THE SUN ON YOUR SHOULDER
—John Haines
We lie together in the grass,
sleep awhile and wake,
look up at the cloverheads
and arrowy blades,
the pale, furred undersides
of leaves and clouds.
Strange to be a seed, and the whole
ascent still before us,
as in childhood
when everything is near
or very far,
and the crawling insect
a lesson in silence.
And maybe not again
that look clear as water,
the sun on your shoulder
when we rise,
shaken free of the grass,
tall in the first green morning.
__________________
Normally, Tuesday is Medusa's day to post poetry triggers that you have come up with, such as quotes, forms, photos, memories, jokes—but starting today, Medusa will be off tending her snakes and turning people into stone, etc., for a few days. So today is this week's Seed of the Week Day, and the prompt is, well, seeds. (Thanks to Taylor Graham for the idea). Medusa readers are encouraged to rise to the occasion. All poems will be posted and a few of them will go into Medusa's Corner of each Rattlesnake Review. Send your work to me at kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadline for SOW; respond today, tomorrow, or whenever the muse arrives. Print 'em out, maybe, save 'em for a dry spell? When you send us work, though, just let us know which "seed" it was that inspired you.
This week in NorCal poetry:
•••Monday (3/24), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center presents Zaid Shlah and Brad Buchanan (A Night to Touch Your Inner Canadian) at HQ for the Arts, 1719 25th St., Sacramento. A native Calgarian, Zaid Shlah now resides in Walnut Creek, CA. He obtained his BA in English from the University of Calgary and his MA in English from San Francisco State University, where he received the Distinguished Graduate award from San Francisco State University's Creative Writing department. His poetry has appeared in literary journals and anthologies both in Canada and the U.S. In particular, selections from the long poem, "Taqsim", have appeared on CBC Radio's Alberta Anthology. "Asking Iraq to Comply" appeared in the anthology, Canadian Writers Against the War: The Common Sky, 2003. And "Songs of Departure" and "Asking Iraq to Comply" are forthcoming in the anthology, Arab American and Diaspora Literature (Interlink Publishing, 2005). His first full-length book of poetry is Taqsim (Frontenac 2005). Brad Buchanan is originally from Canada and has had his poems published in many of the most widely-read Canadian literary journals, including Grain, Canadian Literature, The Antigonish Review, Descant, The Fiddlehead and Event. He has a Ph.D. from Stanford University and teaches at California State University, Sacramento. His first book is The Miracle Shirker from Poets Corner Press. He is married and has a young daughter, Nora, who has no idea yet that she is a Maple Leafs fan.
Next week (March 31), SPC will feature the Zen Marxist Launderettes (Laura Ann Walton, Emily Wright, Mira Kores, Sandra Senne, Margaret Burns, Erin Doyle, Ellen Johnson, Carolyn Schneider).
•••Weds. (3/26), 6-7 PM: Upstairs Poetry reading at The Upstairs Art Gallery, 420 Main St. (2nd floor), Placerville. 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.
•••Thurs. (3/27), 8 PM: Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe features Jackie Schaffer, Marty the Pirate, Robert Grossklaus and Litany. 1414 16th St., Sacramento.
•••Sat. (3/29), 7-9 PM. The Show Poetry Series for Spoken Word & Music that relaxes the soul and eases the mind. Featured artists Lady Kitty Griffin, Kevin Sandbloom and DeDe Hunt, with special Guest EmCee Comedian Corey Crenshaw. All artists (poets, singers, comedians, musicians, etc., all ages) are welcome to sign-up at the door to perform on the open mic. Any youth 18 years of age and under will be admitted free of charge; $5.00 admission for folks over the age of 18. Wo'se Community Center (Off 35th & Broadway), 2863 35th St., Sacramento. Contact: T-Mo (916)208-POET.
___________________
PICKERS
—John Haines
All day we were bent over,
lifting handfuls of wind and dust.
Scraps of some human conversation
blew by; a coffin on wheels
rolled slowly backward across
the field, and the skinned
bodies of the harvest were loaded.
A red cloud boiling up out
of the darkness became the evening.
Sentinels of a shattered army,
we drank bitter coffee, and spoke
of the field, the light, and the cold.
___________________
IF THE OWL CALLS AGAIN
at dusk
from the island in the river
and it's not too cold,
I'll wait for the moon
to rise,
then take wing and glide
to meet him.
We will not speak,
but hooded against the frost
soar above
the alder flats, searching
with tawny eyes.
And then we'll sit
in the shadowy spruce
and pick the bones
of careless mice,
while the long moon drifts
toward Asia
and the river mutters
in its icy bed.
And when the morning climbs
the limbs
we'll part without a sound,
fulfilled, floating
homeward as
the cold world awakens.
—John Haines
________________
—Medusa (who will be off flying with the owls until the end of March)
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: News from Rattlesnake Press
The brand-new Rattlesnake Review (#17) is now available for free at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento. Contributor copies and subscriptions will go into the mail this week and next. And if you aren't any of those but would like me to mail you one, send two bux to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.
Also New in March: Attracted to Light, a chapbook by Ann Privateer; Eclipse, a free littlesnake broadside by Jeanine Stevens; and Conversations Volume Two of B.L. Kennedy's Rattlesnake Interview Series.
Coming in April: We will mark the Snake’s fourth birthday by throwing the Fourth Annual Birthday Bash at The Book Collector on Wednesday, April 9, including a buffet at 7 PM, followed by a reading at 7:30 PM. That night, there will be three history-making releases: Ann Menebroker’s new chapbook (Small Crimes); Ted Finn re-emerges with a new SnakeRings SpiralChap of his poetry and art (Damn the Eternal War); and Katy Brown inaugurates her blank (well, not really) journal series for our HandyStuff department with her MUSINGS: Photos and Prompts For Capturing Creative Thought. Please join us to celebrate four years of [your] poetry with fangs!