—So Chong-Ju
If I became
a stone
stone would become
lotus
lotus,
lake
and if I became
a lake
lake would become
lotus
lotus,
stone.
_______________________
Tonight:
•••Thursday (12/7), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe (1414 16th St., Sac) presents !X—The Ethnic Theater Ensemble. Open mic before and after. Info: 441-3931 or www.lunascafe.com. Free.
•••Thursday (12/7), 8-11 PM: Vibe Sessions at Cobbler Inn, 3520 Stockton Blvd. (next to Colonial Theater), Sac. $5, hosted by Flo-Real. Open Mic for comedians, singers, poets.
Pleasanton Poetry Festival next March:
The sixth annual Pleasanton Poetry, Prose and Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2007 at the CarrAmerica Conference Center, 4400 Rosewood Drive in Pleasanton. This all-day Festival will include poetry and prose workshops for all ages, poetry and prose contests for festival participants (with over $1,200 in prizes), a fine arts show, book signings, “Literary Row,” music, and an Awards Banquet. There will also be presentations by California Poet Laureate Al Young and Pulitzer-Prize winning novelist and screenwriter Michael Chabon.
Morning workshops include:
* The Lyrical Poem (Adult Poetry) presented by Gail & Charles Entrekin;
* Monster Poems: Addressing the Shadow (Adult Poetry) presented by Armand Brint;
* Making It Beautiful, No Matter What (Adult Poetry) presented by Susan Browne;
* The Mask Speaks (Youth Poetry) presented by Grace Marie Grafton;
* The Memory Thief (Adult and Teen Prose) presented by Lewis Buzbee.
Afternoon workshops include:
* The Sensory Experience (Adult Poetry) presented by Gail & Charles Entrekin;
* An Animal Wearing My Clothes (Adult Poetry) presented by Armand Brint;
* Making It Beautiful, No Matter What (Adult Poetry) presented by Susan Browne;
* Writing & Illustrating Children’s Books (Adult and Teen Prose) presented by Elisa Kleven;
* Whose House is This? (Adult and Teen Prose) presented by Lewis Buzbee.
Poetry and prose contest entries by all age groups must be submitted with early registration (must register to enter contests). Registration information and contest entry instructions will be available after December 16, 2006 at the PCAC website, www.pleasantonarts.org, by contacting Michelle Russo at City of Pleasanton Civic Arts, (925) 931-5350, or contacting Kirk Ridgeway at PleasantonPoetry@comcast.net.
______________________
A SNEEZE
—So Chong-Ju
Somewhere
is someone
saying my words?
I stepped out
into the blue autumn day's
winds that touched the ricepaper door.
I sniffed at the weather,
and sneezed.
Somewhere
is someone
saying my words?
Somewhere
as someone says my words,
has a flower overheard and passed them along?
Traces that stir
the waves of an old love.
Is someone
somewhere
saying my words?
As someone says them
has an ox overheard?
Does he pass them along?
(Translated from the Korean by David R. McKann)
______________________
David Humphreys was unhappy with his version of his poem which we posted last week, so he has made some changes and is asking Medusa to re-post. I guess Pearl Harbor Day is a good day to do that:
WAR CRIMES
—David Humphreys, Stockton
Thought it was cold last week but
that was nothing. It's going to be
in the twenties tonight. You remember
walking between buildings only about
a hundred yards at thirty below zero,
having your uncovered head go numb,
knowing you would've frozen solid if
you'd been caught out in it under that
star sparkling huge Colorado sky. You
wonder about the space station and if
temperature is like sound out there
without gravity but you don't really
formulate it into a question. It is like
the prism in the kitchen window, amusing
but remote. The man was testy again at
this morning's press conference. You
imagine him being helped away from
the scene of a roadside bombing, shaken
and smudged with blood and dirt, hair
wild and askew, shouting "But I don't
understand, they just don't seem to get it!"
Watched a show last night on Japan
building the Bridge on the River Kwai,
how they killed so many people, mostly
Asians and POWs, close to two hundred
thousand by the time they finished, regrettable
said the Japanese railway engineer who was
found to be blameless, but that's what seems
to happen in a time of war.
_____________________
Thanks, David!
—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.)