MISSING YOU
—Shu Ting
A multi-colored chart without a boundary;
An equation chalked on the board, with no solution;
A one-stringed lyre that tells the beads of rain;
A pair of useless oars that never cross the water.
Waiting buds in suspended animation;
The setting sun is watching from a distance.
Though in my mind there may be an enormous ocean,
What emerges is the sum: a pair of tears.
Yes, from these vistas, from these depths,
Only this.
(translated from the Chinese by Carolyn Kizer)
__________________________
Tonight (2/3), The Other Voice presents Mehdi Moghaddam for an evening of music, dance and poetry inspired by the Persian poet, Rumi. This promises to be a wonderful evening, led by a powerful reader. The Other Voice meets at 7:30 in the library of the Unitarian Church at 27074 Patwin Road, Davis, CA.
JoAnn Anglin writes: All are invited to PoemSpirits this Sunday (2/5). This month’s featured poets are the duet of Joe Finkleman and Susan Hennies. They will be musically accompanied by Phil Hildenbrand and Fran Reitano. The evening also includes a brief presentation on the poet James Merrill by Tom Goff. Then enjoy refreshments and the open mic period, for which you may read a favorite poem of your own or by someone else. Location: Room 11 (in the back) at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Blvd., 2 blocks north of Fair Oaks Blvd, between Howe and Fulton Avenues. Questions? 916-481-3312 (Tom Goff, Nora Staklis) or 916-451-1372 (JoAnn Anglin). Note: March’s featured reader (3/5) is Jeanine Stevens, whose recent chapbook (from Rattlesnake Press) is called The Keeping Room.
Here are the bios for Sunday’s dynamic duo: Susan Hennies began her delusional existence as a struggling novelist in Detroit, Michigan at age 10, and as a poet at age 13. She has been recently encouraged in these delusions by such publishers as Susurrus, Rattlesnake Review, The Yolo Crow, and the Sacramento News and Review, as well as by her fiancé, Joseph Finkleman, with whom she is co-authoring a novel for children and any number of two-voice poems. Having recently burned out on transforming classrooms full of students into struggling writers, she is now employed as the office manager of the Davis Cemetery. In her miniscule spare time, she whirls around, contra dancing; when thoroughly spun out, she practices Zen.
Joseph Finkleman was born in Hollywood, CA, which he says sounds really cool until you realize that it's no big deal. His BFA and an MFA are from the San Francisco Art Institute. A professional photographer for 20 years, he taught photography and animation. He exhibits both photography and watercolor and characterizes himself as a serious artist. Before art school, he was a literature major with a journalism minor. Along with writing the novel, a number of short stories and plays, and a great deal of poetry, Joe has recently completed the libretto of an opera which will be performed this fall at Sac State.
BITS OF REMINISCENCE
—Shu Ting
A toppled wine-cup,
A stone path floating beneath the moon
Where the grass was trampled:
One azalea branch left lying there...
Eucalyptus trees begin to spin
In a collage of stars
As I sit on the rusted anchor,
The dizzy sky reflected in my eyes.
A book held up to shut out candlelight;
Fingers lightly at your mouth;
In the fragile cup of silence
A dream, half-illumined, half-obscure.
(translated from the Chinese by Carolyn Kizer)
_________________
FAIRY TALES
—Shu Ting
You believed in your own story,
then climbed inside it—
a turquoise flower.
You gazed past ailing trees,
past crumbling walls and rusty railings.
Your least gesture beckoned a constellation
of wild vetch, grasshoppers, and stars
to sweep you into immaculate distances.
The heart may be tiny
but the world's enormous.
And the people in turn believe—
in pine trees after rain,
ten thousand tiny suns, a mulberry branch
bent over water like a fishing-rod,
a cloud tangled in the tail of a kite.
Shaking off dust, in silver voices
ten thousand memories sing from your dream.
The world may be tiny
but the heart's enormous.
(translated from the Chinese by Donald Finkel)
—Medusa
Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry and announcements of Northern California poetry events to kathykieth@hotmail.com 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.)