Sunday, March 24, 2024

Mystic Lovers

 —Collaborative Poetry (tan-renga)
by Uchechukwu Onyedikam of Lagos, Nigeria,
and Christina Chin of Malaysia
(Italicized lines are by italicized authors)
—Orchid Photos Courtesy of Public Domain
 
 
closer…
the sound of horse hoofs

the melody
in her heart
the strums of banjo 


Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam

* * *

her love—
a masterpiece
of cosmic pull

bridging the gulf of two
distant fervent hearts

Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam 
 
 
 
 

expecting a beloved—
she arranges the orchids
in a certain way

a mystic lover
worthy of note

Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam

* * *


oh beloved
across the bridge
come
stay a while till
the stars are gone


—Uchechukwu Onyedikam/Christina Chin
 
 
 


a sudden hostility
of normal period

lights off—
clinging onto him tightly
the reptilian skin rips

Uchechukwu Onyedikam/Christina Chin


* * *


the toad
flicks its tongue
the taste of liver
washed down with
a glass of red wine


—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam 
 
 
 
 

ancestral spirit—
cemented on the rocks
pawprints
the dangling pendant
of the neckpiece


—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam

* * *

half awake
slowly reaching
for the phone alarm   
   
only takes deep night to rise
the full yellow sun

Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam 
 
 
 
 


ailing african child
in the book
of yesterday
reads about
a strange city boy


—Uchechukwu Onyedikam/Christina Chin

* * *

chaka chak
song

to the rhythm
of whirling wind      
festival dance 


—Christina Chin/Uchechukwu Onyedikam


_____________________

Today’s LittleNip:

If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.

—Alfred Tennyson

_____________________

Welcome back to the Kitchen to Uchechukwu Onyedikam and Christina Chin, who first visited us with their intriguing tan-renga collaborations on Jan. 25 of this year. For more about these poets, go to https://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/01/dark-moonearthrise.html/. For more about tan-renga, see https://www.graceguts.com/essays/an-introduction-to-tan-renga/.

_____________________

—Medusa, with condolences to SnakePal Taylor Graham, whose dog, Loki, passed away last night. Orchids to you, Loki, and to TG, too.
 
 
 

 










 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A reminder that
Storytelling Sundays
takes place in Placerville
this afternoon, 4pm.
For info about this and other
 future 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—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
 during the week.

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.

Find previous four-or-so posts by scrolling down
under today; or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column; or find previous poets
by typing the name of the poet or poem
 into the little beige box at the top
left-hand side of today’s post; or go to
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom of
the blue column at the right
 to find the date you want.

Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
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!