SHE IS CLAY,
pliable
yielding
shapeless
now molded
into a pitcher
always pouring
never quenching
her own thirst
an empty vessel
drained by the echoes
of others’ dreams.
—Patricia A. Pashby, Sacramento
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Thanks, Pat! See more of Pat Pashby's work in 1) Rattlesnake Review #11, due out Sept. 13; 2) her new littlesnake broadside, Potpourri, due out the same day; and RIGHT NOW at 3) rattlesnakepress.com, the old poetrywithfangs.com website which has gotten a refurb and a face-lift, and looks way-the-hell better for it, thanks to Webmaster Kolleen Powers! It's not quite done yet; we need to add Paypal and pages for all the authors, but you can see how it's gonna be, anyway. Pat has another poem posted on the littlesnake broadside page. To see it from here, click on the link to the right of this column.
And come hear Pat read from her broadside when Phil Weidman releases his rattlechap, Fictional Character: The Ernie Poems next Wednesday, Sept. 13, at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM.
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The new Tule Review from the Sacramento Poetry Center is out, looking my-tee-fine as always. Sixteen poets, including a couple of rattlechappers, and a Tim Kahl review of Charlie Potts' Kiot. Speaking of Tim Kahl, not only does he have a broadside coming out next month from Rattlesnake Press, he also put together a fun and interesting article for the Snake about July's Poetry Marathon in Sacramento, complete with his own photos. Check it out when RR11 emerges next week!
One of the rattlechappers represented in The Tule Review this issue is Sacramento Poet Jeanine Stevens. Jeanine is also a winner in the Artists Embassy International's Dancing Poetry contest; she will be able to read her work at their Dancing Poetry Festival on October 7 in San Francisco at the Cal. Palace of the Legion of Honor, 100 34th Ave., San Francisco, 12-4 PM. Info: 510-235-0361 or naticaaei@aol.com. If you've never attended this spectacular combination of poetry, music and dance, you're in for a treat. Other local winners who will have the chance to read include Laverne Frith and Cleo Kocol. (Cleo will be releasing a littlesnake broadside in November.)
Enough shameless Snake-promotion. (Well, somebody has to do it...)
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Today:
•••Tonight, 9/7 at 8 PM, Poetry Unplugged features Vincent Kobelt. Open Mic before and after. Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. Free. Info: 916-441-3931.
•••Also Tonight, 8 PM: Flo Real's weekly Vibe Session and neo-soul lounge. The Cobbler Soul Food Restaurant, 3520 Stockton Blvd., Sac. $5. Info: 916-613-0776.
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POEMS
—Ruth Stone
When you come back to me
it will be crow time
and flycatcher time,
with rising spirals of gnats
between the apple trees.
Every weed will be quadrupled,
coarse, welcoming
and spine-tipped.
The crows, their black flapping
bodies, their long calling
toward the mountain;
relatives, like mine,
ambivalent, eye-hooded;
hooting and tearing.
And you will take me in
to your fractal meaningless
babble; the quick of my mouth,
the madness of my tongue.
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THE CAVE
—Ruth Stone
My mahjong eyes weep
when the sky weeps,
when color fades,
but it is the alphabet,
neat, succulent,
fresh slants of light
on the cave walls.
O skull, your hieroglyphs
shine far down
the passage,
as if the vapors
wrapped around
this spinning rock
were sweet as
lemon peel.
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SO WHAT
—Ruth Stone
For me the great truths are laced with hysteria.
How many Einsteins can we tolerate?
I leap into uncertainty principle.
After so many smears you want to wash it off with a laugh.
Ha ha, you say. So what if it's a meltdown?
Last lines to poems I will write immediately.
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Thanks to Marie Riepenhoff-Talty for today's Ruth Stone poems.
—Medusa
Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their poetry, photos and art, 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.)
