Octo—

OCKTO OCTO
—Tom Goff, Carmichael

(with props to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)

Doctor Octopus hates spiders,
most of all gives Spider-Man spite.
Peter Parker, right back at him;
no time flat, like horseflies, flit-fight.
Doc Ock’s tentacles snag, fist-tight,
Peter. Parker webs back at him:
Spider-Man of all most spite gives
Ock, who worst despises spiders.

__________________

Thanks, Tom! We're talking octos this week; it's a give-away Seed of the Week, in fact. The octo form is eight lines, eight syllables each; rhyme lines 4 and 5; then lines 6, 7, 8 repeat the first three lines, only in reverse order. Send your octos on any (and I do mean any) subject to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 by midnight Sunday, Octo. 11, and I'll send you a free copy of Susan Finkleman's new rattlechap, Mirror, Mirror: Poems of the Mother-Daughter Relationship—or any other rattlechap of your choosing, if you already have that one.

Tom says: Saw Jane Campion's Bright Star this weekend (at Tower Theater). Can't think of a poet bio-pic that better did its job: it really makes one feel the vital heat of John Keats' poetry, while giving loving attention to the part of Fanny Brawne. Erotic, elliptical, subtle, and very moving in the conclusion. Hope it's out soon on DVD.

Mitz Sackman has put out a call for the name of a good rhyming dictionary. Any recommendations? Send 'em to Medusa at kathykieth@hotmail.com/.

And don't forget the special SPC reading tonight from 6-8 PM (special time, special place): Sacramento Poetry Center presents a reading by the winning poets from the 2009 SPC Poetry Contest. Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, 828 I St., Sacramento.

More octos—plus something, well, sobering...

___________________

FALL SPIRIT SINGS
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys

Creek bubbles slowly over rocks
Birds cackle, twitter in the trees
Yellow leaves turn brown, drift below
Fall spirit sings in a bright rush
Coloring reds, yellows with brush
Yellow leaves turn brown, drift below
Birds cackle, twitter in the trees
Creek bubbles slowly over rocks

__________________

BIRD CALENDAR
—Taylor Graham, Placerville

October’s touched the first of frost.
Now, hedge and sky alive with birds
for seed I scattered in the dark—
a nuthatch, towhee, titmouse, jay.
Cold sunshine, it’s a hunger day
for seed I scattered in the dark.
Now hedge and sky alive with birds,
October’s touched the first of frost.

___________________

NEON EYES
—Taylor Graham

Inside the house we thought we knew,
the new cat’s disappeared again.
A world of possibility—
I gaze into the darkest place
and see two greenish glints in space,
a world of possibility.
The new cat’s disappeared again
inside the house we thought we knew.

__________________

A FRIEND ADVISES ME TO STOP DRINKING
—Mei Yao Ch'en (1002-1060)

In my young days I drank a
Lot of wine. There is nothing
Wrong with the love of drink. Now
I am old and my teeth and
Hairs are few and far between.
I still love to drink, but I
Can't do it as I used to.
Now when I drink it upsets
My stomach. There is not much
Pleasure in it. Today I
Got drunk and could not hold up
My head. The room turned round and round.
Seeking pleasure, I find only
Sickness. This is certainly
Not the way to care for my health.
Maybe I should give it up
Altogether. I am afraid
People will laugh at me. Still,
You say it would be a good
Idea. There is not much pleasure
In a sour stomach and
Bad breath. I really know that I
Ought to stop it. If I don't do it,
I don't know what will happen to me.


(Translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth)

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

What must be cut away from the poem is not words, but those parts of the poem, if any, that do not serve to involve us... The irreducibility of the poem must be seen not as the shortest verbal line between two points, but as the shortest completely involving line.

—John Ciardi, How Does a Poem Mean?

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or
P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing,
to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC anthology,
Keepers of the Flame: The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. Be there!


