A Leaky Saucepan of Destinies

CINDERELLA
—Miroslav Holub

Cinderella is sorting her peas:
bad ones those, good ones these,
yes and no, no and yes.
No cheating. No untruthfulness.

From somewhere the sound of dancing.
Somebody's horses are prancing.
Somebody's riding in state.

The slipper's no longer too small,
toes have been cut off for the ball.
This is the truth. Never doubt.

Cinderella is sorting her peas:
bad ones those, good ones these,
yes and no, no and yes.
No cheating. No untruthfulness.

Coaches drive to the palace door
and everybody bows before
the self-appointed bride.

No blood is flowing. Just red birds
from distant parts are clearly heard
as, plumage ruffled, they alight.

Cinderella is sorting her peas:
bad ones those, good ones these,
yes and no, no and yes.

No little nuts, no prince that charms
and we all long for mother's arms,
yet there is but one hope:

Cinderella is sorting her peas:
softly as one fits joints together
with finger gentle as a feather,
or as one kneads the dough for bread.

________________________

WHAT ELSE
—Miroslav Holub

What else to do
but drive a small dog
out of yourself
with a stick?

Scruff bristling with fright
he huddles against the wall,
crawls in the domestic zodiac,
limps,
bleeding from the muzzle.

He would eat out of your hand
but that's no use.

What else
is poetry
but killing that small dog
in yourself?

And all around the barking, barking,
the hysterical barking
of cats.

________________________

Headed North?

Poets, poetry sympathizers and fellow travelers are invited to Colored Horse Studio at 780 Waugh Lane in Ukiah for an open mike poetry reading. They write: Time is limited to 6 minutes per participant, but we expect to have time for two or more rounds. We will be starting at 7 PM and going till about 9:30. Refreshments will be available. Donations are always welcome; they help us keep this series going. We are also grateful to Poets & Writers, Tenacity Press and Colored Horse Studio for helping to keep us afloat.

In August (Thurs., Aug. 31) we will resume our featured reader series as we begin our 8th year. Featured poet will be Armand Brint, former Ukiah Poet Laureate and author of Schools of Light and The League of Slow Cities. Armand was one of the first featured readers when we began this series at the Emerald Cafe in 1998. For more info: 463-6989, 275-9010, 468-9488 or poetry@coloredhorse.com (All phone numbers are area code 707.)

Closer to Home:

Tonight (Wed., 7/26), 6-7 PM: Hidden Passage Poetry Reading 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.

_______________________

THE FOREST
—Miroslav Holub

Among the primary rocks
where the bird spirits
crack the granite seeds
and the tree statues
with their black arms
threaten the clouds,

suddenly
there comes a rumble,
as if history
were being uprooted,

the grass bristles,
boulders tremble,
the earth's surface cracks

and there grows

a mushroom,

immense as life litself,
filled with billions of cells
immense as life itself,
eternal,
watery,

appearing in this world for the first

and last time.

________________________

BEHIND THE HOUSE
—Miroslav Holub

Behind the house is a leaky saucepan of destinies.
A scooter grown wise with age.
On a clothesline a wisp of stale breath.
Nitrogen oxide.
A drop of blood.

And in the shed in a heap
rags, ropes, rumpuses
and angels.

________________________

—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.)