Bagging a Prince

 

—Poetry by Jeanna Ní Ríordáin, West Cork, Ireland
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of
Jeanna Ní Ríordáin

 

 

THE COMFORT OF SIGNS

A robin perched on a doorstep,
a song playing on the radio

A butterfly in a graveyard,
a sudden whiff of perfume

Flowers in bloom, a starlit
night, a flash in an old photo

Feathers floating on the breeze,
a vivid dream, a rainbow. 

 

 

 

 

SOCIAL CLIMBING

When Yeh-Shen married a prince, she escaped
a life of drudgery & servitude

In one swift shoe change, she went from skivvy to
Queen of the Castle—a lady of leisure, a kept
woman

For centuries, Chinese girls had their feet bound,
to help them marry up & bag a prince

Mothers-in-law sought out the smallest feet
& matchmakers searched throughout the kingdom

Husbands would boast about their useless,
tiny-footed wives, confined to their boudoirs

At night, they’d sit by the fire admiring them,
holding their dainty feet in the palm of their hand.

 

*Yeh-Shen was the name given to Cinderella
in the Chinese version of the tale.

 

 

 

DEATH AT RUSH HOUR

In New York, there are F train girls, who
throw themselves in front of subways

Different ages, different backgrounds,
teenage girls, middle-aged women

For a few hours, there’s chaos, no
running trains, closed stations,

Whole neighborhoods cut off,
ground to a crushing standstill.

 

 

 

 

IF AI COULD WRITE POETRY

Would it be terribly abstract, futuristic &
Metaphysical? Replete with brand new
Metaphors, novel rhymes & fresh analogies

Would it be classical—an Alexandrine,
Or a sonnet? Neatly arranged in stanzas,
Rhyming couplets, or iambic pentameter

Would it be free verse—unrestricted by
Formal rules & proper codes of language?
Perhaps, it would be spoken word—raw,
Punchy, visceral & composed on the spot

Would it reveal some deeper truths, that have,
As yet, eluded our greatest bards & poets?
Would its formal skill & engineered wit
Outsmart our famous poet laureates?

Would poetry become a commodity?
Mass-produced & free to download, at
The simple click of a finger? Or worse still,

Would this AI poet, with its machinal heart &
Superhuman talent, make all future poets 

Redundant?

___________________

Today’s LittleNip:

Before we work on artificial intelligence, why don’t we do something about natural stupidity?

—Steve Polyak

___________________

—Medusa, with thanks to Jeanna Ní Ríordáin and her robin for today’s fine poetry from over the sea!

 

 

 

 American Robin (left) and European Robin 

—Photo Courtesy of Public Domain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A reminder that
The Poets Club of Lincoln
features an Open Mic today, 3pm,
in Lincoln, CA. For more about
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.

Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.

Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)

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!