COMING IN NOVEMBER:

A new chapbook from dawn di bartolo (Secrets of a Violet Sky), a Rattlesnake Reprint from frank andrick (Triptych), and a brand-new 2010 calendar of poetry and photos by Katy Brown (Wind in the Yarrow).
That’s Weds., November 11, at The Book Collector, 7:30 PM.

_________________

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.

Maybe An Octo About Tender Bars?

Dog Rock
Photo by Bob Dreizler, Sacramento

OLD ENDYMION
—Tom Goff, Carmichael

We've been together, boy and goddess, man
and goddess; now, decrepit with goddess. Think
lothario buzzard and his trophy wife.
But it's the wife who's meant to be babe and gleaming
foxy in the gloaming, luncheon in the grass,
in the picnic hampeer the one cheese, nude skin.
But I was her man-toy-trophy; gold plate chipped,
I'm lead, exposed in lady-babe's beam of orb.
Kill me, mince my being to silver light
speeding toward, along with, and away from my self,
anything fast, but not this pumice face.
Just look at me—I'm acne, pitting the moon!

__________________

Thanks, Tom, for the poem that our Historian-in-Residence, Tom Goff, calls a counter to W.S. di Piero's "New Endymion"...

Last week I had occasion to see a poem by Elsie Whitlow Feliz in the form of an “octo”, so I thought, What the hey? Let’s give it a shot for our Seed of the Week, even though I can’t seem to find any mention of it in the standard resources. (But I didn’t ask Joyce Odam, our Formalist-in-Residence, who of course does know this form.) The octo form is eight lines, eight syllables each; rhyme lines 4 and 5; then lines 6, 7, 8 repeat the first three lines, only in reverse order. I’d show you Elsie’s, but she’s in Japan and I can’t ask her permission because I don’t know how often she’s online, so I whipped out an example myself—such as it is:


DEATH OF A U-HAUL
—Kathy Kieth, Pollock Pines

Listen to the dying U-Haul!
Grinding gears on this poor machine—
I have no skill at backing up.
Driving is truly most perverse
With only mirrors for reverse.
I have no skill at backing up—
Grinding gears on this poor machine.
Listen to the dying U-Haul!

____________________

I know; I know—it’s a terrible poem. But I think it fits the form—unless you discover otherwise (and let me know, if you do). So send me a better one, already! (This actually happened to me, by the way. I discovered that backing up a 26-foot U-Haul is no picnic. Well, I didn’t actually kill it…) Send your octos on any subject to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.

In fact, let's make this a give-away. Send me an octo and I'll send you a copy of Susan Finkleman's new rattlechap, Mirror, Mirror. For give-aways, though, there's a deadline: get this one to me by midnight on Sunday, Octo(ber) 11.

While I was looking for octos online, I came across this site that might tickle the fancy of form fans:
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Forms-of-Poetry-94120.html/. It’s kind of a trivia site, like, Can You Name This?

href="file:///Users/kathykieth/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Clipboard/msoclip1/01/clip_clip_filelist.xml">

__________________

POEM
—Frank O'Hara

I can't wait for spring!
this year—dare I say it?
I'm ready, I'll grab and
hold, roll over and over
in the sweet bulbs, smell
of dirt and musk and
nectar and air, and then
I'll leap erect as any
adolescent reading sweet
Petronius into that
ravishing! raving! that
blue blue sky.

__________________

In the street of children the sun is cold
and the winter accepts leaves for prizes,
autos roar into the plate-glass praises
which the meanest faces muster and hold,
loving themselves most.

The little girl's doll

farts into a heady wind and steam shrieks
to get out, and of the cracks and the creaks
and the dark stares of the cop in the hall.

Yellowing into an orient's lapse
of life they fiddle with each other, no
fooling and no fun, while the sun gallops

into another street to start trouble
which no child can die fast enough to know:
love dies in the bright praise of its double.


