THREE SISTERS
—Erica Jong
They will never get to Moscow.
They sit on a brown hilltop dangling their feet
into the blue pages of the sky.
One can't stand a house without a baby.
One is handcuffed to a typewriter.
The youngest sits in the center chiding the clouds.
Here is the inside of the dream bus.
The walls are made of clouds that look like glass.
Each in her own way has tried to get in.
But the way was blocked
by quarrels, baby bottles, charge accounts of guilt
& the sour smell of money.
The one with the typewriter rattles her chains & handcuffs.
If only they'd leap onto the keys (she thinks)
they'd learn to dance
If only they'd wrap themselves in dust-jackets
before they die.
The oldest delivers her fourth baby into the sky.
The youngest blames the sky.
__________________
Siblings. Can't say I had the pleasure—although living in a tight community, whether it be religion, poets, or a bowling league, can have all the earmarks of a sibling environment.
But it strikes me that Earth Day is all about family: all about cohabitation, peace, and working it out with all the species. For our Seed of the Week, write about brother/sisterhood. Sibling rivalry. The ones who are like you and the ones who aren't. The ones you miss and the ones who, frankly, you just don't get. And how does the abrasiveness of living heel to heel apply to Earth Day? Can we have our cars and our globe, or does something have to give, just like in any close-knit family?
Send your musings to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadline on SOWs; clip and save 'em for when the muse needs a sisterly kick. (The title of today's photo is, by the way, "The Puppini Sisters".)
CFCP, Inc. Convention and Monthly Contest:
CFCP, Inc. President Ed Bearden from Modesto writes: The California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc. will host its annual convention in Modesto on May 1, 2, 3. Detailed information and registration forms are available at http://www.chaparralpoets.org/welcome.html/. If you are not a member, I would encourage you to sign up for the Saturday workshops (the fee is $15.00), or to attend the free presentation by John Fox on Sunday.
And Cleo Griffith, Chair, CFCP Inc Monthly Contest, writes: We have really really few entries for the April contest: "Light, Humorous". I hope to receive entries from a lot of you (deadline is April 30). I know humor is quite natural for some of you, and I look forward to reading the entries before they go to the judge. For info and submission guidelines, write to cleor36@yahoo.com or call (209) 543-1776.
__________________
OUR MARRIAGE
—Patricia Hickerson, Davis
I remember
screaming at you
I'm going to slit your throat
you stood large and naked
in the kitchen doorway
stared across the room at me
your face red and swollen
like a flower blown up
out of season
I thought
you pathetic shit
why is it that
I've never loved you so much
as I do
at this
moment?
__________________
IN PASSING AT
REFUGIO PARK
—Claire J. Baker, Pinole
Monterey pine
leveled to lawn,
one upflung root
beads golden sap
in a last stay at life.
I dip index finger
taste the pine's
final amber.
Only ducks
on the pond
watch me
and wonder.
_________________
SPAWN OF THE LIVING SPACE-GLACIER
—Tom Goff, Carmichael
If the lyric poet’s heart, all heated kindling
open to conflagration, holds its spindling
stab-ended seed or small spar of ice inside,
what alien poet, spawn of what cosmic tide
or living space-glacier, evolved this ice-blue heart,
pulsing out solar flares from frozen sparks?
_________________
TO THE READER
—Erica Jong
At the point X
the point of ignition,
the point where one tick
of the clock
joins with another,
the point where the scratch of the match
bursts into flame—
that is where I begin,
where I open my hand
to the reader
& shake out my cuffs,
where I show my magician's hat
& swear on my life
it is empty.
At the moment of impact,
at blast-off plus one,
my acetylene pencil
is searing my name
on the backs of my lovers,
my fountain pen breaks into blossom...
the paper is pooling with rain.
At the stroke of lightning—
when Toledo appears as a gleam
in El Greco's eye—
at the clap of thunder—
when Beethoven goes deaf
& invents the ear—
I am trying to learn
to begin to begin to begin.
__________________
TO THE READER
—Erica Jong
At the point X
the point of ignition,
the point where one tick
of the clock
joins with another,
the point where the scratch of the match
bursts into flame—
that is where I begin,
where I open my hand
to the reader
& shake out my cuffs,
where I show my magician's hat
& swear on my life
it is empty.
At the moment of impact,
at blast-off plus one,
my acetylene pencil
is searing my name
on the backs of my lovers,
my fountain pen breaks into blossom...
the paper is pooling with rain.
At the stroke of lightning—
when Toledo appears as a gleam
in El Greco's eye—
at the clap of thunder—
when Beethoven goes deaf
& invents the ear—
I am trying to learn
to begin to begin to begin.
__________________
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
—John Ruskin
_________________
—Medusa
(thanks to Claire J. Baker for today's LittleNip)
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.
