WHERE DO BIRDS SLEEP?
—Margaret Ellis Hill, Wilton
Ready to go before birds awaken,
the delicate lady paces the house,
feigns calmness, checks her hair,
waits for the car.
On the road, she chats about the cats,
today’s coffee, wraps her coat tightly,
tells us she is not nervous now,
chatters away with ideas and life.
As she is prepared with dressing gown,
warm blankets, attached with sterile lines
she chants the litanies again;
Our hearts reach out to hers.
Fragility like a bird,
etched wrinkles instead of feathers
shows a wearing down,
that wears us thin too.
With the mesmerizing hum of nurses,
soft sounds of family,
induced relaxation takes her
to the mercy of God and the angels.
Where do birds sleep?
_____________________
Thanks, Peggy! Peggy Hill is responding to Katy Brown's question yesterday: Where do owls go in winter?
And you: Have you sent in your stump poem yet? Tonight's the deadline: Send in your poems/photos/art about stumps or being "stumped" or other variations thereof (metaphoric and otherwise) and I'll send you Taylor Graham's latest chapbook, Among Neighbors. (Or, if you already have her new book, another Rattlesnake Press product of your choosing.) Send it all to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 by midnight (postmarked) Tuesday, Nov. 20. That's tonight! Here's one by David Humphreys; thanks, David!
THE WALNUT STUMP
out front is the last of three black walnuts
that lined the south side of the driveway. An
American walnut seedling nearest the house,
that was given to us by a grandmother, has
grown tall enough for shade but it is nothing
like the middle black that reached its zenith
height and glory the year before it succumbed
to a blight that ran through the area like wild fire.
The driveway needs to be jack hammered and
resurfaced. The roof needs to be replaced and
the garage door just broke. It’s an old house, a
beauty, but suffering from this climate of hot
summers. There’s plenty of work for an old
carpenter. I’ll take the chainsaw and grind down
the stump before too long but I’ll miss remembering
the kids climbing up into its branches and jumping
in the leaf piles every fall.
—David Humphreys, Stockton
_____________________
Call for submissions:
Song of the San Joaquin is accepting submissions of poetry through Dec. 15 for the Winter Issue. Info about guidelines: Cleo Griffith, (209) 543-1776, cleor36@yahoo.com/. See the last issue of Rattlesnake Review (#15) for a feature article on the SSJ Editorial Staff.
North-state poetry grants:
Jamie FitzGerald of Poets & Writers says: Poets & Writers administers the Readings/Workshops program, which provides matching fees to writers who give public readings of their work or teach writing workshops. One of the program goals is to reach underserved populations and/or rural areas where literary programming is often scarce.
For the past two years, we have chosen three counties to focus some of our efforts on. During this new fiscal year, which began July 1, we are focusing on Siskiyou, Del Norte and Placer counties. The goal is to help jump-start more events in these counties via outreach and education about funds available through the Readings/Workshops program.
Organizations must apply on behalf of writers, but you can help spread the word and initiate your own events with sponsors. Everything you need to learn more about this program (guidelines, application and FAQs) can be accessed on our Web site at http://www.pw.org/rw.
If you have any questions or would like to share your knowledge of literary events in your area that might qualify for support, please feel free to give us a call.
Jamie Asae FitzGerald
Poets & Writers, Program Associate
California Office & Readings/Workshops (West)
2035 Westwood Blvd, Suite 211
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-481-7195 phone
310-481-7193 fax
jfitzgerald@pw.org
SPC Annual Fund Raiser
•••A week from this Wednesday (11/28), 6-8 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center will hold its Annual Benefit at the home of Burnett and Mimi Miller, 1224 40th St., Sacramento. Victoria Dalkey and Quinton Duval will share their poetry; music will be provided by The Swing State (aka Mary Zeppa and Bob Stanley); plus food, drink and fellowship. $30. Arts funding is always at a premium. If you can’t fit our party into your busy life, please consider helping to support our ongoing (since 1979) programs with a tax-deductible contribution. Send it to Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 – 25th St., Sacramento, CA 95816.
____________________
I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as... a stump!
What? Are you debating me?
It's what you get when you chop down
those "woody" tall shrubs for the sake of progress
Yes, whacking them down in field and forest like big weeds
because it's our destiny
to also tame and conform our landscape
in order to then, likely, later pave over what remains
for houses, buildings, shopping malls, lots, or highway
not knowing how many roots still remain under them
Then sun and weather help make buckled cracks
in which suddenly start poking out little sprouts
Perhaps some of those stumps attempting to resurrect—
rebelling at being buried and forgotten in secret
—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento
—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:
Rattlesnake Review: 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. Issue #16 will be out in mid-December; its deadline of Nov. 15 has passed. Next deadline (for Issue #17, due out in mid-March) is February 15.
New in November: On November 14, Rattlesnake Press released Among Neighbors, a rattlechap from Taylor Graham; Home is Where You Hang Your Wings, a free littlesnake broadside from frank andrick; and A Poet's Book of Days, a perpetual calendar featuring the poetry and photography of Katy Brown. These are now available at The Book Collector, from kathykieth@hotmail.com, or on rattlesnakepress.com/ as is Conversations, Vol. One of the Rattlesnake Interview Series.
Coming December 12: The Snake is proud to announce the release of Metamorphic Intervals From The Insanity Of Time, a SnakeRings SpiralChap from Patricia D'Alessandro; Notes From An Ivory Tower, a littlesnake broadside from Ann Wehrman; and a brand new issue of Rattlesnake Review (#16). Come celebrate all of these on Wednesday, December 12, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento. Refreshments and a read-around will follow; bring your own poems or somebody else's.