—Frank O'Hara

__________________

PARTIES
—Frank O'Hara

Do you know what the phiz really
looks like? the anchovy eye
unrolled and without blemish
without a handkerchief at parties

Or is it that our hearts don't
really listen to Dietrich? the mirror
has a streak across its face as
if a cake of soap had slipped

And the candles tremble perhaps
with lust perhaps simply because
they are cold anyhow they know
everyone we've been to bed with

Open the ventilator open the door
the sky is peering through the
Venetian blinds Kenny you're having
a wonderful party but I am dying

In the middle of a martini in
the middle of a dance oh don't
ask me to clean up the place no
tomorrow no airplanes just flies

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Two termites walk into a bar. One asks, "Is the bar tender here?"

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or
P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing,
to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC anthology,
Keepers of the Flame: The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. Be there!

_________________

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.

On Our Way To Scardom

IF FLOWERS FOUGHT COLOR WARS
—Salvatore Buttaci, Princeton, WVa

if flowers fought color wars
like man-unkind
what would become
of springtime gardens
battling petals
stems entwined
to the death
a desolate place
where grass would mourn
and those gentle breezes
what of them
what could they whisper
into the flower cups
about seeds unborn
who lie waiting
to grow tall and straight
beneath a peaceful sun
a rain empty of malice

__________________

Thanks, Sal! Long-time (since the beginning) SnakePal Salvatore Buttaci recently had his poems and stories published in Full of Crow Quarterly, Blink-Ink, New Mystics, A Twist of Noir, Dragons Composed, Writing Raw, PoetryMagazine.com, and Rattlesnake Review. To learn more about him, including a photo, go to May 1, 2007 in Medusa's archives (click on May, 2007 in the column at the right of this and scroll down to May 1.)

To order a copy of Salvatore’s newest chapbook, Boy on a Swing and other poems, please visit http://bigtablepublishing.com/chaptitles.html/. Or order yourself a copy of his A Family of Sicilians at Buttaci Publishing.


This week in NorCal poetry:

•••Monday (10/5), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents John Amen and Scott Weiss. HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. [See last Friday's post for bios.] John Amen will also be presenting a workshop and reading in Modesto this Friday; see below.

Coming next week to SPC:

•••Mon. (10/12): Frank Andrick and friends: a multi-media night of poetry, music, film featuring Chris Fairman, David Houston, and more! At California Stage.

•••Tues. (10/6), 4-5 PM: CSUS creative writing students read their work in "The Collective Reading Series" in the Library Gallery. Info: Host Joe Montalbo at crsatcsus@yahoo.com/.

Save the following dates for other readings by these students:
Thurs. (10/22), 4-5pm: Library Gallery
Thurs. (11/5), 4-5pm: Library Gallery
Tues. (11/17), 4-5pm: Multicultural Center (across from the Library entrance)
Tues. (12/1), 4-5pm: Multicultural Center (across from the Library entrance)

•••Tuesdays, 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center Workshop at the Hart Center, 27th & J Sts., Sacramento. Free; bring 13 copies of your one-page poem to be read/critiqued. Info: Danyen Powell at 530-756-6228.

•••Wed. (10/7), 6-8 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents a reading by the winning poets from the 2009 SPC Poetry Contest. Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, 828 I St., Sacramento.

•••Wed. (10/7 and every 1st and 3rd Weds.), 9 PM: Featured reader plus open mic at 10 PM at Bistro 33, 3rd and F Sts. in Davis. Free. Hosted by Andy Jones and Brad Henderson. Info: http://poetryindavis.blogspot.com/ or 530-756-4556 or aojones@ucdavis.edu/; schedule at http://www.bistro33.com/bistro33/.

•••Wednesdays, 9 PM: Mahogany Urban Poetry Series at Queen Sheba's Restaurant, 1704 Broadway (17th and Broadway), Sacramento. $5 cover, all ages.

•••Wednesdays, 5 PM: Dr. Andy’s Technology and Poetry Hour, KDVS radio station (90.3 FM) or http://www/kdvs.org/.

•••Thursdays, 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Café, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Featured readers, with open mic before and after.

