* * *
—Poetry and Photos by Taylor Graham,
Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down for
Form Fiddlers’ Friday, with poetry by
Lynn White, Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
and Caschwa
Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down for
Form Fiddlers’ Friday, with poetry by
Lynn White, Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
and Caschwa
—Visuals by Nolcha Fox, Caschwa, and
Courtesy of Public Domain
NOT QUITE THE SHOT I WANTED
Hypothermia weather, seasonal creeks
running, leaping, remembering bounty times
of flood. There’s no one at the fairgrounds
but me and my dog. Picnic ground underwater.
It’s nice to have this place to ourselves
for our morning walk. I’m bundled against
wind chill, wet chill; Otis in his shiny black
all-weather fur coat. The squirrels,
who drive him crazy, are huddled warm
and dry as they can.
Nearing the end of our walk, I want
to remember the day with a photo of Otis
atop the big modeled replica of our river’s
watershed. But he won’t pose properly.
No “look of eagles” nor intrepid explorer—
his ears pinned back tight
against his skull to keep the rain out.
Hypothermia weather, seasonal creeks
running, leaping, remembering bounty times
of flood. There’s no one at the fairgrounds
but me and my dog. Picnic ground underwater.
It’s nice to have this place to ourselves
for our morning walk. I’m bundled against
wind chill, wet chill; Otis in his shiny black
all-weather fur coat. The squirrels,
who drive him crazy, are huddled warm
and dry as they can.
Nearing the end of our walk, I want
to remember the day with a photo of Otis
atop the big modeled replica of our river’s
watershed. But he won’t pose properly.
No “look of eagles” nor intrepid explorer—
his ears pinned back tight
against his skull to keep the rain out.
NEW WORLD
Familiar park and undeveloped meadow with sanitary sewer manholes. We walk here once a month. Since last time, restrooms locked (vandalism). New sign: Warning—Mountain Lion Sighting. Big rain yesterday. Northern trail? a running creek. Southern bridge washed downstream. Frustrating. We walk the park perimeter, maybe safe from cougar—but cloven hoof prints in sand-washed path. Meadow (a wildlife corridor) soon to become subdivision? New gardens for deer to eat? New yards and porches for cougars to scout for deer and family pets?
deer prints in sand
this proof of passage
soon to wash away
FLASH OF GOLD
The storm
washed everything
clinquant-bright, even that
empty smashed beer can tossed beside
the trail.
WHY?
I’m a small tree uprooted, pushing against wind-
driven rain—or is it sleet?—walking my dog
in overload of weather. Only bedrock holds steady.
No one else on the trail, not another animal, human
or otherwise. But we resist the urge to turn back
to the car, soured on adventure. Otis sniffs
all the forest scents reborn in wetness, yapping
when he senses something hiding high in canopies
of oak. Giant sequoia’s sheltering a young bay-
laurel. What feature of nature might lead to insight,
making this walk worthwhile? Everything.
I’m a small tree uprooted, pushing against wind-
driven rain—or is it sleet?—walking my dog
in overload of weather. Only bedrock holds steady.
No one else on the trail, not another animal, human
or otherwise. But we resist the urge to turn back
to the car, soured on adventure. Otis sniffs
all the forest scents reborn in wetness, yapping
when he senses something hiding high in canopies
of oak. Giant sequoia’s sheltering a young bay-
laurel. What feature of nature might lead to insight,
making this walk worthwhile? Everything.
JUST IN PASSING
I pat the Buddha—
two of them, metal statues
at the Palm Reader’s—
When my dog startles
at these squat, silent creatures
I pat the Buddha
to show him it’s harmless but
no dog-treat in its cupped hand.
I pat the Buddha—
two of them, metal statues
at the Palm Reader’s—
When my dog startles
at these squat, silent creatures
I pat the Buddha
to show him it’s harmless but
no dog-treat in its cupped hand.
WALKING THE TRACK AFTER STORM
I walk between the rails, the nearby path adrift
in water from the sky, bounty for earth to use with
thrift.
And just beside the track, a creature’s bones reposed
as if in sleep, as earth takes flesh and leaf when life
is closed.
____________________
Today’s LittleNip:
2/9/25
—Taylor Graham
In this morning’s predawn dark
I discovered my laptop—
or some overnight update—
had eaten an entire
folder of stuff I refer
to every day and then I
moved on to reading today’s
online news of the nation
and the world as I knew it.
___________________
Stormy poems from Taylor Graham on this Valentine’s Day, with our thanks, and I hope she and Otis have dried off by now. Fortunately there were clear skies for last Sunday’s Wakamatsu workshop; see TG’s Facebook page for photos and maybe poems (Western Slope El Dorado Poetry at www.facebook.com/ElDoradoCountyPoetry). And plan for the next one on March 3.
