—Poetry by Taylor Graham, Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down for
Form Fiddlers’ Friday!!
IN SPITE OF LIGHT POLLUTION
The neighbor to the east across the swale
has hit the switch for his tenth-of-a-mile long
holiday colored lights extravaganza.
I walk out our back door
facing north for the solace of dark
and its natural lights.
There she is, a bit fuzzy
from rural-urban light pollution
but still one of the brightest—
Capella the Goat Star.
She glows yellow-warm,
homey as sheep cuddled in the shed.
I pause to greet her, my winter star
(three stars if I had a telescope—nanny
Goat with two goat-kids).
She only seems small
because of distance, outshining
my neighbor by so many miles.
The neighbor to the east across the swale
has hit the switch for his tenth-of-a-mile long
holiday colored lights extravaganza.
I walk out our back door
facing north for the solace of dark
and its natural lights.
There she is, a bit fuzzy
from rural-urban light pollution
but still one of the brightest—
Capella the Goat Star.
She glows yellow-warm,
homey as sheep cuddled in the shed.
I pause to greet her, my winter star
(three stars if I had a telescope—nanny
Goat with two goat-kids).
She only seems small
because of distance, outshining
my neighbor by so many miles.
DEC 21, 5:45 A.M.
I didn’t hear the owl
in this dark between lights,
I didn’t hear a bell
from unnoted distance
we’re waiting for new dawn
my shepherd dog and I
the cat reveals nothing
about any morning
BACKHAND
Frozen
fields at dawn—
I peel a disk
of ice off bucket,
my brief frisbee
skimming sparks
of light.
WINTER BREAK
Sweaters,
jackets, caps
waiting for school
bell to call the kids back
to reclaim them,
to take them
back home.
SHOOTING THE DOE
December sun slants low and I’m doing
kitchen stuff. I look up and there you are
looking up at me from grazing, surprised
to see me moving inside sliding glass.
More graceful than wrought-iron filigree
you are, almost fading into foggy-
gray of world around you. Slowly I aim
my camera as you compose my shot
without moving, gauging my intention.
What can I catch of you, thru lens and glass?
PHOTO SHOOT
December sun
slants low thru the window
on my kitchen-stuff.
Look up, there you are
grazing—lifting head
surprised to see me
inside kitchen-glass watching you watch me.
December sun
can’t find anything
in my landscape
more graceful than you
slowly composing
my camera shot
for me—recording you for memory.
December sun
slants low thru the window
on my kitchen-stuff.
Look up, there you are
grazing—lifting head
surprised to see me
inside kitchen-glass watching you watch me.
December sun
can’t find anything
in my landscape
more graceful than you
slowly composing
my camera shot
for me—recording you for memory.
Today’s LittleNip:
FUNGUS-BREAD
—Taylor Graham
Small dough-balls rising,
goldening in December’s
frosty earth oven.
__________________
Good day to you as we tip over into 2023, and thanks to Taylor Graham for these poems as we close off 2022. About two of her poems today, she writes, “You'll see that ‘Shooting the Doe’ and ‘Photo Shoot’ are the same situation—I did it in Blank Verse, then got the Duodora Triple-F Challenge and decided to try that too…” Interesting it is, to try different forms using the same subject, yes? Other forms TG has used this week include the Lyrette (“Backhand” and “Winter Break”); a Haiku (“Fungus-Bread”); Normative Syllabics (“Dec, 21, 5:45 A.M.”); some Blank Verse (“Shooting the Doe”); and a Duodora (“Photo Shoot”).
And now it’s time for . . .
Form Fiddlers' Friday! (Don’t let these forms be Alien to you!)
There’s also a newly dusted-off page at the top of Medusa’s Kitchen called, “FORMS! OMG!!!” which expresses some of my (take ‘em or leave 'em) opinions about the use of forms in poetry writing, as well as listing some more resources to help you navigate through Form Quicksand. Got any more resources to add to our list? Send them to kathykieth@hotmail.com for the benefit of all man/woman/poetkind!
Last Week’s Ekphrastic Challenge
Here are some poems written in response to last week’s Ekphrastic Challenge:
DISTORTED IMAGE
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
laptops strewn on tabletop
atomic watch on primate’s wrist
all agree as to bias
pull out a classic wrench and
torture it, force the inevitable gnarl
in this elusive warp of time
* * *
HEAR
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Hear, it seems some common life,
web-spread image, worldwide use,
question marks or how to deal,
calculator, laptop keys.
Cookies telling of our tastes,
coffee jug or juice to drink,
desktop exercise on site,
finger pointing, compass, map.
TV seen by aerial,
save spies in the sky, take note.
With that observed, given pause,
it’s too true of image lent;
has that wrought been prompted pic,
vice versa, as you read?
No TV in working mode,
bar a sneaky catch-up peek.
Draughting outline from the map,
plotting what, by whom, and where;
survey here not aerial,
save spy in the sky, take note.
* * *
Nolcha Fox sent this reponse to the photo above; her inspiration was the idea of “shooting” a photo from above the subject, which Stephen also mentioned:
Creepy baby, crawl
up the window, hang from the ceiling,
with sinister smile and demon eyes.
They locked you up this Halloween.
But you will escape by late spring
to eat flies.
And tourists.
