YOU’D THINK SKUNK
—Tom Goff, Carmichael
You’d think skunk, branded
mephitic, was a creature of sulfur,
drank pints of hot syrup or cream
at the volcano’s rim, innards mixing
repellent cocktail, and for that vice
got turned back by gods, altered in color,
fur once black
stained half white with the fumes, or the white
singed a rich black.
You’d think skunk, eater of bees,
destroyer of hives,
might borrow, perhaps rent some sweetness,
flesh-flavor or scent, from the buzz-maker,
sifter of sweet powders from clover,
raspberry blossom.
You’d think skunk, able to squirt
liquid a distance, might
have fended off, sent away skidding
or swerving, wipers blind and fumbling,
the car that tumbled it
roadside. Empty of anima.
Claws shoot futile from footpads, nipples no
good to its kits, bereft of life-milk, a limp sprawl,
soft bag, asphalt-flattened to an ensign,
licorice and vanilla.
Fur swirl.
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Thanks, Tom! Tom Goff was responding to our Stink-a-Thon (Seed of the Week), which is also a give-away this time. [See Tuesday’s post.] Send me a poem about the sense of smell—good smells, bad smells, exciting, familiar, nostalgic, anything that emphasizes the sense of smell. Get them to me anytime 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. Such a deal!
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HandyStuff Quickie:
I know you know about Poets & Writers magazine, but do you subscribe to their online newsletter? It's free and, as far as I can see, being on their list hasn't increased my junk mail any. Sign up at www.patronmail.com/pmailweb/PatronSetup?oid=167 or write to creichheld@pw.org for monthly info on hundreds of venues and contests to submit to. To which to submit, that is...
Medusa is sore tested every week to come up with some resource that will be helpful to poets. Don't be shy about sending in your own suggestions: books, online resources, reference materials... Any useful fodder for our HandyStuff Quickies that pop up in the Kitchen each Wednesday. Send 'em to kathykieth@hotmail.com/.
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More Seed of the Week poems from SnakePals. Taylor Graham writes: Here's something about smells, indebted to Stephani Schaefer in Los Molinos for her [photo of] pelicans:
SMOKE
—Taylor Graham, Somerset
It smells of fire four ridges east,
a woman leading her horses wild-eyed
on the evening news. It smells
of a chimney standing without its house.
While we slept, it drained down
the mountain, collected in a farmer’s
scummy pond that, with a change of wind,
smells of coastal hills in flame,
pelicans flown off-course inland,
this morning grounded in gray. Across
five counties south and west it weighs
the lungs. It smells of loss, what's left
of brakes burning on the downgrade,
driving too fast away.
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SMELLS LIKE RAIN
—Shawn Aveningo, Rescue
Nanny always knew.
“Smells like rain,”
she would proclaim.
And I wearing a ponytail
and white ribbons
would raise my nose,
sniffing the sky,
concur with her assessment.
Yes.
I could smell it,
distinct
like lavender rose petals
bathed in sea salt
from an ocean’s splash,
and tinged with dust,
a musky oldness
I remembered from
treasure hunting
the Hilltop Antique Market,
where Nanny would
let me puff on candy
cigarettes,
powdery sweetness
floating from my lips—
my smoke rings,
eventually extinguished
by a spring shower.
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Today's LittleNip:
SUBWAY RUSH HOUR
—Langston Hughes
Mingled
breath and smell
so close
mingled
black and white
so near
no room for fear.
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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.