Praying for . . . Something . . .

The Burdens of a Monday
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of 
Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA

EXPIRATION
—Charles Mariano, Sacramento, CA

‘bout time,
only took
since forever

Cream of Wheat,
Uncle Ben’s Rice,
Aunt Jemima syrup

brand labels
long past
their due date

ain’t about race,
but it is

just like the demise,
eradication,
of Sambo’s
and the Frito Bandito,

these, and more
got to go

kick it
the hell down

don’t need
Aunt Jemima
on the bottle
to taste good

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

VIRUS LOCKDOWN
—Charles Mariano

hello?
no cars, no people,
doors closed,
curtains drawn

nothing here,
but spooky silence

socially distanced,
scared to death,
all alone
my kinda party
wait!
is that a tumbleweed?
hello?

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Sue Crisp

POCKETS OF THOUGHT
—Sue Crisp, Shingle Springs, CA

When we think, sometimes,
of western days of old,
and the old-timey
stories told,
there’s usually stories
of pockets of gold.

Some of them are
in the ground.
But, there are other
places they’re found.

Hanging from a jeans pocket
on links of gold chain,
at the end, a watch,
gold again.

Teller of time,
the pocket watch jewel,
tucked into a jeans watch
pocket, as a rule.

Change pockets, holders
of the nickel, the dime.
But the watch pocket
is the holder of time.

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Sue Crisp

JUST FUR ME
—Sue Crisp

A mouse in my
pocket, you say?
It’s my friend I carry
throughout the day.

Some, at the sight,
would shriek and moan.
But for me, it’s never
having to be alone.

—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Sue Crisp


 

NATURE’S GIFTS
—Sue Crisp

A pocket full of flowers
gathered on a nature walk.
Sweet little flowers plucked
from between the river rock.

Lost at Sea
—Public Domain Photo 

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE XXXVI
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

when you find yourself lost in a corn maize
and after long hours of wandering around
and eventually happening upon an exit,
someone dares you to answer “How did you
get lost? as if a valid explanation is handily
at your disposal. 

Proust's Madeleines
—Public Domain Photo 
 

DUNKING DONUTS
—Caschwa

(In response to “Proust’s Madeleine” by Kenneth Rexroth, Medusa’s Kitchen, June 14, 2020)


pretty
fresh-baked madeleines
standing upright in a bowl
almost completing the mind’s
picture

query
remains though, about
where is the bag? as if
crinkle chips is the
answer

enlarge
with extra syllables, such as
Commercer or Financier
and let us not omit
bourgeois—

coffee
wife and I tried green tea
we felt like fish out of water
couldn’t wait to resume our
black brew

cannot
compete with the memory of
donut shops open all night
good to the last drop
savor
 
 

 —Public Domain Photo

LOADED GUNS AND
BLANK METAPHOR
—Caschwa

when officers arrive to maintain peace
absolutely everything they do and
say, though sometimes appearing as wild geese,
is meant to control the problem at hand

orders barked to those frozen in distress
put the lid on hot pots boiling over
citizen complaints—silly and pointless
like sunbathing in rainy October

guns ready to kill are pointed at crowds
who seek remedies for abusive acts,
cops standing aside and looking at clouds
not willing or able to bare the facts

how many centuries must we wait, still,
while powers that be mute the peoples’ will? 

—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

BROKEN BEYOND
—Caschwa

...like an old flashlight battery
leaking profusely at both ends
once the source of strength,
power, and brightness

now decrepit, demented, wholly
useless, something to keep far
from things we truly cherish,
not yet stained by age

oh—those things we were taught!
myriads of ways to curb energy,
stifle desires, limit what we
allow ourselves to enjoy

saving ourselves by turning it off,
only to end up in places where
people rarely care to visit...like
an old flashlight battery 

 —Public Domain Photo 

Courtesy of Joseph Nolan
 

SITUATION ROOM
—Caschwa

the police have it all figured out, done
when a call comes in they jump right on it
and take control of the situation
as smooth as a Shakespearean sonnet

but looking over different case records
they often resolve it with deadly force
jump the king whether it’s chess or checkers
justice will always prevail in due course

to steal a fortune or cheat for a dime
out come the big guns to deal with the foe
thus “situation” is different each time
custom approach would be more apropos

whatever happened to using a net,
so suspects could live a bit longer yet?
 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

SAFETY FIRST

—Caschwa

not the finest crash helmet and fife
will yet serve well to extend your life
cross paths with a truck
that’s the end of your luck
and your obit is nothing but rife

***

there once was a twice in the zoo
it could have been thrice that it flew
showing feathers of glory
recounting the story
of ordinal numbers that grew

***

say the table of elements fast
while your hybrid gets recharged and gassed
your spirits get colder
when you find no cup holder
for that latte you need just to last

***

when one’s thoughts are defined by one’s needs
disregard grows for races and creeds
dare not leave my cup empty
it is 4 PM tea
you are grown now, don’t show me your seeds

***

not a day is complete until this:
everybody I meet I must piss
a reliable servant
needs guidance most fervent
if the words do not come, just a hiss 

 —Public Domain Photo 

Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

My Dad’s black leather wallet has always sort of stuck out from his back right pants’ pocket
    Nope, no “cool and slim” fashionable-looking wallet carried within my Dad’s bottom silhouette
    In fact he’s always carried stuff within his four pants’ pockets that says he’s like a “nerd”
    but for that he don’t care—
    Just like when I was a kid, he’ll still even pull out of one his other pants’ pockets a little black-covered notebook in which to write
    even though now in his 80’s he supposedly knows how to take down info such as addresses and numbers on his app phone
    Of course, I’ve always been most grateful of all when he pulls some money out from his wallet pocket when he decides to help “provide”…


