Wildwood Photo by Taylor Graham
LETTING YOU GO
—Taylor Graham, Placerville
(for Roxy)
Tonight I sit in the dark under lights
named for ancient odysseys.
Years ago you left, as dogs will, leaping
from death to star to star like stones
in the river, dissolving
into Milky Way. Sometimes
you send back dreams,
so I wake up
calling. I can’t reach you,
four-footed dancer
through gouged-out canyons, rubble,
lupine past its bloom—
you could walk a moonbeam
and not tip the sliver-moon.
Tonight I look up past the dark
into complete constellations.
One star is dancing.
I name it you.
(first appeared in Carquinez Poetry Review)
____________________
—Taylor Graham, Placerville
(for Roxy)
Tonight I sit in the dark under lights
named for ancient odysseys.
Years ago you left, as dogs will, leaping
from death to star to star like stones
in the river, dissolving
into Milky Way. Sometimes
you send back dreams,
so I wake up
calling. I can’t reach you,
four-footed dancer
through gouged-out canyons, rubble,
lupine past its bloom—
you could walk a moonbeam
and not tip the sliver-moon.
Tonight I look up past the dark
into complete constellations.
One star is dancing.
I name it you.
(first appeared in Carquinez Poetry Review)
____________________
Thanks, TG, for the beautiful elegy [our Seed of the Week; see yesterday's post] and for the fine photo of your "wildwood", the subject of TG's new littlesnake broadside. Join Taylor Graham, Laverne Frith and Katy Brown tonight at 7:30 PM at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, for the release of their publications (see below) at the Snake's fifth birthday bash—which is, by the way, a buffet. Come feed yourself on food and poetry to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Then, tomorrow night at Luna's Cafe (1414 16th St., Sacramento), join the Poetry Unplugged crowd to hear Shawn Aveningo read. That's 8 PM; open mic before and after.
Speaking of Poetry Unplugged, don't forget to submit your poems, small photos and art to frank andrick for the second issue of WTF, due out in mid-May. Deadline is April 15. See below for guidelines.
Deadline is also April 15 for Sacramento Poetry Center's Third Annual High School Poetry Writing Contest! Entry is free; prizes include: $100 for our Grand Prize winner; free books and swag for finalists; publication in Poetry Now, the monthly journal of the Sacramento Poetry Center. Grand Prize winner will receive an invitation to read his or her work at the Sacramento Poetry Center in the Summer. Be sure to include an SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) if you want notification of winners. Note: poems should not have your name on them; include a separate cover letter with your name, address, phone and email address, and the titles of your poems. Also indicate the name of your school. Limit of 3 poems per student.
Send your original poems to:
High School Poetry Contest
Sacramento Poetry Center
P.O. Box 160406
Sacramento, CA 95816
E-mail submissions will be accepted: send to tulereview@sacramentopoetrycenter.org/. Put "SPC HS CONTEST" in the subject line. Include above information sheet as the body of the email, and send each individual poems as an attachment (MS Word documents only).
Questions? tulereview@sacramentopoetrycenter.org/.
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HandyStuff Quickie:
Janet Butler from Alameda writes: I'd like to contribute something to Wednesday's "HandyStuff Quickies": a wonderful book which has become a sort of bible for me. It's The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms by Mark Strand and Eavan Roland. It gives descriptions of all the poetic forms, from villanelle to free form, with lots of wonderful poems as examples. I've discovered some fantastic poems through it, and fell in love with Edna St. Vincent's poetry again, reading it. It also encourages us to try some forms we might think foreign to our "poetic" nature. I find I love the villanelle and sonnet, as well as much other rhyming verse, especially in their modern dress. My first villanelle (inspiration from this book), dedicated to the great Sylvia Plath, will be published (may I immodestly mention) this spring in Plainsongs.
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Thanks for the tip, Janet. See more from/about Janet Butler in next Friday's post and in the last Rattlesnake Review!
Back to our seeds. Mitz Sackman tackled both the elegy (as cinquains!) and the glosa (see yesterday's post):
LIFE AS LOVE
—Mitz Sackman, Murphys
As a whirlwind swoops on an oak
Love shakes my heart
—Sappho
Life tries to shake me constantly
From the branches of my tree of certainty
Forcing me to surf the waves
Life throws against me
As a whirlwind swoops on an oak
You shake me constantly
From the tree of my complacency
Opening my soul, my heart, my eyes
Widening the boundaries of my life
To greater beauty
Love shakes my heart
______________
THE KNELL OF PARTING DAY
—Mitz Sackman
Your skin like dawn, mine like dusk
One paints the beginning of a certain end
The other, the end of a sure beginning
—Maya Angelou
This morning waking before dawn breaks
Quiet fills the night, sound of rodents silenced
In the stillness, I regard our faces in the mirror
Yours beside me in the morning stillness
Your skin like dawn mine like dusk
A long day looms before my tired mind
The list of tasks to be accomplished
Stretches to the moon and back
Yet I will start my day with joy
One paints the beginning of a certain end
Day’s end arrives, my list prioritized
Some accomplished, some not
Joys of the day held in gratitude
Mundane tasks endured with strength
The other, the beginning of a sure end
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Cinquain Elegies by Mitz Sackman:
IRS
Money
Tax time is here
Government Revenue
Out of my pocket, into theirs
Sad times
*****
FRIEND GONE
I miss
His funny face
His beauty, droll humor
Life breath gone away by accident
Sad day
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Today's LittleNip:
You have been sent as messenger, but you know neither the message nor whom it is for.
—Stephen Dobyns
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—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!
COMING IN APRIL: Wednesday, April 8 will be our FIFTH ANNUAL BIRTHDAY PARTY/BUFFET at The Book Collector, featuring a SpiralChap of poetry and photos from Laverne Frith (Celebrations: Images and Texts), a 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. That’s at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM.
And April 15 is 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.
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.......!
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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.