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.)