Greetings From Under The Snow

CELL PHONE, MEN'S ROOM
—Tom Goff, Carmichael

So hard and long is the implement pressed to the ear
the while the gent is seated in the stall,
he’ll surely develop cancer of the brain
before, like matter requiring to be flushed and fall,
the business is done (the battery drained):

Did you get that suit ready? When can we meet?
or, I thought she was being a bitch!
It’s hard as hell to hear in here:
can you repeat?

Such stentor tones, befitting Tristan’s Kurvenal,
ring porcelainly as piss in graceful urinals.

Ah, for such wafting aromas as evoke
the perfume of women’s gentler essences,
the savor of tomatoey baked zitti:
the pantsless jar of bellowed confidences
seems less like whispering scent than Stooge eye-poke,
yet not at the eyeball, more like ear-graffiti.

How many heroes of men’s-room phone calls taken
enter and gabble and exit, shame-unshaken?

Like innocent doughboys in the pungent trench
do they leave the vivid air signed with their stench…?

__________________

Thanks, Tom and Michelle, for today's poetry. Be sure to join us this coming Wednesday, December 9 at 7:30 PM at The Book Collector for the release of two new offerings: The Thread of Dreams, a new chapbook from Carol Frith, and Issue #24 of Rattlesnake Review. Tom Goff has written us two splendid articles for this issue: his usual California poets/Historian-in-Residence column (featuring Californian Robinson Jeffers), as well as a review of The Outer Gate, the new collection of Nora May French poems edited by Donald Sidney-Fryer and Alan Gullette. In fact, the whole enterprise inspired Tom to write a poem of his own on the subject (or two or three); see below, and there will be more of such in RR24.

The latest issue of poetsespresso newsletter is out, edited by Stocktonians Donald R. Anderson and Marie J. Ross. Check it out for poetry and art; there is a link at the right of this column. They’ve gone "subscription only"; but at $2 a copy, it’s still a deal. Incidently, Donald and Marie are part of the Poets on the Roof group that meets and workshops together regularly in Stockton; RR24 will have a feature on them—as well as on a similar group in Oregon: Dragons. Lots goin' on in the new issue—be sure to pick up your free copy Wednesday!

Medusa's Kitchen readers are being invited to bring a poem (your own or somebody else's) about the season to Wednesday's reading; let me know if you'd like to do this. We're interpreting "season" loosely—anything from Thanksgiving to New Year's, including all the holidays (and weather!) in between.

Thanks to Michelle Kunert for a timely reminder about where our heads should be these days... (See also below).

And no, today's picture is NOT the Kieth house, though it may as well be. We have just about that much snow up here today.


This week in NorCal poetry:

•••Monday (12/7), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center and Roan Press present Zeo Keithley’s new book, Crow Song, at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Zoe Keithley's stories have appeared in the North American Review, American Fiction, F3, Emergence, Pigeon, Dogwood and other journals. Her fiction has won a fellowship in Prose from the Illinois Arts Council and finalist awards from Zoetrope, American Fiction, Dogwood, Emergence and Hyphen. A novel and short story collection are circulating. She lives in Sacramento and is at work on a second novel, teaches private writing students locally and at a distance, and is learning to play and compose music on the banjo.

Coming Up at SPC: Next Monday (12/14): Squaw Valley Community of Writers (including Joe Atkins, Lisa Jones, Lawrence Kaplun, Theresa McCourt and Wendy Trevino)

•••Tues (12/8 and every 2nd Tues.), 7:30 PM (note time change from 6:30): Open mic at the Empresso Coffeehouse off the Miracle Mile, 1826 Pacific Ave. Stockton. Hosts Chinetana 'Nana' Phounsavath and Donald Anderson would like to welcome everyone to enjoy an evening of poetry, essays, music and more.

•••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.

•••Wednesday (12/9 and every second Weds.), 7:30 PM: Rattlesnake Press presents The Thread of Dreams, a new chapbook from Carol Frith, and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review. That's at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento.

•••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.

•••Citrus Heights Area Poets will not hold an open mic event at Barnes & Noble on Sunrise in December; host Margaret Bell will be attending the 17th annual cowboy poetry festival in Monterey that weekend. The Citrus Heights program for poets and poetry lovers will resume in January, so please mark your calendars now and plan to be there on January 9 at 2 PM.

•••Fri.-Sunday (12/11-13): 11th Annual Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival at the Monterey Conference Center. Info: www.montereycowboy.org/.

•••Sat. (12/12 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/.

•••Sat. (12/12 and every 2nd Sat.), 3 PM: “Poetic License” meets at Books ‘n’ Bears, 6211-A Pleasant Valley Rd., El Dorado. This month you are invited to write a poem on the subject of “succulent”. Poems may be long or short, rhymed or prose, amateur or pro, or anything in between. Listeners welcome! Info: Mari Dunn, 530-621-1766 or booksnbears@sbc-global.net/.

