NUDE RECLINING AT WORD
PROCESSOR, IN PASTEL
—Carl Conover
She carefully regards her software. The amber
light pulses along her thighs as she searches
in vast undocumented libraries, without rotundas,
for the mere appearance of desire, catalogued
long ago, now concealed with her archives.
These are the old landscapes of her sighs.
She ties a carbon ribbon in her hair and dreams,
longing for the missing text and the hard copy.
__________________
PAST LOVE
—Anne Keiter
I've come back
to these same old rooms
where the smell of new paint
and the rub of soft carpet
drown me
with memories of you.
Without even trying
I feel your touch,
warm artist's hand,
against my brown skin;
and without looking
I find your eyes
and that small half smile
that could win my heart.
You're my vagabond,
you're my lover,
and I see your face
through misty Sunday rains,
and I catch your eye
in the silver reflection
of my wine goblet.
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BRIEF ENCOUNTER
—Winfield Townley Scott
What I had never imagined: your return
In the guise of an actual girl: and there
She stood so slender in the summer light
And leaned—in such a way—the light came through
Her thin white shirt and silhouetted her
So I was shaken with remembering
And silent with impossible desire.
O I so heavy with years and all I knew,
All that she could not know—she was not you—
Yet shared (I thought) that vibrancy of silence,
Then walked to me and touched me, as if she knew
Something neither of us would ever say.
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DANCER
—Roy Scheele
How can it be,
she wonders, her heart
goes out to it still,
the single tree out back?
Its apples never came
to much; nevertheless
it goes on bearing,
if only to sweeten the grass.
Some days it's been
a comfort to her.
A mist of buds in spring,
and then the long-drawn
whitening, the petals
poured full of light
much in the way the dancers' skirts
dazzle the eyes
in Degas' paintings.
A dancer, yes: she sees
herself, long-legged girl
of long ago, her skin as pale
as apple flesh, whirling
around in the yard,
making her long dress swirl.
_________________
B.L.'s Drive-Bys: A Micro-Review by B.L. Kennedy
Love About Love
Poems by C.K. Williams
160pp, Trade-Paper, $16
Ausable Press
Back in the day, when I was a student at CSU, Sacramento, my teacher, Dennis Schmitz, introduced me to the work of the poet C.K. Williams, and it’s been a love affair with the poet and his work ever since. So I’ll put this simply: buy this book and anything else that you can find by C.K. Williams!
___________________
BACK FROM THE WORD
PROCESSING COURSE, I SAY TO MY
OLD TYPEWRITER
—Michael Blumenthal
Old friend, you
who were once in the avant-garde,
you of the thick cord
and the battered plug,
the slow and deliberate characters
proportionally spaced, shall we
go on together as before?
Shall we remain married
out of the cold dittos of conviction
and habit? Or should we move on
to some new technology of ease
and embellishment—Should I run off
with her, so much like you when
you were young, my aged Puella
of the battered keys, so lovely
in that bleached light of the first morning?
Old horse,
what will it be like
when the nexst young filly
comes along? How will I love you,
crate of my practiced strokes,
when she cries out: new new
and asks me to dance again?
O plow for now, old boat,
through these familiar waters,
make the tides come in
once more! Concubined love,
take me again into your easy arms,
make this page wild once more
like a lustful sheet! Be wet,
sweet toy, with your old ink:
vibrate those aging hips again
beneath these trembling hands.
__________________
Today's LittleNip:
In youth we dream of death,
In age we dream of life.
(from "Hardy Perennial" by Richard Eberhart)
__________________
—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.
