Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down for
Form Fiddlers’ Friday, with poetry by
Lynn White, Joe Nolan, Stephen Kingsnorth,
Caschwa, Christina Chin, and
Uchechukwu Onyedikam
DUAS
one tall cottonwood on polluted creek
woolly sunflowers flourish everywhere
*
out for exercise she outruns the landscape
bumblebee assesses sweet lupine.
*
heart-locks on bridge keep love from falling
vulture shows off its wings
*
cig-break smoke wafts by Grocery Outlet
above cutbank the tall conifers
*
sky lupine edges grow-nothing asphalt
chainlink holds hillside from encroachment
one tall cottonwood on polluted creek
woolly sunflowers flourish everywhere
*
out for exercise she outruns the landscape
bumblebee assesses sweet lupine.
*
heart-locks on bridge keep love from falling
vulture shows off its wings
*
cig-break smoke wafts by Grocery Outlet
above cutbank the tall conifers
*
sky lupine edges grow-nothing asphalt
chainlink holds hillside from encroachment
BEGINNINGS AREN’T THE END
At the start of today’s trail, I passed a woman
walking her dog; she returned my nod and smile
with sour. Is this how the rest of the trek
will go? But the path is edged with French broom
in full yellow flower, and here comes a guy
sporting a straw hat, and he breaks into sky-wide
smile and raises two fingers in a victory V.
A house of sunburst gables faces a stringer of oak
and big-leaf maple, leaves filled with last-of-April
green-fire sunlight. How can this trail go wrong?
NAMES OF THE WILD
The field’s awash in meadowfoam
as white as clouds above the grasses
with a tide of lupine blue as sky.
Under oaks rise woodland stars,
fairy lanterns lit in secret places,
longspur seablush on the hill—
these flowers that I never knew
until we found this land of rocks
and thistle, diamond snake,
a swift-hawk hunting songbirds,
coyotes stealthing eldritch dusk,
their howl an eerie lullaby.
SYLVAN JUSTICE?
Our wise old
oaks were terminated
in the name of wildfire safety.
Our remaining oaks began to fall—I call it
grief, losing support of close-rooted
community. But now
overnight,
what a mess!
A gang of upstarts,
a head-high thicket of bushy green
sprung from a buckeye stump. They didn’t get started
from underground up, making their way
as a seedling oak must.
Is it just?
overnight,
what a mess!
A gang of upstarts,
a head-high thicket of bushy green
sprung from a buckeye stump. They didn’t get started
from underground up, making their way
as a seedling oak must.
Is it just?
WHAT A MESS
Out of the seed, digging down into earth
to root—no, you might say theirs is inherited
wealth—suckers from a stump.
Out of the seed, digging down into earth
to root—no, you might say theirs is inherited
wealth—suckers from a stump.
THE THREE WHITE SWANS
Three great white birds on my driveway—swans, Trumpeter Swans! Their leader says, Won’t you make us a path thru the grass so we don’t stain our feathers? And a pond would be nice. So I grab weed-eater and shovel and set to work. Tough going—grasses, wildflowers, weeds chest-high, a tangle of spring green on summer hardpan. By dawn I’ve accomplished nothing. Swans are gone. In their place, three House Sparrows. I’ll start mowing after breakfast.
April casts its spells
in night dreams and fairytales—
white swans on the pond
_________________
Today’s LittleNip:
BETWEEN THE RAILS
—Taylor Graham
Abandoned train track:
NO TRESPASSING sign with
tiniest dog house
_________________
Our thanks to Taylor Graham for today’s fine swans and oaks and tiny dog house! Forms she has used include a Senryu (“Between the Rails”); a Haibun (“The Three White Swans”); a Response to our recent Tuesday Seed of the Week, What a Mess (“What a Mess”); a Triquain chain that is another Response poem (“Sylvan Justice?”); and some Duas (“Duas”). The Triquain and the Dua were last week’s Triple-F Challenges.