•••Sat. (12/12 and every 2nd Sat.), 1 PM: Writer’s Bloc, a creative writing group, meets in the El Dorado County Main Library, 345 Fair Lane, Placerville. Bring your favorite writing paraphernalia and get your creative juices flowing with a writing session to share, critique and support each other. Creative writing professor Debora Larry-Kearney facilitates. Free, sponsored by Friends of the Library. Teens and adults only. Info: Main Library, 530-621-5540.

__________________

NORA MAY FRENCH TO HENRY ANDERSON LAFLER
—Tom Goff

I only learned my bodily chemistry
when fused, blue eye to brown eye, kiss to kiss.
Then, touched by lips whose bruise was their caress,
I stood dissolved; you were the sophist free

to dissemble flame in postures of self-command,
as if he were Abelard, and Heloïse
the maiden shoulder to shoulder with him in ease:
lust drugging the bland duenna reprimand.

So elective affinity intermingled both,
bonding the teacher and the taught together,
the older absorbing that firelight substance, youth.

From this, what matter, inert and afloat in ether?
Our consummation yielded us this son:
he is lightness released in heat, pure phlogiston.

__________________

ON A LINE OF DONALD JUSTICE
—Tom Goff

O my belle harbor, my San Salvador!
the poet writes of his inamorata,
comparing her to—coves of quiet water?
With lapping shivers and slaps more like inertia
flapping at seaweed, driftwood scraps or scrimshaw?
And what of the down-at-heel hulls drydocked for
barnacle-scraping or paint? How few will float a
nautical inch toward isles of morgana fata?

But you stand into the wind, all pure white sail,
prow mincing the big sunbeam to collops of foam.
Your rapturous-anxious-horizon dream yearns forward,
impressing me far to reverie from home:
you’re keel, drawn slipways under the chill gray veil,
me headlong after: adventure! never shoreward!

__________________

I just can't forget the Sunrise mall toy collection of '08
It was a weekend evening with the tree still covered with paper angels
many representing a child who might be homeless or in foster care
meaning the person who picks their angel off the tree
might give them the only present they'd receive this year
But the donated gifts for them in this "recession" were scant—
perhaps so many children in our community are easy to "forget"—
I thought oh what a dream to someday see a "naked" tree here
with all the presents they need stacked around its base
But those in need in the community often come last on people's lists
A woman and her husband approached the table
loaded down with apparently several hundred dollars' worth of toys they'd bought
I smiled and said to the woman with premature elation
"Oh my, thank you for helping these children so much"
but instead the woman said "Oh yeah, I just remembered..."
while laying down one of her huge bags
she pulled out of her purse just a twenty-dollar bill
(obviously she had spent more than that on her manicure!)
and then picked up her bag of toys again to take home
without apparently feeling any kind of guilt,
being proud of herself that she did for the community what she could…
I faked a smile at her as I scribbled out a donation receipt
because even though I'm supposedly a peaceful vegetarian
I wanted to first pretend like I was going to give a hug
but instead painfully wring her neck…

—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!

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!


NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:

A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!

Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest 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 30-year history.

WTF!!: The fourth 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.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 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/.)


COMING IN DECEMBER:

The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
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.

How Whole

Jellyfish
Photo by Lisa Jett, Elk Grove

LOVE IN THE CLASSROOM
—Al Zolynas

(for my students)

Afternoon. Across the garden, in Green Hall,
someone begins playing the old piano—
a spontaneous piece, amateurish and alive,
full of a simple, joyful melody.
The music floats among us in the classroom.

I stand in front of my students
telling them about sentence fragments.
I ask them to find the ten fragments
in the twenty-one-sentence paragraph on page forty-five.
They've come from all parts
of the world—Iran, Micronesia, Africa,
Japan, China, even Los Angeles—and they're still
eager to please me. It's less than half
way through the quarter.

They bend over their books and begin.
Hamid's lips move as he follows
the tortuous labyrinth of English syntax.
Yoshie sits erect, perfect in her pale make-up,
legs crossed, quick pulse minutely
jerking her right foot. Tony,
from an island in the South Pacific,
sprawls limp and relaxed in his desk.

The melody floats around and through us
in the room, broken here and there, fragmented,
re-started. It feels mideastern, but
it could be jazz, or the blues—it could be
anything from anywhere.
I sit down on my desk to wait,
and it hits me from nowhere—a sudden
sweet, almost painful love for my students.

"Never mind," I want to cry out.
"It doesn't matter about fragments.
Finding them or not. Everything's
a fragment and everything's not a fragment.
Listen to the music, how fragmented,
how whole, how we can't separate the music
from the sun falling on its knees on all the greenness,
from this movement, how this moment
contains all the fragments of yesterday
and everything we'll ever know of tomorrow!"

