SPRING
—William Shakespeare
To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.
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Lots to do this weekend:
•••Today, April 1, ranting will be the order of the day at Carol’s Books, 300 Florin Road, Sac., where mother/daughter poets Straight Out Scribes V.S. Chochezi and Staajabu will MC the second annual Rant-A-Thon, Read-a-thon, Speak-a-thon, Speak up, Speak out, poetry reading and open mic.This is for all those who are just itching to let folks know what’s on their mind, get something off their chest, inform, entertain, apologize, complain, congratulate, lament or commiserate. Just one thing to remember: those who address the audience are asked to donate $1 a minute. The fun begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m. There will be refreshments, door prizes, networking and lots of fun. Info: 916-452-1290. The Scribes do say, however: no nudity—and performers are asked to be mindful of children and elders in the audience.
•••The Sacramento Bee's Second Annual Share a Story Children's Book Drive kicks off today (April 1) and will run through the month. The goal is to collect 60,000 new and "gently used" books for young readers at 75 sites throught the region and to donate them to nonprofit agencies, which will place them in children's homes. Last year, 48,000 books were collected. Books in Spanish, Russian and Hmong languages are also hoped for, in addition to tax-deductible cash donations, and volunteers are needed to help sort the books. The Borders chain is offering a 15% discount on books bought and donated to the drive. For info on donating or volunteering: 916-556-5667 or www.sacbee.com/bookdrive.
•••Tonight (4/1), 7-11 pm: Adios party at KINKS International, 619 15th St. Sac. (corner of 15th & G). The Scribe matriarch Staajabu is moving back home to New Jersey after the Scribes' reading at The Book Collector Birthday Bash on April 12, so come by tonight and wish her well. Music, food, and lots of fun. For more info, call BJ or Gail (www.itsabouttimebpp.org), 916-455-0908.
•••Tomorrow (Sunday 4/2), come hear Nevada City Poet Molly Fisk at PoemSpirits in Room 11, Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Blvd. (2 blocks north of Fair Oaks Blvd, between Howe and Fulton Avs.), 6 pm. A radio host and essayist on Grass Valley’s KVMR, Molly has published widely and received grants from the California Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and others. She teaches Writing to Heal classes, poetry critique workshops, and an Internet Poetry Boot Camp. Co-host Nora Staklis will make a brief presentation on Anne Sexton, a key figure in modern confessional poetry. As always, you are welcome to bring a favorite poem or two, your own or by another, to read. Free, and snacks, too!
•••Also Sunday (4/2): This year the Nevada County Poetry Series is celebrating National Poetry Month by holding its annual April open-mic readings at Booktown Books & Tomes. Open-mic readers are invited to submit their poems for possible inclusion in the NCPS 2006 Anthology. The readings are free, from 12 to 3pm, Sundays, April 2, 9, 23 and 30 at Booktown Books and Tomes, 107 Bank Street (corner of South Auburn) in Grass Valley. For more information call: (530) 432-8196 or (530) 272-4655. That's every Sunday in April except the 16th, which is Easter.
And don't forget to spring your clocks forward an hour tonight, too!
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SONNET 19
—Edna St. Vincent Millay
Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,
And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;
Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,
And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood;
Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st,
And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,
To the wide world and all her fading sweets;
But I forbid thee one most heinous crime:
O, carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,
Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen;
Him in thy course untainted do allow
For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.
Yet do thy worst, old Time, despite thy wrong,
My love shall in my verse ever live young.
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—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.)