loud by the reader, to capture the essences and vibes of the poem. For more Niditch poems, check out his website, The World of B.Z. Niditch, or go to Medusa's March 15, 2007 blog, or see the new Rattlesnake Review.
ALONG THE CHARLES RIVER
—B.Z. Niditch
On the last hour of the day
a sax running tunes
by the orange flash
of distracted cabbies
a poet on the first bench
where others sleep
blindly feels
a longing to walk
in the rain
to the river
but the cold stars
are sure to find him.
Tonight he will vent
a faded room
for a boarder
in silence of a notebook
along blinding walls
which cannot imagine
what shadows speak words
colder than these lines.
In the wake of mourning
only the Charles expects him
from the nocturnal light
and infinite sky,
your body is composed
for the first wave.
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B.L.'s Drive-By: A Micro-Review from B.L. Kennedy
20th CENTURY GHOSTS
by Joe Hill
William Morrow Books
316 pages, $24.95 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-06-114797-5
The author of Heart-Shaped Box has done it again with this fine collection of stories that will have you on edge. Hill is a very talented writer who has the gift of bringing the reader deep into his stories. He is original, surprising and inventive. I think that it's about time that someone has taken the ghost story to a new and exciting level; Hill is confident and assured within his craft. So, if you happen to run into a copy of 20th Century Ghosts, pick it up, for this is a writer who you will want to watch.
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WAR'S END
—B.Z. Niditch
You wake
through forests
of the greatest silence
with hunger breathing
in artificial blossoms
by a long river,
and prowling in a hurry,
demons delude you
under echoes of hills
and over disarmed bridges,
hearing empty broadcasts,
you hid stained passports
each day like tomorrow
from squalls of night
finding sleep
on capsized mirrors
eagerly crushing
programmed obituaries
unable to beg
even the wind
to choose a still life.
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HOSPITAL STAY
—B.Z. Niditch
Goodbye to 'johnnies'
full names and blood
drawn by icy fingers,
flattened by x-rays
under the half moon
of cold blankets
and parched darkness
of somatic moments
with homeless faces
and checked-out stigmas
nursed through hours
of unbearable whiteness.
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FOOTNOTES
—B.Z. Niditch
On a hair shirt day
scenting early July's quiet
reading with abandon
by Marlborough street lights
the stiff reverences
on right hand corners
not straying from the page.
Looking out windows
near an unmade bed
wishing for any mea culpa
to dispel my studious mood
a radio blasts
on the fourth floor
toward my unassigned direction
given pause
to groove in time's way.
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Today's LittleNip:
By giving his heart to others, he hoped to keep it whole.
—Stephen Dobyns
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—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's Up With Rattlesnake Press
New in June: Day Moon, a new chapbook by James DenBoer, and Mindfully Moon, a littlesnake broadside by Carol Louise Moon, as well as Volume Three of Conversations, our third book of interviews by B.L. Kennedy, featuring Art Beck, Olivia Costellano, Quinton Duval, William S. Gainer, Mario Ellis Hill, Kathryn Hohlwein, James Jee Jobe, Andy Jones, Rebecca Morrison, Viola Weinberg and Phillip T. Nails. All this PLUS a brand-new edition (#18) of Rattlesnake Review! Now available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or (soon) from rattlesnakepress.com/. (Snake contributors and subscribers will be receiving their copies in the mail next week. If you're not among either of these, and can't get down to The Book Collector to get your free copy, send me two bux and I'll mail you one: P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.)
The Snake will be snoozing through July and August, leaving Medusa to carry on alone. Then on September 10, we shall burst back onto the scene with Ten Poems, a new chapbook from Patrick Grizzell, plus Issue #19 of Rattlesnake Review. (Deadline is August 15.) Meanwhile, look in on Medusa every day, and, for heaven's sake, keep sending stuff! The snakes of Medusa are always hungry...
Medusa's Weekly Menu:
(Contributors are welcome to cook up something for any and all of these!)
Monday: Weekly NorCal poetry calendar
Tuesday: Seed of the Week: Tuesday is Medusa's day to post poetry triggers such as quotes, forms, photos, memories, jokes—whatever might tickle somebody's muse. Pick up the gauntlet and send in your poetic results; and don't be shy about sending in your own triggers, too! All poems will be posted and a few of them will go into Medusa's Corner of each Rattlesnake Review. Send your work to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadline for SOW; respond today, tomorrow, or whenever the muse arrives. (Print 'em out, maybe, save 'em for a dry spell?) When you send us work, though, just let us know which "seed" it was that inspired you.
Wednesday: HandyStuff Quickies: Resources for the poet, including whatever helps ease the pain of writing and/or publishing: favorite journals to read and/or submit to; books, etc., about writing; organizational tools—you know—HandyStuff! Tell us about your favorite tools.
Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy. Send books, CDs, DVDs, etc. to him for possible review (either as a Drive-By or in future issues of Rattlesnake Review) at P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816.
Friday: NorCal weekend poetry calendar
Daily (except Sunday): LittleNips: SnakeFood for the Poetic Soul: Daily munchables for poetic thought, including short paragraphs, quotes, wonky words, silliness, little-known poetry/poet facts, and other inspiration—yet another way to feed our ravenous poetic souls.
And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!
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Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) 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.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.