Instead, I keep a coward's silence,
the music stops abruptly;
they finish their work,
and we go through the right answers,
which is to say
we separate the fragments from the whole.

___________________

—Medusa

Sleep Train of Thought

Photo by Bob Dreizler, Sacramento

SLEEP TRAIN OF THOUGHT
—Shawn Aveningo, Rescue

On cotton candy
pillow tops I sleep.
Hovering.
Humming.
Hallucinating
reality away,
where demons of disease
can’t claw at me.

I welcome your fingernails
down my back,
a slumbering tremor,
whimper of delight
exposing my pleasure,
like rubbing the underbelly
of my puppy on the lawn.

Sinking deeper
on a synaptic escapade,
memories folding upon each other,
lineage of time
collapsed.

Daddy lets go of the banana seat,
I fly
peddling faster, faster,
pushing up hill
pushing, pushing,
'til my baby and I
both cry.

I’m walking
down the school hall
orange, red, yellow lockers
surround me, naked
and without my completed essay
“The Industrial Revolution: How It Fed
Our Need for Efficiency to Quench
Our Thirst for Immediacy”.

And I’m coughing.
No, I’m choking
on money, drowning
in a deluge of dollar bills,
spitting up cherry stems
tied in knots.
Looking down
at my feet, adorning
black satin ribbon laced
around my ankles, pointed
slippers with taps on the toes,
'cause it don’t mean a thing
if it ain’t got that swing,
and I was never graceful
enough for Swan Lake.

Is she really gone?
I saw her mother yesterday
and we held hands
in solemn remembrance,
but last night she was alive
and all of her hair had returned.
We laughed,
oh how we laughed,
until the morning sun,
or was it the alarm clock
that stirred me?

I awoke confused.
happy then
sad,
anxious but paralyzed,
wanting nothing more
than to return
to my slumber.

___________________

Thanks to Bob, Shawn and Lowell for today's offerings. Click on Bob Dreizler's link at the right of this column to see more of his wonderful photos.

Special invitation to Medusa readers: Let me know if you'd like to read a seasonal poem—yours or somebody else's—at the Book Collector reading and Christmas party next Wednesday, Dec. 9. We don't normally have open mics at rattle-reads, but heck—it's the holidays! By seasonal I mean anything appropriate to the season, from Thanksgiving through New Year's and all the holidays (including solstice) and weather (snow? rain? sleet?) in between. Just lemme know so I can put you on The List.

__________________

COME HOME
—Lowell Jaeger, Bigfork, Montana

Two bowls of oatmeal cooling on the stove.
as I stand at the beach house window.
Should I call to her, Grandma come home?
I step out on the deck. Let the wind
flag my baggy PJ sleeves and pant legs.

She’s perched on a root protruding
from a sandy slope above the bright plash
of daylight on the waves’ lap.
Eyes narrowed to catch the sparkles
and bathe her face in slant rays.

In the casket she’s the same late-summer yellow
of the grassy dunes. Cheekbones, sculpted
clay. Limbs of straw. I narrow
my lids, let the sun play stained-glass
rainbows through tears. Till again

she strains to stand and straighten
cliff-side. Unwraps the turban
that masks her baldness. Raises it
like a banner. And lets it fly.

__________________

THE VICTIM
—Lowell Jaeger

“Not my fault. Far back as kids
I paled around with at school.
Made me join in throwing rocks,
breaking glass. Got fired from work
‘cause my boss hated me. The jerk.
Couldn’t help I fell asleep and crashed
his damn van. Just plain cruel.
My wife? She’s paranoid.
The other woman came on to me, flirted
first. My brats treat me like dirt
since the divorce. So I won’t pay support.
Some folks is just lucky, others not.
That’s how I mostly understood.
Screw Jesus. He never done me no good.”

__________________

WEASEL SHIT
—Lowell Jaeger

Had he not risen up, a giant
—the old farmer in greasy coveralls—
when he parked his pickup, strode
across his pasture straight for us
and asked, What you boys want out here;

had we not moments earlier crawled
under his barbed wire
and shoo-shooed his cows away;
had we not been toting fishpoles
and buckets of nothing and answered,
Huntin’ frogs for bait;
and had we not been set to bolt
into the woods like rabbits when . . .

he wiped his brow with a rag, spit,
mumbled, Well . . . gotta look in the weasel shit;
drove off, left us guessing
as to what weasel excrement looked like
let alone where to find it and why
frogs would likely be located nearby;

then my brother and I might not have wasted
a sunburnt afternoon poking sticks
at feces, re-inventing the science of scatology
—cow pies, dog turds, deer droppings—
but no weasel shit, no frogs. No where.
Until it struck us both, in being caught
trespassing we’d heard “weasel shit”
when, in less demanding circumstances
our ears might not have been thrumming
and we’d have decoded it right—
“look in the weeds and shit.”

