—Poetry by Joseph Nolan and Carl Schwartz
—Photos of Sacramento’s “Chalk It Up” by
Michelle Kunert, Sacramento, CA
MOBILE-HOME PARKS AND LAMPREY-EELS
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
Why should we
Worry
About
Mobile-home parks,
That try to reach
For shade,
Occupied,
By the retired,
Who plan how
They have made
Some place,
Where they
Might be saved,
From greedy landlords
Sucking-it-up,
Like lamprey-eels
Bite to skin
And suck out
All the blood
They can!
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
Why should we
Worry
About
Mobile-home parks,
That try to reach
For shade,
Occupied,
By the retired,
Who plan how
They have made
Some place,
Where they
Might be saved,
From greedy landlords
Sucking-it-up,
Like lamprey-eels
Bite to skin
And suck out
All the blood
They can!
GETTING A LIFE AND A DOG
—Joseph Nolan
You need to want
To need to want
To get a life
And get a dog.
Without a dog,
What good
Could your life
Ever be?
Unconditional love!
For the pittance-price
Of annual dog-tags,
Pet food, vet-visits,
De-wormers, flea meds
And dog-leashes.
Don’t forget the leashes,
One for your back-door,
One for your car,
One for the huge pockets of
Your favorite winter jacket.
Your beast will be eager
To go out any time you are.
In time, it might even learn to
Fetch the leash on its own
And remind you
It’s time for your walk.
_____________________
READY TO DISCONNECT
—Joseph Nolan
She lived with her
Finger on the button,
Labeled, “Disconnect!”
Hooked-up
To seats,
Ready for
Ejection.
It would only take
A little push
To set the
Whole thing off.
Energy,
Electricity,
Could convey,
When it was time
To push away.
There would be
But little warning,
No sirens on display,
To signal to
Innocent bystanders
To get out of the way.
—Joseph Nolan
You need to want
To need to want
To get a life
And get a dog.
Without a dog,
What good
Could your life
Ever be?
Unconditional love!
For the pittance-price
Of annual dog-tags,
Pet food, vet-visits,
De-wormers, flea meds
And dog-leashes.
Don’t forget the leashes,
One for your back-door,
One for your car,
One for the huge pockets of
Your favorite winter jacket.
Your beast will be eager
To go out any time you are.
In time, it might even learn to
Fetch the leash on its own
And remind you
It’s time for your walk.
_____________________
READY TO DISCONNECT
—Joseph Nolan
She lived with her
Finger on the button,
Labeled, “Disconnect!”
Hooked-up
To seats,
Ready for
Ejection.
It would only take
A little push
To set the
Whole thing off.
Energy,
Electricity,
Could convey,
When it was time
To push away.
There would be
But little warning,
No sirens on display,
To signal to
Innocent bystanders
To get out of the way.
INSIDE A DREAM
—Joseph Nolan
Were I to wander,
Aimlessly,
Through gardens,
Overgrown,
And left untended,
Seemingly,
Unending,
As though
Inside a dream
And everything
That happened to me,
Seemed as though
It were unto another.
Another
Identity
Might do as well,
To fill
A hollow, empty shell,
That shelters
What might be,
Inside a dream.
_____________________
FAST TRACK PROFILING
—Caschwa
welcome to the age of
instantaneous info
we need it now!
promptly
ASAP
for example, you can
tell a lot about a
person just
from their
name
cops pull over some
half naked fellow
who looks into
clouds and
speaks
hey, what’s your name
wise, guy? speak up
Jesus of Nazareth?
we’ll check your
rap sheet
yeah, just like we thought
you snuck across the
border without the
proper papers
lock him up
we have to send the message
that you can’t just show up
at our doorstep and
expect bread and
water
—Joseph Nolan
Were I to wander,
Aimlessly,
Through gardens,
Overgrown,
And left untended,
Seemingly,
Unending,
As though
Inside a dream
And everything
That happened to me,
Seemed as though
It were unto another.
Another
Identity
Might do as well,
To fill
A hollow, empty shell,
That shelters
What might be,
Inside a dream.
