SMOKIN'...!

Bad Feather Day

—Photo by Katy Brown, Davis

ICE CUBES AND WHAT TO DO WITH THEM

—Patricia Hickerson, Davis

on a hot day in July

in the central valley

when it all hangs heavy

you can hardly move

when you’re burning up

you can’t speak,

you can’t eat

you can’t breathe

inside and out

you’re on fire

your skin dry as dust

wretched with wrinkles

hot to the touch

fever stokes your brain

can’t think

rip off your clothes

grab those ice cubes

lie under a tree

there might be a breeze

let the grass tickle your backside

cool your fingers, your palms

ice cubes

start chewing on them

let them slide down as they will

touch them to your throat

your nipples

your navel

between your toes

under your arms

between your legs

ice cubes

_______________________

CUBED FOREVER

—Patricia Hickerson

her lips were two pink cubes

pressed together

she vowed never to open them

until Ms. or Mr. Right came along

she kept her lips cubed

year after year

her lips began to crack

and crumble

she died without ever parting her lips   

_______________________

SLIME AND SLIDE

—Patricia Hickerson

eating oysters in Joe’s kitchen

east coast oyster

tint of sunrise on its back

ruffled ridge of shell

hard edge to protect the slime

slip the knife in, careful!

hands me a half shell

let it slide, Joe says

oyster pulp loosed from its root

head back, let it slide

plump and cool to the tongue

thanks, Joe

but Joe’s already gone

I can hear his shouts

from the shower he shares with Gianna

not about the oyster in his life

but the soft cool breasts of Gianna

how easily they slide into his mouth

water-borne      

Canada Goose

—Photo by Katy Brown

 

NOW LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE

—Patricia Hickerson

you, you

who have set me on fire

like sunlight igniting the color blue

I’m now a passion tree

poems flaming along the branches

I’m all my own color

red hot

a new ignition of words

holding the lit match to the tree

you the ignition   

_______________________

PINK

—Patricia Hickerson

I came to the party

to be with you, darlin’

you looking like a big ol’ baby

your pink shirt

skinned across your fat belly

matched your pink face

as though you’d been eating

tomatoes, radishes, plums

hot red peppers, all melted down

into a pink tint on your body

you blue-eyed baby in a pink shirt

I could eat you up

and I will!   

_______________________

THE PARTY RIDDLE

—Patricia Hickerson

she couldn’t come

to the party no matter what

no amount of music or liquor

could induce her to come

she heard her friends waiting

eagerly waiting for her to come

their voices urging her

their hands held out

reaching for her

to help her come

no, she couldn’t do it

just couldn’t come to the party

she dreamed of what it would be like

to come

to the party

how great she would feel if only

if only she could come

to the party

could let loose

something early on had frozen her

a scream, a head banging against the wall

so frightening as to make sure

she couldn’t come

couldn’t come

to the party

________________________ 

YOUR HEAT

—Patricia Hickerson

I’m cold and

your heat rocks me

socks me

mocks me

locks me

you dear old fox

you’ve wounded me

where I longed to be

wounded

your big belly

my cushion against despair

your white beard

my notion of Santa Claus

grown kind and loving

not a scary thing

your hands holding mine

your lips grazing mine

your eyes cuddling me

stay with me, pal

________________________ 

Our thanks to today's Davisites: Pat Hickerson for her smokin' hot poetry, and Katy Brown for her photos of geese in McKinley Park—which have nothing to do with Pat's poems but gosh they're cool. Another Davis poet, Sibilla Hershey, has a new book of poetry from Primula Press, entitled The Bleeding Tree (with a forward by Davis Poet Laureate Allegra Silberstein). This perfect-bound book of poetry with illustrations is available on the Local Authors' shelf at The Avid Reader in Davis (617 2nd St.), and is beautiful. Sibilla is of Latvian descent; look for the Latvian in her new book.

I see The Avid Reader has opened a new location in Davis; now there are two stores within steps of each other, in addition to the Sacramento location at the old Tower on Broadway. Good to see an independent doing so well!

Also in the good news department, JoAnn Anglin writes that Arturo Mantecón, Co-founder (with Francisco Mantecón) of Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol/Writers of the New Sun, is one of three who have been nominated in the Translation category for a Northern Calif. Book Award for his translation of My Naked Brain: Selected Poems of Leopoldo Maria Panero, published by Swan Scythe Press of Sacramento. In addition Lorna Dee Cervantes' poetry collection, Ciento: 100 100-Word Love Poems, has been nominated in the poetry category, as well as Mary Mackey's Sugar Zone. For a complete list of nominees, go to www.poetryflash.org and scroll down a bit. The award ceremony will be held this Sunday, June 10 at Koret Auditorium in San Francisco Main Library, 1pm.

_________________________

Today's LittleNip:

THE ICE CUBE COMETH

—Patricia Hickerson

and goeth

as it slips its metal coil

of articulated prison tray

woe is the lonely ice cube

to goeth is to dieth  

_______________________

—Medusa

Pigeon-Toed Goose

—Photo by Katy Brown