James Lee Jobe reads at The Shine in Sacramento
May 8, 2012
—Photo by Annie Menebroker
[See Medusa's Facebook page for more!]
where we
came from
—dawn diBartolo, citrus heights
this one
occurred
when I fell
of my bike
the day
before
I started
my freshman
year of
high school.
I closed my
eyes,
landed and
skid,
shoulder
and knee
scarred for
my
cowardice.
this one
came
from some
rash
or
reaction, just
below the
breast
where only
those
I lust can
see.
this one on
my knee
was an act
of anger
on my
sister’s part ~
something
about a
skate and
jealousies,
keloid and
forgotten.
a happy
dog,
a
frightened child,
a perm gone
awry,
a bug bite,
a zit,
chicken pox
…and
tattoos…
and this
one…this one
came from a
syrup
cap
discarded to
the middle
of a
makeshift bed
where my legs
steadied the
rhythmic
ride ~
it was
about control
and he possessed
it all,
sticky and
thin
as it was…
(based on one of medusa’s
kitchen's question of the day ~ “do you know where all the scars on your body
came from?”)
______________________
you kiss a beautiful mouth
—dawn diBartolo
You kiss a beautiful mouth, and a
key
Turns in the lock of your fear.
A spoken
sentence sharpens to a fine edge.
—Rumi
***
“I love you”
rises warm and sharp
like the
golden sun on the cusp
of a cobalt
horizon,
and the
door slowly creaks open
an inch at
a time. “fear
has kept
you unscathed of late”
the
creaking seems to say,
and that
beautiful mouth,
that kiss
of liquid dreams
at the
crevice of your inner thigh
tells you
otherwise. “life is too short
for total
darkness, no stars.
sunburns
heal with time, but the kiss…
the kiss of
the sun lasts forever.”
______________________
IF ONLY WORDS COULD TALK
—Caschwa, Sacramento
She spent the last of her meager
Allowance buying a clutch purse
Along with a matching scarf
At a cute boutique out on the beach
On the way home her sporty coupé
Threw a fit of jealousy, its tiny
Tender transmission making
Reverse its entire universe
She would have to tender a meager
$1,500.00 to allow the tiny repair shop
On the beach to
fix her clutch,
Which threw her universe in reverse
She could still fit into that
Sporty outfit that made other
Girls jealous, but how could
She scarf up $1,500.00?
_______________________
THE QUANTUM OF SHOELACE
—Caschwa
(Proclaim it and they will believe)
One of Mr. Fleming’s close friends brought him to
A Honda dealership where he softly asked him,
“Would you like to test drive an Accord, Ian?”
Keeping in mind that Mr. Fleming passed on in 1964
And the first generation Accord came out in 1976
(Those 1964 Honda dealerships sold motorcycles)
Which leads us to the expression, “12 Years After You Die”
Wouldn’t that make a great sequel to the Bond series!
_______________________
THE QUEEN BEE
—Caschwa
When you see a bee
Just let it be
For it is the delegee
Of the Queen,
Most humble servant
Of the pedigree
Whether she be a landlord
A slumlord
A drug lord
A war lord
Most humble servant
Across the board
White gown, gold crown
Delicate frown
Buzzes around town
Like a dizzy circus clown
Most humble servant
A most proper noun
_______________________
Thanks to today's cooks! National Poetry Month may be over, but there is still lots going on in this busy poetry hub of Northern California! We have not just one, but TWO new photo albums from recent events on Medusa's Facebook page, so check those out. And thanks to Sandy Thomas and Annie Menebroker for their handy camera work.
Susan Kelly-DeWitt has a new book, a Mudlark Special Issue entitled Season of Change. Go to www.unf.edu/mudlark for more details.
Trina Drotar (see photo below) writes: Book Talk is a new column that will be featured monthly at
Sacramento Press (sacramentopress.com). This column will
feature reviews of books primarily by local writers of poetry, fiction,
nonfiction, plays, etc. The column
will be published on the last Tuesday of each month, beginning in May. There are currently two books that will
be featured in the inaugural column.
Book Talk, however, to be successful, needs books to review. If writers in the Sacramento area have
a recently released or soon-to-be-released book available for review, they
should contact SacramentoBookTalk@gmail.com. The focus of this column is on local writers and will
include reviews of books that are traditionally published, self-published, and chapbooks.
___________________
Today's LittleNip:
moon hints
—dawn diBartolo
a woman of words
and the man she loves
sat watching a moon
the color and shape of
longevity rise on an
orange horizon full
of hint. it was all
that mattered and
led to a night
of stars.
____________________
—Medusa
Trina Drotar reads at CSUS Alumni Event
May, 2012
—Photo by Sandy Thomas
[For more, see Medusa's Facebook page!]