_____________________
FAST TRACK PROFILING
—Caschwa
welcome to the age of
instantaneous info
we need it now!
promptly
ASAP
for example, you can
tell a lot about a
person just
from their
name
cops pull over some
half naked fellow
who looks into
clouds and
speaks
hey, what’s your name
wise, guy? speak up
Jesus of Nazareth?
we’ll check your
rap sheet
yeah, just like we thought
you snuck across the
border without the
proper papers
lock him up
we have to send the message
that you can’t just show up
at our doorstep and
expect bread and
water
TAKING CARE OF BEARNESS
—Caschwa
it had been their job
for longer than memory
to tend the woods
step out of the lair to
hunt and gather food
now gone are the trees
the scents and aromas
of a forested bio-system,
replaced by bipeds, mo-
peds, bad air quality
plats, plots, fences, tar,
asphalt, lumber jacks,
plastic wrapped snacks,
tax, cracks in the sidewalk
lots and lots of talkity talk
those bipeds worship the
volcano gods and start
fires everywhere they can
diminishing wood, until
gone are the trees…
____________________
CAN’T TELL
—Caschwa
George Eliot:
“Don't judge a book by its cover”
back in the ancient days
of computer punch cards
I was hit while riding my
motorcycle
that left its marks
my ankle now sports a
concave dent that on the
surface looks like a wound
that healed, except when
arthritis visits, it has all the
stability of a giant sink hole
_____________________
Today’s LittleNip:
WORDS OF WISDOM
—Caschwa
I had success finding my
keys and my glasses, but
then there were some very
special words of wisdom
that seem to have snuck
off like dogs that dig escape
tunnels under the fences to
explore the great beyond
if only there was a way to put
a leash on words that want to
stray, to bind them in the mind
so they are easy to find…
__________________
—Caschwa
it had been their job
for longer than memory
to tend the woods
step out of the lair to
hunt and gather food
now gone are the trees
the scents and aromas
of a forested bio-system,
replaced by bipeds, mo-
peds, bad air quality
plats, plots, fences, tar,
asphalt, lumber jacks,
plastic wrapped snacks,
tax, cracks in the sidewalk
lots and lots of talkity talk
those bipeds worship the
volcano gods and start
fires everywhere they can
diminishing wood, until
gone are the trees…
____________________
CAN’T TELL
—Caschwa
George Eliot:
“Don't judge a book by its cover”
back in the ancient days
of computer punch cards
I was hit while riding my
motorcycle
that left its marks
my ankle now sports a
concave dent that on the
surface looks like a wound
that healed, except when
arthritis visits, it has all the
stability of a giant sink hole
_____________________
Today’s LittleNip:
WORDS OF WISDOM
—Caschwa
I had success finding my
keys and my glasses, but
then there were some very
special words of wisdom
that seem to have snuck
off like dogs that dig escape
tunnels under the fences to
explore the great beyond
if only there was a way to put
a leash on words that want to
stray, to bind them in the mind
so they are easy to find…
__________________
Our thanks to today's contributors for their lively poems and pix! Tonight (9/13), at 7:30pm, Sac. Poetry Center’s Socially Distant Verse presents Jameson Magdaleno, Sharon Mahany, and James Lewis on Zoom at us04web.zoom.us/j/7638733462/. (Password: r3trnofsdv/.) Facebook info: www.facebook.com/events/369841431286217/.
This Thurs. (9/16), from 6-8pm: A reading by participants in the first Firehouse Sessions workshop: poems inspired by the MARKING THEIR TRAIL exhibition of Basque arborglyphs in the Sierra. Readers include Taylor Graham, Beatrice Pizer, Jacob Sandigo, Sue Crisp, Rina Wakefield. Confidence Firehouse Gallery, 487 Main St., Placerville. Host: Lara Gularte.
Sat. (9/18), 6-7:30pm: Third Sat. Placerville Art Walk Open Mic. TooGood Cellars, 304 Main St., Placerville. Host: Lara Gularte. Bring a poem or be an audience.
Sat. (9/18), 5pm: William O’Daly writes to say that he will be receiving the second annual American Literary Award this Saturday, curated by the Korean-American journal Miju Poetry and Poetics, for his poem “For Neruda,” which first appeared in his chapbook, The Road to Isla Negra (Folded Word Press). The ceremony will include the awarding of two other honors, remarks from the awardees, and readings of the awarded poems. Go to Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/9158342147?pwd=U2R0dEdnRFZEU2xJYnF1WkZWeGRSZz09/. Meeting ID: 915 834 2147 (Passcode: 9191).
