Promising More Frottage

CAT TALK
—Richard Zimmer, Sacramento

Mrs. Biddle really loves her pet cat, Murray. She wants him
to be happy. When she hears of a lady who can read cat’s
minds, Mrs. Biddle hires her to find out if Murray is a happy
cat. Miss Terry, the mind reader, charges fifty dollars to read
Murray’s mind. Miss Terry says that Murray is happy but he
would like some changes made. First, he says that he’d like
Mrs. Biddle’s chair for his cat bed, and says Mrs. Biddle should
sit on the sofa instead. Murray would also like to use that plaid
blanket on his new cat bed, and he’s getting tired of the food
she’s been feeding him. Mrs. Biddle is very upset by this and
tells Miss Terry that she doubts her mind reading abilities.
Miss Terry shrugs her shoulders and walks off, with Murray
following her out the door.

_______________________

Thanks, Richard! Today is the last day to participate in Medusa's Cat-a-Thon. Send me a cat poem of yours before midnight tonight, previously published or not, and I’ll send you a free copy of Song Kowbell’s new rattlechap, Lick Your Wounds and Want Again. Or, if you have that one, I’ll send you something else. E-mail your poems to kathykieth@hotmail.com.

Speaking of -A-Thons, it’s time again for Sacramento's Poetry Marathon! Java City Café (at 18th St. and Capitol Avenue in Sacramento) is proud to once again host the two-decade poetry marathon tradition, this year at its newly renovated café. The original marathon in 1986 lasted 173 hours straight and attracted hundreds of poets to the then-fledgling coffee house. To celebrate the 10th anniversary in 1996, B.L. Kennedy and Java City once again joined alliances and set an unparalleled 10-day poetry marathon with nearly 1,000 people participating. This year’s marathon, once again hosted by B.L. Kennedy and Java City Café, will start Friday, July 28 at noon and end Monday, July 31 at 1 pm. Among the 150 Sacramento area poets and writers scheduled to read/perform around the clock for three days are Sacramento Poet Laureate Julia Conner, D.R.Wagner, Jane Blue, Dennis Schmitz, and Jose Montoya. Each poet will read for approximately 30 minutes, with 15-minute open-mike readings from community members who sign up in advance. Those who want to participate in the open-mic readings can sign up by calling 916-452-5493 before July 15, or until all spots are filled. The final line-up will be announced in early July. Info: B.L. Kennedy (916-452-5493/bk418@pacbell.net) or frank andrick (209-727-5179/fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com) or Julie Ficker Fleishman-Hillard (916-492-5339).
_______________________

In the cyberspace department, Pleasanton Poet Laureate Cynthia Bryant of Poet’s Lane (www.poetslane.com or PoetsLane@comcast.net) writes: Poets/Writers all—If you have not checked out Poet’s Lane lately, you are in for a real treat: new format, new poems, new poets and all the same information and opportunities you count on:

1. There are new Themed Poems under June/Summer, Father and Flag; send me one of yours even if it only loosely fits the theme. If you have none with this theme, how about Getting it Off Your Chest/Mental Health Poems; rant on.

2. Please send me information about your publication/organization that relates to writing and/or poetry and your contact/website; I will add it to the links page.

3. Please send me information about your event/venue for poetry and I will forward it to The Literary List for you. If you know someone who would like to be added to this broad Bay Area-and-beyond list of events and opportunities, have them e-mail me, Cynthia, at PoetsLane@comcast.net, with their name, phone number with area code and e-mail. This list is confidential and never sold or shared without your expressed permission.

4. Book Fairs and Poetry Festivals now have their own page on Poet’s Lane, so if you have one coming up in your community, send the flyer/info my way.

5. Got any good literary quotes you would like to add to the home page of Poet’s Lane? Send them with the name of the famous writer who said it.

6. Pleasanton has some great programs for poetry lovers coming up; check out the On Going Events on Poet’s Lane at www.poetslane.com

7. Have any ideas you would like to see implemented? Please send them to me at PoetsLane@comcast.net (or questions or complaints).

8. The Poets’ Laureate Post page is filling in nicely; if you have a laureate in your community that you would like to see included, send me their name/PL of what city, county or state and contact information.

Thanks for all of your support, comments and information, you the poets/writers make Poet’s Lane work for the community of poets and writers.

_______________________

PERFECT SHADOW
—Tim Kahl, Sacramento

The sky rubs against the sea. The sea rubs against
the shore, the sun rubbing its personal heat on
the trees’ tall leaves and on the neck of a man
who dreams of a perfect balance
between exchange and release. When ideals are
put into practice, they reveal their flaws,
and so it is with gato who follows Señor Barajas
wherever he goes. Gato promises more frottage.
Señor Barajas shuffles down the street to rearrange
the trash cans and gato believes in rubbing,
really, truly believes the static in fur can change
opinions if it could just arc across the human synapse.
But Señor Barajas changes his mind only when
his garden tells him to. He puts a dish out for
gato in his shed that the ants intrude on.
If only magic gato could let them all know
the trappings of their constant praxis.
They advance like warm chills through the bones of
Señor Barajas who walks up and down the block
in a retired gardener’s clothes, and gato follows.
Gato follows like a perfect shadow that neither
whips around or begins flashing. It never opposes.
This shadow rubs along the ground as if
massaging a signal to the speechless earth.
Gato splays on the sidewalk, squirming,
hopes brushing against the surface
then floating skyward. Gato hopes for
Señor Barajas to live forever,
but he is already pointing at the stop sign
at the end of the street and calling Vamanos.

_________________________

Thanks, Tim!

And finally, a big thank-you goes to Rhony Bhopla, Bob Stanley and the rest of the Sacramento Poetry Center Board for resurrecting Poetry Now, the monthly poetry journal which is the lifeblood of our local communication network. They have put together an abbreviated version (with a complete calendar) in time for June; you should be receiving it soon. In it, you will note that the Annual General Meeting of the SPC Board will be happening on Monday, June 12 at HQ (25th & R Sts., Sac.) from 5:45-7:45 pm; please plan to attend this important meeting in order to elect our new Board and to provide much-needed feedback about the year ahead. Ya know, flakes like Medusa come and go in our community, but SPC is a constant presence that can be as active (or senile!) as WE, the NorCal poetry community, make it. The Board is all-volunteer and they (or whoever the new Board members may be) need every bit of moral support and physical help we can give them. Be there!

—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.)

More Mousetraps Without Cheese

CRAZY CAT
—Ann Wehrman, Sacramento

I pad across the room,
nudge your shoulder,
butt my head against your
lonely, frozen countenance

the late clock strikes—
you've forgotten time

I sidle seductively along your shin,
raise sparks against
your ancient silk pajamas,
watch you
through fierce, hot slits

growl my invitation
to race together
over the ceiling, around and round,
through imaginary forests,
to Neptune, Pluto, and beyond
then to nap,
me nestled
in the crook of your arm

_______________________

A COMIC LOVE POEM
—Ann Wehrman, Sacramento

You're not my cat—
you're my landlady's cat,
and she's not home
gone again, overnight...
she'll be back, really,
don't keep crying,
you're overwrought.

You sound like a mountain lion,
a giant, fantasy Siamese,
crying, crying,
scratching at my door.
I know she lets you
sleep with her—
but I WON'T.

Alright, alright,
I'm coming out,
let's talk it over—
it's 3:00 am, go to sleep,
it's ok, she'll be back,
really...

________________________

CAT'S MEOW
—Patricia A. Pashby, Sacramento

Bongo, Puff, Simone,
all names for this senior cat.
She answers to none.

Strange cat pays a call,
greeted with battle cry howls.
Hose declared winner.

Purring kitty smiles—
comfy on a welcome lap.
Beware of love bites.

Late night life or death.
Victim squeaks, cat triumphant.
Mousetrap without cheese.

________________________

A KITTEN NAMED ASHES
—Patricia A. Pashby, Sacramento

silent
stalker
marauder cat
ears down back arched
camouflaged by tall grass
tiny paw suspended
quivering jungle prowler waits
lunges pounces birds skedaddle
no prey
today

________________________

Thanks, Ann and Pat! Send me a cat poem of yours before midnight on May 31 (that's tomorrow!), previously published or not, and I’ll send you a free copy of Song Kowbell’s new rattlechap, Lick Your Wounds and Want Again. Or, if you have that one, I’ll send you something else. E-mail your poems to kathykieth@hotmail.com.

