Family in Peru
THANKS TO ALL MY SIBS
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys
I grew up in a large loud family
A highly competitive group
Members of the slice and dice school
Of familial conversation
I was the quiet one
Everyone regardless of ability or temperament
Was expected to excel at school
Be constantly on good behavior
Respectful of adults
Prepared on Sunday night after dinner
To recite poems
By famous poets, approved by the parents
In front of all the family members
No audience can scare me now
Not after that
_________________
SISTER STORY
—Mitz Sackman
Your story is different from mine
Yet we both lived through
The same times
The same people and events
Early in our lives
But I was me
You always your own self
These shared times of our lives
Experiencing them in our souls
Who we were made the difference
In what we saw and felt
How we grew
Day by day
Change by change
Making us who we are today
Each life a singular vision
Each experience our own version
Each experience uniquely our own
In becoming who we are
_________________
DEAR LIZ
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Tehama
I know.
I’m the only person on earth allowed
to call you that.
We didn’t always get along.
Diametrically opposed,
I told friends asking about my sister.
For many of our middle years
I thought you were too lax
with your kids, you thought
I bragged about my travels
and name in books.
Bad feelings peaked
as we stood on opposite sides
of our father’s fresh grave.
More than a year passed
before we could speak
of the chasm between us.
During that time I reflected
on what I had seen of your life.
I grew to honor the woman
who lived in pain, dragged
herself with her cane
to school each day.
Got home too drained to force
her own children to a mold
yet kept food on the table,
friends in the house.
All without a partner.
When I did finally lift the phone
I told you how much I missed you.
Told you what I’d learned
from our time apart, begged your forgiveness.
We just about drowned
our respective receivers
in our bout of telephone tears
as we healed our life-linked
sister-hearts.
_________________
THINNING CHAIN
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones
We laugh and chat over
Betsy’s pork roast
and the carrots Vichy
Mother wheedled from a chef
and my sister makes in her memory
for holiday dinners
Tonight’s not a holiday
but the faraway sister’s return
calls for celebration
In the old family home
our children are grown
grandkids getting there fast
We chuckle over our plates
grin at the wine
Through tales of our shared childhood
we strengthen the links
of our stretched-thin chain
__________________
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys
I grew up in a large loud family
A highly competitive group
Members of the slice and dice school
Of familial conversation
I was the quiet one
Everyone regardless of ability or temperament
Was expected to excel at school
Be constantly on good behavior
Respectful of adults
Prepared on Sunday night after dinner
To recite poems
By famous poets, approved by the parents
In front of all the family members
No audience can scare me now
Not after that
_________________
SISTER STORY
—Mitz Sackman
Your story is different from mine
Yet we both lived through
The same times
The same people and events
Early in our lives
But I was me
You always your own self
These shared times of our lives
Experiencing them in our souls
Who we were made the difference
In what we saw and felt
How we grew
Day by day
Change by change
Making us who we are today
Each life a singular vision
Each experience our own version
Each experience uniquely our own
In becoming who we are
_________________
DEAR LIZ
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones, Tehama
I know.
I’m the only person on earth allowed
to call you that.
We didn’t always get along.
Diametrically opposed,
I told friends asking about my sister.
For many of our middle years
I thought you were too lax
with your kids, you thought
I bragged about my travels
and name in books.
Bad feelings peaked
as we stood on opposite sides
of our father’s fresh grave.
More than a year passed
before we could speak
of the chasm between us.
During that time I reflected
on what I had seen of your life.
I grew to honor the woman
who lived in pain, dragged
herself with her cane
to school each day.
Got home too drained to force
her own children to a mold
yet kept food on the table,
friends in the house.
All without a partner.
When I did finally lift the phone
I told you how much I missed you.
Told you what I’d learned
from our time apart, begged your forgiveness.
We just about drowned
our respective receivers
in our bout of telephone tears
as we healed our life-linked
sister-hearts.
_________________
THINNING CHAIN
—Patricia Wellingham-Jones
We laugh and chat over
Betsy’s pork roast
and the carrots Vichy
Mother wheedled from a chef
and my sister makes in her memory
for holiday dinners
Tonight’s not a holiday
but the faraway sister’s return
calls for celebration
In the old family home
our children are grown
grandkids getting there fast
We chuckle over our plates
grin at the wine
Through tales of our shared childhood
we strengthen the links
of our stretched-thin chain
__________________
B.L.'s Drive-Bys: A Micro-Review by B.L. Kennedy
STARS FELL ON ALABAMA
By John Bennett
Black Rabbit Press
Charlestown, Ohio
$5.00, limited to 100 copies
Let me set the record straight here: in my mind, John Bennett cannot do anything wrong. I mean the man is a POET of the first order. He is a novelist, essayist, social critic, filmmaker and publisher. I mean the man is the epitome of what true artistic expression is in America. "Stars Fell on Alabama" is truly one of the best poems written in the 21st Century. Granted, Bennett seems to almost have his finger on the lyrical button of beauty, and "Stars Fell on Alabama" is a perfect example of that beauty that resides in the heart and soul of the author. I cannot tell you how to order this book except to maybe look up John Bennett through the Internet. But I will tell you this: if you make the effort to look up this fine and talented American visionary and secure a copy of "Stars Fell on Alabama", you cannot do any wrong. So get off your ass and purchase a copy; even in these hard economic times, there is always room for poetry.
—B.L. Kennedy, Reviewer-in-Residence
__________________
THE BROTHER TREE
—Chrys Mollett, Angel's Camp
Spirit moves the way it will,
But Mike & I, like Jack & Jill,
Both started up the same old hill.
We chose to part at different bends
So that's where our same story ends.
We each sought new towns, jobs and friends.
Mike was a meanie, less than cool—
He didn't want to share his crown.
But he learned my value in high school
When I brought some cute girlfriends around.
It's interesting now to see
We've each matured so similarly.
Although his choices were not mine
We suckled at the mother vine.
And comparing notes helps to define us.
__________________
Three LittleNips for Earth Week:
Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare
feet and the winds long to play with your hair. —Kahlil Gibran
You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel
of subversion, or challenge the ideology of a violet. —Hal Borland
The frog does not drink up the pond
in which it lives. —Anonymous
(thanks to Claire J. Baker for these)
__________________
—Medusa
SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:
Rattlesnake Review: The latest Snake (RR21) is now available (free) at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. 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, and please—only one submission per issue.
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!
NEW FOR APRIL: A SpiralChap of poetry and photos from Laverne Frith (Celebrations: Images and Texts); a (free!) littlesnake broadside from Taylor Graham (Edge of Wildwood); and Musings3: An English Affair, a new blank journal of photos and writing prompts from Katy Brown. Now available from the authors, or The Book Collector, or (soon) rattlesnakepress.com/.
April 15 was the deadline for the second issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick. Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing, to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be over 18 years of age to submit. Copies of the first issue are at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one. Next deadline, for issue #3, is July 15.
COMING IN MAY: Join us Weds., May 13 for a new rattlechap, Sinfonietta, from Tom Goff; Vol. 5 of Conversations, the Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy; and the inauguration of a new series, Rattlesnake LittleBooks, with Shorts: Quatrains and Epigrams by Iven Lourie. That’s at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM. Free!
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.
