Found Poems, Part Two

TAKE NUTRITION ACTION
—Marie Riepenhoff-Talty, Sacramento

Discover more super foods for better health—
At least one will surprise you!

A nutritional All-Star—
Sweet Potatoes!

They’re sweeter and firmer—
Grape Tomatoes!

Little or no artery-clogging fat—
Skim Milk!

Rich in fiber and antioxidants—
Blueberries!

Omega-3 fats and fewer heart attacks—
Wild salmon!

Fiber, magnesium, vitamins E, B-6, copper, zinc—
Brown rice!

Healthy greens; carotenoids, folate, potassium—
Kale, spinach and broccoli rabe!

Enriched with extra moisture and sweetness—
You are surprised, antioxidized; a power house!

"found" poem culled from the Nutrition Action Newsletter

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Thanks, Marie! A free copy of Pearl Stein Selinsky's new rattlechap, Vic & Me, will be winging its way to Marie and to all those other poets who are brave enough to send in "found" poems before next Tuesday (1/16) at midnight. Found poems are usually a kind of list poem that's generated from unlikely sources such as newspaper articles, catalogs, junk mail—any collection of words that seems to have elements that strike you as somehow poetic, either re-arranged or just as they are. Or it might be something less commercial: a note you found on the ground, or the juxtaposition of two graphitti, or some inadvertant slip of the tongue. Send it/them to kathykieth@hotmail.com or POBx 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726, and see yesterday's (and tomorrow's!) posts for more examples.


This weekend:

•••Today (Friday, 1/12): JACK LONDON'S BIRTHDAY. Jack London lived in Oakland and Alameda in the Bay Area and became world-famous. He was a student at UC Berkeley, attended Oakland High, and also attended school in Alameda. Bring your own style of poems (and your cameras) to commemorate yourself celebrating his birthday, Jan 12, by visiting the site of Jack London's birthplace, which is marked by a plaque, at Third and Brannan, in San Francisco, to read poems, place flowers and take photos. This continues a tradition for poets for more than 15 years, begun by the Bay Area Poets Coalition (BAPC). The Alameda Island Poets and others have been carrying on this tradition, and have been joined in this celebration through the years by the Not-Yet-Dead-Poets Society, Artists Embassy International, Poets of the Vineyard members, and other groups, Creative Writing classes and educators. All are welcome to join the poets at the San Francisco site, Jan 12, 10-11AM, and also to attend the FREE afternoon birthday party ( with birthday cake) and poetry reading PLUS OPEN READING at the Alameda Historical Museum, 1:30-3:00 PM, 2324 Alameda Ave., Alameda. [Happy Birthday, Jack!]

•••Sat. (1/13), 3-5 PM: Patricity's In Spirit & Truth Series at 61 Yuence Smoked BBQ & Grill, 9657 Folsom Blvd. (off Bradshaw). Features plus open mic. Free. Info: 916-361-2014.

•••Sunday (1/14), 2:30-4:30 PM: Poets on the Ridge Poetry Reading (Open Mic) at Juice & Java, 7067 Skyway, Paradise, CA. Info: 530-872-9633.

•••Sunday's fundraiser for frank andrick has been postponed until March. The outpouring of support for frank has been overwhelming. Thank you to all who have given in an effort to get him through his health care crisis. We'll follow-up with a NEW date and location when it’s been determined. For those who'd like to check in on frank and see how he's doing, you can contact him at fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com.

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More found poems. This first one is, as I told Patricia, bittersweet, coming from, as it does, someone she is very close to:

TWO DAYS OF LISTENING IN DEMENTIA-LAND
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Tehama

I woke up in the middle of the night and I was there.
Figured I must have been here before
because all of me was there now.
Where else would I be?
None of my pockets were rifled
and my hands were in the right place
so I guess it’s OK.

Have you noticed I’ve been a little bit screwy
in the last two weeks?
Everything is mixed up at one end;
nothing else happens.
How much problem would it be
to put me on a sideline?

There’s a moratorium on too much paperwork.
I’m on the irreparable fix-up list.
I’ll only deal with a blood relative, not
the four who spring up on the cow path.
How are you going to get the bear
and the deer out of here?

You’re strong! For a girl over twenty-one,
you’re powerful!
I’m looking for my top card
but I can’t find my wife.
Any hope of getting out of here?
There’ll be no tickle this evening.

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ADVENTURING THROUGH SUNSET
—Taylor Graham, Somerset

There was a time when I couldn’t see
the road ahead, explore white sand beaches,
marvel at world-famous volcanic landscapes.
In a dramatic re-do without the drama,
I was there in the snow, one crystallizing
moment brilliantly simple. Unfiltered
sunlight. Everything fresher, intense
fragrance with less mouth-pucker.
Backcountry trails like beacons
through a forest of fir, icicled creeks,
a featherweight avalanche from above
free-rappelling into a lost world
just as the final glimpse of sun sinks
into the ocean. Wide awake, stock up
on sparklers. Sandhill cranes, snow geese
and tundra swans darker in cool weather,
surrounded by a profusion of blooms.
Play with illusion. Collect rainwater.
What if the best day of your life
removed the formality, simplified spaces,
a unified feel and an easy flow
opening the door to nature. Borrow light
from other places. I slip into the cold
water and watch the stars slowly wheel.

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Thanks, TG!

—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.)