Photo by Stephani Schaefer
Is everybody out there back to "normal"—electricity-wise, at least? Michelle Kunert wrote about the storms, too:
JANUARY STORM IN SAC
—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento
Wind ripping through like a hurricane
Clouds of water beat down
as it floods out the streets
and shorts out traffic lights
Guaranteed only for sunny California days
it’s a new year
but it brought again "Old man winter"
cursing Sacramentans with his temper
while those so blest with a home or shelter
can think they have respite from the storm
But that doesn't stop the arriving bills
coming, even drenched with running ink
Those at home won’t brave driving,
those who are left without electricity
from blown-down ancient power lines
The postman is left looking at frowning faces
as if begging "Please don't kill me,
I'm only the messenger."
______________________
Thanks, Michelle!
This week in NorCal poetry:
•••Tonight, Monday (1/14), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Emmanuel Sigauke and Shevonna Blackshire at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Open mic to follow. Emmanuel Sigauke was born in Zimbabwe, where he started writing at the age of thirteen. In the ensuing years he worked as a coordinator for writers' activities in Zimbabwe. After graduating from the University of Zimbabwe with a BA in English, he moved to California, where he completed his graduate studies. He teaches English at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, where he is one of the editors of the Cosumnes River Journal. He has published poetry in journals and magazines in Zimbabwe, Ireland and the United States. His recent publications have appeared in Virtual Poet, Slow Trains Journal, Ibhuku, and AfricanWriter.com and Taj Mahal Review. He also edits the online literary magazine, Munyori Poetry Journal [http://www.munyori.com/].
Shevonna Blackshire was born in Sacramento, and she has been writing poetry and short stories since she was six years old. Even before she could write, she was telling stories. She is returning to the poetry circuit after an extended hiatus. Her favorite quote is: "Say what you feel and feel what you say."
Next week's readers at SPC (1/21) will be Michael Cluff and Michael Barbarini.
•••Wednesday (1/16), 9 PM: Poetry Night at Bistro 33 (226 F Street in Davis) presents Joseph and Susan Finkleman, Poems in Two Voices. Of Joseph and Susan Finkleman's poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center Host Arturo Mantecon has said ""It pleases in that primal way that only song can and reminds us of the musicality that once characterized all poetry." Find out more about Joseph and Susan Finkleman at their website: www.visionsandviews.com/.
•••Thursday (1/17), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Open mic before and after.
•••Friday (1/18), 7-8 PM: Our House Poetry Reading presents well-known Sacramento area poets Crawdad Nelson and Rebecca Morrison at the reading's temporary location at El Dorado Dance Academy. The Academy is located at 3921 Sandstone Dr. Suite 4, El Dorado Hills. From Hwy 50, go south on Latrobe Rd. past the signals at White Rock Rd., Golden Foothill Pkwy, and Suncast Ln. The next signal is Golden Foothill Pkwy again (it's a loop). Turn right, follow Golden Foothill around a curve; make a left on Sandstone and go to the dead-end. Park in the parking lot on the right. Open mic to follow. No charge.
•••Saturday (1/19), 7-9 PM: Underground Poetry Series presents LaRue and Yoke Breaker, plus open mic. $3. Underground Books, 2814 35th St., Sacramento (35th and Broadway).
_____________________
FOG
—Kenneth Patchen
Rain's lovely gray daughter has lost her tall lover.
He whose mouth she knew; who was good to her.
I've heard her talk of him when the river lights
Scream 'Christ! it's lonely; Christ! it's cold.'
Heard the slug cry of her loneliness calling him
When the ship's mast points to no star in the North.
Many men have thought they were he;
Feeling her cold arms as they held death in theirs—
The woman-face in the frame of nothingness;
As the machinery of sleep turned its first wheel;
And they slept, while angels fell in colored sound
Upon the closing waters. Child and singing cradle one.
O sorrowful lady whose lover is that harbor
In a heaven where all we of longing lie, clinging together
SNOW
—Taylor Graham, Somerset
No road, no phone, no power. Only snow.
No sun yet, just a dimmer dark, a gray
like cancelled promises. I find my way
downstairs by flashlight to the woodstove’s glow,
a barely-pulsing heart that doesn’t warm
the corners of the room. The kettle’s cold.
The only news that matters: will it storm?
No sun yet, just a dimmer dark, a gray
like newsprint crumpled in the stove. How old
the day already seems. But look – a bird –
a pair of mourning doves has found the seed
I scattered. And a towhee – how they’ve stirred
the snow up! Here I’ve got a bird-stampede
below my window. Scratch the thankless word
that was my mantra just a breath ago:
No road, no phone, no power, only snow.
______________________
—Taylor Graham, Somerset
No road, no phone, no power. Only snow.
No sun yet, just a dimmer dark, a gray
like cancelled promises. I find my way
downstairs by flashlight to the woodstove’s glow,
a barely-pulsing heart that doesn’t warm
the corners of the room. The kettle’s cold.
The only news that matters: will it storm?
No sun yet, just a dimmer dark, a gray
like newsprint crumpled in the stove. How old
the day already seems. But look – a bird –
a pair of mourning doves has found the seed
I scattered. And a towhee – how they’ve stirred
the snow up! Here I’ve got a bird-stampede
below my window. Scratch the thankless word
that was my mantra just a breath ago:
No road, no phone, no power, only snow.
