Photo by Stephani Schaefer, Los Molinos
PBJ
—Anthony Buccino, Nutley, NJ
Some times when things
get tough
you want to go home,
when it looks like
the end of the world
or you’re about to lose
everything you love,
some times you want
to got home for lunch
and have Ma serve up
a pbj
and you would be sure again
that everything will work out
__________________
Thanks to Anthony Buccino clear back in New Jersey for poems, and to Steph Schaefer up in Los Molinos for the wonderful, moody photo. Don't forget that Nov. 15 is the next Rattlesnake Review deadline; see issues #19 (the latest) and #20 (coming up) for more of Anthony's and Steph's work.
My new Poetry Now from Sacramento Poetry Center came in the mail yesterday, and I found some calendar events that I hadn’t posted yesterday. So please look at yesterday’s post; there are some additions.
A note about one of them: Sacramento Poetry Center sponsors a weekly workshop on Tuesday nights at Hart Center in Sacramento. I usually don’t post it (for a variety of reasons), but I hope you know how wonderful it is and will check it out via Danyen Powell, 530-756-6228. Now SPC is trying to get a weekend workshop off the ground. Facilitated by Emmanuel Sigauke and Frank Graham, it meets at the South Natomas Community Center on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 10 to 11:30 AM. Check it out; the info is on yesterday’s Medusa post.
—Anthony Buccino, Nutley, NJ
Some times when things
get tough
you want to go home,
when it looks like
the end of the world
or you’re about to lose
everything you love,
some times you want
to got home for lunch
and have Ma serve up
a pbj
and you would be sure again
that everything will work out
__________________
Thanks to Anthony Buccino clear back in New Jersey for poems, and to Steph Schaefer up in Los Molinos for the wonderful, moody photo. Don't forget that Nov. 15 is the next Rattlesnake Review deadline; see issues #19 (the latest) and #20 (coming up) for more of Anthony's and Steph's work.
My new Poetry Now from Sacramento Poetry Center came in the mail yesterday, and I found some calendar events that I hadn’t posted yesterday. So please look at yesterday’s post; there are some additions.
A note about one of them: Sacramento Poetry Center sponsors a weekly workshop on Tuesday nights at Hart Center in Sacramento. I usually don’t post it (for a variety of reasons), but I hope you know how wonderful it is and will check it out via Danyen Powell, 530-756-6228. Now SPC is trying to get a weekend workshop off the ground. Facilitated by Emmanuel Sigauke and Frank Graham, it meets at the South Natomas Community Center on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 10 to 11:30 AM. Check it out; the info is on yesterday’s Medusa post.
__________________
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE
—Anthony Buccino
What's it like to be
Married to different people
At different times, of course,
But how is it different
Do you spend a lot of time
Comparing this one with that one
Do you try not to repeat mistakes
That you've learned
What is it like
Each day to be with
Somebody who is
Different than the one
You thought you'd spend
The rest of your days with?
__________________
HAPPY POEMS
—Anthony Buccino
Does anyone write happy poems
poems that make you burst
out loud with laughter
until your side and face hurt?
Maybe we need more
poems about clowns
and skirted dogs
and talking fish
that say funny things
or quote the confused words
of the man of failing health
so we can see how cute he is
as we laugh him off the page
___________________
IRONY OF SCIENCE
—Anthony Buccino
Studying the nature
of river life and
fowl that make
these waters home, well,
the irony
is that to study
how these critters live,
science has to
kill them—having no patience
to await their natural death
___________________
FISHERMAN
—Anthony Buccino
Patience of a fisherman
Untangling his lines
Saving his bait
Starting over
Watching the subtle twitch
Waiting for the sweeping
Pull on that rod tip
Rushing to work
On the spinning reel
Intense eyes on
The line to the water
Seeking a sign
Of what is on
That other end
A trophy or a nuisance
Once more to the treasure
In the battered tackle box
The hooks, the leaders,
The lines, the brass barrel swivels,
Needle-nose pliers, clippers,
Measuring tape to notarize
The prize
A silent tradition
at water side and
and you wonder
who was first to eat a fish
and how did the scales taste
on the first raw bite.
So, out of necessity
man invented
or discovered fire to cook
the fish of the sea
__________________
Thanks to Anthony Buccino for our Seed of the Week: Fishing. I'm not a big fan of fishing, myself, but you have to admit it brings with it a host of metaphors. See Raymond Carver, our own Shawn Pittard, Melville, Hemingway... Send me a poem or poems you wrote about fishing (kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726); no deadlines, no rules, just poetry. More fishing poems:
FISHERMAN
—Ou Yang Hsiu (1007-1072)
The wind blows the line out from his fishing pole.
In a straw hat and grass cape the fisherman
Is invisible in the long reeds.
In the fine spring rain it is impossible to see very far
And the mist rising from the water has hidden the hills.
(translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth)
__________________
OLD FISHERMAN
—Iu Tsung-Yuan (773-819)
Old fisherman spends his night beneath the western cliffs.
At dawn, he boils Hsiang's waters, burns bamboo of Ch'u.
When the mist's burned off, and the sun's come out, he's gone.
The slap of the oars: the mountain waters green.
Turn and look, at heaven's edge, he's moving with the flow.
Above the cliffs the aimless clouds go too.
(translated from the Chinese by J.P. Seaton)
___________________
Today's LittleNip:
The trout leaps up—
and below him a stream of
clouds floats by
—Onitsura
__________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Next deadline for Rattlesnake Review is November 15!!! Send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address.
Also coming in November: On November 12, Rattlesnake Press will release a new rattlechap from Red Fox Underground Poet Wendy Patrice Williams (Some New Forgetting); a littlesnake broadside from South Lake Tahoe Poet Ray Hadley (Children's Games); our 2009 calendar from Katy Brown (Beyond the Hill: A Poet’s Calendar) as well as Conversations, Vol. 4 of B.L. Kennedy’s Rattlesnake Interview Series. That’s Weds., November 12, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.
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 SOWs; 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 (sometimes): 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 and in-between! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!
_________________
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.
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE
—Anthony Buccino
What's it like to be
Married to different people
At different times, of course,
But how is it different
Do you spend a lot of time
Comparing this one with that one
Do you try not to repeat mistakes
That you've learned
What is it like
Each day to be with
Somebody who is
Different than the one
You thought you'd spend
The rest of your days with?
__________________
HAPPY POEMS
—Anthony Buccino
Does anyone write happy poems
poems that make you burst
out loud with laughter
until your side and face hurt?
Maybe we need more
poems about clowns
and skirted dogs
and talking fish
that say funny things
or quote the confused words
of the man of failing health
so we can see how cute he is
as we laugh him off the page
___________________
IRONY OF SCIENCE
—Anthony Buccino
Studying the nature
of river life and
fowl that make
these waters home, well,
the irony
is that to study
how these critters live,
science has to
kill them—having no patience
to await their natural death
___________________
FISHERMAN
—Anthony Buccino
Patience of a fisherman
Untangling his lines
Saving his bait
Starting over
Watching the subtle twitch
Waiting for the sweeping
Pull on that rod tip
Rushing to work
On the spinning reel
Intense eyes on
The line to the water
Seeking a sign
Of what is on
That other end
A trophy or a nuisance
Once more to the treasure
In the battered tackle box
The hooks, the leaders,
The lines, the brass barrel swivels,
Needle-nose pliers, clippers,
Measuring tape to notarize
The prize
A silent tradition
at water side and
and you wonder
who was first to eat a fish
and how did the scales taste
on the first raw bite.
So, out of necessity
man invented
or discovered fire to cook
the fish of the sea
__________________
Thanks to Anthony Buccino for our Seed of the Week: Fishing. I'm not a big fan of fishing, myself, but you have to admit it brings with it a host of metaphors. See Raymond Carver, our own Shawn Pittard, Melville, Hemingway... Send me a poem or poems you wrote about fishing (kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726); no deadlines, no rules, just poetry. More fishing poems:
FISHERMAN
—Ou Yang Hsiu (1007-1072)
The wind blows the line out from his fishing pole.
In a straw hat and grass cape the fisherman
Is invisible in the long reeds.
In the fine spring rain it is impossible to see very far
And the mist rising from the water has hidden the hills.
(translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth)
__________________
OLD FISHERMAN
—Iu Tsung-Yuan (773-819)
Old fisherman spends his night beneath the western cliffs.
At dawn, he boils Hsiang's waters, burns bamboo of Ch'u.
When the mist's burned off, and the sun's come out, he's gone.
The slap of the oars: the mountain waters green.
Turn and look, at heaven's edge, he's moving with the flow.
Above the cliffs the aimless clouds go too.
(translated from the Chinese by J.P. Seaton)
___________________
Today's LittleNip:
The trout leaps up—
and below him a stream of
clouds floats by
—Onitsura
__________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Next deadline for Rattlesnake Review is November 15!!! Send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address.
Also coming in November: On November 12, Rattlesnake Press will release a new rattlechap from Red Fox Underground Poet Wendy Patrice Williams (Some New Forgetting); a littlesnake broadside from South Lake Tahoe Poet Ray Hadley (Children's Games); our 2009 calendar from Katy Brown (Beyond the Hill: A Poet’s Calendar) as well as Conversations, Vol. 4 of B.L. Kennedy’s Rattlesnake Interview Series. That’s Weds., November 12, 7:30 PM at The Book Collector.
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 SOWs; 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 (sometimes): 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 and in-between! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!
_________________
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.