And we’d have searched down in the cattails
near the pond, found our bait,
hooked a pike or two.
But now it was late toward supper
and a long, silent walk home.

__________________

THE SMALL VOICE

in my head
whispers, Say nothing,
when she stands
at the reunion to tell us
we should all be thankful
to live as the greatest
people in the greatest
nation ever and favored
by her god.

On the tube, genocide explodes
with the sound turned off.
Famine. Contagion.
People like us
lounge on sofas
while people like us
die.

What can be done?

She’s pregnant.
Thirty years my junior.
Family.

What can be done?

Don’t you think so?
she says, Don’t you?


—Lowell Jaeger

__________________

WAR STORIES
—Lowell Jaeger

Sundays after shooting hoops we’d collapse
in the shade, guzzle cokes,
wipe sweat from our faces and beg
our dads to tell—and tell it straight—
tales of marching with Patton’s army.

Saucy frauleins, smuggled beers.
And tragedy: the hysterical farmer
beseeching GI’s who knocked at his door,
Don’t kill my children! Poor bastard,
propagandized, expecting Allied barbarians.

Hung himself from the rafters in the barn,
having smothered the children
to save them. Next morning dead as cordwood
stacked side by side, gazing upward beneath him.
My dad prefaced that story, Someone told me . . .

Half a century after, I consider the facts:
Was it my father who’d knocked?
He spoke German. Crossed from the homeland
in his mother’s arms. Claimed he recognized
die farmen upon his return. Once,

with no one else’s ears nearby, I asked,
Did you see Nazis? We bobbed in our rowboat.
He pretended to unravel
a knot in his line.
No, he said, I just saw Germans.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Every grain of sand, every tip of a leaf, even an atom contains the entire universe. Conversely, the universe can be perceived as the tip of a leaf.

—Gerhard Staguhn, U.S. physicist

What pattern connects the crab to the lobster and the orchid to the primrose and all four of them to me? And me to you?

—Gregory Bateson

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!

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!


NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:

A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!

Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest 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 30-year history.

WTF!!: The fourth 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.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 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/.)


COMING IN DECEMBER:

The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
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.

There Are Dreams Today

Photo by Katy Brown, Davis

THERE ARE DREAMS TODAY—
—Chrys Mollett, Angels Camp

Dog, don't bark.
Phone, don't ring.
I rise and stretch slowly.
Don't shake em' out.
They're the dewy placenta surrounding my sleep.
I let them dry out on the page—
Gently revealing themselves.
And the worlds they want me to remember...

__________________

DREAMS

are a painful experience
away from myself
reminding me of things
things that I don't have
of desired destiny
of love far away from my reach
of a broken heart
of life yet to be lived
and of all others of my dream.

—Tinashe Muchuri, Zimbabwe

___________________

Thanks to Katy Brown, Chrys Mollett, and Tinashe Muchuri for today's fare. All of these creators will be represented in the new Rattlesnake Review (#24), which will emerge next Wednesday, December 9 at The Book Collector. Chrys and Tinashe have written about our Seed of the Week: In My Dreambook. Coincidently, our new December rattlechap by Carol Frith, also due out next Wednesday, is The Thread of Dreams...

By the way, if you'd like to read a seasonal poem—yours or somebody else's—at that reading, let me know. We don't normally have open mics at rattle-reads, but heck—it's the holidays! By seasonal I mean anything appropriate to the season, from Thanksgiving through New Year's and all the holidays (including solstice) and weather (snow? rain? sleet?) in between. (I'm ONLY announcing this on Medusa, by the way, so if you're reading this, you have a leg up on the rest of the world...)


This weekend in NorCal poetry:

•••Thurs. & Fri. (12/3-4): Matrix Arts bookmaking workshops (and all this month), plus gift of art and $1 art supplies and kits at R25, the arts and cultural center in Midtown Sacramento at 1719 25th St. Workshops cost $15/session, $10 for MatrixArts and SPC members and students. To assure a spot, email matrixarts@comcast.net or call 916-454-4988. Drop-ins are welcome. [See last Friday’s post for class schedules.] Info: matrixarts.blogspot.com or hourstoriesr25@blogspot.com or thursdaynextr25.blogspot.com/.

•••Sat. (12/5 and every 1st Sat.): Rhythm and Rhyme readings at Butch N’ Nellie's near 19th & I Sts., Sacramento. Televised music, open mic. Info: myspace.com/RNRshow/.