•••Thursdays, 7 PM: “Life Sentence” reading at The Coffee Garden, 2904 Franklin Blvd., Sacramento. Open mic.

•••Thursdays, 10-11 AM (replayed Sundays 10-11 AM): Mountain Mama’s Earth Music with Nancy Bodily on 95.7 FM. Music/poetry woven around a central theme deeply tied to mountains/earth.

•••Friday (10/9): John Amen of North Carolina will present a workshop and a reading in Modesto. He founded and continues to edit The Pedestal Magazine (www.thepedestalmagazine.com). These events will take place at the Horizon Room, Homewood Village Mobile Home Park, 2000 Mable Ave., Modesto. (209) 522-1412.

WORKSHOP: 6-7 PM: The workshop is limited to 20 participants. The cost is $20 and includes a copy of his new collection, At the Threshold of Alchemy [see Medusa’s Thursday, Sept. 24 post for a review by B.L. Kennedy]. For a registration form, call Cleo Griffith at 209-543-1776 or write to her at cleor36@yahoo.com/.

READING: 7:30-8 PM THIS IS A FREE EVENT.

SOCIAL TIME: 8:00-8:30 PM, followed by an open mike session as time permits. Light refreshments will be served and Mr. Amen’s book will be available for purchase and signing.

•••Sat. (10/10), 2 PM: Citrus Heights Area Poets Open Mic at Citrus Heights Barnes & Noble, Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights.

•••Sat. (10/10 and every 2nd and 4th Sat.), 10-11:30 AM: Sacramento Poetry Center 2nd and 4th Sat. workshop with Emmanuel Sigauke and Frank Dixon Graham. South Natomas Community Center (next door to S. Natomas Library), 2921 Truxel Rd., Sacramento. Bring ten copies of your one-page poem to read/critique. Info: grahampoet@aol.com/.

__________________

TO STOP THE HANDS OF TIME
—Salvatore Buttaci

he hangs suspended from a giant clock
his hands cut bloody raw as they grip
the minute hand sharp as a sword
as it jolts in its upward climb towards
twelve and another revolution

he has had enough of time's cruelties
the pompous way it waves its seconds
against the uncommon occurrences of joy
the sadistic manner in which its seconds
drag through the dark plodding sorrows

finally true love has found within him a place
where it mends a heart shattered like glass
where it brings the sweet scent of flowers
where it plucks its eyes to death and decay
where it pleads to live eternity

he will die trying to stop the hands of time
from inching towards the graveyard of history
he will climb higher and higher like a hanged man
but the fragments time brushes in its path
will store in silent silos lost forever

__________________

CONFESSION
—Salvatore Buttaci

sharp slivers of wood
driven under my fingernails

you will talk
you will give us
what we need to know

boiling beads of water
burn holes in my forehead

don't be a fool
why suffer this pain
tell us everything

electric currents buzz
neon pain inside me

we can stop this
we can put away our toys
just say the word

a rifle butt knocks out
the rest of my bloody teeth

what shame
what humiliation
what's wrong with you

if only I could shut my eyes
drift off to painless death

I have nothing to say
no secrets to tell
no one to save with my words

__________________

A GEM IN A BOX
—Salvatore Buttaci

keeping the soul unadulterated
is a sure-fire away
to insure demons
don't dive into your mouth
and tear you inside out

you can't see your soul
no one's ever described
what it looks like
if it has color or weight
or even a voice

I like to think of the soul
as a priceless gem in a box
something that dazzles us
we marvel at its worth
we throw the box away

I imagine the soul
the timeless part of us
the true-blue of who
we really are
beyond bone and blood

we who show the world
shells that grow old
must show God souls
that deserve
to dazzle forever

__________________

SHE HARDLY REMEMBERS
ANYMORE
—Salvatore Buttaci

hiding in the wine cellar
she presses her grapes against
the clear glass that offers proof
it can help her forget the toasts
of years so distant in the past
she hardly remembers anymore

when the darkness settles in
she gratefully accepts it
takes it in her upturned palms
like a gift she wants to deserve
clasps her hands as if in prayer

so the darkness cannot escape
but again dawn slithers
another new sun
between her closed fingers
pries them openhandedly

while she pretends
the wine is a red knight
who will save her
a calm red sea
to sail her free

a last red wound
on its way to scardom

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

If writers were good businessmen, they'd have too much sense to be writers.

