Didja Miss Me?

Photo by Katy Brown, Davis

MORNING SONG
—Allegra Silberstein, Davis

I awaken to honeysuckle fragrance
tangled in my long hair.

It comes through an open window,
nudged in by a morning zephyr.

I’m ready to leave last night’s longings
in dream-bedding, to be lifted,

open
in the breath of morning.

___________________

Thanks, Allegra! Allegra Silberstein was responding to last week's Seed of the Week/giveaway, writing poems that include the sense of smell.

Time for another Seed of the Week already: Birthplace Revisited. Send your poems to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.


BIRTHPLACE REVISITED
—Gregory Corso

I stand in the dark light in the dark street
and look up at my window, I was born there.
The lights are on; other people are moving about.
I am with raincoat; cigarette in mouth,
hat over eye, hand on gat.
I cross the street and enter the building.
The garage cans haven't stopped smelling.
I walk up the first flight; Dirty Ears
aims a knife at me...
I pump him full of lost watches.

__________________

I WALKED PAST A HOUSE WHERE I LIVED ONCE
—Yehuda Amichai

I walked past a house where I lived once:
a man and a woman are still together in the whispers there.
Many years have passed with the quiet hum
of the staircase bulb going on
and off and on again.

The keyholes are like little wounds
where all the blood seeped out.
And inside,
people pale as death.

I want to stand once again as I did
holding my first love all night long in the doorway.
When we left at dawn, the house
began to fall apart and since then the city and since then
the whole world.

I want to be filled with longing again
till dark burn marks show on my skin.

I want to be written again
in the Book of Life, to be written every single day
till the writing hand hurts.

___________________

PLACES I HAVE BEEN
—Jolena Holt, Fair Oaks

Places I have been
Coffee shops, camp grounds, a worn-out cabin
(someone’s dream long ago)
Mountain tops, the Pacific Ocean, creek beds
Deserted roads heading North

Places, the skylines of cities from the sidewalk
or abandoned land (reclaimed by Hippies)

Places: The Sitting Room, libraries, bookstores

Places I have been
with no mirrors (no name places)
with mirrors framed in beveled glass

Places with water: lakes, rivers, lumber ponds
Places to stick my toes in (ice cold water running swiftly)
Places to gaze at my reflection
Skipping stones across the surfaces

Surfacing out of ocean waves
(feel like drowning)
Are there more questions to ask?

Am I the places I have been?
Or am I the places I look deep into?

__________________

This week in NorCal poetry:

•••Thursday (7/10), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Open mic before and after.

•••Friday (7/11), 7-9 PM: Second Friday Poetry Reading at The Vox (gallery & cafe), 19th & X Sts., Sacramento, featuring Brad Buchanan, Catherine Fraga, Stephen Sadler, Lisa Jones, Matt Veazey and Frank Graham. Hosted by Cynthia Linville. Vegan meal beforehand, prepared by Caribbean Chef Kimba, 6-7 PM. $10 or less. RSVP for the meal info@voxsac.com/. Free & Family-Friendly!

•••Saturday (7/12), 6-9 PM: Public reception for the new Modesto Poet Laureate (Ed Bearden) and the out-going Poet Laureate (Sam Pierstorff), hosted by the McHenry Museaum and the Modesto Culture Commission at the McHenry Museum, 1402 I St., Modesto. Free. Info: Cleo Griffith, 209-543-1776.

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JULY 5th
—Taylor Graham, Somerset

She sinks into the porch swing’s
paunched upholstery, settles
into the symmetry of back
and forth,
not even ticking off the tasks—

monthly bills, detergent,
mending, and the spitting skillet.
For now, the cross-hairs
of discontent
are lined up somewhere else.

This humid afternoon, hermetic jar
at last unsealed with fragrance
of honeysuckle hedge—
who needs a holiday of sparklers
for a moment’s freedom?

_________________

Thanks, TG, for the "day after" poem!—she even managed to weave in scents. I suppose that qualifies as a two-fer from last week's trigger suggestions: scents and "the day after". One more from Davis poet Allegra:

_________________

JUNE 12, 2008: TONIGHT I CELEBRATE,

light a candle, lift a glass of wine.
The Supreme Court has ruled (5 to 4)
Habeas Corpus shall be upheld. Our president
may not have people locked up and throw away the key.
There’s hope for those on Guantanamo,
hope for you and me when the rule of justice
wins over the rule of terror.

I know I am fallible. Torture me enough and I
will say whatever you like to stop the pain,
but when it stops I will take it all back.

Maybe even corruptible…
could I be paid enough to turn in someone—
someone who is an annoyance anyway.
I hope not, but who knows…
prejudice is an insidious motivator.

Law and faith in justice keep me fairly honest,
watched and watching over,
renewed hope that my words will be heard
if ever the needy time comes.
Tonight I celebrate the America I believe in.
Five upheld Habeas Corpus.
I light a candle, lift my glass of wine.

—Allegra Silberstein, Davis

___________________

Today's LittleNips:

O God, O Venus, O Mercury, patron of thieves,
Lend me a little tobacco-shop,
or install me in any profession
Save this damn'd profession of writing,
where one needs one's brains all the time.

—from "The Lake Isle" by Ezra Pound

__________________

—Medusa


SnakeWatch: What's Up With Rattlesnake Press

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; #2 in Katy Brown's series of blank journals (Musings Two: Vices, Virtues and Obsessions); 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.