Forms TG has used this week include a Hainka (“Just in Passing”); a Haibun (“New World”); a Word-Can Poem (“Why?”); a Poulters' Measure (“Walking the Track after Storm”); a Complaint Poem that is also a Cinquain (“Flash of Gold”); and a Complaint that is also Normative Syllabics (“2/9/25”). The Poulters’ Measure and the Complaint were last week’s Triple-F Challenge; TG’s “Flash of Cold” also answered the further dare to use the word, “clinquant”. And her “Not Quite the Shot I Wanted” is a response to our recent Tuesday Seed of the Week, Frustration.
In El Dorado County’s poetry events this week, Poetry in Motion meets this Monday morning in Placerville. Plus, El Dorado County’s regular workshops are listed on Medusa’s calendar (if you scroll down on http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html/). For more news about these events and about EDC poetry—past (photos!) and future—see Taylor Graham’s Western Slope El Dorado Poetry on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ElDoradoCountyPoetry. Or see Lara Gularte’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/382234029968077/. And you can always click on Medusa's UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS (http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html). Poetry is Gold in El Dorado County!
And now it’s time for…
FORM FIDDLERS’ FRIDAY!
Check out our recently-refurbed 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 and other ways of poetry. 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 Photo
Poets who sent responses to last week’s Ekphrastic photo included Lynn White, Nolcha Fox with a Haibun, and Stephen Kingsnorth:
HISTORY
—Lynn White, Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales
The romance.
The wedding.
The honeymoon.
The loss when it’s
over
lost
gone.
But that story
is history
and not on repeat
this time
now
here.
* * *
MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
It was the event of the year. A starlet with a promising career. An older entrepreneur. A marriage of convenience for both of them. She wanted adoration and diamonds. She wanted a sugar daddy. He wanted a gorgeous arm ornament, a woman who would follow his lead and ask no questions. They left a trail of ex-lovers and ex-spouses, some who died or disappeared mysteriously. They told everybody their marriage was made in heaven, that it would last forever. They hated each other before they took their vows. They laced each other’s champagne with poison and planned their escape routes. How convenient.
She planned to dance at her wedding.
He planned to dance on her grave.
The wedding photos were to die for.
—Digital Image by Nolcha Fox
RINGING BELLS?
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Here marble sky tops tired dry turf,
flows down through wispy lifting veil,
which gently hovers over gown
in stirring spirit of the day,
as fronds sway, friends stay, witnesses
to covenant, made this estate.
Bouquet and dress in customed way—
(will either see the light again?)
flexed ivory in jaw set line
where stationed train must wait its time,
fixed by photographer and caught,
as courting gives to permanence.
The garden still, an Eden rôle,
a wedding which starts marriage rule
in hope that blame no longer theme;
that lore a myth, birth pangs and toil
(no reference, mothers-in-law),
though far from mind, rings, festive bells.
These two engaged, communal oath,
thus celebrated, funfair, fête,
yoked, conjugated verb of love.
This album piece of certified,
may take a stand in early days,
but how best framed beyond that time?
* * *
Carl Schwartz (Caschwa) writes to say he is “trying the Poulter[s’ Measure]. My poem is iambic in each line, beginning to end, contrary to the Fulke Greville example which begins trochaic, then ends iambic.” You’ll see that Carl has penned a whole buncha stuff this week:
UNSERIOUS CLASSICAL MUSIC
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
My hunger grew for concert works to spur my glee
I thought I’d find some tunes to hear while watching
my TV
they played the classics, one and all, enjoyed it
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
My hunger grew for concert works to spur my glee
I thought I’d find some tunes to hear while watching
my TV
they played the classics, one and all, enjoyed it
much
showed little blurbs to tell about composer’s life and
such
it kept to form, from piece to piece, a title list
conductor’s and arranger’s names, and then a
showed little blurbs to tell about composer’s life and
such
it kept to form, from piece to piece, a title list
conductor’s and arranger’s names, and then a
soloist
I’m going to try to set forth here, if well I can
Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, vital Organ
Electrical, Conductor / Academy of
Old McDonald on the Farm, 6 degrees from my
first love
and this is how I fall to sleep with owls so wise
I turn it down to background sound and close my
dreary eyes
* * *
Carl’s First-Letter Acrostic also uses our recent Tuesday Seed of the Week, “Anxious for Daffodils”:
I’m going to try to set forth here, if well I can
Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, vital Organ
Electrical, Conductor / Academy of
Old McDonald on the Farm, 6 degrees from my
first love
and this is how I fall to sleep with owls so wise
I turn it down to background sound and close my
dreary eyes
* * *
Carl’s First-Letter Acrostic also uses our recent Tuesday Seed of the Week, “Anxious for Daffodils”:
