Johnny-Jump-Ups
Photo courtesy of Marie Riepenhoff-Talty
Photo courtesy of Marie Riepenhoff-Talty
AN EDIBLE FLOWER
—Marie Riepenhoff-Talty, Roseville
with the irresistible
face of a butterfly—
pansy’s cousin can come in:
red, purple, blue, bronze,
pink, black, yellow, white,
lavender, mahogany, apricot
or orange— and can be
added to field greens or
used as a garnish on desserts.
Is the sweet perfumed flavor
and delicate scent of
Viola cornuta—
Johnny-jump-up—
no matter which glorious
colors it comes in—
a more fit feast
for your table or
for your eyes?
______________________
Getting your poems out there:
•••Poetry Now (the monthly SPC publication) is always looking for poems. Poetry Editor Frank Graham prefers a Word document (sent as an attachment) or simply paste the poems into the email itself. Include bio notes. First-time poems for publication only. Send to grahampoet@aol.com
•••CROSSING LIMITS, an anthology seeking American Muslim and American Jewish poetry, is a community outreach project of both the American Muslim and American Jewish Communities. It invites poets who locate themselves within the broad cultural, secular and/or religious contexts of the Muslim and Jewish communities to submit original poetry for an upcoming anthology. Please paste 1-5 poems as text into the body of an e-mail to: CrossingLimits2@aol.com. Mail submissions to: P.O. Box 81268, Pittsburgh, PA. 15217. Previously published poems are acceptable if author owns rights. Simultaneous submissions are also accepted. Deadline is September 30, 2007.
De Young Museum Poetry Series:
The de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Epicenter:Arts present THE DE YOUNG POETRY SERIES on the First Fridays of April, May, and June (and September, October, and November) at the de Young Museum’s Koret Auditorium. The series is curated by Paul Hoover, poet, editor, and professor of creative writing at SFSU. Major U.S. and international poets will read from their works, followed by book signings. Tickets are $8 for FAMSF members and $12 for nonmembers, which includes museum admission. All readings begin at 7 PM. The April 6 reading has already passed, unfortunately (Michael Palmer), but the other two spring readings include:
Friday, May 4 : Anne Carson
Friday, June 1 : Robert Hass
Tonight in Poetry:
•••Tuesday (4/10), 8:30 PM: An evening of fish clouds, pedantry, gluttony, flat-feet floogies, and faddish cosmology all wrapped up in the prose and poetry of Arturo Mantecón. Bistro 33, 226 F St., Davis.
_______________________
THE SEARCH FOR WISDOM
—Salvatore Amico M. Buttaci, Lodi, New Jersey
in our hurry-scurry days,
we often waste irretrievable hours
on the inconsequential,
our chit-chat on cell phones
a kind of vocal ping-pong
as if silence were synonymous
with emptiness. We measure
our worth in the razzle-dazzle intensity
of ostentatious bling-bling
that mercilessly weighs us down.
We pooh-pooh the search for wisdom
because what we are wise to
is that wisdom is the quest
of the soul, and to find wisdom
one must strip the body
free of masks and heavy metal.
_______________________
THE DARK SIDE
—Salvatore Amico M. Buttaci
for some, life's a death row,
an anticipation of something
horrific, the falling of the other shoe,
a hot caustic spewing
from heaven's mouth,
the roar at the end
of the tunnel,
the absence of light.
they tramp through their days
letting loose the strings
from which moments blow away
empty as fizzled balloons
because hope is a stranger
not to be trusted
the enemy masquerading
as a friend.
to these unfortunates
life is not worth living
and no matter what logic
you rant in their faces
they shake their heads
pathetically insisting
it is you who's misjudged
what life is all about.
______________________
—Marie Riepenhoff-Talty, Roseville
with the irresistible
face of a butterfly—
pansy’s cousin can come in:
red, purple, blue, bronze,
pink, black, yellow, white,
lavender, mahogany, apricot
or orange— and can be
added to field greens or
used as a garnish on desserts.
Is the sweet perfumed flavor
and delicate scent of
Viola cornuta—
Johnny-jump-up—
no matter which glorious
colors it comes in—
a more fit feast
for your table or
for your eyes?