In El Dorado County poetry this week, Poetry in the Sierra Foothills features Bridey Thelen-Heidel, Karen Terrey, and Allisyn Gularte this Sunday in Camino, 2pm; and Poetry In Motion read-around meets in Placerville this Monday, 10:30am. Also, El Dorado County’s other regular workshops are listed on Medusa’s calendar (if you scroll down on http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html/). For more news about such 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!
Three great white birds on my driveway—swans, Trumpeter Swans! Their leader says, Won’t you make us a path thru the grass so we don’t stain our feathers? And a pond would be nice. So I grab weed-eater and shovel and set to work. Tough going—grasses, wildflowers, weeds chest-high, a tangle of spring green on summer hardpan. By dawn I’ve accomplished nothing. Swans are gone. In their place, three House Sparrows. I’ll start mowing after breakfast.
April casts its spells
in night dreams and fairytales—
white swans on the pond
_________________
Today’s LittleNip:
BETWEEN THE RAILS
—Taylor Graham
Abandoned train track:
NO TRESPASSING sign with
tiniest dog house
_________________
Our thanks to Taylor Graham for today’s fine swans and oaks and tiny dog house! Forms she has used include a Senryu (“Between the Rails”); a Haibun (“The Three White Swans”); a Response to our recent Tuesday Seed of the Week, What a Mess (“What a Mess”); a Triquain chain that is another Response poem (“Sylvan Justice?”); and some Duas (“Duas”). The Triquain and the Dua were last week’s Triple-F Challenges.
In El Dorado County poetry this week, Poetry in the Sierra Foothills features Bridey Thelen-Heidel, Karen Terrey, and Allisyn Gularte this Sunday in Camino, 2pm; and Poetry In Motion read-around meets in Placerville this Monday, 10:30am. Also, El Dorado County’s other regular workshops are listed on Medusa’s calendar (if you scroll down on http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html/). For more news about such 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!
* * *
Poets who sent responses to last week’s Ekphrastic photo were Lynn White, Joe Nolan, Stephen Kingsnorth, Nolcha Fox, and Caschwa (Carl Schwartz):
WHO AM I
—Lynn White, Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales
I know that soon I must decide.
I can’t escape my curls but
the rest is still a collage
of mismatched pieces
not sure how to look
or whether to smile.
Sometimes I think I have no face,
that I’m entirely made up of disparate pieces
cut and pasted from who knows where
unrecognisable as a face, as my face
and waiting for a breath of life,
waiting for me to decide.
* * *
RE-ASSEMBLED
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
Chopped to bits,
Scattered
Back together,
Somehow
The outline held.
The lips remained in place.
Complexion like a
Back-splash for a stove,
Just one eye,
Oversized
With pensive gaze.
* * *
RIGHT JUSTIFIED?
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Now here is make-up of a face,
in each allotted case, the crème—
both eye and lips with pride of place
because they’re mirror, recognised?
Identikit of slotted keys,
those featured portions making mark,
unique as portraiture concerned,
a wanted poster of no use.
This pastel image, window panes
bears little semblance to real flesh
in either mouth or optic, well
no pupil of anatomy—
A cheek, that zygomatic arch,
shaped chin, verisimilitude,
but this not cubist style of art,
still less a part of style I know.
So what of brow and lid or lash,
of temple, dimple set in space?
Is this a mother humanoid,
another’s likeness, relative?
I see four quarters, overlap,
a composite in ratio,
as if a colour chart gone wild
with hex of many, fraught displayed.
What is the context that pertains
to bring perspective to this piece;
unless these motifs have a voice
then few will hear what’s so expressed?
Entitled frame might name the same,
or show the artist’s fame misplaced.
If self-amusement only aim
does that suffice to publish it?
So choose your portion, follow through—
maybe that right side justified—
surreal though, feel overall.
What counts, components of our face?
Assemblage of appendages
accoutrements mixed too portrayed,
but can we face distorted mask,
symbolic statements inked on skin?
* * *
INSIDE OUT
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
My head is full, it needs to share
whatever’s on its mind.
