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Saturday, June 04, 2005

The Fabulous Mary Z

Whistling girls and crowing hens
always come to some bad ends
.
—The Grandmother's Daybook of Proverbs and Platitudes

Of Whistling Girl and Crowing Hen
—Mary Zeppa, Sacramento

The little red hen's inspiration (eR eR eR
cock a doodle doo doo!) wakes the girl
in this dream, in this fat featherbed,
who is me: in whose sleep-
hugging arms, the little red hen

incandesces: lights the bedrooms,
the parlor, the yard, spotlights
my redheaded Grandpa
knocking back his last
cinnamon schnapps.

Little Trumpeting Fluff
of Red Feathers, Little Belt-it-Out
Megaphone-Beak. Little Star of
My Firmament blasting
sour Granny clean into next week.

_______________________

The above poem is from the Fabulous Mary Zeppa, whose new Rattlechap (#11), The Battered Bride Overture, will be released this coming Wednesday, June 8, at a book party and reading at The Book Collector, 1008 24th Street, Sacramento, 7:30-9pm. Mary is a wonderful poet in addition to being a long-time Sacramento Poetry Center Board member and all-around supporter of poetry in Sacramento. This is her second chapbook.

In other news, Editor Joyce Odam is having a poetry crisis: she desperately needs poetry submissions for PDQ (Poetry Depth Quarterly), which has fallen behind in its schedule, so is doing a quick "catch-up" issue in July. Snail her (no e-mail) 3-5 poems, 3-10 line bio, SASE, no prev-pub or simul-subs. Joyce's address is 2432 48th St., Sac., 95822. Website: poetrydepthquarterly.com. Deadline is June 30.

Coming down the home stretch with Snake 6; 50 pages of your poetry, and counting....!

Medusa