Victor Hartmann's design for
The Great Gate of Kiev
THE VIGIL
—Ann Wehrman, Sacramento
(after Modest Mussorgsky's orchestral piece,
"Pictures at an Exhibition: The Great Gate of Kiev")
old man poised at forest's edge
sunset blazes
he approaches the gate
iron stands firm
he folds his hands
sky turns orange
he drops to the ground
gate remains closed
his body lies still
specter rises from it
dances, exalts
stands quietly beside it
hands folded
before the locked gate
horizon glows magenta
blue-white flickers
puncture darkness
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Thanks, Ann! Ann Wehrman, a music major at CSUS, is also a poet who is a frequent contributor to Rattlesnake Review and Medusa's Kitchen. Write and ask and I'll send you a free littlesnake broadside of her work, or go to Medusa's archives (click on December 2007 at the right of this column) and read about Ann when she was featured (December 10, 2007).
About the drawing: On April 4, 1866 the Tsar Alexander II narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in the city of Kiev. A competition was ordained for the design of a great gate to commemorate what was referred to as "the event of April 4, 1866"—the Imperial Censor forbidding language any more particular than this. While the Tsar was happy to have escaped with his life, he apparently was a bit uneasy at any explicit public acknowledgments of the fact. Perhaps it was this ambivalence that led to the eventual cancellation of the project; or it may have been a simple paucity of funds. Victor Hartmann's design for The Great Gate of Kiev caused a sensation, though, and the architect himself felt it was the finest work he had yet done. The cancellation of the project must have come as a blow.
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David Humphreys to be honored in Stockton:
Save the date of Friday, Oct. 17 (6:30 PM) for the 31st annual Arts Awards Celebration (“Starry Night”) in Stockton at the Bob Hope Theatre. Among those receiving awards are David Humphreys, for Outstanding Achievement in Literary Arts. As you may know, David, poet and publisher, passed away this month. Info: 209-937-7488.
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The one that got away...
A VISIT FROM ALPHONSE
—Paul Zimmer
Alphonse arrives as a fifth season
Of rain and wet snow,
Like something I had
Suffered a lifetime ago.
He is an incurable disease.
He talks of Wanda always,
All he remembers is Wanda,
When I had hidden her away,
Covered her like a sand grain
In the cool grey of my brain.
I have not lived for Wanda.
I am even able to forget her.
Except for the days
Her memory acts up like
A knee in bad weather or
When some self-indulgent pest
Like Alphonse comes back
And wakes the pain
That lies low in
The hollows of my chest.
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Tuesday is Seed of the Week Day: Today's "grain of sand in the brain" is The One That (Who?) Got Away. An obvious choice would be the lover who got away, but this could be anything else that got away: the job, the fish, the criminal. Or:
THE POEM YOU ASKED FOR
—Larry Levis
My poem would eat nothing.
I tried giving it water
but it said no,
worrying me.
Day after day,
I held it up to the light,
turning it over,
but it only pressed its lips
more tightly together.
I grew sullen, like a toad
through with being teased.
I offered it all my money,
my clothes, my car with a full tank.
But the poem stared at the floor.
Finally I cupped it in
my hands, and carried it gently
out into the soft air, into the
evening traffic, wondering how
to end things between us.
For now it had begun breathing,
putting on more and
more hard rings of flesh.
And the poem demanded the food,
it drank up all the water,
beat me and took my money,
tore the faded clothes
off my back,
said Shit,
and walked slowly away,
slicking its hair down.
Said it was going
over to your place.
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THE POEM IN THE PARK
—Peter Davison
She waited eagerly on a park bench,
holding in her arms the humming of the day,
her eyes welling with lacrimae rerum.
I walked toward her through the bricky streets
tasting as I came the sky of the public park,
its gates ajar, its paths cast wide in welcome,
the bench warm beside her
with the words the poem and I would engage together.
But as I walked in under the sighing trees,
a gust of wind scattered from the dark pond
a flock of mallards, wings whistling,
crying out and fanning toward the harbor
over the buildings between the park and the sea.
Not until hours later, hemmed in between
office telephone and office typewriter,
did it come back to me. I'd left the poem
seated motionless upon a wooden bench
with tears in its eyes.
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Today's LittleNip:
Like a piece of ice on a hot stove the poem must ride on its own melting.
—Robert Frost
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—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 Thirteen Poems, a new chapbook from Patrick Grizzell; #2 in Katy Brown's series of blank journals (Musings2: Vices, Virtues and Obsessions); a littlesnake broadside (Wind Physics) from Jordan Reynolds; 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 (sometimes): 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 and in-between! 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.