Pieces fall and promenade
behind me as I walk.
Shapes and colors, what a mess.
How did they fit inside?
As fast as they can spill outside,
new thoughts are ready to jump in,
and quickly will replace them.
* * *
WE, THE MICROCHIP GENERATION
will have to consult with our great-
great-grandparents to figure out what
it is about black-&-white televisions,
with vacuum tubes you have to replace
yourself, and a CRT and a pre-historic
antenna system that requires constant
adjustment, and get this, No remote!
No streaming, no DVR, shuts down
at midnight, most screens under 21”
diagonal, how could anyone survive?
Glad to be among the privileged that
grew up in a culture commensurate
with all the advancements of modern
technology. No need for repairs, just
turn in your old one and they give you
a new one for free.
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
* * *
Carl Schwartz (Caschwa) has sent us a few Duas, one of last week’s Triple-F Challenges (no titles allowed!):
[NO TITLE]
—Caschwa
Took a seat at the diner’s counter
They played music my late wife liked
***
My past rests in containers of ashes
So does my future
***
Conquered a very steep hill on my bicycle
Had to teach my lungs how to breathe again
***
Flowers already know when to bloom
It is not a well kept secret
***
The stinger of a bee
The obligations of marriage
***
This will be the last time
Add it to the list
* * *
A List Poem from Carl:
TBTF HAS SOME COMPANY
—Caschwa
Too Big to Fail
Too Broken to Function
Too Backwards to Follow
Too Bankrupt to Float
Too Blighted to Fix
Trials Betray the Flaws
Terror Broadens the Force
Tremors Break the Faith
Traitors Betray their Followers
Tea Bags Timed Fastidiously
Toasted Bagels Taste Fine
Two Boxers to Fight
Teen Boys Tempt Fun
Take Back the Façade
Tiny Bugs Taint Food
The Big Top Folds
Tender Baby Touches Face
Truth Burrows Through Falsities
The Bank’s Terrible Fees
This Broth Tastes Fishy
* * *
Some of Carl's Hot-and-Hardy Haiku:
—Caschwa
Too Big to Fail
Too Broken to Function
Too Backwards to Follow
Too Bankrupt to Float
Too Blighted to Fix
Trials Betray the Flaws
Terror Broadens the Force
Tremors Break the Faith
Traitors Betray their Followers
Tea Bags Timed Fastidiously
Toasted Bagels Taste Fine
Two Boxers to Fight
Teen Boys Tempt Fun
Take Back the Façade
Tiny Bugs Taint Food
The Big Top Folds
Tender Baby Touches Face
Truth Burrows Through Falsities
The Bank’s Terrible Fees
This Broth Tastes Fishy
* * *
Some of Carl's Hot-and-Hardy Haiku:
HARDY HAIKU
—Caschwa
Really prepared folks
keep a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and
5th Aid Kit on hand
***
You won’t need a Real
ID to ride in my car
this clunker don’t fly
***
Well educated
offspring looking for good time
with matching onspring
***
Nothing will teach him
lessons, but some fire ants could
share the whole story
***
We need to have our
Electoral College rules
exclude Royalty
***
Six is unlucky
but it is safe to announce
seven minus one
* * *
This is a Borrowed First Line poem from Carl that is also a Haibun:
—Caschwa
Really prepared folks
keep a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and
5th Aid Kit on hand
***
You won’t need a Real
ID to ride in my car
this clunker don’t fly
***
Well educated
offspring looking for good time
with matching onspring
***
Nothing will teach him
lessons, but some fire ants could
share the whole story
***
We need to have our
Electoral College rules
exclude Royalty
***
Six is unlucky
but it is safe to announce
seven minus one
* * *
This is a Borrowed First Line poem from Carl that is also a Haibun:
UNDERWEAR DEGREE
—Caschwa
“A Cornell student famously presented her thesis in her underwear as a form of protest, highlighting the lack of a degree in that specific field.” I noticed my friend seemed to be uncomfortable, so I offered to help her adjust her training bra. She promptly reminded me that she has a PhD in pawing underwear, so I fed her some kibble and we both went our separate ways.