•••Monday (12/7), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center and Roan Press present Zeo Keithley’s new book, Crow Song, at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Zoe Keithley's stories have appeared in the North American Review, American Fiction, F3, Emergence, Pigeon, Dogwood and other journals. Her fiction has won a fellowship in Prose from the Illinois Arts Council and finalist awards from Zoetrope, American Fiction, Dogwood, Emergence and Hyphen. A novel and short story collection are circulating. She lives in Sacramento and is at work on a second novel, teaches private writing students locally and at a distance, and is learning to play and compose music on the banjo.

__________________

I AM THE ONLY ONE LEFT

all the others have left.
they accuse you of barrenness
they want fruits of your womb.

I love the comfort you offer
I am free
I am not scared of anything
I love you
no matter what they say
I am the only one left
all the others have left.

—Tinashe Muchuri

__________________

ONE WAY
—Tinashe Muchuri

people
trees
grass
animals
birds
fish
creatures
rocks
water
in the soil all sink.

__________________

A WIFE'S PRAYER
—Tinashi Muchuri

God,
when you commanded my men
to work hard on the soil
and to eat the fruits of his lies
did you mean
he will forget
his children and wife
and eats fruits of his sweat
away from us?

__________________

YOU, ME, US
—Tinashe Muchuri

i am talking about me
to myself
you!

i am speaking about you
to me
myself.

i am screaming about myself
to me
about you.

i am not alone.
you are not alone.
we are together.
i am you.
you are me.
we are one.

Photo by Katy Brown

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

It should not be hard for you to stop sometimes and look into the stains of walls, or ashes of a fire, or clouds, or mud of like place in which...you may find really marvelous ideas.

—Leonardo da Vinci

__________________

—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!

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!


NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:

A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!

Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest 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 30-year history.

WTF!!: The fourth 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.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 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/.)


COMING IN DECEMBER:

The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
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.

Seagulls Who Dream...

Richard Zimmer

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC
—Richard Zimmer, Sacramento

Music casts its strong and subtle spell
reaching back and forth in time as well
to bring back those past events
buried in our subconscious sense.

Fred heard a song he had a liking for
coming from out of a barroom door.
Inside the piano-man pounded the keys
of an old upright…Fred was pleased.

Fred paused to listen to his favorite song...
it brought back his childhood, long gone,
making him weep for things of the past.
The old piano spewed the music out fast.

Music gives meaning to life, Fred thought.
He smiled because of the happiness it brought.
Something in the melody stuck in his mind,
sending eerie sensations right up his spine.

__________________

Thanks, Richard! Richard Zimmer writes: I attended Joyce Odam’s poetry class [at the Hart Center] for many years, learning iambs and such. Her poetry workshop, with the interaction of other poets, helped my writing. My poems have appeared in Rattlesnake Review, Poet’s Forum Magazine, and on Medusa’s Kitchen. I am a senior citizen, now retired. I used to travel a lot as a salesman, which has made me a good storyteller.

Still looking for a few good men and women to read a seasonal poem—yours or somebody else's—at the reading at The Book Collector on Dec. 9. Let me know. We don't normally have open mics at rattle-reads, but heck—it's the holidays! By seasonal I mean anything appropriate to the season, from Thanksgiving through New Year's and all the holidays (including solstice) and weather (snow? rain? sleet?) in between. (I'm ONLY announcing this on Medusa, by the way, so if you're reading this, you have a leg up on the rest of the world...)

And thanks to Pat Pashby for a Seed of the Week poem (In my dreambook...)!


COIN TOSS
—Patricia Pashby, Sacramento

I float slowly
down through
the frothy fountain
to the darkness below,
settling among the coins
that are buried in the
algae-covered layers
of fragmented fantasies.

__________________

THE WORDLESS POEM
—Richard Zimmer

A poem should be wordless
as the flight of birds.
—Archibald MacLeish

A poet spends dark, comfortless night
in the room of a wayside inn. An owl,
by his window, hooted and screeched
all night, denying him his needful sleep.

After the weary overnight’s stay
the poet starts to write a poem
unfettered by any rhyme or form,
and thought impossible to make.

He creates a wordless poem…not
trusted to the tongue, but conveyed
only by a nod, a shrug, and a look,
punctuated with a wink or frown.

__________________

MOVIE TIME
(A Fantasy)
—Richard Zimmer

The movie, Casablanca, was on TV.
I decided to step right into the film.
The actors were ignoring me, as if I
wasn’t there, so I ordered a martini
at Rick’s bar. I told them to use vodka,
not gin…my usual. I tapped Sam on
the shoulder, telling him to play, As
Time Goes By. He frowned and said,
Rick doesn’t like that song. I shrugged
and said that the Hunchback, in that
other old film, rang the bells of Notre
Dame for me, but Sam wasn’t buying it.