And my apologies to Jane Blue; I left off the wonderful last line of her poem yesterday ("She has branded me with her wildness") in the first edition of Medusa. I fixed it at about 11 a.m., but maybe you read the wrong version.......

—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.)

A Little Song, A Little Mist, & Po-Events 5/29-6/4

THE CAT
—Jane Blue, Sacramento

I love the feral tendencies of the cat.
She crouches over the toilet bowl to drink
of Sacramento river water, waiting
for me to leave the room before lapping
as though I shouldn’t catch her
at her real life.

An alien language exits her pink fanged mouth
when confronted with another of her species,
who understands immediately
and slinks away.

I am stymied by her gestures, her infrequent
inarticulate mewing, a kind of pidgin-English.

At her feeding bowl under the philodendron
jungly in filtered light, she scurries away
when my shadow looms. Eagle! Hawk!
How is this? She’s lived all her life in houses.
She had a human woman for a mother.

Once in the deep of night
she shape-shifted onto my pillow
and I extended a hand to displace her.
Those diamond pupils widened and she struck
like a snake, shrieking. I have
a ragged, tooth-shaped scar, a purple tattoo.

She has branded me with her wildness.

_______________________

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT CATS HAVE NINE LIVES
—James Lee Jobe, Davis

Eastbound on Stemmons Freeway in Dallas, 1966,
a calico cat dragging a three-foot leash came flying
out of the window of a car cruising in the slow lane.
The airborne feline sailed across the next lane
where a car missed it by the length of a whisker.
The Calico arched its back like in some caricature
from Halloween, and that dangerous leash dragged
behind during the painfully long skid, all four feet
on the asphalt, across lane number three.
In the fourth lane the cat passed under a pickup truck
pulling a boat on a trailer, and slid unmolested out
of the other side. By the fifth and final eastbound lane
the beast, whose feet must have been raw, began to run,
straight across the all too brief median strip
and into the fifth lane of westbound traffic,
causing a fast sedan to swerve and spin out.
In a full sprint, so fast that the leash flying behind
stood straight out, this creature of misfortune passed
under the eighteen-wheeled tractor-trailer
driven by old J. L. Jobe, my father, with me,
his wide-eyed ten year old son keeping a death-grip
on the passenger seat. In the side mirror
I could see that the cat survived, again untouched,
as it cleared the right side of the trailer, this feline
of mixed fortune, dodging another car in lane number three
as that driver locked up his brakes, the smoke
of the burning rubber rising up, causing
the car behind to do the same. The cat lucked out
with an empty lane two, and the driver in the slow lane,
like us, had seen the whole bizarre incident
and gave the Calico room. It scampered
into the evergreen underbrush between the freeway
and the access road, its mad dash a success.
Old J. L. looked at me, eyes showing white all around,
and in a feigned innocence exclaimed,
"You know, I bet he used up eight of those lives!"

_______________________

Thanks, Jane and Jim! Send me a cat poem of yours before midnight on May 31, previously published or not, and I’ll send you a free copy of Song Kowbell’s new rattlechap, Lick Your Wounds and Want Again. Or, if you have that one, I’ll send you something else. E-mail your poems to kathykieth@hotmail.com.

This week's poetry events; let me know if I've missed something (or screwed something up):

•••Tonight (5/29), Sacramento Poetry Center will have its usual fifth-Monday Open Mic at 7:30 pm, hosted by Bob Stanley. That's at HQ, 25th & R Sts., Sac. Free.

•••Wednesday (5/31), Mahogany Poetry Series will hold its final event at Sweet Fingers Jamaican Restaurant, 1704 Broadway, Sac., 9 pm, $5. Hosted by Khiry Malik Moore and DJ Rock Bottom. Info: 916-492-9336.

•••Thursday (6/1), Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. The Sacramento Slame Team, plu Open Mic., 8 pm. Info: 916-441-3931.

•••Saturday (6/3), Escritores del Nuevo Sol’s monthly writing workshop meeting/potluck is open to all, 11 AM, at La Raza Galeria Posada, 15th & R Sts., Sac., second floor. Info: Graciela, 916-456-5323.

•••This Saturday (6/3): Open Mic Poetry and workshop at Lola's Loca Mochas, 2860 North California St., Stockton (cross-street Monterey Ave., next to Alpine Market), 1 pm. Poets and Songwriters welcome! Free.

•••Sunday (6/4), attend the Friends of the Lincoln Library Book Bonanza, from 9 AM to 9 PM at the Barnes and Noble on Galleria Blvd. in Roseville. Youngsters will read their prize-winning poems from 2-4 pm, and there will be an open mic at 4 (call Sue Clark at 916-434-9226 to sign up), including Sondra Bozarth, an award-winning poet and author of A Scattering of Cats. Other events throughout the day will include author presentations, artist appearances, and a Children’s Story Time with Francis Newman at 11 AM.

•••Also this Sunday (6/4), get ready to cut, tear, paste, scribble, color. Think Postcards — At the Library! All are welcome to create artistic poetic postcards at the Central Branch of the Sacramento Library, 818 I St., Sac., at 2 PM. Presenters Poet JoAnn Anglin and Visual Artist Kim Scott will bring the large postcards that will be your ‘canvas,’ and also stamps and decorative materials and tools. This is one of two dozen workshops being held as part of the mail-art project, Think Postcards, one of the projects of Sacramento’s Poet Laureate Julia Connor. More info on it can be found at http://www.sacculture.com/grants_poet.htm, the website of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC). Come be creative, then mail your completed postcards in to the Commission to be considered as part of a later Public Art display to be presented by SMAC’s Art in Public Places Committee.

•••Next Monday (6/5), The Sacramento Poetry Center is helping to launch Kathleen Lynch's new book, Hinge, at the weekly poetry reading at 7:30 PM at HQ (25th & R Sts., Sac.). Hinge is the winner of the 2004 Black Zinnias Poetry Award, the journal published by the California Institute of Arts and Letters.

That's all I know about—an unusually sparse week! Guess you'll have to get out your books and read, get out your pens and write...

This might be a good time, then, to talk about the Hart Center Tuesday Night Workshop. I don't mention it much because, for the last year, it's had so many people in it that publicity seemed counterproductive. Those numbers ebb and flow, though, and these days there's room for new poets. Sponsored by the Sacramento Poetry Center, with space provided at no cost by the Hart Senior Center (916 27th St., Sac.) every Tuesday night from 7:30-9 pm, this workshop has been in operation for—what?—15 years or so, with some of the members having been involved almost that long. Danyen Powell ably facilitates the evening, in which any poet who wishes to attend can bring 15-18 copies of a poem for workshopping—which means we all pour the light of our attention onto it and come up with whatever comments we have about form, presentation, content, etc. If you'd like to attend, you're more than welcome, but you might want to contact Danyen first (530-756-6228). The group meets every Tuesday except the two around Christmas—though you might want to check about July 4.

Something else about the Tuesday night workshop: There's no long-term commitment; give it a try and see if it works for you. Or, for those of you from out-of-town, if you're in Sacramento this summer or any time, come on by! Bring copies of current poems and let us have a look at 'em! It would be good to see you.

It seems like Medusa should mention Memorial Day. I've chosen something which I hope is neutral, apolitical:

MINIATURE
—Yannis Ritsos

The woman stood up in front of the table. Her sad hands
begin to cut thin slices of lemon for tea
like yellow wheels for a very small carriage
made for a child's fairy tale. The young officer sitting opposite
is buried in the old armchair. He doesn't look at her.
He lights up his cigarette. His hand holding the match trembles,
throwing light on his tender chin and the teacup's handle. The clock
holds its heartbeat for a moment. Something has been postponed.
The moment has gone. It's too late now. Let's drink our tea.
Is it possible, then, for death to come in that kind of carriage?
To pass by and go away? And only this carriage to remain,
with its little yellow wheels of lemon
parked for so many years on a side street with unlit lamps,
and then a small song, a little mist, and then nothing?

(Translated from the Greek by Edmund Keeley)

_______________________

Remember Emily Dickinson's carriage?

Oh—and one other thing: Today (5/29) is Medusa's birthday—she has been cluttering up the cyberwaves for one year! Happy Birthday, old gal, and a big thank-you to those of you who read us and to those of you who send poems, which are all still posted in the Archives. (Help us celebrate this momentous occasion by sending cat poems!)

—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.)