—Irvin S. Cobb

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or
P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing,
to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC anthology,
Keepers of the Flame: The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. Be there!

_________________

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.

Hanging From The Floor Of Heaven

A WILLING SUSPENSION
—John Holmes

John Milton said the world in a starry rain
Was hung from heaven's floor by a golden chain,
And would not be displaced and could not fall.
We think the world is held by its own spin
Where it is, and will be, and has always been,
Though we make burns and gouges in the ball.

Milton by Galileo could have been told
World depends from no stranded loops of gold,
But had his poem to make, and would not hear.
I hang, and I have always known I hung
From the floor of heaven, and when I was young
Rattled my golden chain and golden sphere.

Hang is the word for it still, hard to the floor's
Underside, though cratered by meteors.
What was cable I see is old-fashioned rope,
Or cord. It could be called cord, but it's thread
I'll be hanged with by the neck now till I'm dead.
From the bump of wars and nicks of time I look up

At that thin thread. Is that all it is?
The man next door at eighty dangles on his,
Less than twice my age, and holds up well,
Classicist and grandfather. Where do they get stuff
Like that, stone-thread, sun-wire, thong so tough
I feel safe from my own or even Milton's hell?

__________________

—Medusa

A Sheaf Of Brilliant Arrows

STARS AT TALLAPOOSA
—Wallace Stevens

The lines are straight and swift between the stars.
The night is not the cradle that they cry,
The criers, undulating the deep-oceaned phrase.
The lines are much too dark and much too sharp.

The mind herein attains simplicity.
There is no moon, on single, silvered leaf.
The body is no body to be seen
But is an eye that studies its black lid.

Let these be your delight, secretive hunter,
Wading the sea-lines, moist and ever-mingling.
Mounting the earth-lines, long and lax, lethargic.
These lines are swift and fall without diverging.

The melon-flower nor dew nor web or either
Is like to these. But in yourself is like:
A sheaf of brilliant arrows flying straight,
Flying and falling straightway for their pleasure,

Their pleasure that is all bright-edged and cold;
Or, if not arrows, then the nimblest motions,
Making recoveries of young nakedness
And the lost vehemence the midnights hold.

__________________

OF MERE BEING
—Wallace Stevens

The palm at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze distance,

A gold-feathered bird
Sings in the palm, without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.

You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The birds sings. Its feathers shine.

The palm stand on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird's fire-fangled feathers dangle down.

__________________

TEA AT THE PALAZ OF HOON
—Wallace Stevens

Not less because in purple I descended
The western day through what you called
The loneliest air, not less was I myself.

What was the ointment sprinkled on my beard?
What were the hymns that buzzed beside my ears?
What was the sea whose tide swept through me there?

Out of my mind the golden ointment rained,
And my ears made the blowing hymns they heard.
I was myself the compass of that sea:

I was the world in which I walked, and what I saw
Or heard or felt came not but from myself;
And there I found myself more truly and more strange.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

The perfect place for a writer is in the hideous roar of a city, with men making a new road under his window in competition with a barrel organ, and on the mat a man waiting for the rent.

—Henry Vollam Morton

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or
P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing,
to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC anthology,
Keepers of the Flame: The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. Be there!

_________________

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.

One-Sided Love

Drawing by Ann Privateer

STAND FAST
—Ann Privateer, Davis

My hefty bulk stands
unwaveringly
because I love all the land.

__________________

Thanks, Ann! Ann Privateer writes that she "went to the Watershed Environmental Poetry Festival in Berkeley last Saturday, where I created these during a community event called The Cloud Maiden, Two."


