A donut can be
not just a "do not"
for arteries and waistlines
but baked with aluminum
toxic to your brain
just like mercury
makes one crazy and dumb
Doctors treat it with drugs
that just add more toxins
than a rational prescription
of changing the diet
When God said eat "manna"
without leavening agents
we can see what he meant
—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento
___________________
Thanks, Michelle, for the donut poem! (Does anybody spell it "doughnut" any more? It looks like doo-nut, now.) I'm not sure how many donut poems there are in the world—an insufficient number, I suspect, and that's a cryin' shame!
Here is yet another etheree (she calls it a "catitude" poem) from Mitz Sackman:
METRONOME OF FELINICITY
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys
Cat
Paws swing
Play, anger
Mood metronome
Playful, sweet wiggle
Hungry, claw with intent
Kitten saucy eyes bat
Cat clever dancer plays for treats
Kitten unravels yarns, ribbons
Cats play hard, play hard to get, have nine lives
__________________
Join us this Wednesday, March 11 at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento (7:30 PM) for the release of a new littlesnake broadside, At Grail Castle Hotel, from Patricia Hickerson of Davis, along with All Aboard!, a rattlechap from Norma Kohout of Sacramento, and a brand-new, tasty issue of Rattlesnake Review (#21). Refreshments and a read-around will follow; bring your own poems or somebody else's. Free!
Here is a poem by Patricia Hickerson; you can see more of her work (and a picture!) by going to Medusa's archives at the right of this column and clicking on October, 2008, then scrolling down to Oct. 28.
MOTHER BEAR LOOKING
FOR HER LOST CUBS
—Patricia Hickerson
I wander the woods
sniffing
I growl out to them
tramping
along this alley of pines
wilted barren
where they wandered away
blinking and scuffling
rock trails grated by thorny vines
sharp stones clawed into the sand
blind in a blueberry forest
I double back
listening
for the ghost of a whimper
can they smell me? hear me?
echoing gull screams
pierce the waters' edge
naked to sky
earth
night
day
I sniff the empty air
my body an empty cave
___________________
SOLITAIRE
—Amy Lowell
When night drifts along the streets of the city,
And sifts down between the uneven roofs,
My mind begins to peek and peer.
It plays at ball in old, blue Chinese gardens,
And shakes wrought dice-cups in Pagan temples,
Amid the broken flutings of white pillars.
It dances with purple and yellow crocuses in its hair,
And its feet shine as they flutter over drenched grasses.
How light and laughing my mind is,
When all the good folk have put out their bed-room candles,
And the city is still!
___________________
DRIFTWOOD
—R. Stanley Peterson
Some wood is straight,
Clear-grained, with scarce
A knot to mar the texture.
Close-grown, it reached
Tall in the forest. Other
Wood is more tortured.
Standing on a promontory,
It took the wind and wave,
Its body fiber twisted
And filled itself with faults
Where limb droppings fell.
Flotsam planks and jetsom
Staves are thrown to fire,
But driftwood comes a prize
To the collector. He cherishes
Well the storm-tossed, bent,
The intricate rich carvings
Time press on mortal things.
___________________
THE BEAUTIFUL CHANGES
—Richard Wilbur
One wading a Fall meadow finds on all sides
The Queen Anne's Lace lying like lilies
On water; it glides
So from the walker, it turns
Dry grass to a lake, as the slightest shade of you
Valleys my mind in fabulous blue Lucernes.
The beautiful changes as a forest is changed
By a chameleon's tuning his skin to it;
As a mantis, arranged
On a green leaf, grows
Into it, makes the leaf leafier, and proves
Any greenness is deeper than anyone knows.
Your hands hold roses always in a way that says
They are not only yours; the beautiful changes
In such kind ways,
Wishing ever to sunder
Things and things' selves for a second finding, to lose
For a moment all that it touches back to wonder.
__________________
Today's LittleNip:
A five-color robe of embroidered silk:
many flowers, and a few sparse branches.
Spring is here, and I'm afraid to put it on:
the butterflies might all land on me!
Yang Chi (1334-1383, trans. by Jonathan Chaves)
__________________
—Medusa (don't forget to spring your clocks ahead one hour tonight!)
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Rattlesnake Review: The latest issue (RR20) is currently available at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Deadline for RR21 was Feb. 15; the issue will appear in mid-March. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: 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. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one.
Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!
Coming in March: On Wednesday, March 11, Rattlesnake Press will be releasing a new chapbook from Norma Kohout (All Aboard); a littlesnake broadside from Patricia Hickerson (At Grail Castle Hotel); and a new issue of Rattlesnake Review (the Snake turns 21)! Join us at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30. Refreshments and a read-around will follow; bring your own poems or somebody else's.
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, or any other day!): 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.