My Poems Are Not Poems

Who says my poems are poems?
My poems are not poems.
When you know that my poems are not poems,
Then we can speak of poetry!

_______________________

ORCHID

Deep in the valley, a beauty hides:
Serene, peerless, imcomparably sweet.
In the still shade of the bamboo thicket
It seems to sigh softly for a lover.

_______________________

When all thoughts
Are exhausted
I slip into the woods
And gather
A pile of shepherd's purse.

Like the little stream
Making its way
Through the mossy crevices
I, too, quietly
Turn clear and transparent.

_______________________

If you are not put off
By the voice of the valley
And the starry peaks,
Why not walk through the shady cedars
And come see me?

At dusk
Come to my hut—
The crickets will
Serenade you, and I will
Introduce you to the moonlit woods.

________________________

TO A VISITOR

Listen to the cicadas in treetops near the waterfall;
See how last night's rains have washed away all grime.
Needless to say, my hut is as empty as can be,
But I can offer you a window full of the most intoxicating air!

________________________

At night, deep in the mountains,
I sit in meditation.
The affairs of men never reach here:
Everything is quiet and empty,
All the incense has been swallowed up by the endless night.
My robe has become a garment of dew.
Unable to sleep, I walk out into the woods—
Suddenly, above the highest peak, the full moon appears.

________________________

Today's poetry is by Ryokan, translated from the Japanese by John Stevens.

Back to cat poetry tomorrow. Send me a cat poem of yours before midnight on May 31, previously published or not, and I’ll send you a free copy of Song Kowbell’s new rattlechap, Lick Your Wounds and Want Again. Or, if you have that one, I’ll send you something else.

—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.)

One of Those Days

THOMASINA
—Irene Lipshin, Placerville

In her ninth life,
she spent indoor hours
curled up on one lap
or another,
generating warmth
like a tightly
woven blanket—
then without warning
stretched herself free
and in that feline
spine-lengthening
yoga position,
purred her spirit
into the air.

(Previously published in Rattlesnake Review)

_______________________

Thanks, Irene! Irene Lipshin will be getting a copy of Song's new chapbook, as will Taylor Graham (see below). Send me a cat poem of yours before midnight on May 31, previously published or not, and I’ll send you a free copy of Song Kowbell’s new rattlechap, Lick Your Wounds and Want Again. Or, if you have that one, I’ll send you something else.

I can't believe I spelled "Bukowski" with a y in yesterday's post. (I've since fixed it.) Yesterday was One of Those Days, with three trips to the airport.

Anyway, if you're not going to the Jazz Jubilee this weekend (or New York, where Sam the Snake Man is): tonight (5/27), The Show Poetry Series features Prentice, K and Shanine-Ambercrobie, 7 pm at the Wo'se Community Center, 2863 35th St., Sac. $5. Info: 916-445-7638. And Monday (5/29), Sacramento Poetry Center will have its usual fifth-Monday Open Mic at 7:30 pm, hosted by Bob Stanley. That's at HQ, 25th & R Sts., Sac. Free.

LOGIC OF CATS
—Taylor Graham, Somerset

The basket is hers. It fits her to a purr.
It begs for the curl of peach-furred tail
in a wicker weave. So the puppy must keep
his place, which is just outside the reach

of sharpened nails. A basket is a boat
to sail the dreamy seas, where sirens sing
like finches, and goldfish float below
the surface, gleaming. Amber eyes and wings.

A woven basket needs no nails. No bark
to belly-out its sails. No grumbling dogs
to crew it. Without a word it unfurls
to wrap whole globes about a cozy ark.

The fire warms itself on ember’d logs.
A woven basket by the fire purrs.

________________________

STANDOFF
—Taylor Graham, Somerset

The old black cat
and the new gray tabby—
four yellow eyes
glaring.
They divide our house
between them, not
sharing.

_______________________

Thanks, TG! She says she sent two poems because she has two cats, and they refuse to share. Hatch, by the way, is home from the hospital and seems to be doing okay, though his chainsaw activites are apparently put on hold for the moment...

—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.)

Of Jellicles and Mr. Mistoffelees

startled into life like fire
—Charles Bukowski

in grievous deity my cat
walks around
he walks around and around
with
electric tail and
push-button
eyes

he is
alive and
plush and
final as a plum tree

neither of us understands
cathedrals or
the man outside
watering his
lawn

if I were all the man
that he is
cat—
if there were men
like this
the world could
begin

he leaps up on the couch
and walks through
porticoes of my
admiration.

________________________

Send me a cat poem of yours before midnight on May 31, previously published or not, and I’ll send you a free copy of Song Kowbell’s new rattlechap, Lick Your Wounds and Want Again. Or, if you have that one, I’ll send you something else.

Feel like writing a few masterpieces, cat or otherwise, in France? Selene Steese writes: You, your journal, a good supply of pens, and eight days of writing in the South of France! My name is Selene Steese, and together French Escapade and I are offering a writing workshop in the French Alps in May 2007. During the day we'll tour gorgeous countryside near Lyon and write about many things—what we see, how the newness and beauty stir our writerly souls. What we bring with us—our current writing projects and our ideas for new pieces. In the evenings, at the 19th-century farmhouse that will be our home for eight days, we will share our words with each other and receive positive and helpful feedback. All tours, accommodations, most meals, and the writing workshop are included in the total cost. To find out the cost, read more about this amazing trip, and see photos from past tours, see: http://www.frenchescapade.com/writing-trips.html. Or for info about me: http://www.matchlessgoddess.com. I look forward to writing with you in the South of France!

More cat poems:

SAVOIRE FAIRE
—Claribel Alegria, El Salvador

My black cat doesn’t know
he will die one day
he doesn’t cling to life
as I do
he leaps from the rooftop
light as air
climbs the tamarind tree
barely scratching it
doesn’t dread crossing bridges
or dark alleyways
nor the perfidious scorpion
my black cat falls in love
with every cat he meets
he refuses to be snared
by a single love
the way I did.

(for Erik; translated from the Spanish by D. J. Flakoll)

________________________

THE CAT AS CAT
—Denise Levertov

The cat on my bosom
sleeping and purring
—fur-petalled chrysanthemum,
squirrel-killer—

is a metaphor only if I
force him to be one,
looking too long in his pale, fond,
dilating, contracting eyes

that reject mirrors, refuse
to observe what bides
stockstill.
Likewise

flex and reflex of claws
gently pricking through sweater to skin
gently sustain their own tune,
not mine. I-Thou, cat, I-Thou.

________________________

Also: please keep Hatch and Judy Taylor Graham in your thoughts. Hatch underwent unexpected surgery last Monday. He’s doing okay, now, but it has been an intense time for the Grahams. Hatch graciously M.C.’s both the Hidden Passage and the Our House poetry readings, and has been known to turn the occasional fine phrase, as well. See previous Snakes and Medusas for some of his work, as well as some dandy double-dactyls in the upcoming Snake 10. Get well soon, Hatch!

—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.)

Three Birthdays

DAYS
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Daughters of Time, the hypocritic Days,
Muffled and dumb like barefoot dervishes,
And marching single in an endless file,
Bring diadems and fagots in their hands.
To each they offer gifts after his will,
Bread, kingdoms, stars, and sky that holds them all.
I, in my pleached garden, watched the pomp,
Forgot my morning wishes, hastily
Took a few herbs and apples, and the Day
Turned and departed silent. I, too late,
Under her solemn fillet saw the scorn.

_______________________

Emerson would have been 203 years old today.

Today (5/25), Rattlesnake Interviewer-in-Residence B.L. Kennedy will host Joyce Jenkins and Richard Silberg, editors/publishers of the Bay Area's Poetry Flash, at 8 pm at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. Info: 916-441-3931. Watch for Bari's upcoming rattlechap, The Setich Manor Poems, to be released June 14 at The Book Collector, along with a littlesnake broadside interview of him by Gene Avery ("A Conversation with B.L. Kennedy"). Not to mention Bari's action-packed "The BL 418 Buzz" in the next Snake, due out in a couple of weeks...

•••Also today (5/25): a Spanish poetry recital contest in the Little Theater of the Woodland High School, 21 North West St., Woodland, 6-8 pm. Free. Info: 530-662-4678 (ext. 515).

