Perfect Songs

—Photo by Ronald Edwin Lane

UNTENDED

—Ronald Edwin Lane, Colfax

You probably don’t know this,
but there’s a bed of roses, miniature
ones, in bloom, and they’re
suffocating—suffering

the grip of purple vetch, while
bunched by bromes, and topped
by thistles bearing green pumpkin
head buds pushing purple Mohawks.

The sky is gray.  Rain mists.
Weeds compose once clean
decomposed granite paths.
It’s painful to get around.
Foxtails cling to socks, poke ankles,
foot.  Filaree corkscrews through
shoes.  Prickles abound. 

And you can’t hear them scream,
these roses you don’t know, though
it seems they should, after all

they’re dying inside, despite
the show that others try to hide,
deny.  And they may survive, but
with a gardener’s hand
the roses would surely thrive.

______________________

SPRING OPENING

—Patricia Hickerson, Davis
 

Spring hides nothing

everything opens

the trees the leaves the buds

voices are softer—listen!

rain pauses to let in May

where we walk

along the rosemary hedge

breeze drifts up we sneeze

cloud covers sky blue earth whirl

spinning Spring on the ant trails

where we walk

dirt roads and muddy bypaths

rabbit jerks its head to our footsteps

we’re not a quiet species hammering atop nature

where we walk

weeds poke through our concrete efforts

might as well give in to Spring

surrender         

______________________

ODDQUAINS

—Michael Cluff, Corona

Ought

needs to be

must in most cases

when humaneness calls me forth

now

Dawn 

becomes clear

as the rainbow shows

what man refuses to laud

hope

Vans

move highchairs

across Merced town

Mirelle follows right behind

firm

All

suits encumber

one into doldrums

safety in conformity

dead

__________________________

Gopherweed with Bee

—Photo by Taylor Graham

THE ZEN OF PUPPY TRAINING

—Taylor Graham, Placerville

She's worn us both out with mis-

match sits and stays; she breaks—why

can't she learn simple English

commands? and now she's high

as April grass on the ground, humming

to herself, a silent music

simply breathing free.

I drop the leash and wander off

to watch the gopherweed

in bloom, the bees have found it,

tiny golden bees wild as

April puppies, moving in and out of all

the harbors of gopher-flower green,

and as I wander in and

out of thought-flower, flies and bees

and one silken moth,

my puppy follows me, her breath

a perfect song.
 

______________________

Carl says: When I lived in the L.A. area, I had to drive 60 miles out of town to see the stars and planets… 

TIS SPRING AGAIN

—Caschwa, Sacramento

Fever, virus, falling Venus

Crescent moon growing soon

Weather and wardrobes each

Try to outsmart the other

Hot tubs warming

Mosquitoes swarming

Time to mate, commit to fate

River rising over the gate

Short handed, left stranded

Abandoned fertile farmland

Ears of corn filmed as porn

Gobble the curious like quicksand

Blue tarps cover sheds and cars

Royal blood flows from their scars

Weathermen shout what has transpired

They’re wrong a lot but don’t get fired

Most accidents happen close to womb

We’re having a sonic baby boom

Pull over, kid, you skate too fast

It feels good now but it won’t last

Parasailing in the parking lot

No one is chasing, no one gets caught

Takes us back to a starlit sky

Spring fever heat, an open fly.

______________________

A true story...

LET ME PUT YOU ON HOLD

—Caschwa

The lady with the shiny oversized

Crucifix necklace had just finished

Buying some merchandise and was

Walking toward the exit of the store

Holding a few shopping bags in her hands

And talking busily on a cell phone

Held tightly to one ear, she reached

for her car keys…..gone!

She hurriedly checked in every bag

And in the shopping basket she used

And then in other shopping baskets

And asked the cashier if she saw them

When there were no keys found and

No answer right away, she put

The cell phone on hold and starting

Using words that don’t appear in scripture

Soon she found her car keys in the store,

Regained her composure and promptly left,

Leaving us a distinct memory of her shiny crucifix,

Along with those words we can’t repeat.

______________________

Thanks to today's cooks and artists for our Monday morning breakfast! 

Those Crossroads Reading Series gals (Trina Drotar and Sandy Thomas) have their ducks in a row, for sure! Trina writes: The audio of the latest Crossroads reading featuring Lisa Dominguez Abraham and Susan Kelly-DeWitt is now available at www.ccasac.org.  Look on the right hand side and scroll down a bit.

The audio from the first reading featuring Julia Connor and Victoria Dalkey is still available in the archived area.  Look for past events and scroll down.

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the next Crossroads reading series on July 21 featuring Shawn Pittard and Danyen Powell.

To get a head start on the rest of the season, the dates and featured readers are:

October 20 - Laura Hohlwein and Alexa Mergen

November 17 - Kathryn Hohlwein and Dennis Schmitz

December 15 - JoAnn Anglin and Graciela Ramirez

If you want to keep updated on the Crossroads readings, please consider checking out the Crossroads Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crossroads-Reading-Series-at-CCAS/307059609360186 or go to Facebook and search for Crossroads Reading Series at CCAS.  That is where you'll find event photos, event news, and links to the audio.

_____________________

Today's LittleNip: 

Caschwa (Carl Bernard Schwartz) took his inspiration for this from yesterday's Benét poem:

I see your Stephen Vincent Benét

And raise you one Edna St. Vincent Millay

Each is betting the farm on the belief

That Spring is not just another day.

—Caschwa

Thanks, Carl! More about Steve Benét's poem tomorrow...

____________________

—Medusa

The journey is
really the writing process.
I am the conclusion
 

—Photo and Caption by Ronald Edwin Lane