A MIRROR
—Jean Follain
Having gone upstairs
on steps of dark oak
she finds herself before
a mirror with worm-eaten frame
she contemplates in it her virgin torso
all the countryside is ablaze
and gently arrives at her feet
a domestic beast
as if to remind her
of the animal life
which conceals in itself also
the body of a woman
_____________________
No more skeleton!
Taylor Graham writes: As you may have heard, Hidden Passage Books [in Placerville, the bookstore with the skeleton in the floor,] is closing. Hidden Passage has hosted our poetry reading series for three years, and we wish the owners, Tom and Barbara, all the best. There will be no 4th Wednesday reading in September. Beginning in October, our readings will be held at The Upstairs Art Gallery, 420 Main St., Placerville, 2nd Floor — that's just a few doors farther east on Main Street; same time, 6 to 7 pm on the 4th Wednesday of the month. Mark your calendar for the first Upstairs reading, Oct. 24th. It's an open-mike read-around, so bring your own poems or those of a favorite poet to share, or just come to listen. No charge. We hope to see you there!
Speaking of books:
The Friends of the Sacramento Public Library is sponsoring a fundraising book sale Saturday (12-5 PM) and Sunday (12-4). Book Den, 8250 Belvedere Ave., Sacramento. Books, CDs, records, 25¢ to $2. Info: 916-812-9199.
Or, if you need to get rid of books, the Sacramento SPCA needs donations for its annual booksale in November. Drop them off at the SPCA, 6201 Florin-Perkins Rd., Sacramento, 11 AM-6 PM Tuesdays through Sundays. Info: 916-383-7387.
____________________
A TAXIDERMIST
—Jean Follain
A taxidermist is sitting
before the russet breasts
green and purple wings
of his song-birds
dreaming about his lover
with a body so different
yet so close sometimes
to the body of the birds
that it seemed to him
very strange
in its curves and its volumes
in its colors and its finery
and its shades...
_____________________
MUSIC OF SPHERES
—Jean Follain
He was walking a frozen road
in his pocket iron keys were jingling
and with his pointed shoe absent-mindedly
he kicked the cylinder
of an old can
which for a few seconds rolled its cold emptiness
wobbled for a while and stopped
under a sky studded with stars.
______________________
AUTO MIRROR
—Adam Zagajewski
In the rear-view mirror suddenly
I saw the bulk of the Beauvais Cathedral;
great things dwell in small ones
for a moment.
______________________
—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.) For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com).
SnakeWatch: Up-to-the-minute Snake news:
ZZZZZZZ: Shh! The Snake is still sleeping! There will be no readings/releases in August, then we return with a bang on September 12, presenting Susan Kelly-DeWitt's new chapbook, Cassiopeia Above the Banyan Tree. See the online journal, Mudlark, for a hefty sample of poems from her book; that’s http://www.unf.edu/mudlark/. And read more about Susan at her nifty new website, http://www.susankelly-dewitt.com/. Click on "Chapbooks" for a sneak preview of Cassiopeia's cover.
Also coming in mid-September: The new issue of Rattlesnake Review (15), plus a littlesnake broadside from dawn dibartolo (Blush), and a continuation of B.L. Kennedy's Rattlesnake Interview Series—including #4 (frank andrick) and an anthology of interviews to be released for Sacramento Poetry Month (October). Next deadline for Rattlesnake Review (16) is November 15.