•••Also tonight (5/25): Flo-Real and Malik-speaks present "Vibe Sessions Neo-Soul Lounge" at The Cobbler Inn Soul Food Restaurant, 3520 Stockton Blvd., Sac., 8 pm. $5. Info: 916-457-6177.

from THE SHAPE OF THE FIRE
—Theodore Roethke

Morning-fair, follow me further back
Into that minnowy world of weeds and ditches,
When the herons floated high over the white houses,
And the little crabs slipped into silvery craters.
When the sun for me glinted the sides of a sand grain.
And my intent stretched over the buds at their first trembling.

The air and shine: and the flicker's loud summer call:
The bearded boards in the stream and the all of apples;
The glad hen on the hill; and the trellis humming.
Death was not. I lived in a simple drowse:
Hands and hair moved through a dream of wakening blossoms.
Rain sweetened the cave and dove still called;
The flowers leaned on themselves, the flowers in hollows;
And love, love sang toward.

________________________

Roethke would've been 98 years old today.

from WHAT THE DOCTOR SAID
—Raymond Carver

he said are you a religious man do you kneel down
in forest groves and let yourself ask for help
when you come to a waterfall
mist blowing against your face and arms
do you stop and ask for understanding at those moments
I said not yet but I intend to start today

________________________

Carver would've been 68 today. He passed away in 1988, at the age of 50.

—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.)

Snails and Summer Reading

SUMMER PROGRAM
—Jeanine Stevens, Sacramento

Evening, sixth floor dorm
Oxford's rose-gold towers.
I came to escape,
bury myself in Roman
hill forts and long barrows.

Ancestral breezes disturb
lace curtains. You
are a stranger beside me,
but still familiar. Peter Pan
disguised in knowledge
and a white linen suit?

Summertime,
Porgy and Bess on the radio
from the next room, brings
me back. I'll take
my "A" and go home.

(Previously published in Promise Magazine)

_______________________

SUMMER READING
—Jeanine Stevens

Then, pain jumps off the screen:
"The Purple Heart", a tongue
removed, silent screaming
in "The Reign of Terror"
Robespierre headless, Dorian's
entire body inside out,
every slick color of the rainbow.
I begin to understand the heart
of William Wallace from days
in darkened theaters, stale
butter and blackness protects
as pictures grind out from stuffy
projection booths, a tinny hum,
a few short hours of air—cooled
by a penguin who ice skates
across a frozen green pond
smoking Kool cigarettes.
Fourteenth summer, sunburned,
bored, the L.A. County Library,
I borrow a book—Human Torture
Through The Ages. Finally,
Mother learns to drive, I become
normal, we go shopping.

(Previously published in Hodgepodge)

________________________

Thanks, Jeanine!

The new issue of Snakelets, the journal of poetry from kids 0-12, is out. Pick one up at The Book Collector this afternoon; contributor copies will go into the mail this week. Now I can burrow into Snake 10, pull that lazy rascal out of hibernation.

Today (5/24), there will be a Hidden Passage Poetry reading from 6 to 7 pm at Hidden Passage Books, 352 Main St. in Placerville. It's an open-mic read-around, so bring your own poems or those of a favorite poet to share—or just come to listen. (Yes, that’s the bookstore with the skeleton under the floor…)

Today is also National Escargot Day. Who does one turn to for poems about snails, other than Russell Edson, of course! This one isn't really about snails, but still it's one of my favorites:

WITH SINCEREST REGRETS
—Russell Edson
(for Charles Simic)

Like a monstrous snail a toilet slides into a living room on a track of wet, demanding to be loved.

It is impossible, and we tender our sincerest regrets. In the book of the heart there is no mention made of plumbing.

And though we have spent our intimacy many times with you, you belong to an unfortunate reference, which we would rather not embrace...

The toilet slides away on another track of wet...

_______________________

Happy Escargot Day, and bon appetit!

—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.)

Spaces in the Heart

THE MAD SCENE
—James Merrill

Again last night I dreamed the dream called Laundry.
In it, the sheets and towels of a life we were going to share,
The milk-stiff bibs, the shroud, each rag to be ever
Trampled or soiled, bled on or groped for blindly,
Came swooning out of an enormous willow hamper
Onto moon-marbly boards. We had just met. I watched
From outer darkness. I had dressed myself in clothes
Of a new fiber that never stains or wrinkles, never
Wears thin. The opera house sparkled with tiers
And tiers of eyes, like mine enlarged by belladonna,
Trained inward. There I saw the cloud-clot, gust by gust,
Form, and the lightning bite, and the roan mane unloosen.
Fingers were running in panic over the flute's nine gates.
Why did I flinch? I loved you. And in the downpour laughed
to have us wrung white, gnarled togehter, one
Topmost mordent of wisteria,
As the lean tree burst into grief.

_______________________

Cynthia Bryant, Pleasanton Poet Laureate and mistress of Poet's Lane writes: I am looking for themed poems about Summer, Father or Flag for June Themed Poems on www.PoetsLane.com, or poems that are about Getting it Off Your Chest-Mental Health Poems; send to PoetsLane@comcast.net. And please check out the www.NewVoices.com —Not Your Same Old Radio—and select Poet’s Lane for an interview with David Alpaugh—publisher, poet and host of the popular Second Sunday Poetry Reading at Valona Deli in Crockett, CA.

Artists Embassy announces its 13th annual poetry contest to further understanding and good will through the universal language of the arts. 43 cash awards are offered, totaling over $1000, plus invitations to read at the California Palace of The Legion of Honor in San Francisco for the annual Dancing Poetry Festival to be held October 7. Poetry is chosen from entries received by the deadline of June 15, and includes three grand prize poetry winners, who will each receive $100, an invitation to read, and a premier presentation with accompaniment of music, costumes and dance choreography created especially for the three grand prize poems. Also, cash awards for first, second and third prizes winners will include our invitation to read these works at the festival. The contest requests a reading fee of $5.00 for one poem, $10 for three poems. No limit for poem entries. Each poem may have up to 40 lines. Submit two copies of each poem, with name, address and phone number on one copy only, as the anonymous copy will go to the judges. Poetry, along with reading fee, is requested to be sent our Contest Chair: Judy Cheung, 740 Brigham Ave, Santa Rosa, CA, 95405. Poets from our area have traditionally done very well in this contest, including several Grand Prize winners. For complete guidelines see: www.dancingpoetry.org

Ellen Bass has sent out an appeal for books to be sent to Elmwood (Women's) Prison in Milpitas. She writes: We learned from one of the prison chaplains that the library in the women’s prison is only a shelf and a half. After some discussion, my classes have decided to “adopt” the prison library for a year. We hope to send two or three books each month, or at least 25 books in a year. Books sent to prisons must be packed and sent by an authorized store, as prisons do not accept donations directly from individuals. We hope you can join us in this effort, either by forwarding a one-time check or by pledging a small amount each month. These donations will cover the cost of purchase and shipping. Please note, too, that a Frequent Buyer card is in effect for purchases for the prison. Please make checks out to Gretchen Herbkersman (who is doing the book-keeping) and mail to her at 1819 E. 24th St., Oakland, CA 94906. Please include your email address so she can acknowledge receiving your contribution.


NO HELP FOR THAT
—Charles Bukowski

there is a place in the heart that
will never be filled

a space

and even during the
best moments
and
the greatest times

we will know it

we will know it
more than
ever

there is a place in the heart that
will never be filled

and

we will wait
and
wait

in that
space.

_______________________

—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.)

Disconcerting Themes, plus Po-Events 5/22-28

DREAM DOORS
[The strange doors of sleep]
—Richard Zimmer, Sacramento

He travels across bridges that lead nowhere.
He’s deep in a dream...

He walks the streets of unfamiliar towns.
What does this mean?

He talks to nameless people he meets.
This is more than it seems...

Always searching for some lost thing.
Why such disconcerting themes?

_______________________

Thanks, Richard! Why such disconcerting themes, indeed...

Here's another disconcerting theme, from Taylor Graham:

AT THE ZOO, A.D. 2184
—Taylor Graham, Somerset

A child points, What’s that? It’s a bird,
the father says. A Robin. It can fly, but
it has to flap its wings. I remember
a poem in school about Who Killed
Cock Robin, and just look, here he is.

I move on, passing the Endangered Species
Wall, and the Extinct. Hawk and Warbler
from a century ago. Porpoise and Whale
that slipped away. Orangutan, Antelope,
Shark and Otter, Bullfrog, Horse and Bear.

At the mammal cages, a Domestic Cat
in ancient Pharaoh profile gazes down
at me, indifferent as a household tabby
on a window-sill, if this were 1984. But
in these modern days, who keeps cats?