______________________
Thanks, Steph and Taylor Graham! Stephani Schaefer of Los Molinos writes: Look what I found between rain squalls. I've never been this close to one. With power down, I had nothing to play with except my camera. God bless my camera!
Is everybody out there back to "normal"—electricity-wise, at least? Michelle Kunert wrote about the storms, too:
JANUARY STORM IN SAC
—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento
Wind ripping through like a hurricane
Clouds of water beat down
as it floods out the streets
and shorts out traffic lights
Guaranteed only for sunny California days
it’s a new year
but it brought again "Old man winter"
cursing Sacramentans with his temper
while those so blest with a home or shelter
can think they have respite from the storm
But that doesn't stop the arriving bills
coming, even drenched with running ink
Those at home won’t brave driving,
those who are left without electricity
from blown-down ancient power lines
The postman is left looking at frowning faces
as if begging "Please don't kill me,
I'm only the messenger."
______________________
Thanks, Michelle!
This week in NorCal poetry:
•••Tonight, Monday (1/14), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Emmanuel Sigauke and Shevonna Blackshire at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. Open mic to follow. Emmanuel Sigauke was born in Zimbabwe, where he started writing at the age of thirteen. In the ensuing years he worked as a coordinator for writers' activities in Zimbabwe. After graduating from the University of Zimbabwe with a BA in English, he moved to California, where he completed his graduate studies. He teaches English at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, where he is one of the editors of the Cosumnes River Journal. He has published poetry in journals and magazines in Zimbabwe, Ireland and the United States. His recent publications have appeared in Virtual Poet, Slow Trains Journal, Ibhuku, and AfricanWriter.com and Taj Mahal Review. He also edits the online literary magazine, Munyori Poetry Journal [http://www.munyori.com/].
Shevonna Blackshire was born in Sacramento, and she has been writing poetry and short stories since she was six years old. Even before she could write, she was telling stories. She is returning to the poetry circuit after an extended hiatus. Her favorite quote is: "Say what you feel and feel what you say."
Next week's readers at SPC (1/21) will be Michael Cluff and Michael Barbarini.
•••Wednesday (1/16), 9 PM: Poetry Night at Bistro 33 (226 F Street in Davis) presents Joseph and Susan Finkleman, Poems in Two Voices. Of Joseph and Susan Finkleman's poetry, Sacramento Poetry Center Host Arturo Mantecon has said ""It pleases in that primal way that only song can and reminds us of the musicality that once characterized all poetry." Find out more about Joseph and Susan Finkleman at their website: www.visionsandviews.com/.
•••Thursday (1/17), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento. Open mic before and after.
•••Friday (1/18), 7-8 PM: Our House Poetry Reading presents well-known Sacramento area poets Crawdad Nelson and Rebecca Morrison at the reading's temporary location at El Dorado Dance Academy. The Academy is located at 3921 Sandstone Dr. Suite 4, El Dorado Hills. From Hwy 50, go south on Latrobe Rd. past the signals at White Rock Rd., Golden Foothill Pkwy, and Suncast Ln. The next signal is Golden Foothill Pkwy again (it's a loop). Turn right, follow Golden Foothill around a curve; make a left on Sandstone and go to the dead-end. Park in the parking lot on the right. Open mic to follow. No charge.
•••Saturday (1/19), 7-9 PM: Underground Poetry Series presents LaRue and Yoke Breaker, plus open mic. $3. Underground Books, 2814 35th St., Sacramento (35th and Broadway).
_____________________
FOG
—Kenneth Patchen
Rain's lovely gray daughter has lost her tall lover.
He whose mouth she knew; who was good to her.
I've heard her talk of him when the river lights
Scream 'Christ! it's lonely; Christ! it's cold.'
Heard the slug cry of her loneliness calling him
When the ship's mast points to no star in the North.
Many men have thought they were he;
Feeling her cold arms as they held death in theirs—
The woman-face in the frame of nothingness;
As the machinery of sleep turned its first wheel;
And they slept, while angels fell in colored sound
Upon the closing waters. Child and singing cradle one.
O sorrowful lady whose lover is that harbor
In a heaven where all we of longing lie, clinging together
as it gets dark.
_____________________
—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 (Sweet 16) is available for free at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or send $2 to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 and I'll mail you one. Next deadline (for Issue #17, due out in mid-March) is February 15—sooner than you think!
Coming in February: The Snake is still in winter hibernation for January: no readings, no books, no broadsides. Then, on February 13, Rattlesnake Press will roar to life again with a new SnakeRings SpiralChap from Don and Elsie Feliz (To Berlin With Love), plus a new littlesnake broadside from Carlena Wike (Going the Distance), as well as Volume Two of Conversations, B.L. Kennedy's Rattlesnake Interview Series. Come help us launch all of this on Weds., Feb. 13 at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM.
—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 (Sweet 16) is available for free at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, or send $2 to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726 and I'll mail you one. Next deadline (for Issue #17, due out in mid-March) is February 15—sooner than you think!
Coming in February: The Snake is still in winter hibernation for January: no readings, no books, no broadsides. Then, on February 13, Rattlesnake Press will roar to life again with a new SnakeRings SpiralChap from Don and Elsie Feliz (To Berlin With Love), plus a new littlesnake broadside from Carlena Wike (Going the Distance), as well as Volume Two of Conversations, B.L. Kennedy's Rattlesnake Interview Series. Come help us launch all of this on Weds., Feb. 13 at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM.