Darkness, Light, & Comfort Food

 Mirror Shield Two
—Digital Collaboration by Robert Fleming and Jon Wesick

* * *

—Poetry by Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
Caschwa, Joe Nolan, Shiva Neupane,
and Keith Snow
—Gorgon Visuals by Robert Fleming, Jon Wesick
—Public Domain Visuals Courtesy of 

Stephen Kingsnorth, Joe Nolan, Shiva Neupane,
and Medusa 

I’M VOTING FOR MY DOG FOR PRESIDENT
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY

Her little body wags because
she knows you’re going to love her.
She stands on two hind legs
and hugs your thigh. Awwww.
Her Phyllis Diller hair waves in
the wind to send you kisses.
When you talk too much she yawns
and begs you for a treat. Because
she’s sweet and she deserves it.
When you get up to get a treat,
she hides your hat and gloves
in places you won’t find them.
She runs outside to chase
the FedEx truck. She defends you
and distracts you so you leave
and wonder why you’re so darned cold.

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Stephen Kingsnorth

GRAVE GUARANTEE
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales

“In Nature there is darkness as well as light, and
all shades in between.”
—Soul of the Ocean, PBS Presentation 

So many love the nature walk,
though roadkill squashed on nearby road,
the hedgehog, badger, carrion,
mere tarmac smear, tomorrow gone,
where only willow sheds a tear.

A throstle pipes fine melody,
thrush mate has smashed the shell of snail
beyond the pearly trail of slime,
our words, a judgement in the trial
of predator or prey involved.

What sentence then do we pronounce
on jackal, scavenger at large,
hyena, hunched, gore-dripping snout
that it may feed its young with meat
like mother from her Sunday joint?

Or fox, through chicken wire with craft,
where feathers fly by headless neck,
while hunt flies past in gaudy red,
stags torn to shreds near blooded youths,
and cubs are clubbed to feed the hounds?

As batteries cage floodlit hens,
by those atop in nature’s reign,
still apple pie and mistletoe—
reliant thrush, snail-wiping beak—
fight for core lifeblood, xylem, phloem,

Our language is so rarely grey,
and even veldt, director’s cut,
the chase is shown, but not the kill—
more often failure in pursuit,
a sighed relief, though offspring starve.

The jungle lore, though sunset bathed,
glows red with beauty, tooth and claw,
in gory glory, palate mix,
as palette, carmine fevered blood,
the stage where puppets not allowed,
but grave, the only guarantee. 

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Stephen Kingsnorth

PULLING DOWN THE BLINDS
—Nolcha Fox

In Nature there is darkness as well
as light, and all shades in between.
It’s all too overwhelming.
I can’t deal with the change.
And so I shut the window,
pull down blinds, close all the curtains.
Nature can go natural
and I don’t have to watch it.

 

 

 

 Mirror Shield One
—Digital Collaboration by Robert Fleming and Jon Wesick

SALT TO TASTE
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

(in response to a recent
Seed of the Week,
“Brazen”)

reheated food
repeated jokes
conceited mood
zero sugar Cokes

perpetual motion
consensual sex
habitual ocean
let’s have Tex Mex

presumption of innocence
consumption of falsities
a gumption for common sense
all night diners, giant cities

destination peace
contemplation deep
abomination beast
all gathered in a heap

allegiance to the flag
preponderance of doubt
abundance of drag
it’s a party but we’re left out

concern we’re not dressed right
adjourn to the alleyway
the big burn will last all night
food is sparse, grab some anyway

adorable dreams invite themselves in
affordable housing yet escapes our reach
horrible politicians living in sin
huge revenue streams give them yachts at the beach 

 

 

 

—Public Domain Art Courtesy of Medusa

ALL DONE
—Caschwa

(in response to a recent
Seed of the Week,
“The Imperative to Stash”)

yes
done
I voted
ballot received
and counted, too
now stashed away
where I can’t touch it
you can argue your position
and I might even change my mind
more likely to be hit by lightning
but I can’t change my ballot
we’ll just have to live with it
for better or for worse
until death do we part
my vote will not
be subject to
opinion
polls
no

 

 

 

 Mirror Shield Three
—Digital Collaboration by Robert Fleming and Jon Wesick

HURRICANE HELENE
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA

The Devil is strong in the rain—
The pouring down of a river
That floats through a raging sky.