And here’s the Dog, a brownish mutt
heir to hundreds of dead breeds. He drops
his bone and comes to the fence as if
to beg, like that old picture of a puppy
at the Pound. Oh please oh take me home.

_______________________

Yikes! But thanks, TG!

•••Tonight (5/22) at 7:30 pm, Sacramento Poetry Center will host a contributors' reading for the new issue of Susurrus, Sacramento City College's annual prize-winning literary journal for student works. Readers will include Tony Caselli, Donna Lee, Ted Yannello, Mike Bezemek, Brian Northere and others, with special appearances by SCC's own Jan Haag and Danny Romero. That's tonight at HQ, 25th & R Sts., Sac.

•••This morning (Monday, 5/22), for seniors (if you get rollin' in time), a Think Postcard! workshop will be held at Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St., Sac., 9:30 a.m.

•••Wednesday (5/24), there will be a Hidden Passage Poetry reading from 6 to 7 pm at Hidden Passage Books, 352 Main St. in Placerville. It's an open-mic read-around, so bring your own poems or those of a favorite poet to share—or just come to listen. (Yes, that’s the bookstore with the skeleton under the floor…)

•••Thursday (5/25), Rattlesnake Interviewer-in-Residence B.L. Kennedy will host Joyce Jenkins and Richard Silberg, editors/publishers of the Bay Area's Poetry Flash, at 8 pm at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. Info: 916-441-3931. Watch for Bari's upcoming rattlechap, The Setich Manor Poems, to be released June 14 at The Book Collector, along with a littlesnake broadside interview of him ("A Conversation with B.L. Kennedy"). Not to mention his action-packed "The BL 418 Buzz" in the next Snake, due out in a couple of weeks...

•••Also Thursday (5/25): a Spanish poetry recital contest in the Little Theater of the Woodland High School, 21 North West St., Woodland, 6-8 pm. Free. Info: 530-662-4678 (ext. 515).

•••Also Thursday (5/25): Flo-Real and Malik-speaks present "Vibe Sessions Neo-Soul Lounge" at The Cobbler Inn Soul Food Restaurant, 3520 Stockton Blvd., Sac., 8 pm. $5. Info: 916-457-6177.

•••Saturday (5/27): The Show Poetry Series features Prentice, K and Shanine-Ambercrobie, 7 pm at the Wo'se Community Center, 2863 35th St., Sac. $5. Info: 916-445-7638.

Did somebody mention Snake 10? As usual it's gonna be full of hot poetry, hot tips, hot articles, and more hot poetry from writers such as these today and many more—including some from Sutterwriters, as well as from a gaggle of folks in the Tahoe region whom the Snake hasn't heard from before. Here's another sample (and another disconcerting theme), this time from Pat Pashby:

HOW TO AVOID BEING BITTEN BY A VENOMOUS SNAKE
—Patricia A. Pashby, Sacramento

Keep an eye peeled near tall grass,
fallen logs, marshes and other hideaways.

Poke with your cane to warn the reptile
that you are tramping through his lair.

Wear loose clothes and thick high boots
so he will break his fangs instead of your skin.

Shine a light in front of you at night
while reading aloud from Rattlesnake Review.

______________________

Well, hmm. Maybe that would work... Thanks, Pat!

—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.)

Fleeing Toward Our Presence

from VERTICAL POETRY
—Roberto Juarroz, Argentina

The bottom of things is neither life nor death.
My proof is
the air that goes barefoot in the birds,
a roof of absences that makes room for the silence,
and this look of mine that turns around at the bottom
as everything turns around at the end.

And my further proof is
my childhood that was bread before wheat,
my childhood that knew
that there were smokes that descend,
voices that nobody uses for talking,
roles in which a man does not move.

The bottom of things is neither life nor death.
The bottom is something else
that sometimes comes out on top.

_______________________

from FIFTH VERTICAL POETRY
—Roberto Juarroz

The emptiness of the day
condenses into a point
that falls like a drop
into the river.

The fullness of the day
condenses into a minute orifice
that sucks that drop
out of the river.

From what fullness to what emptiness
or from what emptiness to what fullness
is the river flowing?

The eye draws on the white ceiling
a little line.
The ceiling takes up the eye's illusion
and turns black.
Then the line erases itself
and the eye closes.

Thus solitude is born.

_______________________

from SIXTH VERTICAL POETRY
—Roberto Juarroz

The bell is full of wind
though it does not ring.
The bird is full of flight
through it is still.
The sky is full of clouds
though it is alone.
The word is full of voice
though no one speaks it.
Everything is full of fleeing
though there are no roads.

Everything is fleeing
toward its presence.

________________________

from SEVENTH VERTICAL POETRY
—Roberto Juarroz

The prompting of my shadow
has taught me to be humble.
It doesn't care whether it draws me
on the bony seats of the trains
early in the morning,
on the seamless walls of the cemeteries
or on the penumbras of short cuts
that betray the city.

The frame doesn't matter to it,
nor the stilted epigraphs.
My shadow impersonates me step by step,
misleads me into the sockets of all the corners,
never answers my questions.

My shadow has taught me to adopt other shadows.

My shadow has put me in my place.

______________________

from ELEVENTH VERTICAL POETRY
—Roberto Juarroz

Every word is a doubt,
every silence another doubt.
However,
the intertwining of both
lets us breathe.

All sleeping is a sinking down,
all waking another sinking.
However,
the intertwining of both
lets us rise up again.

All life is a form of vanishing,
all death another form.
However,
the intertwining of both
lets us be a sign in the void.

(Today's poems were translated from the Spanish by W.S. Merwin or Mary Crow)

_______________________

—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.)

In Charge of the World

BAJA
—Irene Lipshin, Placerville

All day long,
men in wooden boats
paddle to the wrecked ship
rescued from the deep to rust
in Punta Banda’s ocean air.

They stand on the abandoned deck,
tall against the horizon,
again brave captains,
in charge of the world,
of the Bay of Todos Santos.

At day’s end, the dinghies,
filled with fish, return them
to the harsh Mexican shore,
boats sheltered
by the stucco wall
that holds back their ocean,
holds back the tears
dripping from the sky.

________________________

Thanks, Irene! Watch for a rattlechap from Irene, coming in August.

•••Today (Saturday, 5/20), roll down to San Jose and celebrate California's distinctive heritage of poets, poetry, and presses at Poetry Center San José's first annual California Poets Festival. This all-day outdoor festival will be held at History Park San José, 1650 Senter Road, San José from 10 am to 4:30 pm. It is open to the public and free of charge. Listen to readings throughout the day by California poets. Stroll through the small press fair. Meet editors, purchase books, journals, subscriptions, and obtain submission guidelines from a variety of California publications. Enjoy a picnic or glass of wine from local restaurants offered in this historical park setting, and hang out with lovers of poetry—old and new friends. Spend a memorable day with people from San José, the greater Bay Area and beyond. Info: californiapoetsfestival.org

•••Tonight (5/20) at 7:00 pm: Escritores member Laura Llano has arranged the annual evening to honor ‘los viejitos,’ this year with an emphasis on los maestros, our teachers. Laura is herself a teacher of many years, currently at McClatchy High School, as well as being a most talented visual artist and an accomplished and skilled professional story teller. She will bring us a good evening of memories. You, too, are invited to bring your poems and recuerdos of memorable teachers—yes, both the good and the bad! La Raza/Galería Posada Bookstore, 1421 ‘R’ St., Sac. Suggested Donation: $5 or as you can afford. Sponsored by: Writers of the New Sun/Escritores del Nuevo Sol: www.escritoresdelnuevosol.com. Info: Graciela: 916-456-5323.

•••Also tonight (5/20), 8 pm, Headquarters for the Arts/Sac. Poetry Center celebrates its first anniversary at 25th & R Sts. in Sac. In addition to the current exhibit of works by Asylum Gallery's artists, they've got a stellar line-up of local poets, musicians, and filmmakers for your entertainment, including Crawdad Nelson, Indigo Moor and Robbie Grossklaus. Adrian Bourgeouis and Bob Stanley and Mary Zeppa will channel the Music of the Spheres for your listening enjoyment. Plus the world premiere of a short film by Bob Moricz, Sacramento's most outre auteur! Food and libations, and the whole thing is free.

•••Also tonight (5/20), the Underground Poetry Series features Taylor Williams, Rob Anthony and Noah Hayes at Underground Books, 2814 35th St., Sac. (35th & Broadway). Info: 916-737-3333.

•••Tomorrow (Sunday, 5/21), the Poet’s Club of Lincoln presents an Open Mic from 3-5 pm at The Salt Mine, corner of G St. & Hwy 65 in Lincoln. Free; bring a can of food for the Salt Cellar Canned Food Drive. Info or to register: Sue Clark, 434-9226.

•••Coming up Monday (5/22): Susurrus, Sacramento City College's annual prize-winning literary journal for student works, is set for distribution. On Monday at 7:30 pm, Sacramento Poetry Center will host a contributors' reading for this new issue. Readers will include Tony Caselli, Donna Lee, Ted Yannello, Mike Bezemek, Brian Northere and others, with special appearances by SCC's own Jan Haag and Danny Romero. That's Monday at HQ, 25th & R Sts., Sac.

•••Also Monday (5/22), for seniors: a Think Postcard! workshop at Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St., Sac., 9:30 a.m.

Tomorrow, Robert Creeley would've been 80 years old. He passed away in 2004.

GOODBYE
—Robert Creeley

Now I recognize
it was always me
like a camera
set to expose

itself to a picture
or a pipe
through which the water
might run

or a chicken
dead for dinner
or a plan
inside the head

of a dead man.
Nothing so wrong
when one considered
how it all began.

It was Zukofsky's
"Born very young into a world
already very old..."
The century was well along

when I came in
and now that it's ending,
I realize it won't
be long.

But couldn't it all have been
a little nicer,
as my mother'd say. Did it
have to kill everything in sight,

did right always have to be so wrong?
I know this body is impatient.
I know I constitute only a meager voice and mind.
Yet I loved, I love.

I want no sentimentality.
I want no more than home.

("Goodbye" first appeared in The Exquisite Corpse, 1996)

_______________________

—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.)

Of Porridge and Amulets

PORRIDGE
—Rhony Bhopla, Sacramento

Open your mouth wide,
brown lumps, mixed in warm cream milk;
nipples, float to tongue.

_______________________

That'll wake us up! Thanks, Rhony!

Snake-pal and rattlechapper (Voices on the Land) Patricia Wellingham-Jones got a bit of press today in The Sacramento Bee, in the "Scene" section's main article, one about women and friendships: "Calling it off: When a friendship goes bad..." Check it out!

Today (Friday, 5/19): I Can Do That! A Very Special Festival of the Arts will showcase the artistic talents and accomplishments of students with disabilities: Coloma Community Center, 4623 T St., Sac., 9 am-1 pm. Puppets 'n everything! Info: Alice at 916-277-6747.

Also today (5/19): the Our House Defines Art poetry reading will feature Laverne & Carol Frith, editors of Ekphrasis, along with rattlechapper/spiralchapper/Formalist-in-Residence for Rattlesnake Review Joyce Odam (who is also Editor of PDQ and Brevities). Their reading will be followed by an open mic. Our House Defines Art Gallery & Framing is located at 4510 Post St. in El Dorado Hills Town Center (just south of Hwy 50), El Dorado Hills, 7:00 pm. No charge. Info: 916-933-4278.

Also today (5/19) at the Sutter Cancer Center, 2800 L St., 2nd floor, Rm. 220, 7-8:30 pm: Jose Montoya, former Sacramento Poet Laureate and co-founder of the Royal Chicano Air Force, inspired Luis Rodriguez in the 1970s. Writing led Rodriguez out of addiction and crime to become a leading Chicano writer, author of 10 books, including Always Running, now in its 20th printing. Through language and imagination, Montoya and Rodriguez uplift young people and motivate them to change their lives. This is the first time these two legendary figures have appeared together. Info: sutterwriters.com.

Saturday (5/20), 8 pm, Headquarters for the Arts/Sac. Poetry Center celebrates its first anniversary at 25th & R Sts. in Sac. In addition to the current exhibit of works by Asylum Gallery's artists, they've got a stellar line-up of local poets, musicians, and filmmakers for your entertainment, including Crawdad Nelson, Indigo Moor and Robbie Grossklaus. Adrian Bourgeouis and Bob Stanley and Mary Zeppa will channel the Music of the Spheres for your listening enjoyment. Plus the world premiere of a short film by Bob Moricz, Sacramento's most outre auteur! Food and libations, and the whole thing is free.

Coming up Monday (5/22): Susurrus, Sacramento City College's annual prize-winning literary journal for student works, is set for distribution. On May 22 at 7:30 pm, Sacramento Poetry Center will host a contributors' reading for this new issue. Readers will include Tony Caselli, Donna Lee, Ted Yannello, Mike Bezemek, Brian Northere and others, with special appearances by SCC's own Jan Haag and Danny Romero. That's Monday at HQ, 25th & R Sts., Sac.

Also Monday, for seniors: a Think Postcard! workshop at Hart Senior Center, 915 27th St., Sac., 9:30 a.m.

Now a nummy poem from Sacramentan Jeanine Stevens, whose rattlechap, The Keeping Room, is available at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sac. Ah, trade routes—reminds me of my days on a tall ship...

TRADE ROUTES
—Jeanine Stevens, Sacramento

The amulet grows heavy
against my chest.

White soured chalk,
like battery acid, rakes

swollen lips. I ignore
your blunt, surly

negotiations, watch
the stream between us

shrink. How tied we are
to each other's breath. I step

across, heave gulps of air
and exchange salt for gold.

(Previously published in Poesy)

_______________________

Thanks, Jeanine!

How about a little Amy Lowell—

PINE, BEECH AND SUNLIGHT
—Amy Lowell

The sudden April heat
Stretches itself
Under the smooth, leafless branches
Of the beech-tree,
And lies lightly
Upon the great patches
Of purple and white crocus
With their panting, wide-open cups.

A clear wind
Slips through the naked beech boughs,
And their shadows scarcely stir.
But the pine-trees beyond sigh
When it passes over them
And presses back their needles,
And slides gently down their stems.

It is a languor of pale, south-starting sunlight
Come upon a morning unawaked,
And holding her drowsing.

_______________________

—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.)

Fire in the Hole!

TALL SHIP
—Kathy Kieth, Fair Oaks

Her canvas wings beat themselves
against blue sky: wave toward
those other white gull-clouds

drifting off in freedom to Taiwan
or Bora Bora—clouds that abandon
this old girl locked in a river-cage

who must pay her own way, must
open her decks to tourist landlubbers
in shiny loafers who pick across

her hardwood: wobble and crawl:
never look up—never squint into
the sun on a calm sea of a day: never

steady themselves into the rocking
of her hips, or give thanks for
the cradle of her cabins as they sleep

under a still and starry sky. . .

(Previously published in Hidden Oak, 2003)

_________________________

Avast! Medusa is back from sailing the seas in a tall ship—well, okay, sailing around Coos Bay with tourists. Still, we fired the cannons (okay, squibs) and ran around yelling things like Hoist the mainsails! And even said Avast! and Aye, Captain! while the wind was mighty and we all had a splendid, if sunburned, time. Once a year, the tall ships sail into Coos Bay and haul landlubbers around for a small fee, and we were lucky enough to have them accept our money. Plus, we could see them fanning back and forth on the water all week from our wee trailer. Life is good. But if you decide to run away on a pirate ship, don't forget your earplugs.

Enough about me. I came back to a gazillion Snake submits; my mission is clear. Meanwhile, poetry abounds:

•••Tonight (Thursday 5/18), The Nevada County Poetry Series presents Laura Pendell, Brigit Truex, and James Lee Jobe. The show will be in the Off Center Stage (Black Box Theater, enter from Richardson Street) at the Center for the Arts, 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley. Tickets can be purchased at the door: $5 general, seniors and students, and $1 for those under 18. Refreshments and open-mic included. Info: (530) 432-8196 or (530) 274-8384.

•••Also tonight (5/18), Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Sally Allen McNall, and Paul Eggers will read at the 1078 Gallery in Chico, 738 W. 5th St., 7:30 pm. Info: 530-343-1973.

•••Also tonight (5/18): Poetry Unplugged presents Donald Sydney-Fryer. 1414 16th St., Sac., 8 pm. Info: www.lunascafe.com or 916-441-3931.

