—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
* * *
—Poetry by Joe Nolan, Stephen Kingsnorth,
Devyanshi Neupane, Caschwa, and Nolcha Fox
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of
Joe Nolan and Medusa
UNSUSPECTED PITCHES
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
Any gifted poet
Should have at least
Four hands,
Four arms,
Peripheral vision
That sees around corners,
Over horizons,
Like aegis radar
Because there are gnomes
Who want to get out,
Who have something to say,
But might need an unused limb
To jab into space,
Spattering ink on paper
From unsuspected directions,
Like out of nowhere.
Who said that?
It wasn’t me,
I swear.
It must have been
A gone little gnome
Who pitches in the World Series
With sidewinders and
Curve balls
That end up in an
Unsuspecting
Catcher’s mitt.
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
Any gifted poet
Should have at least
Four hands,
Four arms,
Peripheral vision
That sees around corners,
Over horizons,
Like aegis radar
Because there are gnomes
Who want to get out,
Who have something to say,
But might need an unused limb
To jab into space,
Spattering ink on paper
From unsuspected directions,
Like out of nowhere.
Who said that?
It wasn’t me,
I swear.
It must have been
A gone little gnome
Who pitches in the World Series
With sidewinders and
Curve balls
That end up in an
Unsuspecting
Catcher’s mitt.
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joe Nolan
SHEER POETRY
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Right thinking, staring, near despair,
thought-couplets on this cliff-edge dare
to swim in dizzy rhythmic ware
for sharing, grounded, paper spare.
Here, gripping rope, belay below,
yet knowing they’ll not understand,
as toe-tip barely crevice lip,
verse fabric not transparent, clear.
Now how to hold a central line—
like ballet, balanced in the climb,
with finger shifting where that weight,
as lover hugs, hates precipice.
Though buffeted by whistle wind,
sheer terror, rockface, just as mine,
a lonely lunge across the space,
the only stretch for plunge or crawl.
It’s bowline knot, down rabbit hole,
how I was taught to tie it taut,
as if one’s life on it depends,
the lesson learnt, passed sixty on.
A summit reached, room mere for one—
then only scale because it’s there—
identical for write as well—
so I will read, if me alone.
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
MY BAG
—Devyanshi Neupane, age 5, Melbourne, Australia
My bag is beautiful
Because it is colorful
I carry it,
When I go to School.
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
REEL IS REAL
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
If you’ve ever used
a reel mower to shear grass
that’s Sheer Poetry
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
NO ANSWER KEY
—Caschwa
(Ekphrastic response to “protected” images of the
Uvalde, Texas mass shooting)
day after day, year after year
generation after generation
eon after eon, we are in high gear
trying to settle our commotions
man has gone to great lengths
to create, publish, and advertise
the laws, consequences, and angst
felons are sure to despise
it just isn’t working
additions and amendments
amount to just joking
with a Table of Contents
our prisons filled beyond their capacity
back to the books, we write down more laws
while criminals grow in numbers and tenacity
hurting us, killing us, with never a pause
we straddle local law enforcement with the
impossible task of keeping the peace,
but they can’t lock them up if they’re missing
the key
so they stand there and grin like a mere flock
of geese
day after day, year after year
generation after generation
eon after eon, we are in high gear
trying to settle our commotions
man has gone to great lengths
to create, publish, and advertise
the laws, consequences, and angst
felons are sure to despise
it just isn’t working
additions and amendments
amount to just joking
with a Table of Contents
our prisons filled beyond their capacity
back to the books, we write down more laws
while criminals grow in numbers and tenacity
hurting us, killing us, with never a pause
we straddle local law enforcement with the
impossible task of keeping the peace,
but they can’t lock them up if they’re missing
the key
so they stand there and grin like a mere flock
of geese
CIVIL OBEDIENCE
—Caschwa
Red states:
the unartful
combination of
fear and stupidity
guided by the strings
of utter chaos run amok
mere rumors of perceived
threats steer the voting choices
to exactly those that match the ones
held by the plantation owner, the Master
while Abolition certainly changed the course
for black workers and families, it only put a
small dent in the circle of power held by a
white Master for generations, that loud,
tacit mandate for all but himself to be
step-and-fetch-its on call all the time,
so now, instead of blacks, Master
used his power to control whites
that were below him, and they
became the new face of
second-class citizens
add a Haiku here
to soften things up a bit
that’s it, close your eyes
—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa
NOT ENTIRELY
—Caschwa
Middleman meets
Midwife on the
Midway at
Mid-day
Half the time
he’s Half right
the glass is Half full
out of timeouts 4th Quarter
change machine out of Quarters
Buddy, can you spare me a Dime?
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joe Nolan
GENTLE LANDING
—Joe Nolan
A joy to speak
To life-long friend
Of times that touched the sun
When the world was at-command,
And,
Unlike Icarus,
Got back to the ground
Unscathed.
Was it just a balloon-ride
To coast above the plains
Gaining, thus, a greater range
With which to bear our pains
Or was it our salvation
To spend a time in grace
Ever-after knowing
The basis
Of epiphany?
Though we must all walk
Aground
Our minds remain
In place
Where we touched the sun
To shatter humble beginnings
And learn that we’re all one.
________________________
Today’s LittleNip:
WORDS INTO POETRY
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
Her words are dressed
in sunsets, moonlight,
ocean breeze, and flowers.
They sway and drift
translucent voile.
Her words are
sheer poetry.
________________________
Thanks to today’s contributors, some of whom spoke to our Seed of the Week in honor of National Poetry Month: “Sheer Poetry”. (All of their work is always sheer poetry, of course, and every week is Poetry Week in the Kitchen!) Be sure to check each Tuesday for the latest Seed of the Week.
Speaking of National Poetry Month, it’s in full swing in the NorCal area; be sure to check out all the happenings at our http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html/.
Deadlines: The annual Voices anthology from Cold River Press has a deadline of April 10, and the annual Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest has announced its deadline this year for July 15. Go to http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html for more information about both of these opportunities.
April 10??? Yikes—that’s this coming Thursday!
________________________
—Medusa
________________________
—Medusa
A reminder that T-Mo’s
Enhance Your Poetry Skills
Workshop takes place on Zoom
tonight, 5:15pm; and
Sacramento Poetry Center’s
Open Mic on the Theme of Reading
meets at 7:30pm tonight.
For info about these 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.
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!
Enhance Your Poetry Skills
Workshop takes place on Zoom
tonight, 5:15pm; and
Sacramento Poetry Center’s
Open Mic on the Theme of Reading
meets at 7:30pm tonight.
For info about these 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.
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!
