Such Extravagance!

 —Public Domain Illustration Courtesy
of Joe Nolan
* * *
—Poetry by Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
Caschwa, Sayanni Mukherjee, and Joe Nolan
—Public Domain Visuals Courtesy
of Joe Nolan and Medusa

 

 

THANK YOU FOR THINKING OF ME
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY

I caught you with your
wandering hands
exploring someone else.

I bet you lied to me before,
but I was blinded by my love,
and pooh-poohed my suspicions.

This ring is so extravagant,
but I plan to return it.
It’s too little and I know

 

you bought it with my money.

 

 

 

—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa

 

 

CARMEN
Sometimes you have to be a man
—Claire J. Baker, Pinole, CA

With the best of intentions,
I urged a trans friend, coifed
to the hilt, pro makeup, scarlet nails,
fake lashes, swishy/wishy come-on eyes
and wearing a Play Girl cocktail gown,

to take care when flaunting his
extravagant femininity, that if
ever attacked for his inborn choice,
to fight back like hell. Carmen
surprised me, said she would fight!
 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa

SO EXTRAVAGANT
Pondering the Gospel of John 12. 1-8
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales

I learnt my lesson, changed my mind—
a sign of hope more fifty on—
a gospel story studied well
at Cambridge, School, Divinity.
The one time I on Judas’ side
(though John writes retrospective dig)
when he complains of wasted scent,
much perfume poured on Jesus’ feet.
Extravagance the theme of course—
this cash spent better on the poor,
betrayal of that justice cause
thought central—so Iscariot.
Conversing in a study group,
I listened, looked at pictures, art,
heard stories told where silence held,
an hour enough for me to see.
Oppressive treatment, many men
of this our alabaster girl;
so I won over from past view
and thankful, not too old, discern. 

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo 

Courtesy of Joe Nolan

WE’VE HAD ENOUGH, WHILE …
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

Step inside a luxury hotel and
everything is so extravagant, while
outside, vagrants search for scraps
of food or beg you to put a penny
in their cup. Board the First Class
section of a commercial airline and
be welcomed by a little extra room
for your arms and legs and a variety
of food, while on the street, people
who are virtually not permitted to
occupy any space anywhere settle
into the first temporary shelter they
come across. I’m getting hungry as
I write this poem and yet I have a
place to stay and a fridge with food,
and a table, while so many in this
world are even poorer than poets

while we enjoy the
niceties of high living
others are without

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joe Nolan

A YOUNG MAN’S TORMENT
—Caschwa

(Response to a recent Seed of the Week,
An Unexpected Guest)

The Age of Puberty arrives at our elementary
school in the form of rough, caveman sketches
of our sexual organs paired with the Mute
button being firmly held down so as not to
allow parents or teachers to reveal anything
about real feelings, the desire to have more and
more desire, what our hormones tell us to do …

At the same time, coming from a Jewish family,
there was this Bar Mitzvah ritual, “Today You
Are A Man” when out in the world a 13-year-old
boy cannot vote, marry, smoke, drink, gamble,
drive a motor vehicle, enter into a contract, buy
magazines that show naked ladies, all that was
still several years in the future

So as time went by, I got my own apartment, car,
full-time job, and on one occasion one of my
female neighbors was swimming in the pool
wearing a loose top, and suddenly appeared the
speck of a nipple…the event was like when one
is gazing at the sky, the clouds part a little bit,
and there is Venus, visible for only a few seconds,
and with no time to adjust the focus, the view
disappears again

That was my wake-up call. Having only 2 brothers
and no sisters, I entered the DIY Mode of the
Gateway to Discovery to learn all that really good
stuff that the “wise” marshals of the school
curriculum didn’t want to teach kids about sex.

Guess I turned out okay, later married a wonderful
woman and we had a terrific son. But I will always
carry with me the nagging fear that I may have
missed something important. 

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Joe Nolan

NOTE TO SELF, II
—Caschwa

There may be too many personalities,
all trying to steal the show, and
competition is not their greatest
strength. Might be missing something
here, but not to worry. If I figure something
out, I’ll be sure to let me know.

 

 

 

—Public Domain Illustration 

Courtesy of Medusa

ALICE
—Sayani Mukherjee, Chandannagar,
W. Bengal, India

Playgrounds are fine
If you are an expert
Expertise they say
A rare gem
Birds cropped up
In nets
From afar
A golden mirage
A Miracle mystery dip
But still
Playgrounds are nice
Still
Waiting for
Godot? Tree? Eureka?
Still play and spin
My Alice in Wonderland. 

 

 

 

 

—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa

ZOMBIE ON A TREADMILL
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA

Zombie on a treadmill
Is Sisyphus on drugs
Walking off his soma
All his live-long days.

One day’s like another—
It just goes on and on.
After work he scrambles
To get a big buzz on

To last him through the evening,
At home, with the kids,
His wife mostly ignores him
But she won’t divorce him
Since he pays the bills.

Too much for his bar-tab,
His cars keep “getting hit.”
The cops begin to question,
But they let him live
Since he pays the bills.

 

 

 

—Public Domain Illustration 

Courtesy of Medusa

A PITTANCE FOR MY SOUL
—Joe Nolan

He offered me a pittance
For the purchase of my soul.

He said it wasn’t worth much—
It’s just a dime-a-dozen,
Run-of-mill
Innocuous and boring
Out-of-date wallpaper
That would burden his patience
To have me in Hell, forever.

I asked, “What’s the best you can offer?”
Turned out it was just two-week vacation
In Cancun
During the summer
When the humidity is killing
And the sun would fry white skin.

I asked, "What did Rodney Dangerfield get?”
He said, “You don’t want to know.”

I said I’d think it over
And get back to him,
Maybe,
If nothing better came along.

____________________

Today’s LittleNip:

CHOICES
—Caschwa

(Another "Unexpected Guest")

A gardener who helped grow the fruits
knew that snails often worked in cahoots
said the snails to the gardener
would you rather see newts
and to garden with snails in your boots?

____________________

—Medusa, with thanks to today’s contributors for their wild and crazy Kitchen fare this morning! Our Seed of the Week was "So Extravagant"~

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Graphic Courtesy of Joe Nolan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A reminder that
Michael Gallowglas reads at
Sacramento Poetry Center
tonight, 7:30pm.
For info about this 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
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