And Sun. (9/19), 10am-12pm: The next Capturing Wakamatsu poetry workshop will be held at Wakamatsu Farm, the historic farm that is the home of winemakers and cattle ranchers and the first Japanese Colony in North America. The workshop will be facilitated by Taylor Graham and Katy Brown, who will lead an exploration of woods and fields, big pond, and surroundings. Take photos if you wish. There will be quiet time for participants to write a poem inspired by what they’ve experienced, and to share poems with the group and American River Conservancy. Children 8+ welcome with adult supervision. Suggested Donation: $5/members, $10/non-members. Visit www.ARConservancy.org; click on About—News & Events—Calendar; scroll down to Capturing Wakamatsu, click on "Find out more" then REGISTRATION LINK. Event subject to COVID protocol.
This Thurs. (9/16), from 6-8pm: A reading by participants in the first Firehouse Sessions workshop: poems inspired by the MARKING THEIR TRAIL exhibition of Basque arborglyphs in the Sierra. Readers include Taylor Graham, Beatrice Pizer, Jacob Sandigo, Sue Crisp, Rina Wakefield. Confidence Firehouse Gallery, 487 Main St., Placerville. Host: Lara Gularte.
Sat. (9/18), 6-7:30pm: Third Sat. Placerville Art Walk Open Mic. TooGood Cellars, 304 Main St., Placerville. Host: Lara Gularte. Bring a poem or be an audience.
Sat. (9/18), 5pm: William O’Daly writes to say that he will be receiving the second annual American Literary Award this Saturday, curated by the Korean-American journal Miju Poetry and Poetics, for his poem “For Neruda,” which first appeared in his chapbook, The Road to Isla Negra (Folded Word Press). The ceremony will include the awarding of two other honors, remarks from the awardees, and readings of the awarded poems. Go to Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/9158342147?pwd=U2R0dEdnRFZEU2xJYnF1WkZWeGRSZz09/. Meeting ID: 915 834 2147 (Passcode: 9191).
And Sun. (9/19), 10am-12pm: The next Capturing Wakamatsu poetry workshop will be held at Wakamatsu Farm, the historic farm that is the home of winemakers and cattle ranchers and the first Japanese Colony in North America. The workshop will be facilitated by Taylor Graham and Katy Brown, who will lead an exploration of woods and fields, big pond, and surroundings. Take photos if you wish. There will be quiet time for participants to write a poem inspired by what they’ve experienced, and to share poems with the group and American River Conservancy. Children 8+ welcome with adult supervision. Suggested Donation: $5/members, $10/non-members. Visit www.ARConservancy.org; click on About—News & Events—Calendar; scroll down to Capturing Wakamatsu, click on "Find out more" then REGISTRATION LINK. Event subject to COVID protocol.
Cover, Issue 26 of Ginosko Literary Journal
Issue 26 of Ginosko Literary Journal, edited by Robert Paul Cesaretti and now online, is available at GinoskoLiteraryJournal.com/. The journal is now accepting submissions for Issue 27.
Cover, Pratik: A Magazine of Contemporary Writing
The Spring issue of the quarterly Pratik: A Magazine of Contemporary Writing (Special Los Angeles Poetry Issue: The Ghosts of Paradise) is now available. Founded by Nepalese poet, Hari Adhikary, and edited by Yuyutsu RD Sharma, Pratik is a purely non-profit literary publication and is published by White Lotus Book Shop, Kathmandu for Mrs. Prabha Adhikary. They welcome contributions of poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews and translations. All input should go to The Editor, Pratik, yuyutsurd@gmail.com/. Info: www.facebook.com/Pratik-A-Magazine-of-Contemporary-Writing-1991548934395734/.cover/.
__________________
—Medusa
__________________
—Medusa
—Public Domain Cartoon 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.
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
All you have to do is send poetry and/or
photos and artwork to
kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world, including
that which was previously-published.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
All you have to do is send poetry and/or
photos and artwork to
kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
work from all over the world, including
that which was previously-published.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