______________________
Getting your poems out there:
•••Poetry Now (the monthly SPC publication) is always looking for poems. Poetry Editor Frank Graham prefers a Word document (sent as an attachment) or simply paste the poems into the email itself. Include bio notes. First-time poems for publication only. Send to grahampoet@aol.com
•••CROSSING LIMITS, an anthology seeking American Muslim and American Jewish poetry, is a community outreach project of both the American Muslim and American Jewish Communities. It invites poets who locate themselves within the broad cultural, secular and/or religious contexts of the Muslim and Jewish communities to submit original poetry for an upcoming anthology. Please paste 1-5 poems as text into the body of an e-mail to: CrossingLimits2@aol.com. Mail submissions to: P.O. Box 81268, Pittsburgh, PA. 15217. Previously published poems are acceptable if author owns rights. Simultaneous submissions are also accepted. Deadline is September 30, 2007.
De Young Museum Poetry Series:
The de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and Epicenter:Arts present THE DE YOUNG POETRY SERIES on the First Fridays of April, May, and June (and September, October, and November) at the de Young Museum’s Koret Auditorium. The series is curated by Paul Hoover, poet, editor, and professor of creative writing at SFSU. Major U.S. and international poets will read from their works, followed by book signings. Tickets are $8 for FAMSF members and $12 for nonmembers, which includes museum admission. All readings begin at 7 PM. The April 6 reading has already passed, unfortunately (Michael Palmer), but the other two spring readings include:
Friday, May 4 : Anne Carson
Friday, June 1 : Robert Hass
Tonight in Poetry:
•••Tuesday (4/10), 8:30 PM: An evening of fish clouds, pedantry, gluttony, flat-feet floogies, and faddish cosmology all wrapped up in the prose and poetry of Arturo Mantecón. Bistro 33, 226 F St., Davis.
_______________________
THE SEARCH FOR WISDOM
—Salvatore Amico M. Buttaci, Lodi, New Jersey
in our hurry-scurry days,
we often waste irretrievable hours
on the inconsequential,
our chit-chat on cell phones
a kind of vocal ping-pong
as if silence were synonymous
with emptiness. We measure
our worth in the razzle-dazzle intensity
of ostentatious bling-bling
that mercilessly weighs us down.
We pooh-pooh the search for wisdom
because what we are wise to
is that wisdom is the quest
of the soul, and to find wisdom
one must strip the body
free of masks and heavy metal.
_______________________
THE DARK SIDE
—Salvatore Amico M. Buttaci
for some, life's a death row,
an anticipation of something
horrific, the falling of the other shoe,
a hot caustic spewing
from heaven's mouth,
the roar at the end
of the tunnel,
the absence of light.
they tramp through their days
letting loose the strings
from which moments blow away
empty as fizzled balloons
because hope is a stranger
not to be trusted
the enemy masquerading
as a friend.
to these unfortunates
life is not worth living
and no matter what logic
you rant in their faces
they shake their heads
pathetically insisting
it is you who's misjudged
what life is all about.
______________________
Thanks, Sal! Sal Buttaci has been a Snake contributor since the very first issue. He and his students are also loyal supporters of/contributors to VYPER—as you will see in the next issue, due out this week.
—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 (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) 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.)
SnakeWatch: Up-to-the-minute Snake news:
Journals: Rattlesnake Review #13 is available at The Book Collector; next deadline is May 15. The new VYPER #6 (for youth 13-19) will be out April 11. Snakelets 10 (for kids-12) is available; next deadline is May 1.
Books/broadsides: Current releases are Skin Stretched Around the Hollow by Steve Williams and littlesnake broadside #32 by Brad Buchanan: Ultrasound. Next release: April 11, 7:30 PM, at the Snake’s Third Annual Birthday Bash and Buffet at The Book Collector: SnakeRings SpiralChap #7 from D.R. Wagner: Where The Stars Are Kept, and littlesnake broadside #33: Swallowed By This Whale Of Time by Ann Menebroker.
—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 (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) 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.)
SnakeWatch: Up-to-the-minute Snake news:
Journals: Rattlesnake Review #13 is available at The Book Collector; next deadline is May 15. The new VYPER #6 (for youth 13-19) will be out April 11. Snakelets 10 (for kids-12) is available; next deadline is May 1.
Books/broadsides: Current releases are Skin Stretched Around the Hollow by Steve Williams and littlesnake broadside #32 by Brad Buchanan: Ultrasound. Next release: April 11, 7:30 PM, at the Snake’s Third Annual Birthday Bash and Buffet at The Book Collector: SnakeRings SpiralChap #7 from D.R. Wagner: Where The Stars Are Kept, and littlesnake broadside #33: Swallowed By This Whale Of Time by Ann Menebroker.