* * *
—Poetry by Nolcha Rox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
Caschwa, Joe Nolan, and Claire J. Baker
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy
of Joe Nolan and Medusa
BEDLAM
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
The birds are screaming
as they fly, espying glitter
of the fishy’s scales.
The stream is muttering,
stuttering over rocks
that block its way.
The deer are grunting
as they’re hunting
for a flower feast.
Rain is plunking,
gossiping about
the things they’ll hit.
I am leaving, grieving.
All I want is quiet,
not the bedlam of the day.
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
The birds are screaming
as they fly, espying glitter
of the fishy’s scales.
The stream is muttering,
stuttering over rocks
that block its way.
The deer are grunting
as they’re hunting
for a flower feast.
Rain is plunking,
gossiping about
the things they’ll hit.
I am leaving, grieving.
All I want is quiet,
not the bedlam of the day.
—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa
BEDLAM
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
That Bedlam born from Bethlehem,
named hospital for the insane—
at least those thought out of their mind;
not so spectators at this zoo,
who paid their fee, poke fun and face,
for out of mind, eye, not required.
Confusion is the theme rehearsed,
mad mix, emotions, norms revoked,
delighted laughter of thought sane.
Here is a meeting of the minds—
authorities of powerful, rich,
to keep not understood at bay.
It measures our society,
as how we treat our mental ill—
at stake, are we community,
the family of human, kind,
for selfless proves a selfish gene,
as said, to be or not to be?
Some hum and hover, bedlam’s site,
a swirling air as clouds descend
with squadrons screeching cross the sky;
in buzz reply some wasp pursuit,
those hornet drones in swift flyby.
A scene played out in sickened minds?
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
BEDLAM
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
Polyphony, the
presentation of many
false statements at once
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
BALANCED SERENITY
—Caschwa
(After a recent Seed of the Week, Serenity)
Dvořák’s Piano Concerto in G Minor,
played by Sviatoslav Richter
got to hear a pianist, a Concertoist,
and a Dvořákist play all three in one
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
A SAD STORY CONTINUES
—Caschwa
For Juneteenth
(After a recent Seed of the Week, Fences)
I.
Twenty some years ago in Long Beach,
California a young, black fellow approached
me right in front of my house and pointed a
gun at my face, demanding my wallet. It had
my ID plus about $11 cash and a credit card.
I surrendered the wallet to him without resistance,
and he disappeared into a waiting getaway car,
which, by the way, looked much more expensive
than my old automobile. I filed a report with the
police, who told me that both the gun and the car
were also probably stolen, and they were not very
hopeful about reuniting me with my property.
II.
A few days later when I reviewed the charges
on my credit card, one stood out as a charge
for meals that I hadn’t initiated, which was made
at a local coffee shop near LAX that I sometimes
had visited.
.
III.
Never in my life have I ever pointed a gun in
someone’s face before casually going out to a
coffee shop to buy a meal. How truly sad that
this young man’s history denied him the open
window of opportunities to seek employment
so that he could afford to dine out with his duly
earned funds. My own work history includes a
range of jobs from meagerly employed to gainfully
employed, and there were a few occasions where I
was just not the right fit for the job, so I moved on
to find another. I suspect this young, black man
did not enjoy the same path of opportunities that I
did, and was that much more desperate just to fit
in with the crowd.
IV.
This morning I went out to eat at one of the
Sacramento locations of that LAX area coffee
shop and got the news that someone with a
stolen credit card had tried to redeem that card
to pay for their meal. In this instance the valid
card owner was promptly notified of this attempt
to use the stolen card, and police were dispatched
to take the suspected thief into custody. The color
of the thief was not disclosed.
V.
And so it continues. We amended the Constitution
to free the slaves, fought a bloody Civil War over
this issue, witnessed a popular President die by
assassination, and yet to this day people of color are
still regarded at best as second-class citizens by an
alarmingly high percentage of whites. So sad.
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa
LUDDITES OF THE WORLD, UNITE!
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
Little disposable things,
Ex-natura,
Neo-tech, post-tech,
Like operating systems
Obsolete in four years
Sending old computers
To their graveyards
And software
To its compost heap.
Luddites of the world, unite!
It’s time for us to regress
To save our landfills
From overload
And shutdown.
Surely a universal patch
Can be downloaded
And installed
To make everything
Work
Alongside the
Old and superseded
As though it were
As good as new
And treat the tech industry
As a public utility
Instead of
Bill Gates’ Gouging System,
Where everything is licensed,
You own nothing
And you’re not happy
Shelling out money
Year after year
For things
You used to own forever,
Once you bought them.
—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa
SQUIGGLY, A WORM
—Joe Nolan
Squiggly
Ducked for cover
Under birds
Perched on branches
Or on the look
For things
To eat
On wings,
In flight.
Squiggly
Was just a worm,
But wanted to survive
Even though
He was just a worm,
Lower than a bird,
Who needed him
To feed his chicks
Squeaking in their nest.
Even lowly Squiggly,
Who was completely blind,
Could foresee
How easily
He could be
Dropped into a gullet
From a gracious beak.
—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa
MODERN DATING
—Joe Nolan
I wish I had a woman
Who adored me,
But women don’t
Adore men, anymore.
The days of reckless love
That rocks and rambles
Have left the stable,
Gone, now, bye and bye.
Women have recovered
From oppression—
Out, now, roaming
Through the realm.
Old ways of flirting
Won’t work anymore.
Kneeling, offering flowers
Is so passé.
Cynicism
Cuts through
Meat and feathers
Leaving men
Stripped,—
Cut down
To the bone.
—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa
THE CUTEST GRAND-BABY IN
THE ENTIRE WORLD
—Joe Nolan
When I say
He’s the cutest
Grand-baby
In the entire world,
I really mean it.
Not just because
He’s mine.
I claim to know,
Across the globe,
That no infant
Could surpass him.
Whether I
Am right or wrong,
My heart will sing
Its grandfather’s song
Of love for its
Second generation,
Across a field of time.
_____________________
Today’s LittleNip:
BED-LAM
—Claire J. Baker, Pinole, CA
In my first bed, I was a lamb.
But then I grew into a lion.
This triolet is not a scam.
In my first bed, I bahhed, a lamb,
and no one ran or shouted SCRAM.
But soon I roared and took life on!
Once I was a cuddled lamb,
but now (just kidding) I’m a lion.
_____________________
—Medusa, with thanks to today’s contributors, some of whom wrote to our Seed of the Week, Bedlam. Got some thoughts on the subject? It’s never too late to respond to our Seed of the Week~
—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Joe Nolan
A reminder that
Poetry in Motion meets
in Placerville today, 10:30am;
Napa Book Mine presents
Sixteen Rivers Press readers
today in Napa, CA, 6pm; and
Sacramento Poetry Center presents
Joanna Drucker & Diane Ward
tonight in Sacramento, 7:30pm.
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!
Poetry in Motion meets
in Placerville today, 10:30am;
Napa Book Mine presents
Sixteen Rivers Press readers
today in Napa, CA, 6pm; and
Sacramento Poetry Center presents
Joanna Drucker & Diane Ward
tonight in Sacramento, 7:30pm.
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!
