Our Snows are Melting

THE MOUNTAIN ASSAILED
—Denise Levertov

Animal mountain,
some of your snows are melting,
dark streaks reveal
your clefts, your secret creases.
The light quivers,
is it blue, is it gold?
I feel your breath
over the distance,
you are panting, the sun
gives you no respite.

________________________

Congratulations to Ken Huffman, an Elk Grove High School student who won the first Poetry Out Loud contest for poetry recitation last Friday at the Secretary of State Building in Sacramento. Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, students from Sacramento County gathered to recite poetry and were judged by, among others, California Poet Laureate Al Young. Ken won $200 with his recitation of Whitman's "Oh Captain! My Captain", and he will travel (all expenses paid) to Washington D.C. next month to compete for a $20,000 scholarship. Runner-up ($100) was Marianne Candela, with Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night". Limited to Sac. County this year, the contest hopes to expand to other counties next time. For more info (and pictures!), see the Metro section of today's Sacramento Bee.

Tonight (Saturday, 4/22): S.A. Griffin, John Dorsey, Ellyn Maybe, Robert Roden, Scott Wannberg, Lob read at 8 pm at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sac.. Info: 916-442-9295. Free.

•••Sunday (4/23), Rattlechapper-to-be (November) Jane Blue will read at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sac., at 4 pm. Info: 442-9295.

•••Also Sunday (4/23), the Nevada County Poetry Series will continue to celebrate National Poetry Month by holding another open-mic reading 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 3 pm this Sunday and next (4/30) at Booktown Books and Tomes, 107 Bank St. (corner of South Auburn) in Grass Valley. Info: (530) 432-8196 or (530) 272-4655. Free.

•••Also Sunday (4/23), Poet's Corner presents Kristi Britz and Josef Nguyen, Calliope Editors at University of the Pacific, who will read at Barnes & Noble, Stockton Weberstown Mall, 7 pm. (The address is 4950 Pacific Ave., Suite 319.) Free.

•••Or head up to Paradise (!) Sunday (4/23) for the inauguration of the new monthly Poets on the Ridge series, an open mic from 2:30-4:30 pm at Juice & Java, 7067 Skyway, Paradise. Info: 872-9633 (I'm assuming that's the 530 area code). Snake Pal Lara Gularte is hosting this new series, which will, I'm sure, feature some of the Skyway poets who were represented in the current issue of Rattlesnake Review. Free.

And most of all, today is Earth Day.


CEREMONIES
—Denise Levertov

The ash tree drops the few dry leaves it bore in May,
stands naked by mid-July.
When each day's evil news drains into the next,
a monotonous overflow,
has a tree's dying lost the right to be mourned?
No—life's indivisible. And this tree,
rooted beyond my fence, has been,
branch and curved twig, in leaf or bare, the net
that held the sky in my window.
Trunk in deep shade, its lofting crown
offers to each long day's
pale glow after the sun
is almost down, an answering gold—
the last light
held and caressed.

_______________________

—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.)