John Keats
THIS LIVING HAND
—John Keats
This living hand, now warm and capable
Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold
And in the icy silence of the tomb,
So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights
That thou wouldst wish thine own heart dry of blood
So in my veins red life might stream again,
And thou be conscience-calmed—see here it is—
I hold it towards you.
______________________
Yesterday, John Keats would've been 212 years old, and today Stephen Crane would've been 136.
SHOULD THE WIDE WORLD ROLL AWAY
—Stephen Crane
Should the wide world roll away
Leaving black terror
Limitless night,
Nor God, nor man, nor place to stand
Would be to me essential
If thou and thy white arms were there
And the fall to doom a long way.
______________________
Let's go to DC and march in March!
For four days in March, poets will be descending on our nation’s capital, helping make it a true republic of poetry. Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness will hit the streets of Washington on the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, March 20-23, 2008. They’ll be giving readings, learning from one another in workshops, panels, and meet-ups, celebrating the rich history of socially engaged poetry in DC and the nation. Poets from all over the country will be converging, demanding an end to this immoral war and a dramatic reordering of our priorities here at home—to save our planet, restore our civil liberties, meet our pressing human needs. Some of the most celebrated and important poets of our time will be reading and participating. DC poets Chris August, Kenneth Carroll, Grace Cavalieri, Joel Dias-Porter (aka DJ Renegade), Brian Gilmore, Semezdin Mehmedinoviç, E. Ethelbert Miller, Princess of Controversy, Susan Tichy, and Belle Waring will be joined on stage by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Lucille Clifton, Mark Doty, Martín Espada, Carolyn Forché, Sam Hamill, Joy Harjo, Galway Kinnell, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sharon Olds, Alix Olson, Alicia Ostriker, Ishle Yi Park, Sonia Sanchez, Patricia Smith, and Pamela Uschuk. Read more at www.SplitThisRock.org http://www.splitthisrock.org/
_____________________
Meanwhile, welcome to November!
NOVEMBER
—David Anderson, Lincoln
Late Autumn. Mid November. Still, warm air.
Dropping beyond the Coast Range, the sun pulls down
the colors of the sky and leaves a bare
deep blue clarity. The trees around
us sussurate. Their leaves barely cling.
Before the stars appear, at the pause of twilight,
hidden in the shrubs, linnets do not sing
but chitter to each other against the coming night.
Before the storms sweep across the valley floor,
before the frost takes life in its iron fists
and squeezes, before the coming winter's war
on the innocent breath of its antagonists,
let us cherish this cool warmth of day
for we know that nothing here will stay.
(Republished from Time of Singing, November 2007)
_____________________
Thanks, David!
One more Secret of Life poem, this one from rattlechapper Allegra Silberstein, who will be hosting The Other Voice in Davis tomorrow night (which will feature another rattlechapper, Susan Kelly-DeWitt):
WITH TOUCH
we begin. Two gametes yoked.
We will swim in the womb,
fins and tail becoming arms and legs.
We will know the hard press of birth
the soft of our mother’s breast.
Hands will help us to walk,
comfort us when we stumble.
Life will have lessons for us.
Grades undeserved, friends touching
our lives, a lover’s arms and holding:
a poem, a painting, a daffodil,
waterfall, river, autumn color
blue sky kissing our eyes
the wind pulling us, pushing.
Calypso rhythms pulsing in our ears,
lightning in the night sky piercing,
scent of lavender and ripe tomatoes
your body curving into mine.
Bare feet feeling the soft of earth,
dancing toward the meaning of life:
to be touched
to touch
without trespass.
—Allegra Silberstein, Davis
____________________
—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.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. 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:
Journals: The latest issue of Rattlesnake Review (#15) is available for free at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or send $2 to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. Next deadline is November 15. The two journals for youngsters, Snakelets and Vyper, are on hiatus; no deadlines this Fall.
New in October: Rattlesnake Press celebrated Sacramento Poetry Month on Wednesday, October 10 with the release of Spiral, a rattlechap by Kate Wells; Autumn on My Mind, a free littlesnake broadside by Mary Field; and #5 in the free Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy, this one featuring Sacramento Poet Laureate Julia Connor. Also released that night was Conversations, Volume One of the Rattlesnake Interview Anthology Series (a collection of B.L.'s conversations with eleven Sacramento poets), as well as a free broadside tribute to poet/publisher Ben L. Hiatt, commissioned by Rattlesnake Press and designed by Richard Hansen from poetry by B.L. Kennedy and artwork by Patrick Grizzell. All of these are available at The Book Collector, 100 24th St., Sacramento, or from rattlesnakepress.com, or write to kathykieth@hotmail.com/.
Coming in November: The Snake is proud to announce the release of Among Neighbors, a rattlechap from Taylor Graham; Home is Where You Hang Your Wings, a littlesnake broadside from frank andrick; and A Poet's Book of Days, a perpetual calendar featuring the poetry and photography of Katy Brown. Come celebrate the release of all of these on Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.
