Two Girls Reading, 1934
—Paintings by Pablo Picasso
—Poems by B.Z. Niditch, Brookline, MA
ANOTHER INTERVAL
Another interval
of music draws me out
another color by the river
informs the crocus flower
another eye shadow
hesitates each hour
to the crow fields
on April Fool's Day
yet delivers snow
yielding to us
in this powerful
display.
Three Dancers, 1925
ESTUARY
Estuary for shore birds
as a spring sanctuary
like a cave from the wind
in a shadow of a sunlit nest
is the silence
of a resting place
to save the singing flights
from a journey
in a migratory
of sandpiper wings.
The Dream, 1932
BIRDS
Birds in shadows
of the ranch wall
where we once played
kick ball
today songsters stir on branches
assured of their quick melody
interwoven by the maple tree
as youngsters in perpetuity
are wrapped in the sunlight,
watch faithful doves sway.
The Mirror, 1932
TOLSTOY
In early April
a glimmering morning
the birds rest
outside your dacha
The ice is gone
from the pond
even the horses are ready
to ride
it is a time to contemplate
and write your memoir.
Portrait of Françoise, 1946
THE SNOW
The snow is dust
under Turgenev's feet
Writing his story
with glances at the words
through the ardent clouds
that hide him as he lives
yet knowing there is a scent
of spring to greet him in the air.
Crouching Beggar, 1902
ANDRÉ BRETON
If you must move
to the moon for light
watching vibrating
stars atop the weather vane
think of those
who spill our grain
who fill their baskets again
for your omelet without regret.
Head of a Woman, Reading
YEVTUSHENKO PASSES
Remembering you
in the snow of snows
free of the whip
of censorship and tyranny
Ghosts still haunt
the ship of stars, Yevgeny
thinking because of you
and the agony of Babi Yar.
War and Peace, 1948
Today’s LittleNip:
PICASSO
—B.Z. Niditch
By constant reinvention
of installation art
from arrangement
in stone
with new images
to retain
from parts
of flesh and bone.
_____________________
—Medusa, with thanks to B.Z. Niditch for his poetry and inspiration today!
Celebrate Poetry! Tonight, featured readers and open mic
take place at
Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac., 8pm.
And Gillian Wegener and Julia
Levine read at
John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis, 521 1st St., Davis, 8pm.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by clicking on them once,
then click on the X in the top right corner to come back
to Medusa.