___________________

THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?
—Richard Zimmer

Which came first?
It was the chicken, I say.
By some strange quirk,
It happened this way…

The chicken came first,
from out of pure matter,
appearing on earth,
and this much I gather…

Out of pure matter a chicken had come.
A wise Creator made an egg-bearing one,
that went forth and multiplied,
and led to the beginning of Kentucky Fried.

__________________

THIS IS ONLY A TEST
—Richard Zimmer

The makers of the Atomic Bomb
were unsure of what its test results
could bring…perhaps even a chain
reaction that would destroy the earth.

They code-named the first A-test
Trinity, after John Donne’s poem,
"Holy Sonnet XIV"…

Batter my heart, three-personed
God…break, blow, burn, and
make me new.

__________________

THE PRACTICAL PIGEON
(and the Seagull who dreams)
—Richard Zimmer

Patty Pigeon, head bobbing up and
down, walks with a sure-footed strut.
She’s a practical pigeon, and no one
can ever put anything over on her.

Sammy Seagull sleepily pecks the
ground for food. He’s a dreamer…
not prone to worry about things…
lets the chips fall where they may.

Charlie, the caustic crow, always
likes to stir things up. He says,
A gull and a pigeon—both words
mean someone who’s an easy mark.

The crow then hops over to Sammy
Seagull, and says, You, my pal, have
the right idea. It takes a dreamer, like
you to get by in this impractical world.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Those who do not stop asking silly questions become scientists. [or poets...]

—Leon Lederman

__________________


—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!

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!


NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:

A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!

Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest 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 30-year history.

WTF!!: The fourth 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.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 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/.)


COMING IN DECEMBER:

The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
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.

Measure Me For Verbs

Carol Frith

EMENDATION
—Carol Frith, Sacramento

We predict each other’s words, and then
again, perhaps we don’t. It’s possible
you’ll read to me: something abstract, full
of words I’ll truly wish were mine. When
you’re finished, close your eyes. I’ll count to ten.
Your words are more or less binomial—
divisions and subtractions. Contextual,
you try to tell me, handing me your pen.
I take it and begin to write myself
across the margin, an emendation while
you wait—something you might want restored.
You put a word or two back on the shelf.
I count the wide-eyed nouns; they make me smile.
You measure me for verbs because you’re bored.

__________________

Thanks, Carol! With her husband, Laverne, Carol Frith co-edits Ekphrasis [click on the link to the right of this column to see what that's about]. She has a “Special Mention” in the 2003 Pushcart Anthology; previous chapbooks from Medicinal Purposes, Bacchae, Palanquin, & Finishing Line; and a full-length collection, two for a journey, from David Robert Books, due out in 2010. Her poems have appeared in Seattle Review, POEM, MacGuffin, Measure, etc.

Rattlesnake Press is proud to announce the release of a chapbook from Carol, The Thread of Dreams, next Wednesday, December 9 at The Book Collector at 7:30 PM. Be there!

By the way, if you'd like to read a seasonal poem—yours or somebody else's—at the reading on Dec. 9, let me know. We don't normally have open mics at rattle-reads, but heck—it's the holidays! By seasonal I mean anything appropriate to the season, from Thanksgiving through New Year's and all the holidays (including solstice) and weather (snow? rain? sleet?) in between. (I'm ONLY announcing this on Medusa, by the way, so if you're reading this, you have a leg up on the rest of the world...)

Don't forget: Tonight (Weds., 12/2, in case you're lost), 6-8 PM is the Sacramento Poetry Center annual fundraiser at the home of Mimi & Burnett Miller, 1224 40th St., Sacramento. Poetry by Theresa Vinciguerra and Danyen Powell, music by the American River College Vocal Jazz Quartet. Hors d’oeuvres and libations. Your $30 donation benefits SPC. RSVP 916-979-9706 or bobstanley@sbcglobal.net, or just pay at the door.

And thanks to Taylor Graham and Richard Zimmer for these responses to our Seed of the Week: In My Dreambook... About her poems, Taylor Graham says: ...these are pretty weird. But that's what you get when you mess with dreams...


DREAMING UNDER MARS
—Taylor Graham, Placerville

In the shadow of the avenger god, sandstone
pillars and sole-polished carmine floor, stained
by centuries—a temple-sanctum, mutant
of the warrior planet.

Above our heads Mars himself—polar
ice caps and red storms of dust-lightning—
plunged closer. Slash and burn. By dawn,
the morning news. Is peace a day-

dream? In night-dreams, streets twist down
to the harbor where women behead a catch
of shrimp, throwing each pale crescent
on the fire to sizzle incarnadine.

