SHE ALWAYS PREFERRED PIGS
—babirusa or pigling: pudginess
of even the slimmest ones: pork-
belly rotundery propped up on
pointed toes: ballet of chubbiness:
good-humored mincing, rut-
rutting in the cool mud by
the pond. Well-kept snouts
speak French: root out truffles
to sell for thousands. Or
potbellies from Viet Nam doze
on cushy beds: fubsy pork-pets
dodging the butcher—luckier
than more cumbrous breeds. . .
But still she preferred pigs, their
good-natured corpulence: ballet
of chunkies: pursy dancers tossing
pink roses as they root-root in
the cool mud by the pond. . .
—Kathy Kieth, Pollock Pines
________________________
I have always had an inordinate fondness for pigs. Maybe Cynthia Bryant, Pleasanton Poet Laureate of Poet's Lane fame, shares it, because she writes:
Send me your poetry with themes FEBRUARY-Eros, Pigs, African American History (this year will be The Year of the Pig in Chinese New Year) or perhaps you need to rant in a poem about the injustices of life, send me a poem for Get it Off Your Chest (mental health poetry) page. Send your poems to PoetsLane@comcast.net . Pigs! Pigs and Eros? Get to work...
Tonight at SPC:
Sacramento Poetry Center will present Michael Pulley and Kimberly White at HQ for the Arts, 25th & R Sts., Sac., 7:30 PM. Michael Pulley is an award-winning poet and journalist. He grew up in Georgia and the Carolinas but has lived in the Sacramento area since 1978. He recently completed a Master's in Creative Writing at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) where he now teaches English composition. In 2005, he won a CSUS Bazanella for expository prose, and he was the 2004 recipient of the CSUS Kathryn Hohlwein poetry scholarship. Pulley is a past SPC board member and edited one issue of the SPC Rivers series: Eden, 1992: Poets from the Time Tested Books Reading Series. His poems have appeared in journals throughout California, and in 1991 he published one chapbook, The Coffee Shop Blues. In a 22-year journalism career, Pulley has won Associated Press and United Press International awards and his work has appeared in The Sacramento Bee, The San Francisco Examiner, The Sacramento Business Journal, and Sacramento News & Review, among others.
Kimberly White's work has won awards from the Bay Area Poets Coalition and has been published in North Coast Literary Review, Comstock Review, Rattlesnake Review and other journals and anthologies. She has published two chapbooks and is the author of two unpublished novels. Most recently, she has been involved in ekphrasic projects with the Livermore Poet Laureate Project and with visual artist Victoria Corona, in a project produced by the Rice University Print Shop. She has lived in Sacramento since 1983.
A week from tonight (2/5), SPC will feature Theresa McCourt and Judy Halebsky.
Also this week:
•••Weds., (1/31), 10 PM-Midnight: Mics and Moods, Capitol Garage, 1500 K St., Sacramento. Features and open mic. $5; ages 21 and over. Info: 916-492-9336 or malikspeaks.com
•••Thursday (2/1), 8-11 PM: Vibe Sessions Open Mic at Cobbler Inn, 3520 Stockton Blvd. (next to Colonial Theater). $5, all ages.
•••Also Thursday (2/1), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sac. Features and open mic before/after. Free. Info: 916-441-3931 or www.lunascafe.com.
•••Sunday, 2/4, 6 PM: After Loss: Companion Spirit: The PoemSpirits of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento are pleased to announce the next featured reader: Jan Haag, a full-time, tenured professor in the Journalism and English departments at Sacramento City College. A prolific news reporter, copy editor and essayist, Jan also advises on student publications, especially Susurrus, the award-winning SCC literary journal. She turned to poetry, publishing Companion Spirit (by LAMP Press) after the loss of her husband, and with her subsequent involvement in the Sutter Writers Program. Co-Host Tom Goff will also offer a brief presentation on the writings of Michelangelo. These monthly presentations are free and open to the public. Place: Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, 2425 Sierra Blvd [north of Fair Oaks Blvd., between Howe and Munroe/Fulton], Main Building. Free; refreshments provided. Open mic: You are encouraged to bring a favorite poem to share, yours or another’s. This monthly event is presented by UUSS members Tom Goff, Nora Staklis, and JoAnn Anglin. For info on reading, contact: Tom or Nora at 916-481-3312; or JoAnn at 916-451-1372. For info on UUSS: www.uuss.org
•••Next Monday (2/5), 7:30 PM: The Other Voice in Davis presents Tim Bellows and rattlechapper Shawn Pittard reading their poetry at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road, Davis. There will be an open reading following the poets. This is a free event. James Lee Jobe will host. Call 530-750-3514 for details. Please check out http://uupoetry.blogspot.com for bios, sample poems, directions, and a map.
____________________
SLEEP
—Charles Simic
The woodpecker goes beating a little drum.
The shadow of the hyena blackens my face.
In my legs which are to be judged harshly,
And my hands with their false fury,
The bones lull each other tenderly.
I am with all that shivers,
All that hangs limp and without life.
It rains toads. My blood runs
Past dark inner cities on fire.
I climb into deep wells,
Rock bottoms and bone bottoms
Where gall of my birth steams.
Things slip out of my grasp,
Other things come to a quiet end.
This is my song. Nothing of us remains.
Almost nothing. I am whatever beast inhabits me.
When the rain turns into snow
Every beast shall see its track and wonder.
__________________
—Medusa
Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as 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.)