The crashing in
Of waves to the shore
That rise above
And over-pour
Seawalls
Meant to block them.

They open the dams
When the dams are weak
And let the heavens’ torrent
Wash down a river’s chasm

Through homes and farms
All washed away.
They say they had
No choice
And it’s better this way,
Than if the dam broke through.
Things would be much worse.

The measure of catastrophe
Is a scale of
Screams, moans and cries—
Bodies, helpless,
Washed away,
Before onlookers’ eyes.

Catastrophe’s cacophony—
The staggering mass
Of loss--
Unprecedented,
A thousand-year flood,
Almost every season
Arrives from year-to-year.

 

 

 

—Public Domain Art Courtesy of Medusa

BUICK DESIRE
—Joe Nolan

Maybe I
Should buy
A classic Buick
With which
To worship
The sky?

Something that
So runs on
Four wheels
That it show you
How it feels
To be together
When you are apart—
When you have
A wounded heart
That still wants to
Celebrate
As if it were forgiven?

 

 

 

—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joe Nolan

POURING CREAM
—Joe Nolan

I’m pouring cream
Pouring cream
In a dream
In a dream
I’m filling up
Your cup,
Your cup,
We’re gonna wake
Your baby up,
Baby up,
The one that sleeps
Inside you,
Deep inside you
And when we wake
Your baby up
Baby up
We’ll dream another dream
Of family.

 

 

 

Are these all for me??
—Public Domain Art Courtesy of Medusa

COMFORT FOOD
—Joe Nolan

Comfort comes
In many colors,
Flavors, feels
And scents.

Every country
Has its cuisine.
Its people
Are its larger
Family.

They gather
Every evening
To cook
And eat
And rest,

And every night,
Throughout the night,
The baby
Gets the breast.

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Shiva Neupane

THE FIRST FOOD DICTIONARY OF NEPAL
—Shiva Neupane, Melbourne, Australia
 
I was over the moon
Upon the completion
of my food dictionary.
The river of sweat
Over the years has
Come to fruition
And, the ruthless  
Culinary gladiatorial
Strife has overcome
The kitchen nightmares.
 
I made history
In Nepal by hitting
The shelves with the books.
And the happiness
Poured on the face of cooks.

__________________

Today’s LittleNip:

Kim called James Jay-bird
he did not like that nickname
her lips were so soft.

—Keith Snow, Harrisburg, PA

__________________

Thanks to today’s contributors, including collaborators Robert Fleming (Lewes, DE) and Jon Wesick (Woburn, MA) who have returned to the Kitchen with various Gorgonisms. Our Seed of the Week was the quote about Nature being both darkness and light, and some of our poets had strong thoughts about that—some very strong thoughts… Some strong thoughts about voting tomorrow, too. Be sure to check each Tuesday for the latest Seed of the Week.

By the way, my email address is kathykieth@hotmail.com [note spelling]. As a warning, though, there is a kathykeith@hotmail.com out there [note spelling], who is kind and long-suffering and sometimes (but not always) forwards the improperly addressed e-mail to me. But I suspect she’s getting tired of that. You might want to check your spelling. Or maybe I should change my last nam… That’s kIEth, as in i before e, except… [note spelling].

 

Yesterday's post was all about B.L. Kennedy; see The Sacramento Bee's article about him in Sunday's paper at https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article294545764.html#campaignName=sacramento_morning_newsletter/.This article is—how shall I say it?—more candid...

__________________

—Medusa

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Art Courtesy of Medusa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A reminder that
Sacramento Poetry Center features
Michael Zyst tonight, 7:30pm.
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
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