__________________

DREAMBOOK WITH SLIVER MOON
—Taylor Graham

The cat sleeps curled on the bed in a purr,
no matter what wild inhabits
the outside night—Barn Owl
owling for gophers that plundered the garden—
our fruitless troweling. Or is that wolves

howling out of dream, sounding deep inside
embedded like seed-awn in soil.
The mind’s trap-door left ajar
in sleep. I heard them and I didn’t, tongues
licking an old scar, tribal memory from ages

far gone. Don’t we keep the dark fenced
and guarded, safe for newborn lamb? No wolves.
Clutch the blankets
tight. No need to shiver at evening’s
touch, and then the night,

those dream-expanses that speak
of tooth on bone,
of vowels unbound
as moonlight. I heard it, or dreamed
the sound. A voice like lost family found.

__________________

IN MY DREAMBOOK
(A travel guide)
—Richard Zimmer, Sacramento

Nights filled with dreams,
unbelievable scenes,
what can they mean?

Like Dali creations,
creating sensations,
strangely unreal.

In other dimensions…
subconscious extensions
of life that we know.

Could wise discerning
give us some learning
of the symbols they show?

Dreams are swift races
to mind-changing places
never seen while awake.

When our Dreambook’s unclosed,
are there deep-truths exposed
by these sleep-journeys we take?

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

The poet Robert Creeley tells of a poet friend of his who was once asked, "Is that a real poem, or did you just make it up yourself?"

—Lewis Richmond, A Whole Life's Work

__________________


—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!

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!


NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:

A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!

Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest 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 30-year history.

WTF!!: The fourth 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.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 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/.)


COMING IN DECEMBER:

The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
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.

In My Dreambook

Photo by Ann Privateer

THEY ARE ETCHED ON ME

all of my days and nights as I whiz by
some creature flayed
on the highway, I say a prayer for my family

for, before all of this sprawl, before they came
here to disintegrate, my
ancestors must have done the same.

They thought of us all, the unborn. Now I,
secure at home with time to spare, think
of them who toiled for me and those

who have yet to come,
their images
are etched on me.


—Ann Privateer, Davis

__________________

Thanks to Ann Privateer, Don Feliz and John Hasselbein (and Charles Simic) for today's proceedings. And Tuesday is Seed of the Week Day: write to us about In My Dreambook. Ann has started us off; here's another dream-poem, this one from Charles Simic:


EMPIRE OF DREAMS
—Charles Simic

On the first page of my dreambook
It's always evening
In an occupied country.
Hour before the curfew.
A small provincial city.
The houses all dark.
The store-fronts gutted.

I am on a street corner
Where I shouldn't be.
Alone and coatless
I have gone out to look
For a black dog who answers to my whistle.
I have a kind of halloween mask
Which I am afraid to put on.

__________________

Some Poetry Doings of Note:

•••The 84th Annual Poets’ Dinner/Contest will be held in Oakland on March 20, 2010. This is a long-standing (84 years!) event that some of our Sacramento/environs poets regularly attend—and our area poets usually win quite a few of the prizes. The deadline is January 10 to enter the contest, and then you must be present at the lunch on March 20 to claim your prize. Write to me or to Richard Angilly (1515 Poplar Av., Richmond, CA 94805) if you’d like a copy of the information sheet (and registration for the lunch).

•••CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: THE ELLEN LaFORGE POETRY PRIZE
Deadline: December 31, 2009
Winner to receive $1000 and two copies of the Poetry Prize Annual

Open to all poets who have not yet published a book of poetry, including small press, chapbook or trade book. Info: visit us online, or contact Kevin Bowen (joinercenter@umb.edu) at The William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences.

•••CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: WILD APPLES’ THEMED JOURNAL:
Animals, Creatures, Wild Beasts and Dwellings.

Wild Apples seeks submissions of visual arts, poetry, essays and creative nonfiction. We have a special interest in work that engages themes of nature, sustainability, spirituality, global interdependence, compassionate engagement, or sense of place.

Prose - Send us a letter with a brief description of your proposal. Articles run 600 - 2000 words. Prose queries may be submitted by email.
Poetry - Submit up to 5 poems by mail with a SASE with sufficient return postage. Include your name on each page. No email submissions.
Visual Art and Photographs - Submit on CD/DVD or email Low Resolution jpeg files no more than 72 dpi. Please send up to 8 images.
Please include a brief bio/artist statement with your name, email, and address.

Send email queries and art submissions to submissions@wildapples.org. Email any questions to editors@wildapples.org. Wild Apples Editors, P.O. Box 171, Harvard, MA 01451.

•••TO TASTE AND SEE: WRITING THE SENSES IN DEEP FRANCE

Led by Marilyn Kallet, this workshop takes place in Auvillar, one of the "most beautiful villages in France" from May 17-24, 2010. In addition to a week of poetry workshops gourmet banquets and outings, we will have afternoon demonstrations on French cooking and photography for those writers and their partners who are interested. There is an early bird discount before February 1, and a discount for belonging to an arts organization. Info: mkallet@utk.edu or http://www.vcca.com/kallet.html/.