—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento, CA

 —Public Domain Photo 

Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

I have to thank Katy Brown for learning what the small fifth jean pocket is for
            She joked on her Facebook page that it was “to hold the money one would earn for poetry”
            I responded that I thought it was to "hold a cigarette lighter”—
            because I thought it was probably for a “cool” tie-in with the tobacco industry to promote smoking
            (yes it’s been used to carry lighters but that’s not why it was introduced)
            Brown, though, corrected me and told me to look it up, that it was actually introduced as a “watch pocket”
            Indeed I find out that Levis added the watch pocket in 1873
            Watches were then held on chains, and the fifth pocket was to help protect them from damage


—Michelle Kunert

 —Public Domain Photo 

Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

I’ve got petitions online to re-open tattoo parlors despite restrictions in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic
       Even before that, I was never convinced that getting tattoos was medically necessary
       and I’m still not convinced that tattoo parlors are safe from blood-tranferrable diseases among customers, including HIV
       Even legit medical clinics and dental offices have trouble properly sterilizing all equipment used upon clients
       It’s not regulated enough to see just who is properly checking that inking equipment used is hygienic and clean 
       To me a possible infection or allergy to tattoo ink is not worth paying the costly price of such a risk   
        I’ve noticed, though, that so many I know who pay up to get tattoos to cosmetically modify their bodies
        somehow also seem to have trouble affording vital necessities—
        so much so that they may even be financial close to ending up homeless and on the street
        I’ve had to say my priorities in my life are far more important than getting any tattoos
        and that has included spending thousands of dollars on dental surgeries to save my teeth


—Michelle Kunert

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

WHEREFROM COMES THE DIRT ON FLOORS?
—Joseph Nolan
 
Do you know where
The dirt on your floor
Comes from?
How it gets there?
It seems to arrive,
Pre-packaged,
In splotches, drips
Drabs and smears
With instructions
“To just put it anywhere.”

It looks the same
From day-to-day
As though it does not care
About the latest fashions.
I am sorely tempted,
But never would I dare,
To shout out loud
Or place a sign
Outside my door that says,
“No dirt allowed!”

 You want a piece of me??
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

STARTING TO TRICKLE DOWN
—Joseph Nolan

It’s finally starting to trickle down!
They told us to stay home.
We don’t have go to work, anymore.
The feds will send us six hundred a week
Upon stop of state unemployment.

We’re starting to feel like landlords,
Where we get our money,
Almost for free,
Like manna falling from Heaven,
‘Til halfway through the summer, at least—
Man, this is such a breeze!

Before, we thought, when it trickled down,
If ever,
Oh ever,
It did,
It would just be rich-people’s urine
Dripping on our heads,

But now we find
Our accounts are full,
Fuller than ever before,
And we don’t even have to work for it.
We just have to stay indoors.

There’s lots of movies on Netflix,
Though the libraries are all closed.
I guess they don’t respect our minds?
Instead, they amuse us with shows.

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

WINTER’S WITHDRAWAL
—Joseph Nolan
 
It was Winter
In the mountains
When we found
We must withdraw.

To accomplish
Our ambitions
Would require
Springtime’s thaw.

We humped all
Our equipment
Back down the
Rocky trails,
With somberness
That never fails,
Facing fate’s
Stark awe.

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

PRAYING FOR SOMETHING
—Joseph Nolan

It’s just a couple of steps
From here to nowhere.
We look out and stare
Into infinity,
Instead of within,
Which is where
He said it would be.

We struggle
With uncertainty
And fear of the unknown.
We yearn for places,
Chairs and stages,
A place for us to be,
Some sort of belonging,
Some sense of certainty,
And would easily
Scald a sacred altar,
Not once or twice,
But thrice,
And pledge allegiance
To the Devil,
With our tears,
As we go through the years,
Praying for something
Inside us—
Love instead of fears.

____________________

Today’s LittleNip:

BEYOND MANILLA
—Joseph Nolan

Practice idealism realistically
Or realism, idealistically.
Think of how your envelope
Might stretch
So you lick it more
Than before
When it was just
Plain manilla.
And seal it up lightly
When you know
What goes
Inside.

_____________________

Monday is here again, and today’s artists have painted us pictures and stories of subjects all the way from current events to pockets, and even to tattoos! Our thanks to this potpourri of poets, and a warning to stay indoors during this week’s 100+ weather!

Editor Gail Entrekin from the Bay Area writes that the Summer issue of Canary is now available online at canarylitmag.org, a longer-than-usual issue which includes a petition to end the use of plastics on our fragile planet.

Here in our area, Sac. Poetry Center uses Zoom online for weekly readings and workshops. Tonight’s reading will feature Richard Hoffman and Charles Coe at 6:30pm. For more info, go to www.sacramentopoetrycenter.com/. Also this week, on Fri., 7:30pm: Video poetry reading on Facebook by Davis Poet Laureate James Lee Jobe at james-lee-jobe.blogspot.com/.

For more about El Dorado County poetry events, check Western Slope El Dorado on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ElDoradoCountyPoetry/.

_____________________

—Medusa (stay cool and stay safe!)

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joseph Nolan

Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.

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All you have to do is send poetry and/or
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The snakes of Medusa are always hungry!