SOMETHING WILL CHANGE
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
Control was taken off the menu
Leaving us with Winter
In the Spring
Madness is the new normal
Anxious for Daffodils
To offer their blooms, an
Exception to
Cooped up by the fireplace
Hating degrees both in meteorology
And thermometers
No, the king of denial has spoken
Go outside, defy the
Elements
* * *
Here is a Concrete poem from Carl, based on the SOW, “Light/tunnel/and all that…”:
POMP AND PARCHMENT
—Caschwa
in
the
early
grades
of school
students do
not graduate,
they will simply
matriculate from one
grade level to the next
some, of course, have earned
that opportunity more than
others, but as their bodies
grow in size, the whole
class will require
moving on to
larger desks
and chairs
even
if
their
minds
have not
yet grown
at that same
relative pace,
until they complete
high school, and then
they are buried in college
recruitment ads, military career
opportunities, some may already
have their own kids, and others are
just totally confused and don’t know
where to turn; all of them, despite their
striking differences, are then handed an official
document saying they have finally arrived at a place
where they can make their own choices, and while many will
be old enough to vote, only a few will find a way to use algebra
—Caschwa
in
the
early
grades
of school
students do
not graduate,
they will simply
matriculate from one
grade level to the next
some, of course, have earned
that opportunity more than
others, but as their bodies
grow in size, the whole
class will require
moving on to
larger desks
and chairs
even
if
their
minds
have not
yet grown
at that same
relative pace,
until they complete
high school, and then
they are buried in college
recruitment ads, military career
opportunities, some may already
have their own kids, and others are
just totally confused and don’t know
where to turn; all of them, despite their
striking differences, are then handed an official
document saying they have finally arrived at a place
where they can make their own choices, and while many will
be old enough to vote, only a few will find a way to use algebra
* * *
Two Haiku from Carl:
—Photo by Carl Schwartz
SHERPA CAT
—Caschwa
Got a Sherpa to
protect me from the cold and
any other threats
~ ~ ~
“SYMPHONY”
—Caschwa
take the word Phony
enlarge with other terms, and
it remains Phony
* * *
And finally, some words of wisdom from Carl in a wee Nonce:
VANISHING CREAM
—Caschwa
If vanishing cream will disappear,
then how can one hope to use it?
Don’t offer me this at any price,
as I will soundly refuse it.
____________________
Many thanks to today’s writers for their lively contributions! Wouldn’t you like to join them? 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!
Many thanks to today’s writers for their lively contributions! Wouldn’t you like to join them? 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!
•••Decnad Mor: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/dechnad-mor-poetic-forms
•••AND/OR shape up with a Diamante:
•••Diamante: www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/diamante.html
•••See also the bottom of this post for another challenge, this one an Ekphrastic one.
•••And don’t forget each Tuesday’s Seed of the Week! This week it’s “Anxious for Daffodils”.
____________________
MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry terms mentioned today:
•••Acrostic Poem types: https://studybay.com/blog/how-to-write-an-acrostic-poem
•••Cinquain (Crapsey): poets.org/glossary/cinquain AND/OR www.poewar.com/poetry-in-forms-series-cinquain/. See www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/adelaide-crapsey for info about its inventor, Adelaide Crapsey.
•••Complaint: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/complaint
•••Decnad Mor: https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/dechnad-mor-poetic-forms
•••Diamante: www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/diamante.html
•••Ekphrastic Poem: notesofoak.com/discover-literature/ekphrastic-poetry
•••Haibun: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/haibun-poems-poetic-form
•••Haiku: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/haiku-or-hokku AND/OR www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html
•••Hainka: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/hainka-haiku-tanka-new-genre-of-poetic-form
•••Nonce Poetry forms: www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/nonce-forms-what-they-are-and-how-to-write-them
•••Normative Syllabics: hellopoetry.com/collection/108/normative-syllabic-free-verse AND/OR lewisturco.typepad.com/poetics/normative-syllabic-verse
•••Poulters’ Measure: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/poulters-measure
•••Response Poem: creativetalentsunleashed.com/2015/11/18/writing-tip-response-poems
•••Word-Can Poem: putting random words on slips of paper into a can, then drawing out a few and making a poem out of them
__________________
—Medusa, wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day!
Today's Ekphrastic Challenge!
Make what you can of today's
picture, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Photo Courtesy of Public Domain
Make what you can of today's
picture, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Photo Courtesy of Public Domain
For 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!
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!