•••Tomorrow (Friday, 5/19), fire up the buggy and head up the hill, where an Our House Defines Art poetry reading will feature Laverne & Carol Frith, editors of Ekphrasis, and rattlechapper/spiralchapper/Formalist-in-Residence for Rattlesnake Review Joyce Odam (who is also Editor of PDQ and Brevities). Their reading will be followed by an open mic. Our House Defines Art Gallery & Framing is located at 4510 Post St. in El Dorado Hills Town Center (just south of Hwy 50), El Dorado Hills, 7:00 pm. No charge. Info: 916-933-4278.

•••Also Friday (5/19) at the Sutter Cancer Center, 2800 L St., 2nd floor, Rm. 220, 7-8:30 pm: Jose Montoya, former Sacramento Poet Laureate and co-founder of the Royal Chicano Air Force, inspired Luis Rodriguez in the 1970s. Writing led Rodriguez out of addiction and crime to become a leading Chicano writer, author of 10 books, including Always Running, now in its 20th printing. Through language and imagination, Montoya and Rodriguez uplift young people and motivate them to change their lives. This is the first time these two legendary figures have appeared together. Info: sutterwriters.com.

•••Saturday (5/20) at 7:00 pm: Escritores member Laura Llano has arranged the annual evening to honor ‘los viejitos,’ this year with an emphasis on los maestros, our teachers. Laura is herself a teacher of many years, currently at McClatchy High School, as well as being a most talented visual artist and an accomplished and skilled professional story teller. She will bring us a good evening of memories. You, too, are invited to bring your poems and recuerdos of memorable teachers—yes, both the good and the bad! La Raza/Galería Posada Bookstore, 1421 ‘R’ St., Sac. Suggested Donation: $5 or as you can afford. Sponsored by: Writers of the New Sun/Escritores del Nuevo Sol: www.escritoresdelnuevosol.com. Info: Graciela: 916-456-5323.


THE SAILMAKER

weaves his needle with rough
hands worn tough as canvas:
quicksilver wink of a needlefish

darting into torn sails, vanishing
into clouds of white then out
again: glittering rise and fall as it

darts behind the curtain, then
back onstage: mermaid’s tail
flashing in and out of white foam

billowing across the wet deck and
over his lap. . . Every ship has
its sailmaker: day and night

repairer of quick rips in the jib or
dark rape of a mainsail: one eye
missing, maybe, from some way-

ward spar, calloused hands now
crippled. . . But still he spins
his healing, this hunched-over

waterspider who fixes what’s torn:
weaves rough tales of mending
on these never-ending waves. . .

—Kathy Kieth

(Published in Tiger's Eye: A Journal of Poetry)

_______________________

Finally, some advice:

MENDING THE FOREMAST

is not possible in high
winds. Preparation is

all: don’t get caught heeling
too far, dismasting

altogether, watching it
float off in a typhoon. Don’t

get stuck mucking in the bilge
when you should’ve tended

to the canvas: mended
the storm jib: figured out how to

tack and reef and trim: darned
that rip in the spinnaker: bolted/

greased/tightened every last
block and screw and pad eye while

the sea was glass and the clouds
were cotton and the breeze was just

a petrel’s feather
floating in between. . .

—Kathy Kieth

_______________________

And rest in peace, Stanley Kunitz, who took on the post of US Poet Laureate at the age of 95, and who passed away this Tuesday at the age of 100. Rest in peace, Stanley, and in poetry.

—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.)

zzzzzzzzzz

Medusa will be in hibernation for four days, then back to her old tricks (so to speak) next Thursday (5/18). Since this will be posted for such a long time, let’s all think about our mothers: :-)

MY MOTHER ONCE TOLD ME
—Yehuda Amichai

My mother once told me
Not to sleep with flowers in the room.
Since then I have not slept with flowers.
I sleep alone, without them.

There were many flowers.
But I’ve never had enough time.
And persons I love are already pushing themselves
Away from my life, like boats
Away from the shore.

My mother said
Not to sleep with flowers.
You won’t sleep.
You won’t sleep, mother of my childhood.

The bannister I clung to
When they dragged me off to school
Is long since burnt.
But my hands, clinging,
Remain
Clinging.

(Translated by Assia Gutmann)

_______________________

ASPEN TREE
—Paul Celan

Aspen tree your leaves glance white into the dark.
My mother’s hair was never white.

Dandelion, so green is the Ukraine.
My yellow-haired mother did not come home.

Rain cloud, above the well do you hover
My quiet mother weeps for everyone.

Round star, you wind the golden loop.
My mother’s heart was ripped by lead.

Oaken door, who lifted you off your hinges?
My gentle mother cannot return.

(Translated by Michael Hamburger)

_______________________

Here’s next week’s NorCal poetry calendar:

•••Monday (5/15), Lesley Gale will be reading at Sacramento Poetry Center, HQ (25th & R Sts., Sac.) 7:30 pm. That day is also the deadline to submit your poems for the next Rattlesnake Review (#10). Getcher pomes in NOW!!!

•••Earlier on Monday 5/15, drop by the It’s a Grind Coffee House, 2731 Del Paso Blvd., Sac at 6 pm for a Think Postcard! workshop.

•••Thursday (5/18), The Nevada County Poetry Series presents Laura Pendell, Brigit Truex, and James Lee Jobe. The show will be in the Off Center Stage (Black Box Theater, enter from Richardson Street) at the Center for the Arts, 314 W. Main St., Grass Valley. Tickets can be purchased at the door: $5 general, seniors and students, and $1 for those under 18. Refreshments and open-mic included. Info: (530) 432-8196 or (530) 274-8384. About these poets:

Laura Pendell lived in New York City until 8 years ago when she moved to Northern California to continue her exploration of poetry, plants and alternative lifestyles (formerly called sex, drugs and rock'n'roll). Now living in Penn Valley, Laura says, "When not writing poems, I make handmade books and tend the land I share with my husband, our cat, some flying squirrels and the occasional skunk..."

Brigit Truex of Placerville is of Native American (Cree/Abenaki), French Canadian, and Irish heritage. When not writing poetry or working on regalia, beadwork or crafts, Brigit can usually be found at powwows around the region, where she practices the art of Northern Traditional Dance. Brigit's work has appeared in Folio, Rattlesnake Review, PDQ, Perspectives and Manzanita. She has three chapbooks in print: Satuit Seasons, Of A Feather and Leaf By Leaf, and is a member of the Red Fox Underground in Placerville.

James Lee Jobe is a former DJ on a Sacramento Rock radio station, the past editor and publisher of One Dog Press (1990—1994), and Editor of the quarterly Clan of the Dog. He has been published in Manzanita, Tule Review, Pearl, and many other periodicals. Jobe has four chapbooks published, the most recent being What God Said When She Finally Answered Me from Rattlesnake Press. He lives in Davis with his wife and children and continues to work behind the scenes in radio.

•••Also Thursday (5/18), Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Sally Allen McNall, and Paul Eggers will read at the 1078 Gallery in Chico, 738 W. 5th St., 7:30 pm. Info: 530-343-1973. About these poets:

Patricia Wellingham-Jones, a former psychology researcher and writer/editor, is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Her work is published in numerous anthologies, journals, and Internet magazines, including HazMat Review, Red River Review, Rattlesnake Review, Phoebe, A Room of Her Own, The Raintown Review, Ink & Ashes and Niederngasse. Her many chapbooks include, among others, Don’t Turn Away: Poems About Breast Cancer (PWJ Publishing), Hormone Stew (Snark Publishing) and Voices on the Land (Rattlesnake Press). Her website is www.wellinghamjones.com.

Sally Allen McNall, a teacher for 42 years, has lived and written and taught in Kansas, New Zealand, Ohio and California. Her work has appeared in New Letters, Midwest Quarterly, The MacGuffin, Prairie Schooner, The Crab Creek Review, The Chariton Review, Out of Line, Nimrod, Poetry East, and Barrow Street. Her chapbook, How to Behave at the Zoo and Other Lessons, was a winner of the State Street Press competition. Her first book manuscript, Rescue, won the Backwaters Press Prize.

Paul Eggers, an associate professor of English at CSU, Chico, is the author of two books: the novel, Saviors (Harcourt), winner of the Maria Thomas Fiction Award and a Barnes & Noble Discovery selection; and the short-fiction collection, How the Water Feels (SMU Press), winner of the Paterson Prize in Fiction. A recent NEA recipient, he is currently at work on a collection of long stories set in Africa and South East Asia, where he lived for several years.

