Photo by D.R. Wagner, Elk Grove
—Elizabeth Harrison, Davis
Mists fade into the light blue above
Gold hues vibrate the horizon
Green sprouts from the ash-gray earth
Wings ruffle dewy leaves
Not a breath of wind
The absent sound
Deafening
And then
Light
______________________
SILENCE
—Brandon Buonacorsi, Davis
Silence obliterates everything
the sound
decimated;
The battle waged between
the polar opposites
quiet and chaos
creating music of life cycles
Each cannot live without
opposites make whole
the other.
Harmony exists within
the contradiction
of the two
Or does
Silence simply exists as
a subset of sound
It is a way of hearing
everything, nothing,
and feeling totally at ease
with one’s self
Silence brings
the gift of peace
Too often ruckus surrounds human minds
cast ruckus aside
Feel the
pause,
the silence
_____________________
THE CLOWN
—n.ciano, davis
once there lived an interesting man and,
he was different from the rest,
he was beautiful at dusk,
and always sad by day,
no one understood,
the loneliness,
he withheld,
yes the,
clown.
______________________
EVERYTHING IS WHAT IS:
—n.ciano
I went on a walk on a moonlight dusty path,
my one thought: who am I?
purpose and meaning
enemy is thought
but that didn’t help
the troll had told me,
“Everything is what is, or what can be.”
______________________
HOME
—Giselle Rodriguez, Davis
He lied there, motionless, not a word
out of his mouth. They all sat around him wondering
what was happening. From out of the blue he spoke.
They did not know this but he was alive and in his mind,
he was home, not the foreign home where they ate and slept
the past few years, but the home that was theirs,
the home that they knew and understood. He stared at it.
He stared at all the trees filled with fruit. He laughed with
his mischievous laugh that seemed almost taunting.
He was finally back, his orchard was as beautiful as he had left it,
but beautiful or not, there was much work to be done.
He put on his old sombrero and began to dig a spot where
new vegetables would soon grow.
He called out to his wife to bring him his gloves,
but his wife stood still. She merely stood there and then,
she disappeared. Then it all disappeared, and he was back
once again surrounded by his children, who were
no longer children. He lay there.
A few seconds ago he was in his thirties, now he was
too old to remember. He turned to his wife, told her he
still needed to finish all his work.
They then understood what was happening.
_____________________
today i
passed the freeway
marked it with my trace
passed it on the way back
marked it, but not done
today
yesterday
and will tomorrow too
til I'm done, but not done
til UNDONE
what
is the point?
back and forth
forth and back-forth
forth-back forward for
forty-four times
four
to the fourth power
times time
though it's already there
the trace
because I lived, I marked it
but not UNDONE yet
so keep going
keep going
don't stop
til done
don't break
don't fall
don't cough
don't
til done
not done yet
til words are done
til this is done
and when done
it'll be DONE and UNDONE
all of this
together
same time
UNDONE by them
when they're DONE with me
and have my trace
(all they wanted)
they'll find it
they'll summarize it
analyze it
misinterpret it
and then make a theory
teach the theory
publish the theory
learn from the theory
test others on the theory
preserve the theory
feel smart about the theory
continue
wash
rinse
repeat
and laugh
because I'm dead
and they can't correct me
and because
you'll believe them
—s.c. berci, davis
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Thanks to today’s poets, most of whom are past or present students in D.R. Wagner's Poetry by Design class at UC Davis, except for Carl Schwartz (Caschwa) who is, well, a Student of Life.
James DenBoer of Swan Scythe Press sends us the following announcement of two new Swan Scythe books. (Michael Hettich is just about my very favoritist poet ever!)
THE MEASURED BREATHING
Just last week Swan Scythe published The Measured Breathing by Michael Hettich, winner of their 2011 Chapbook Contest. Michael Hettich's poetry has appeared in Alaska Quarterly Review, Cake, Hamilton Stone Review, International Literary Quarterly, Poetry East, and many other literary journals. His most recently-published book of poems is Like Happiness, from Anhinga Press; a new book, The Animals Beyond Us, is forthcoming from New Rivers Press. Born in Brooklyn, NY, he now teaches at Miami Dade College.
MY NAKED BRAIN
Also just released is My Naked Brain, Selected Poems by Spanish poet Leopoldo María Panero, translated by Arturo Mantecón, and with an Introduction by Jack Hirschman. This is the first appearance in English by the acclaimed poet. The publication of My Naked Brain was partially supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Culture. This bilingual edition has been praised by Stephen Kessler, Francisco Aragón, Jonathan Cohen, and William O'Daly.
Also in the New Book Category (just in time for Thanksgiving!) is The Measure of Small Gratitudes by Ann Menebroker, from Kamini Press. The first edition is limited to 125 copies, all signed by Annie, and 25 special numbered copies contain an original watercolor by publisher Henry Denander. Email Kamini at order@kaminipress.com NOW!
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Today's LittleNip:
FREE, BRAVE, AND POOR
—Caschwa, Sacramento
A BLT is all that we get
From a bailout
When the county is too poor
To buy a vowel.
_____________________
—Medusa
Photo by D.R. Wagner