•••WRITE YOUR LIFE WORKSHOP with Ann Randolph at Esalen Institute
January 3-8, 2010; Info: Esalen Institute in Big Sur at www.esalen.org/.

Through improvisation, writing exercises, and group discussion, you will discover your authentic voice, along with the confidence to express your best self. Ann Randolph creates a supportive, fun, and dynamic space to create. An inspiring workshop for those seeking to explore personal essay, memoir, solo performance, or the sacred art of journaling. All levels welcome.

Ann Randolph is considered one of the most gifted and innovative writer-performers in the country and has been hailed by critics as "revolutionary.” She is currently writing a screenplay for Lifetime Television. Ann's solo shows have garnered many awards, including the prestigious LA Weekly and Los Angeles Times Ovation for "Best Solo Show" and "Best Female Comic." Excerpts from her shows have aired on NPR's "All Things Considered", Public Radio Weekend, PBS, and the BBC. As a filmmaker and blogger, she has won numerous awards, and her most recent short film, Disaster Relief, was selected for the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

__________________

STRING BASS
—Don Feliz, Sacramento

During the last set of the evening
the bass player hunches over,
struggles to keep standing.

He’s done it before on grueling tours,
on one-night stands.
His bass—his best friend—

supports him while he plucks at chords,
follows the beat of the young drummer,
born when he was playing bass

for big bands in Atlantic City.

__________________

YOKOHAMA-PACIFIC STEAMSHIP, 1934
—Don Feliz

She wears pale silk dresses,
hats with colored feathers.

Her wardrobe trunk holds her best gowns
for dining at the captain’s table.

Despite her aloof gaze, suitors pursue—
don’t know her heart has

lived for months in Kyoto
with her Japanese lover.

__________________

PITCH AND TIER
—John Hesselbein, Elk Grove

These are my people;
anyone
who labors in field
for the pride they left at home
or bends for scraps
on a roof hot with immediacy,
to make ends meet
at a forty-five-degree angle.
Anyone
who wears dirt under fingernail
like brand new Levis
and sweats through denim skin
under journeyman sun.
Anyone
who rises from asphalt, soil, sod, soot, coal,
concrete,
to put pedacito de pan, carnitas,
cornbread, pancetta, pasties, potatoes,
pasta, pig’s feet,
neck bones,
ramen and bologna
on tables and in bellies that
feed eyes that look upward
and know not yet of pitch or tier.

__________________

GRAVITY AND IMPACT
—John Hesselbein

My edge dulled by beatings, repetitions.
My head rusted and marred, luster giving way to age.
With back bent, I claw at what remains of roof torn from frame.
My length will never be as straight as the cold day I was forged
when I would lay on the asphalt and in the sun, and
women and paychecks came on Friday, but now
I sit locked away in the shade, of use
to no one.

New and bright, and without soil
(Or character)
I am replaced
by a tool
with untouched edge and lacquered luster, who
knows not of gravity or impact
and hammers away bluntly
without question, or complaint.

__________________

EYE TO EYE
—Ann Privateer

There is always the unexpected. Not all thieves come in the night to steal your life, or your rewards. Some come on a lovely day having lunch outside in the sun, relaxed and then, seeming from nowhere, up bubbles trouble and there's no masking it or pushing it down. It dredges up old grief, pours salt into places it does not belong, forgets to say thank you, only remembers sorrow. Suddenly, unexpected packed clouds burst open.

__________________

Today's LittleNip:

Hoping to be happier, he chose bread. Each night he dreams of cake.

—Stephen Dobyns

__________________


—Medusa

SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:

RATTLESNAKE REVIEW:

Deadline was November 15 for RR24; join us
for its unveiling and get your free copy at
The Book Collector on
Wednesday, December 9.
After this issue, Rattlesnake Review will be taking
a few months off for remodeling—
watch this spot for further developments!

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!


NEW FROM RATTLESNAKE PRESS:

A new chapbook from Dawn DiBartolo
(Secrets of a Violet Sky);
Rattlesnake Reprint #2 from frank andrick
(PariScope: A Triptyche);
plus our 2010 calendar from Katy Brown
(Wind in the Yarrow)!

Now available from SPC, rattlesnakepress.com
or at The Book Collector:
Our newest 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 30-year history.

WTF!!: The fourth 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.
Next deadline (for Issue #5) is Jan. 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/.)


COMING IN DECEMBER:

The Thread of Dreams,
a new chapbook from
Carol Frith,
will be premiered at
The Book Collector on
December 9, 7:30 PM,
along with the new issue of
Rattlesnake Review.
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.