FIREWORKS
—Babette Deutsch
Not guns, not thunder, but a flutter of clouded drums
That announce a fiesta: abruptly, fiery needles
Circumscribe on the night boundless chrysanthemums.
Softly, they break apart, they flake away, where
Darkness, on a svelte hiss, swallows them.
Delicate brilliance: a bellflower opens, fades,
In a sprinkle of falling stars.
Night absorbs them
With the sponge of her silence.
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This weekend in NorCal poetry:
•••Saturday (7/5), 11 AM: Los Escritores' monthly potluck and writing meeting at JoAnn Anglin's house. Info: 916-451-1372.
•••Saturday (7/5), and every first Saturday: Rhythm N Rhymes: open mic, webcast & filmed-for-public-TV, Butch N Nellie's, near corner of 19th & I Sts., Sacramento. Time and info: myspace.com/RNRshow/.
•••Monday (7/7), 7:30 PM: Sacramento Poetry Center will feature an Asian Poetry Reading with Frances Kakugawa at SPC, 25th & R Sts., Sacramento. Air-conditioning!
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SCENT OF PINE
—Marie J. Ross, Stockton
Moist sod under pine tree,
mud slightly hardened,
pebbles lay beneath loose
needles;
needles that wind their scent
through crevices of bark.
Through the forest sounds, sky
lowers its bluest hand,
manipulating, congregating,
pulsating, essence of aromas,
blending them through the day
into ripples by the stream, its
soaking waters opening pores
of sand, enlivening the skeletal
arches of cones and pointed tips
of pine needles.
A bittersweet strong fragrance,
a power dance for our nostrils.
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Thanks, Marie! Marie Ross was responding to our Smell-a-Thon: We’re in the middle of a give-away here [see Tuesday’s post]. Send me a poem about the sense of smell—good smells, bad smells, familiar, nostalgic, anything that emphasizes the sense of smell. Get them to me any time between now and midnight next Monday, July 7, and I'll send you ANY Rattlesnake Press product of your choosing, free! That's right—rattlechaps, spiralchaps, HandyStuff, Conversations—your choice, just for the elbow grease of putting together a scent poem and sending it to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.
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FOURTH OF JULY NIGHT
—Carl Sandburg
The little boat at anchor
in black water sat murmuring
to the tall black sky.
. . .
A white sky bomb fizzed on a black line.
A rocket hissed its red signature into the west.
Now a shower of Chinese fire alphabets,
a cry of flower pots broken in flames,
a long curve to a purple spray,
three violet balloons—
Drips of seaweed tangled in gold,
shimmering symbols of mixed numbers,
tremulous arrangements of cream gold folds
of a bride's wedding gown—
. . .
. . .
A few sky bombs spoke their pieces,
then velvet dark.
The little boat at anchor
in black water sat murmuring
to the tall black sky.
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then velvet dark.
The little boat at anchor
in black water sat murmuring
to the tall black sky.
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Today's LittleNip:
THE PEN
—Muhammad al-Ghuzzi
Take a pen in your uncertain fingers
Trust, and be assured
That the whole world is a sky-blue butterfly
And words are the nets to capture it.
(Translated by May Jayyusi and John Heath-Stubbs)
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—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's Up With Rattlesnake Press
The Snake will be snoozing through July and August, leaving Medusa to carry on alone. Then on September 10, we shall burst back onto the scene with Ten Poems, a new chapbook from Patrick Grizzell; #2 in Katy Brown's series of blank journals (Musings Two: Vices, Virtues and Obsessions); plus Issue #19 of Rattlesnake Review (deadline is August 15). Meanwhile, look in on Medusa every day, and, for heaven's sake, keep sending stuff! The snakes of Medusa are always hungry...
Medusa's Weekly Menu:
(Contributors are welcome to cook up something for any and all of these!)
Monday: Weekly NorCal poetry calendar
Tuesday: Seed of the Week: Tuesday is Medusa's day to post poetry triggers such as quotes, forms, photos, memories, jokes—whatever might tickle somebody's muse. Pick up the gauntlet and send in your poetic results; and don't be shy about sending in your own triggers, too! All poems will be posted and a few of them will go into Medusa's Corner of each Rattlesnake Review. Send your work to 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.
Wednesday: HandyStuff Quickies: Resources for the poet, including whatever helps ease the pain of writing and/or publishing: favorite journals to read and/or submit to; books, etc., about writing; organizational tools—you know—HandyStuff! Tell us about your favorite tools.
Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy. Send books, CDs, DVDs, etc. to him for possible review (either as a Drive-By or in future issues of Rattlesnake Review) at P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816.
Friday: NorCal weekend poetry calendar
Daily (except Sunday): LittleNips: SnakeFood for the Poetic Soul: Daily munchables for poetic thought, including short paragraphs, quotes, wonky words, silliness, little-known poetry/poet facts, and other inspiration—yet another way to feed our ravenous poetic souls.
And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!
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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). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.