Oh how I love you!
Let me tell you all the ways…
OK, I’ll shut up
* * *
This week we also received some Tan-Renga from Christina Chin of Malaysia (in plain text) and Uchechukwu Onyedikam of Lagos, Nigeria (in italics):
—Caschwa
“A Cornell student famously presented her thesis in her underwear as a form of protest, highlighting the lack of a degree in that specific field.” I noticed my friend seemed to be uncomfortable, so I offered to help her adjust her training bra. She promptly reminded me that she has a PhD in pawing underwear, so I fed her some kibble and we both went our separate ways.
Oh how I love you!
Let me tell you all the ways…
OK, I’ll shut up
* * *
This week we also received some Tan-Renga from Christina Chin of Malaysia (in plain text) and Uchechukwu Onyedikam of Lagos, Nigeria (in italics):
TOURIST CROWD
—Christina Chin and Uchechukwu Onyedikam
evening breeze
prying pistachios
a canine tooth cracks
the kernel parted
in a smile
***
sipping cha
he orders another
paneer naan
mostly stuffed with
chopped spinach
***
the pratha chef
kneads two doughs
ever so slowly
watching his favourite
sitcom on TV
***
pulling
milk tea in the air
local ‘teh tarik’
the outdoor view
of local stalls
***
smoke smell
of barbecue street food
forty-five-minutes queue
not counting
the order time
***
pouring peanut
sauce on satay sticks
beach tiki bar
charcoal grills
the freshest taste
* * *
And a final Haiku from Carl:
—Christina Chin and Uchechukwu Onyedikam
evening breeze
prying pistachios
a canine tooth cracks
the kernel parted
in a smile
***
sipping cha
he orders another
paneer naan
mostly stuffed with
chopped spinach
***
the pratha chef
kneads two doughs
ever so slowly
watching his favourite
sitcom on TV
***
pulling
milk tea in the air
local ‘teh tarik’
the outdoor view
of local stalls
***
smoke smell
of barbecue street food
forty-five-minutes queue
not counting
the order time
***
pouring peanut
sauce on satay sticks
beach tiki bar
charcoal grills
the freshest taste
* * *
And a final Haiku from Carl:
THE LONDON PHILOSOPHIC ORCHESTRA
—Caschwa
Instruments silent
a whole lot of heavy thought,
—Caschwa
Instruments silent
a whole lot of heavy thought,
debate, fine tuning
__________________
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!
•••American Sentence: https://poetscollectivepoetryforms.wordpress.com/2014/12/21/american-sentence
•••AND/OR the Philippino Awit—be sure to get all these details right:
•••Awit (Philippines): https://poetscollectivepoetryforms.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/awit
•••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 “Stranded”.
____________________
MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry terms mentioned today:
•••American Sentence (Allen Ginsberg): https://poetscollectivepoetryforms.wordpress.com/2014/12/21/american-sentence
•••Awit (Philippines): https://poetscollectivepoetryforms.wordpress.com/2014/03/03/awit
•••Borrowed First Line: Just what it says.
•••Dua (devised by Ai Li): a two-line poems with two spaces between each line, no periods and no titles
•••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
•••List Poem: clpe.org.uk/poetryline/poeticforms/list-poem
•••Response Poem: creativetalentsunleashed.com/2015/11/18/writing-tip-response-poems
•••Senryu: www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-senryu-poems#quiz-0
•••Tan-Renga: https://www.graceguts.com/essays/an-introduction-to-tan-renga
•••Triquain: http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/triquain.html
•••Tuesday Seed of the Week: a prompt listed in Medusa’s Kitchen every Tuesday; poems may be any shape or size, form or no form. No deadlines; past ones are listed at http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/calliopes-closet.html/. Send results to kathykieth#hotmail.com/.
__________________
—Medusa
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 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!
