En-light-ened

 

Smoky Sky
—Poetry and Photos by Cynthia Linville,
Rocklin, CA

LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT

Some friends are considering Europe
       19-centimeter hailstone found in Italy
       wildfires roll through Greece

or maybe Alaska
       melting permafrost releases new diseases
       buildings sink into soggy ground

or perhaps just hunkering down
       insurers no longer cover rebuilding
       we’re seeing “bunker-defeat” capabilities

No matter where you are
       smoke blankets the nation
       scientists record unprecedented temps

billions invested cannot fix this
       failing transportation, communication, 

       education
       loss of food, health, emergency services

The headlines shout
       this is the Age of Constant Disaster
       get used to it

Sartre was right
       there is no exit

 

 

 

 San Gorgonio Pass

 

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

Nothing is as quiet as dust
From a distance, it looks like peace

Hands filled with flowers
brushed by the wind

Unsorry bones
Karma, she said

Disasters keep breaking in
All you have to do is open yourself—

Take it directly on the chin
before you lose everything

Snow like eggshells
that kind of light

The sky empties
Seeing so far ahead that we can’t focus

What time is sunset these days?
The in-between is fatal

Composing our faces
when skin can’t hold us in

She’s someone different now
She’s something else now

Dried flower petals turned to dust
beautiful in their silence

 

 

 

 Goat Rock

 

NATURE WALK

Her hands hold themselves together—
one warm, one cold

She wonders if the rain will ever stop
if the mist will lift

She stumbles over a heart-shaped root
and ponders her own heart
her own roots

She wonders if there’s some better
version of herself she’s forgotten

Coastal purples float over her skin—
desire tingles the soles of her feet

Regret is like a haunting
as if only half of her were here

She wanders towards the promise of light

 

 

 

 Eat Your Heart 

 

EN-LIGHT-ENED

It’s right in front of her
reflected in the glass door

a light shining through
the fabric of her life

a soft pulsing within
     I love
     I want
     I lost
     I am

beating steadily
over and over again

 

 

 

 Joshua Tree

 

Today’s LittleNip:

Fall in love with your day one moment at at time.

—Jodi Livon

___________________

—Medusa, thanking Cynthia Linville for her fine poetry and photos today!

 

 

 

 Sunbaked Moon Phoenix
—Photo by Cynthia Linville




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A note that Poet Chris Olander will be

reading at Seven Stars Gallery in 

Nevada City Friday night, along w/musicians 

Tynowyn and "Ukulele" Dan Scanlan. 

For info about this and other

upcoming poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page.

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—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!

 

LittleSnake’s Glimmer of Hope:
peace of the lotus blossom:
where are you when
I need you the most…?