—John Keats
This living hand, now warm and capable
Of earnest grasping, would, if it were cold
And in the icy silence of the tomb,
So haunt thy days and chill thy dreaming nights
That thou wouldst wish thine own heart dry of blood
So in my veins red life might stream again,
And thou be conscience-calmed—see here it is—
I hold it towards you.
______________________
Yesterday, John Keats would've been 212 years old, and today Stephen Crane would've been 136.
SHOULD THE WIDE WORLD ROLL AWAY
—Stephen Crane
Should the wide world roll away
Leaving black terror
Limitless night,
Nor God, nor man, nor place to stand
Would be to me essential
If thou and thy white arms were there
And the fall to doom a long way.
______________________
Let's go to DC and march in March!
For four days in March, poets will be descending on our nation’s capital, helping make it a true republic of poetry. Split This Rock Poetry Festival: Poems of Provocation & Witness will hit the streets of Washington on the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, March 20-23, 2008. They’ll be giving readings, learning from one another in workshops, panels, and meet-ups, celebrating the rich history of socially engaged poetry in DC and the nation. Poets from all over the country will be converging, demanding an end to this immoral war and a dramatic reordering of our priorities here at home—to save our planet, restore our civil liberties, meet our pressing human needs. Some of the most celebrated and important poets of our time will be reading and participating. DC poets Chris August, Kenneth Carroll, Grace Cavalieri, Joel Dias-Porter (aka DJ Renegade), Brian Gilmore, Semezdin Mehmedinoviç, E. Ethelbert Miller, Princess of Controversy, Susan Tichy, and Belle Waring will be joined on stage by Jimmy Santiago Baca, Lucille Clifton, Mark Doty, Martín Espada, Carolyn Forché, Sam Hamill, Joy Harjo, Galway Kinnell, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sharon Olds, Alix Olson, Alicia Ostriker, Ishle Yi Park, Sonia Sanchez, Patricia Smith, and Pamela Uschuk. Read more at www.SplitThisRock.org http://www.splitthisrock.org/
_____________________
Meanwhile, welcome to November!
NOVEMBER
—David Anderson, Lincoln
Late Autumn. Mid November. Still, warm air.
Dropping beyond the Coast Range, the sun pulls down
the colors of the sky and leaves a bare
deep blue clarity. The trees around
us sussurate. Their leaves barely cling.
Before the stars appear, at the pause of twilight,
hidden in the shrubs, linnets do not sing
but chitter to each other against the coming night.
Before the storms sweep across the valley floor,
before the frost takes life in its iron fists
and squeezes, before the coming winter's war
on the innocent breath of its antagonists,
let us cherish this cool warmth of day
for we know that nothing here will stay.
(Republished from Time of Singing, November 2007)
_____________________
Thanks, David!
One more Secret of Life poem, this one from rattlechapper Allegra Silberstein, who will be hosting The Other Voice in Davis tomorrow night (which will feature another rattlechapper, Susan Kelly-DeWitt):
WITH TOUCH
we begin. Two gametes yoked.
We will swim in the womb,
fins and tail becoming arms and legs.
We will know the hard press of birth
the soft of our mother’s breast.
Hands will help us to walk,
comfort us when we stumble.
Life will have lessons for us.
Grades undeserved, friends touching
our lives, a lover’s arms and holding:
a poem, a painting, a daffodil,
waterfall, river, autumn color
blue sky kissing our eyes
the wind pulling us, pushing.
Calypso rhythms pulsing in our ears,
lightning in the night sky piercing,
scent of lavender and ripe tomatoes
your body curving into mine.
Bare feet feeling the soft of earth,
dancing toward the meaning of life:
to be touched
to touch
without trespass.
—Allegra Silberstein, Davis
____________________
—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.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. 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:
Journals: The latest issue of Rattlesnake Review (#15) is available for free at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or send $2 to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. Next deadline is November 15. The two journals for youngsters, Snakelets and Vyper, are on hiatus; no deadlines this Fall.
New in October: Rattlesnake Press celebrated Sacramento Poetry Month on Wednesday, October 10 with the release of Spiral, a rattlechap by Kate Wells; Autumn on My Mind, a free littlesnake broadside by Mary Field; and #5 in the free Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy, this one featuring Sacramento Poet Laureate Julia Connor. Also released that night was Conversations, Volume One of the Rattlesnake Interview Anthology Series (a collection of B.L.'s conversations with eleven Sacramento poets), as well as a free broadside tribute to poet/publisher Ben L. Hiatt, commissioned by Rattlesnake Press and designed by Richard Hansen from poetry by B.L. Kennedy and artwork by Patrick Grizzell. All of these are available at The Book Collector, 100 24th St., Sacramento, or from rattlesnakepress.com, or write to kathykieth@hotmail.com/.
Coming in November: The Snake is proud to announce the release of Among Neighbors, a rattlechap from Taylor Graham; Home is Where You Hang Your Wings, a littlesnake broadside from frank andrick; and A Poet's Book of Days, a perpetual calendar featuring the poetry and photography of Katy Brown. Come celebrate the release of all of these on Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.