Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down for
Form Fiddlers’ Friday, with poetry by
Joe Nolan, Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
Caschwa, and Joyce Odam
DUA 4
lightning thunder
waves splash to squall, wind has its way
*
summit rocks graven with uplift and crush
spurting fire and fusion
*
ages-worn stone sits staid as a vicar
waiting for the next miracle
lightning thunder
waves splash to squall, wind has its way
*
summit rocks graven with uplift and crush
spurting fire and fusion
*
ages-worn stone sits staid as a vicar
waiting for the next miracle
WHERE’S THE CAT?
Yes, the art of ambush is known to cats.
The ones too large to hide in paper bags
or boxes in the closet—the ones whose
waiting needs free air—might be anywhere
invisible, shadowing our footsteps,
our lives as we venture the woodland trail.
My dog in the lead, I watch his posture,
stride, the lift of his muzzle. His senses
keener than mine, but I’m looking behind
us up ahead and above for the cat—
a cougar lying silent, motionless
on an oak limb for the moment to pounce.
Oh where? lurking in imagination.
HE CUT THE WRONG DEAD BRANCH
Crazy with a buzz in his bib overalls,
elbows flailing—is it hornet, yellowjacket,
wasp? He’s doing double-time
to get rid of the hitchhiker, escape
to any place but here—to just be sitting
bored at his desk.
RED DOG SPEAKS
Patience is a virtue
for the wild dog—subsistence
hunter—hoping to catch scent
or sight of its prey,
for the herding dog waiting
for Master’s whistle-release
to drive his sheep over the hill
or down to the creek.
But this—
sitting motionless for an hour or more
while Mistress sits on a park bench
reading yet another chapter
of her fantasy . . . .
WINDOWS WIDE OPEN
Golden Shovel on a line from John Haines
Listen for the horned owl calling, while
the only sound is a ceiling fan, the
predictable night-breeze in these long
sweaty months under a chill moon
that shimmers silver as it drifts.
Young doe stares at me
across such a great distance—
she and her twin fawns.
Today’s LittleNip:
XMAS IN JULY?
—Taylor Graham
Why’s
this stuffed
reindeer in the
ditch? Was Santa’s elf
mistaken?
__________________
As usual, Taylor Graham’s poetry and photos “spit fire and fusion”, and we are always grateful for her visits to the Kitchen. Forms she has used this week include the Dua, which is also a Word-Can Poem (“Dua 4”); some Blank Verse in Response to Katy Brown’s "The Art of Ambush” at https://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/search?q=katy+brown+the+art+of+ambush and our Tuesday Seed of the Week); another Word-Can Poem (“He Cut the Wrong Dead Branch”); some Prosopopoeia in Response to last week’s Ekphrastic Challenge in Medusa’s Kitchen (“Red Dog Speaks”); a Golden Shovel (“Windows Wide Open”); a Haiku (“Young doe staring at me”), and an Elfchen (“Xmas in July?”). The Prosopopoeia and the Elfchen were last week’s Triple-F Challenge.
In El Dorado County poetry this week, info about El Dorado Country’s regular workshops is 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!
XMAS IN JULY?
—Taylor Graham
Why’s
this stuffed
reindeer in the
ditch? Was Santa’s elf
mistaken?
__________________
As usual, Taylor Graham’s poetry and photos “spit fire and fusion”, and we are always grateful for her visits to the Kitchen. Forms she has used this week include the Dua, which is also a Word-Can Poem (“Dua 4”); some Blank Verse in Response to Katy Brown’s "The Art of Ambush” at https://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/search?q=katy+brown+the+art+of+ambush and our Tuesday Seed of the Week); another Word-Can Poem (“He Cut the Wrong Dead Branch”); some Prosopopoeia in Response to last week’s Ekphrastic Challenge in Medusa’s Kitchen (“Red Dog Speaks”); a Golden Shovel (“Windows Wide Open”); a Haiku (“Young doe staring at me”), and an Elfchen (“Xmas in July?”). The Prosopopoeia and the Elfchen were last week’s Triple-F Challenge.
In El Dorado County poetry this week, info about El Dorado Country’s regular workshops is 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!
It’s time for more contributions from Form Fiddlers, in addition to those sent to us by Taylor Graham! Each Friday, there will be poems posted here from our readers using forms—either ones which were sent to Medusa during the previous week, or whatever else floats through the Kitchen and the perpetually stoned mind of Medusa. If these instructions are vague, it's because they're meant to be. Just fiddle around with some challenges— Whaddaya got to lose… ? If you send ‘em, I’ll post ‘em! (See Medusa’s Form Finder at the end of this post for resources and for links to poetry terms used in today’s post.)
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!
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!
* * *
A Quiet Moment by Edwin Harris, Newlyn School
Last Week’s Ekphrastic Photo
Last Week’s Ekphrastic Photo
Poets who sent responses to last week’s Ekphrastic photo were Joe Nolan, Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth, and Caschwa:
LASS WITH COLLIE
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
A beautiful young lassie
With her collie,
Attentive and patient
Ready to defend
Against all comers and
Do it to the end.
For now,
Things seem so peaceful,
Picture-perfect to
Read a romance novel,
Think about her future—
What kind of man she’ll have
With children soon to follow,
All dressed-up in white,
For the moment,
A precious, quiet moment
With her loving collie.
* * *
IF WISHES WERE MINUTES
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
She slipped away
to childhood’s grove,
where clocks unwound
to yesteryear.
But time is cruel.
It ate the hours of her life,
and locked her out
of childhood’s grove.