•••Also Thursday (5/18): Poetry Unplugged presents Donald Sydney-Fryer. 1414 16th St., Sac., 8 pm. Info: www.lunascafe.com or 916-441-3931.

•••Friday (5/19), an Our House Defines Art poetry reading will feature Laverne & Carol Frith, editors of Ekphrasis, and rattlechapper/spiralchapper/Formalist-in-Residence for Rattlesnake Review Joyce Odam, who is also Editor of PDQ and Brevities. Their reading will be followed by an open mic. Our House Defines Art Gallery & Framing is located at 4510 Post St. in El Dorado Hills Town Center (just south of Hwy 50), El Dorado Hills, 7:00 pm. No charge. Info: 916-933-4278.

•••Also Friday (5/19) at the Sutter Cancer Center, 2800 L St., 2nd floor, Rm. 220, 7-8:30 pm: Jose Montoya, former Sacramento Poet Laureate and co-founder of the Royal Chicano Air Force, inspired Luis Rodriguez in the 1970s. Writing led Rodriguez out of addiction and crime to become a leading Chicano writer, author of 10 books, including Always Running, now in its 20th printing. Through language and imagination, Montoya and Rodriguez uplift young people and motivate them to change their lives. This is the first time these two legendary figures have appeared together. Info: sutterwriters.com

•••Saturday (5/20), celebrate California's distinctive heritage of poets, poetry, and presses at Poetry Center San José's first annual California Poets Festival. This all-day outdoor festival will be held at History Park San José, 1650 Senter Road, San José from 10 am to 4:30 pm. It is open to the public and free of charge. Listen to readings throughout the day by California poets. Stroll through the small press fair. Meet editors, purchase books, journals, subscriptions, and obtain submission guidelines from a variety of California publications. Enjoy a picnic or glass of wine from local restaurants offered in this historical park setting, and hang out with lovers of poetry—old and new friends. Spend a memorable day with people from San José, the greater Bay Area and beyond. Info: californiapoetsfestival.org

•••Also Saturday (5/20), the Underground Poetry Series features Taylor Williams, Rob Anthony and Noah Hayes at Underground Books, 2814 35th St., Sac. (35th & Broadway). Info: 916-737-3333.

•••Sunday (5/21), the Poet’s Club of Lincoln presents an Open Mic from 3-5 pm at The Salt Mine, corner of G St. & Hwy 65 in Lincoln. Free; bring a can of food for the Salt Cellar Canned Food Drive. Info or to register: Sue Clark, 434-9226.

Is that a full calendar, or what??? By the time you’re done reading it, I’ll be back!

One more mother poem, this one by Michael Hettich, one of my favorite poets (next to all of you, of course—)

YOUR MOTHER SINGS
—Michael Hettich

Your mother sings
an old song as she
hangs the wash. She looks around—

And when she is sure
no one is watching
(but you are watching) she lets the pigeons

she keeps at the bottom of her laundry basket
fly free—
Each has a note

in its beak. And now a pigeon
flies in your window, dies at your feet.
The note says: I live alone, please

come, please help me. But she doesn’t live
alone, your mother
is downstairs now

moving pots and pans, starting
dinner, singing
a song she sang,

you imagine, when you couldn’t sleep.
You hear her down there
singing. You see the pigeon on the floor.

_______________________

So behave yourselves while Medusa snoozes; spend your time wisely by writing, writing, writing—and send me plenty of poetry for the day when I tie those snakes back into harness!

Oh—and happy birthday to my mother-in-law, Sammie Robertson-Corp, who is a loyal reader.

—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.)

"My Eyes Have Pages Like a Book"

CHANGES
—James Lee Jobe, Davis

1

Look at the skeleton people that my toes have become!

Perhaps they have lives of their own! When the master

pulls the strings they rattle their bones at him.

It is all in a day's work. A World War One vet said to me,

"You'll know you're old when the whole rest of the world

seems like idiots." "Some people are born old," I told him.


2

My fingers have been replaced by ploughshares, beaten

from someone else's sword. Each digit lives it's own dream,

so my hands are like movie theaters! A matinee is starting soon,

and anyway, the real money is in the snack bar. I hold my fingers

up in the bathroom light, lightening bolts shoot from the tips,

and I remember, for once, to put the seat down for my wife.


3

Dreams and memories seem more and more alike,

and in those moments when I am neither asleep

or awake it is hard to tell the difference between the two.

What I did, what I remember, what I dream—it is all the same now.

Why compare? My nose is a hound dog, here to sniff it all out! My ears

are also dogs, and they stare at the gate, waiting for the master to return.


4

If ever I was innocent, I can't remember it. It seems like I've always

been behind my place in the race, but with a good reason that

I just can't explain. My eyes have pages like a book, and written

on these pages is a story that you really don't need to know.

Please be careful not to lose my place!

Each page is the weight of a submarine.


5

The sun is setting, but it is winter, really it is still quite early.

Don't be fooled by darkness! Dinner will be ready soon,

and all of the family will sit together in a circle. My hair

is green lichen that covers all, like on the boulders

of the Yuba River. Every meal, every year,

every day, I pull them all closer and closer.

_______________________

Thanks, JJ! Tonight (Fri., 5/12), The Other Voice in Davis presents Rhony Bhopla and rattlechapper James Lee Jobe (What God Said When She Finally Answered Me) in the Unitarian Church Library, 27072 Patwin Rd., Davis, 7:30 pm. Info: 530-902-4591.

•••Saturday (5/13): Renowned poet and translator Lillian Vallee is the featured poet for the Spring Issue of Song of the San Joaquin, and she will read her own work at the McHenry Museum, 1402 "I" St., Modesto. The 2 pm program is free, and many valley poets will gather to read their poems from the newest edition of Song. Info: Cleo Griffith, (209) 543-1776 or cleor36@yahoo.com.

•••Also Saturday (5/13), Featured poets Abul Haliz Al Saif Allah and Rob Anthony will read at a CD release: "Jasouloetry". 3-5 pm at Queen Sheba Restraurant, 1537 Howe Av., free. Info: 916-920-1020.

•••Also Saturday (5/13): There will be a Think Postcard! workshop in Winters at 10 am at the Winters Branch Library, 201 First St., Winters.

•••And it’s not poetry, but on Saturday (5/13) the Crocker Art Museum Art Book Fair will be held in the outdoor courtyard of the Museum from 10 am to 4 pm. Free admission and activities, including hands-on bookmaking and story time; “How to Build Your Art Library” with Richard L. Press; a Think Postcard! workshop; and a special reading by Rachel Rodriquez, author of Through Georgia’s Eyes, a portrait of artist Georgia O’Keefe. All this, plus unique and limited-edition books from specialty publishing houses! That’s at the Crocker Art Museum, 216 O St., Sac. Info: 916-264-5531.

•••Sunday (5/14), take your mother to hear Donald Sydney-Fryer read the poems of the great California Romantic Poet, George Sterling, at the Poems-for-All reading at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sac., from 4-6 pm. Info: 916-442-9295.

•••Monday (5-15), Lesley Gale will be reading at Sacramento Poetry Center, HQ (25th & R Sts., Sac.) 7:30 pm. That day is also the deadline to submit your poems for the next Rattlesnake Review (#10). Getcher pomes in NOW!!!

Thanks to the endless rain we had this spring, the foothills are forests of what we erroneously call "weeds" and other brush, increasing the fire hazard for summer. Plus, regulations now demand 100' of "defensible space" instead of the old 30'. This has our foothill friends out there with their sickles and steak knives and whatever else they can use to hack through the jungle. Then they get to play with matches:

BURNING SLASH
—Taylor Graham, Somerset

We piled pine boughs, cedar fronds,
hacked manzanita trunks
atop the oak stump. Dry twigs
and needles. Burn
to be fire-safe, you said, and lit
the match.

A hesitation
of light breeze before it caught,
torching pine-tips, exploding cedar
as if fueled by gasoline.
Manzanita leaves flared from slick
red limbs, wild-haired ladies
turning white, lifting on wind,
each ash-leaf delicate as a moth
fleeing flame.

With rake and shovel
we shepherded the edges, turned
the fire back on itself.
At last there was nothing
but the old stump, a black tooth
on a gray gum; cinder-cone
of lava sparks.

We watched it into the dark.
By morning, a black crater
like the beginning of the next
world.

______________________

Thanks, TG! Is that cool—and HOT—or what? (Medusa, like all poets, of course, loves to play with fire.......)

—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.)