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
(prev. pub. in Five Fleas, 2022)
* * *
“Mea culpa, I chained Marianne.” By that, Caschwa (Carl Schwartz) means that he has composed a Marianne form in a chain:
GAME FILMS
—Caschwa
we lost the game
so we studied the films
to learn how not to be so lame
and not repeat
the same
if only we
could use this practice skill
to strengthen rules for liberty
my country ‘tis
of thee
* * *
Carl has also sent a Baccresiezé, another one of our recent Triple-F Challenges:
NOISY DEW DROPS
—Caschwa
stepped out to fetch morning paper
stood there holding morning paper
moist leaves on lawn were popping like
rain on tin roof
the walkways, dry with their own proof
leaves sautéed in the morning dew
stepped out to fetch morning paper
rain on tin roof
the paper forecast early fog
but I sure know what I did hear
a sound that mirrored a cloudburst
rain on tin roof
* * *
And here is a Logolift, also from Carl:
—Caschwa
stepped out to fetch morning paper
stood there holding morning paper
moist leaves on lawn were popping like
rain on tin roof
the walkways, dry with their own proof
leaves sautéed in the morning dew
stepped out to fetch morning paper
rain on tin roof
the paper forecast early fog
but I sure know what I did hear
a sound that mirrored a cloudburst
rain on tin roof
* * *
And here is a Logolift, also from Carl:
CAST IN STONE
—Caschwa
people shape their world to suit them
perfect quorum
last laugh
the explanation for misfits
where logic quits:
witchcraft
rush to find a magic dancer
the quick answer
cat’s paw
this will normally ease our ache
burn them at stake
hurrah!
* * *
Here is a Monoku from Nolcha Fox. She writes, “My youngest dog had never seen me do yoga before, and she was so excited to have me sitting at floor level. She gives joy a more appetizing meaning, sort of, in this Monoku:”
My dog gnaws on my mudras during Kundalini yoga.
—Nolcha Fox
* * *
And here is an Ekphrastic poem from Stephen Kingsnorth, based on a photo that was posted in the Kitchen on Thursday, Dec. 22. As the year turns, we begin to think about green, about slowly emerging Spring, and about our old pal, the Greenman:
GREENMAN
—Stephen Kingsnorth
I never saw The Greenman,
except when barred at pubs,
or labelled on the bus-stop
outside that local inn.
His face carved on some pew-ends
where misery, accord—
syncretism, pagan part—
insurance, both gods’ home?
But when search woodland pathways
where lichen grows on trees,
I wonder if his fingers
or toes are seen in roots.
They may be veins, varicose,
the old man’s legs blue-green;
even blood, arterial,
from sacrifice above?
May be a dried-up torrent,
white rush of water glued,
well, thickened by pollution,
green algae filaments?
Perhaps pine where Sycorax
imprisoned Ariel,
or barking up the wrong tree,
a prompt for witches’ hex?
A mystery to thoughtless,
telegrammatic wires,
that undergrowth connection,
where mycorrhiza webbed?
Do you not think The Greenman
has long made calls by trunk;
or, over pond, long distance—
an uncreative branch?
If folk fail with their message,
then leave it to the plants,
but do take language lessons,
so overhear complaints?
We should start bloomin’ talking,
the stigma take away,
and live as worthy tenants.
so jubilee proclaimed?
I’ll issue written stamen,
come, spread that pollen, bees,
so annual or biennial,
whole harvest cropped when seen.
But each cut splits the sap stem—
more effort for the plant,
determined reproduction,
so each gene leaves its mark?
___________________
Many thanks to our SnakePals for their brave fiddling! Would you like to be a SnakePal? All you have to do is send poetry—forms or not—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!
___________________
TRIPLE-F CHALLENGES!
•••Minuette: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
AND/OR in the same resource, scroll down to the Octain (we could all use a higher Octain/octane these days):
•••Octain: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
AND/OR the Octodil:
•••Octodil: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••See also the bottom of this post for another challenge, this one an Ekphrastic Photo.
•••And don’t forget each Tuesday’s Seed of the Week! This week it’s “Joy”.
____________________
MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry terms mentioned today:
•••Baccresiezé: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Blank Verse: literarydevices.net/blank-verse AND/OR www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-the-difference-between-blank-verse-and-free-verse#quiz-0
•••Duodora: from Viola Berg’s book, Pathways for the Poet: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Ekphrastic Poem: notesofoak.com/discover-literature/ekphrastic-poetry
•••Haiku: www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html
•••Logolift: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Lyrette: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Marianne: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Minuette: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Monoku: https://www.waleshaikujournal.com/post/monoku
•••Normative Syllabics: hellopoetry.com/collection/108/normative-syllabic-free-verse AND/OR lewisturco.typepad.com/poetics/normative-syllabic-verse
•••Octain: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Octodil: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
For more about meter, see:
•••www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-iambic-pentameter-definition-literature
•••www.pandorapost.com/2021/05/examples-of-iambic-pentameter-tetrameter-and-trimeter-in-poetry.html
•••nosweatshakespeare.com/sonnets/iambic-pentameter
•••www.thoughtco.com/introducing-iambic-pentameter-2985082
•••www.nfi.edu/iambic-pentameter
____________________
—Medusa
Today's Ekphrastic Challenge!
See what you can make of the above
photo, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
***
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