This weekend in NorCal poetry:

•••Sat. (10/3 and every 1st Sat.): Rhythm and Rhyme readings at Butch N’ Nellies near 19th & I Sts., Sacramento. Televised music, open mic. Info: myspace.com/RNRshow/.

•••Monday (10/5), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents John Amen and Scott Weiss at HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. John Amen is the author of three collections of poetry: Christening the Dancer (Uccelli Press 2003), More of Me Disappears (Cross-Cultural Communications 2005), and At the Threshold of Alchemy (Presa 2009), and has released two folk/folk rock Cds: All I’ll Never Need and Ridiculous Empire (Cool Midget 2004, 2008). His poetry has appeared in various journals and anthologies, including, most recently, Rattle, The New York Quarterly, The International Poetry Review, Gargoyle, and Blood to Remember. He is also an artist, working primarily with acrylics on canvas. Amen travels widely giving readings, doing musical performances, and conducting workshops. He founded and continues to edit the award-winning literary bimonthly, The Pedestal Magazine (www.thepedestalmagazine.com).

Scott Weiss is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento, with a degree in English. His poetry has appeared in the journal, Poetalk, and he has reviewed a book of poetry for the online publication, Electronic Poetry Review.

___________________

TUMBLEWEED BLUES
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Tehama

Since you cinched that broad black belt
dragged on manure-caked cowboy boots
clapped the greasy-band Stetson on your head
and pointed west, I’ve been blue

I want to follow
your bald tire tracks
down the dirt road

Light red candles in the window
burn musk incense by the bathtub
lure your sweat-scent arms around my body
pull you in

But I sense
my little one-cent’s-worth
of tricks won’t work

Whatever tumbleweed
sent you my way
has rolled you on again

to rest for a week or a month
in prickly splendor
against a new woman’s fence


(First published in Möbius)

___________________

DIARY OF A CAUSTIC CROW
—Richard Zimmer, Sacramento

In the frosty morning mist,
we take our cloistered flight.
Dark-winged mates—
companions in strict formation.

Feathered fliers fetching
far from black-tarred streets—
hindered by hurrying humans
in looming metal machines.

Swift and short our flight—
clutching wires and
branches—ready perches
to espy scraps below.

Eagerly seeking fare
to seize upon—we snatch
at the chance to snap up
any morsels we can find.

Feathered fliers on the prowl—
strutting our proud walk.
Claws, clawing, beaks biting—
keep out of our way...


(Sketch by Richard Zimmer)

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

the autumn wind
resounds in the mountain—
temple bell
—Kaga No Chiyo

No autumn colors tint that side of the mountain: a one-sided love.
—Kaga No Chiyo

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or
P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing,
to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC anthology,
Keepers of the Flame: The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. Be there!

_________________

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.

When He Sings, He Sings Blue

Photo by Stephani Schaefer, Los Molinos

WITH A TWIST OF BLUE
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento

A shudder of blue through wavering wet light;
insinuating beings who murmur around you.
You listen but you are distracted by a beetle

in the glass, going after the dregs.
The curve of the glass
prevents its return up the sides. You watch

in deep, slow-motioned concern
to analyze your vision. What is real:
None of it! None of it!

And orange glow dissolves through the glass
where naked figures embrace and dance,
a slow dance

of tragedy or love.
You watch them through the glass distortion.
The dregs hold the muddling light.

There is no beetle.
The blue exaggerates for your eyes.
You are crying.

__________________

BLUE CRAYON
—Joyce Odam

In your sister’s brand new
coloring book you color the horse blue
and ruin the book forever.


(Previously published in Poets’ Forum Magazine)

__________________

BLUE SONG COLLAGE
—Joyce Odam

(based on Francis Bacon, ‘Man in Blue’)

When he sings, he sings blue,
sings to the black piano,

sings to the hushed audience
of his memory.

Soft smoky light swirls through him
and away—

diffuses into
the surrounding darkness.

