A River of Crows

Tiny House in Forestville

—Photo by Cynthia Linville

IN A NUTSHELL
—Cynthia Linville, Sacramento

"I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space.” 

                                —Hamlet, Act II, scene ii

My next bloody heart shouts

“Don’t look!”

near your nothing

with galloping feeling—

no, like that

shouts bitter beat

up beat, down beat

beat up, beat down.

Playing go to bed

out before no

through the dark glass

in the car with us

entangled evidence

mocked by Jesus

because I’ll let him.

* * *

Because I’ll let him

playing go to bed

no, like that,

don’t.

Look—

entangled evidence.

Beat up, beat down

up beat, down beat

shouts bitter beat

with galloping feeling.

Near your nothing

my next bloody heart shouts out

before . . . no

mocked by Jesus

in the car with us

through the dark glass.

* * *

Through the dark glass

entangled evidence

“Don’t look!”

Mocked by Jesus

in the car with us

out before

no beat

up beat down shouts

bitter beat

up beat, down

beat—no, like that.

Playing go to bed

near your nothing

with galloping feeling

my next bloody heart shouts—

because I’ll let him.

__________________

YOUR MOUTH AND MINE

—Cynthia Linville

A river of crows

swoops over these bones.

Another reflected smoky rain

hands me paradise.

(I will always want more.)

He says,

remember the ring.

Knots are untangling everything,

hushed noises leaking,

no matter how unseen.

* * *

No matter how unseen,

everything he says

swoops over these bones.

A river of crows hands me paradise.

(I will always want.)

More smoky rain,

another reflected,

hushed noises leaking.

Remember the ring.

Knots are untangling.

* * *

Knots are untangling smoky rain.

He says,  Everything

swoops over these bones.

(I will.)

Always want more.

Another, reflected,

hands me paradise.

Hushed noises

leaking remember—

the ring,

a river of crows—

no matter how unseen.

Not-so-Still Waters at Jenner

—Photo by Cynthia Linville

STILL WATERS VI:

Belinda Vickery

—Michael Cluff, Corona

It must have been

the brown pinstriped suit

or the new brown belt

with the heavy steel buckle

but he was ripe

and I picked him.

All night we exchanged

insights into Dante's Inferno

and the use of stonewalling methods

in upper New York.

Yet when he removed

his yellow with thin blue

striped necktie,

the talk remained the same

repartee, concerning Richard Nixon

and Dolly Parton,

rued the continuation

of that pallid evening

in late May.

_______________________

STILL WATERS VI (cont.):

Justin Bamburger

—Michael Cluff

Her forest cabin was so damn hot

I could not keep my clothes on

that is, the less personal ones

the outer shells of wool

and silk and steel.

The yellow long-sleeved dress shirt

and brown tassled loafers

stayed aloof and untouched

while bon mots on Wordsworth, Beyoncé,

William Watson and Artaud

flooded the heavy air ripe with ...

intellectual possibilities.

______________________

STILL WATERS VII:

Jim Raymond

—Michael Cluff

The prospect of being nice

forever

does appeal to me

but carrying it out

will not work.

I want to say "no"

and have an adjective

in front that starts

with "f", "s" or "q";

"x" is not an option.

I want to take a leak

in half-hidden public places

instead of holding it in

a bit too long

sometimes.

I wish to wear pocketless

sweat pants to work

instead of a three-piece suit

with watch fob

each and every ridiculous day.

And instead of being the student shooter

I hope

ever briefly

in the sad imaginary world

of putting out a small pistol

from a gartered dress sock

next to the heavy medallioned wingtip shoes

and shooting up the place

with silly string and red water

for a refreshing, temporary

change of habit.

_________________________

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, AND ESPECIALLY HOW MANY

—Caschwa, Sacramento

Giselda Splattbladder (64)

Fell off a ten-foot ladder

Yesterday at 9:15 AM while alone

In her 3-story out of townhouse

The mother of 4, grandmother of 7,

Was looking for 2 antiques in her attic

As gifts for her eldest son’s 35^th birthday

Just 3 days away

She was on the top rung

With both hands fully occupied

When one of her 3 phones rang 12 times

As she checked every one of 9 pockets

Phone found, she managed to dial 911

And first responders arrived in 25 minutes

To rush her to the hospital, 16 miles away

To mend her 4 broken ribs

She may need a second mortgage

To cover the $37,500.00 medical expenses

Plus bills unpaid by her third husband

Whom she had known since fourth grade

Story continued on Page J49… 

____________________

Thanks to today's cooks! Cynthia Linville sends us dandy pix and two Linvillanelles (click on Calliope's Closet on our green board and scroll down the list of forms for how the Linvillanelle works), and she also lets us know that she has a new web page at webpages.csus.edu/~sac16141/prof.html

The calendar section of the blue board (below the green board) is in continual flux, of course. But, in fact, the green board is in continual morphification, too. The submissions tips have now been expanded, for example: submit, I say! Get your work out into the world! And watch the other sections of the green board for tips and trends and timely announcements, such as Kool Nooz telling you that Pulitzer-Prize-Winner Natasha Tretheway has been proclaimed U.S. Poet Laureate. Congratulations, Natasha!

____________________

Today's LittleNip:

I APPROACH STILL WATERS

which have now gently stirred.

Was it my breath? 

Was it the ripple-effect movement

of my steps through green grass?
Was it this latent power within me

to destroy peace within the universe?
Or am I the pebble that rolled

down the slick lining

of this little pond,

stirring the waters—

shaking God's faith in me.

—Carol Louise Moon, Sacramento

____________________

—Medusa

 Blue Bottles in the Forest

at Forestville, CA

—Photo by Cynthia Linville