* * *
VERDANT PASTURES
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Appealing dog and peeling bark,
the curse of wordsmith facing art,
save that they’re both demanding paint,
an early brush for fourteen years.
The lady, wood, as birth place suits,
for Birmingham, where biog starts,
but schooled in Newlyn, set apart,
where Cornish light sought the best out.
Domestic to the garden brought,
a harbour of a different sort;
how spent then the unquiet hours—
what etiquette of class obtains?
Green shades of grasses, field and seat,
a benchmark for the meadowsweet;
white space for daisies, page addressed,
tight boddice draped by straw hat plait.
Eyes pause for fur, genius stroke,
with tail, of paws and intense sight;
what would she read, this leisured maid,
cross legged as only when alone?
En plein air as in Brittany,
now more, Lamorna, fishing by,
sum fifty of the colony,
in copper bottomed sanctuary.
I would those trunks be copper beech,
brown golden leaf of beaten trays,
traits other shapes of art nouveau,
that Edwin’s fellows followed on.
As schools trawl seas in Penzance bay,
how come these shoals of artistry
in waves find haven, fisher folk—
net worth well known, community?
* * *
CRITICS ABOUND
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
The large dog in front
has nothing at all to say
but the little man behind it
just won’t let things lay
each gentle turn of the page
by princess white fingers
unleashes new plots and twists
perhaps a murder mystery lingers
she may race to the end
skip a chapter or two
while the little man comments
quick critiques with no cue
* * *
Joyce Odam has sent us a Nocturnette, a short,
evocative poem that explores themes related to
nighttime, often with a focus on mood, atmosphere,
and sensory details associated with darkness. It's a
miniature version of a Nocturne, carrying the same
essence but in a more compact form: 6 lines broken
into 3 couplets, each couplet rhymed as aa bb cc;
4 Iambic feet to a line. Here is Joyce’s Nocturnette:
REND
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento, CA
Now, balance out this night, oh, Lord,
with falling stars––to give reward
to tearful eyes and stricken heart––
to all from which we tear apart.
Flare out the moon to its full eye
to draw this prayer through such a sky.
(prev. pub. in Poets’ Forum Magazine, Autumn 1997-98;
and in Medusa’s Kitchen 8/29/17; 11/24/23)
* * *
Here is an Ekphrastic poem from Stephen Kingsnorth
about this photo which appeared on MK on Tuesday,
July 22:
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento, CA
Now, balance out this night, oh, Lord,
with falling stars––to give reward
to tearful eyes and stricken heart––
to all from which we tear apart.
Flare out the moon to its full eye
to draw this prayer through such a sky.
(prev. pub. in Poets’ Forum Magazine, Autumn 1997-98;
and in Medusa’s Kitchen 8/29/17; 11/24/23)
* * *
Here is an Ekphrastic poem from Stephen Kingsnorth
about this photo which appeared on MK on Tuesday,
July 22:
CAN PAST BE YET PARTICIPAL?
—Stephen Kingsnorth
As scan the agent’s market place,
this cottage dream, my fairy tale,
appears on wish list at the top;
until internal photographs
reveal detailed interior.
A pit for privy, mice tails, rats,
that leaking thatch which candles snuffed,
those freezeframe windows, frosted glass,
a handpump, early morning splash,
but dressed as floral choccy box.
Why hanker, I, this fantasy,
romantic vision of our past,
bucolic idyll, winding path,
the ploughman plodding, weary way
to honeyed cott for sanctuary?
Eye candy for buyer’s remorse,
in floribunda, rambling roof,
that blooming scent of sales technique;
though cruder ways predominate,
its cottage industries attract.
Prevaricate, participate,
engage with past, but modernise,
tap into slate roof, double glaze,
replace that pit with sceptic tank,
and, always near, reach terms with rats?
__________________
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!
See what you can make of these challenges, and send your results to kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.) Follow Joyce Odam's lead with a Nocturnette:
•••Nocturnette: miniature version of a Nocturne, carrying the same essence but in a more compact form: 6 lines broken into 3 couplets, each couplet rhymed as aa bb cc; 4 Iambic feet to a line
•••AND/OR write the more expanded version known as the Nocturne, exploring these warm summer nights in poetry:
•••Nocturne: https://poets.org/glossary/nocturne
•••See also the bottom of this post for another challenge, this one an Ekphrastic one.
•••And don’t forget each Tuesday Seed of the Week! This week it’s “Whispers in the Night”.
____________________
MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry terms mentioned today:
•••Blank Verse: literarydevices.net/blank-verse AND/OR www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-the-difference-between-blank-verse-and-free-verse#quiz-0
•••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
•••Elfchen: https://medium.com/@Stevie.TheWritersRevival/creating-an-elfchen-poem-821eadecb2c7
•••Golden Shovel: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/golden-shovel-poetic-form
•••Haiku: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/haiku-or-hokku AND/OR www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html
•••Nocturne: https://poets.org/glossary/nocturne
•••Nocturnette: 6 lines broken into 3 couplets; each couplet rhymed aa bb cc; 4 iambic feet to a line
•••Prosopopoeia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopopoeia#:~:text=The%20term%20derives%20from%20the,Caecus%2C%20a%20stern%20old%20man
•••Response Poem: creativetalentsunleashed.com/2015/11/18/writing-tip-response-poems
•••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/.
•••Word-Can Poem: putting random words on slips of paper into a can, then drawing out a few and making a poem out of them
__________________
—Medusa
Today's Ekphrastic Challenge!
Make what you can of today's
picture, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Artwork Courtesy of Public Domain
Make what you can of today's
picture, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Artwork 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!