Beyond the aura of his tragic face,
the stale dark listens—

leaning forward with admiration.
He braces for the applause.


(First published in Red Owl)

__________________

New local writers' blog:

Check out Kate Asche’s new blog chronicling creative writing opportunities and events in the greater Sacramento and Central Valley area at http://ucdewriting.blogspot.com/.


B.L.'s Drive-Bys: A Micro-Review by B.L. Kennedy:

Specious Species, Vol. 1, Number 3
ed. by Joe Donohoe
Last Grasp
3345 20th St.
San Francisco, CA 94110
130 pp, $5

Once again I have to praise Joe Donohoe for putting together this ambitious and fine magazine. Those of you who have read my reviews of Joe in the past know that he is a true artist, writer, publisher, editor and San Francisco taxi driver. Those of you who have seen Joe’s many readings at Luna’s café know that he is a talent to be reckoned with. But his biggest achievement to date is the inception of this anthology, Specious Species, and its focused display of edgy writing, top-of-the-line prose, poetry and artwork—whether it’s Street Poet Charlie Getter or San Francisco tour guide and historian Don Herron or even Michelle Tea or Jennifer Fox Bennett, or even Ed Bowers, one of my personal favorites. You can’t go wrong by investing in a copy of this anthology, so if you have a chance to secure a copy, either from Joe Donohoe or can talk one of your local bookstores into carrying it, I promise you will not go wrong.

—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence

__________________

BLUE SKY FALL
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys

It
Has been
A blue sky
Fall, at least so
Far, light changing now
More fall than the weather
Today clouds cover the blue
But only cloudy for today
Tomorrow, back to our blue sky fall
Is it global warming now, I wonder

__________________

AUTUMN CALENDAR
—Marie J. Ross, Stockton

Pastel hue will bathe colorless waters
in dawn's early hours, sun slowly rising
as mist unfolds.
September will shift the breeze, in motion
of trance, as autumn awakens it with timely
breaths.
From leaning branches, colorful leaves will
flitter like clusters of fireflies and fall from
summer's closet.
A gathering
awaiting the undressing: thickets those slaves in mocha,
lifting for earth's seasonal dip, the heavens a dull grey.
First the whisper, breeze to wind, the voice of thunder
not yet chiding.
November enters, marching in leather boots
like a master sergeant, uniform made of icy buttons
and stiff fabric.
Pastel hue transparent glass, sun rising pale,
days of light dimmer—winter's face a powdery white.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

The light can come through you; not that you
matter. But the light does. Why should you
twist, then, and turn, hiding it?

—William Bronk

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:


RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

RR23 is now available at The Book Collector, and contributor and subscription copies will go into the mail in the next two weeks.
You may also order a copy through rattlesnakepress.com/.
Deadline is November 15 for RR24: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or
P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to add all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of the on-going Medusa are always hungry; keep that poetry comin', rain or shine!
Just let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission packet per issue of the quarterly Review.
(More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me (include snail address) and I'll send you one. Free!


COMING IN OCTOBER:

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, Rattlesnake Press will release
a new chapbook from Brad Buchanan (The War Groom)
and a new Rattlesnake LittleBook from
William S. Gainer: Joining the Demented.
That's 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.

WTF!!: The third issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from
Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick,
is now available at The Book Collector,
or send me two bux and I'll mail you one.
Deadline for Issue #4 will be Oct. 15.
Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing,
to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 (clearly marked for WTF).
And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be
over 18 years of age to submit. (More info at rattlesnakepress.com/.)

Then gear up the flivver for a ROAD TRIP on Monday, Oct. 26 at 7:30 PM
as we all travel over to HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento
for Rattlesnake Press's release of the new SPC anthology,
Keepers of the Flame: The First 30 Years of the Sacramento Poetry Center.
Editor-in-Chief Mary Zeppa and her helpers have put together
many, many documents and photos
from SPC's history, and the resulting anthology (and SPC's 30th anniversary!)
will be celebrated that night. Be there!

_________________

Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.