—Ashwini Biradar, Pune, Maharashtra, Incia
* * *
—Poetry by Steven Bruce, Wydry, Poland
—Photos Courtesy of Public Domain
MIDNIGHT VERSE, I
In the night, sirens sing lullabies to the restless.
We lie awake,
waiting for the next wave to swallow us.
In the night, sirens sing lullabies to the restless.
We lie awake,
waiting for the next wave to swallow us.
Midnight City
—Ash Hussein, Baltimore, MD
—Ash Hussein, Baltimore, MD
THEY’LL ASK, WHAT IS IT?
It, because the night’s lonely.
It, because the morning’s worse.
It, because we forgot
how to live without
a crutch.
It, because it doesn’t judge.
how to live without
a crutch.
It, because it doesn’t judge.
It, because it fills
and leaves us empty.
and leaves us empty.
,%20Tannha%CC%88user%20(1886).jpg)
Tannhäuser (1886) by Henri Fantin-Latour
APHRODITE, BEAUTY THERAPIST
Thirty minutes to transform trouts
into sirens.
Aphrodite paints nails blood-red.
Waxes bikini lines.
Draws eyebrows with soldier’s precision.
Tells her clients, Gorgeous, babe, gorgeous.
Her laughter hides desperation.
Her laughter hides desperation.
Her foundation hides bruises.
Sometimes,
Sometimes,
she catches herself
in the mirror.
Older, sharper, tired.
in the mirror.
Older, sharper, tired.
Wonders
if beauty ever loved her back
,%20Jupiter%20and%20Semele%20(1889-95).jpg)
Jupiter and Semele by Gustave Moreau
ZEUS, RETIRED CEO
His lightning cufflinks gather dust.
His phone stopped ringing
two summers ago.
Zeus watches daytime television.
Shakes his fist at the neighbours.
Yells at thunderstorms,
like an old general
like an old general
cursing a disbanded army.
Once, he ruled from a sky-tower office.
Once, he ruled from a sky-tower office.
Now he wrestles to unscrew
jam jar lids.
_______________________
Today’s LittleNip:
Let us live for the beauty of our own reality.
—Charles Lamb
_______________________
—Medusa, with thanks to Steven Bruce for today’s fine poetry and a couple of pix, in addition to Ashwini Biradar and Ash Hussein for their artwork.
Medusa’s Kitchen will have its 20th anniversary this May 29, and we will celebrate with poetry, of course. Send a poem that celebrates something—anything—form or free verse—and I’ll post it on May 29. 20 years! Amazing!
jam jar lids.
_______________________
Today’s LittleNip:
Let us live for the beauty of our own reality.
—Charles Lamb
_______________________
—Medusa, with thanks to Steven Bruce for today’s fine poetry and a couple of pix, in addition to Ashwini Biradar and Ash Hussein for their artwork.
Medusa’s Kitchen will have its 20th anniversary this May 29, and we will celebrate with poetry, of course. Send a poem that celebrates something—anything—form or free verse—and I’ll post it on May 29. 20 years! Amazing!
For info 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!
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!
