Are We There Yet?

Apricot Buds—
Spring is Just Around the Corner!
—Poems and Photos by Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

IT BELONGS TO THEM

Back in the last decade of Baby Boomers
My growing family moved from a triplex
Near the new interstate to a stand-alone house
Near a quiet neighborhood park

The property came with a darkish
Kitty cat (we named “Spooky”) who had
Already garnered squatter’s rights
And closed escrow before us

We fed Spooky store-bought cat food
And she returned the favor by
Leaving dead birds and mice
On our doorstep

In another part of town
Real estate developers hired exterminators
To rid new condominiums of skunks, who,
Though they properly owned the land

Were too impecunious to hire
Big money, Ivy League snakes
To draft binding documents in legal
Black and white to protect their rights

Radicchio

THE PRESIDENT’S DRESS

The people have spoken
They are not willing to accept
As a no-brainer the presidential
Candidate that the store most
Wants them to buy

For this very special occasion
The bride insists that she gets to
Look over and pick out her
Very own wedding gown
The one that suits her best

So media, celebrities, pundits
Everybody in the whole, wide world
Just sit quietly in the corner while
The person who is going to wear the dress
Tries one on, then another…

Sit stock still in that quiet corner
While the solemn vows are exchanged
And a series of life changing moments
Are launched into orbit.  Okay,
Now come forward and count your money

 Chinese Cabbage
 

DIVERSIONS

(from the phrase “immense universe”
in the poetry of James Lee Jobe,
Medusa’s Kitchen, January 13, 2018)


A view of the immensity of the universe
Can be captured in subatomic particles
Or the smiles of lovers as hyphens
Linking two dissimilar worlds

Hormones and cover girls
Holding hands, riding a boat
In the tunnel of love
Keep your other hand out in the open!

Humans don’t need eyeball sockets
That enable rear-view camera mode
Using massive, heavy telescopes
To find the way home again

Nor does one need to allow
All the names of all the species of fungus
To visit one’s mind to recognize
Which trees provide better shade

We each have a niche that’s rich
In stamp books of memories
Original messages missing
Runaway inflation found

Are we there yet?
Shout restless children
In a universe of infinite destinations
We’ve been there, now we’re lost

Chinese Cabbage 2

OUT OF STEP

One could see it
All around, earnest
Protests about a war
That drained lifeblood
To sustain trade routes

A military conflict to put
All our financial ducks
In a row so that
The numbers would
Come out right

Good numbers to bring huge
Smiles at closing bell, while the
Scrooge parade locks out
Grieving parents to save
All the ticker tape for Wall Street

Enter Rock and Roll
Mildly testy out the outset
Then pushing the envelope
To “heavy metal” that
Messes with the senses

Music that had to be remarkably
Atrocious to snatch people
From their hiding places to
Finally air feelings larger
Than an air craft carrier

Goodbye Shakespeare
Hello British rock bands
After a revolt to settle who’s boss
That put everyone out of step
We’ve joined to sing for peace

 Chinese Cabbage 3

THE COLOR OF AMNESIA

Comes in plentiful
“slide and hide” shades
That preserve the

Ostentatious hues
Of cherished thoughts
While leaving no clues
Of sassy ought nots

OLD POET’S ALMANAC

At the gerrymandered
Intersection of
Arizona, Colorado,
New Mexico, and Utah
Ricochets a copasetic
Gargoyle silhouette
Of Don Rickles posing as
The Tasmanian Devil
On electrolytes
Attempting to parlay
A provincial filibuster
Into a credible hyperbole
Of actuarial formulae

Today’s LittleNip:

THIS COMES UP A LOT
—Caschwa

Idiot                       0-25
Imbecile                26-50
Moron                   51-70
About Average      71-119
Very Superior       120-140
Genius or Poet     Over 140

________________

Many thanks to Carl Schwartz (Caschwa) for his fine poetry and photos today, and a happy birthday to him, too (yesterday)! Busy birdsongs outside my window tell me that Spring really is just around the corner!

And congratulations to Sac. poet/editor (Ekphrasis) Carol Frith for her auspicious win of First Place in this year’s Howard Nemeroth Sonnet Contest! Way to go, Sonnet Queen!

Poetry in our area today begins tonight with Poetry on Main Street open mic for poets and musicians on Main Street in Placerville, 5pm, and continues with the launch of Book of Twilight, William O’Daly’s new book (plus open mic) at Sac. Poetry Center in Sacramento, 7:30pm. Thursday will be lively with Kae Sable and Todd Boyd (plus open mic) at Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe in Sacramento, 8pm; or head over the Causeway to hear Angela James and Laura Rosenthal (plus open mic) at John Natsoulas Gallery, 8pm.

For the next two Fridays, 6pm, Atim Udoffia will hold a workshop for writers on how to present/perform your poetry. Bringing your poems to life when you have the privilege of reading them to an audience is hugely important! This workshop will be held at Sac. Poetry Center; cost is $125. Email atimu@hotmail.com to reserve a spot.

This coming Friday, The Other Voice in Davis presents Bill Gainer and Kevin Jones (plus open mic) at Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 7:30pm. On Saturday, Barbara West will read at The Avid Reader on Broadway, 3pm. And on Sunday, Lara Gularte will read at Poetry in Placerville at Love Birds Coffee and Tea Co. in Placerville, 1pm. Busy week! Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about these and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.

Here are a couple of new sites that you might check out. One is by JD DeHart from Tennessee, a regular Medusa contributor, and he’s looking for poetry submissions! That’s at onpossibilitypoems.blogspot.com/. The other is a website suggested to us by Red Fox Underground Poet (Placerville) Irene Lipshin: Walking Through the Ages, walks along the California coast: walkingthroughtheages.com/2018/01/13/training-for-a-camino-or-love-a-long-walk-links-and-maps-for-california-coastal-trails-and-hostels/.

—Medusa

 —Anonymous Photo

Celebrate poetry!

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