May Your Mind Be Reviewed, Renewed

SEEDTIME
—Denise Levertov

There are weeds that flower forth in fall
in a gray cloud of seed that seems
from a not so great distance
plumblossom, pearblossom,
or first snow,

as if in a fog of feather-light
goosedown-silvery seed-thoughts
a rusty mind in its autumn
reviewed, renewed
its winged power.

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Strap on the boots:

Sunday (12/3) to Friday (12/8) is Molly Fisk’s next Poetry Boot Camp! If you don't know about Poetry Boot Camp, here's the place to find out:
http://www.poetrybootcamp.com, where you can also see the dates for 2007. Molly writes: Poetry Boot Camp is a bunch of fun and real work: writing six poems in six days, and critiquing six poems, too, in community with fellow poets. It's a great gift to give a poet-friend, or to ask for in your own stocking. Speaking of stockings, you can participate in Boot Camp wearing nothing but stockings, because it's all done via e-mail. So it's great when you want to get some serious writing done and forego the schmooze-factor of in-person writers' conferences. (Not that schmoozing isn't fun when you're in the mood!)


This weekend:

•••Saturday (11/25), 7-9 PM: "The Show" Poetry Series features Divine, Talaam Acey, Chas Jackson, and LSB at Wo'se Community Center, 2863 35th St. (Off Broadway), Sac. $5. Info: T.Mo at 916-455-POET.

•••And don't forget that the Monday night Sacramento Poetry Center reading has been moved to Tuesday next week! Members of The Great American Pinup web journal (greatamericanpinup.blogspot.com) will be reading at The Sacramento Poetry Center on TUESDAY, Nov. 28 at 7:30 PM, HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Live (!) members reading will include David Koehn, Shawn Pittard, Victor Schnickelfritz, and Geraldine Kim (winner of the 2005 Fence Books Award). Plus recordings of Matthew Schmeer [Kansas City] and Richard Jeffrey Newman [New York].

_______________________

STEMS
—Denise Levertov
(after Jules Supervielle)

A poplar tree under the stars,
what can it do.
And the bird in the poplar tree
dreaming, his head
tucked into
far-and-near exile under his wing—
what can either of them
in their confused alliance of
leaves and feathers
do to avert destiny?

Silence and the
ring of forgetting
protect them until the moment when
the sun rises
and the memory with it.
Then the bird
breaks with his beak the thread
of dream within him,
and the tree unrolls
the shadow that will guard it
throughout the day.

______________________

THE WILLOWS OF MASSACHUSETTS
—Denise Levertov

Animal willows of November
in pelt of gold enduring when all else
has let go all ornament
and stands naked in the cold.
Cold shine of sun on swamp water,
cold caress of slant beam on bough,
gray light on brown bark.
Willows—last to relinquish a leaf,
curious, patient, lion-headed, tense
with energy, watching
the serene cold through a curtain
of tarnished strands.

_______________________

—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.)