Concealed Ballots & Moonless Nights

Paul Fericano reading at Shine June 11, 2014

—Photo by Michelle Kunert, Sacramento

BEAUTY AND THE YEAST
—Caschwa, Sacramento

I was admiring the bucolic
Beauty of all the wonderful
Flours growing in my pantry

I know what you are thinking
That’s actually mold
But cheese is mold and

You love pizza don’t you?
Add some mushrooms, Yum!
Mold and fungus, hot and ready

Oh my, you can’t just go and
Leave that sitting there
Kids are starving in Europe.

 Meri St. Mary reading at Shine June 11, 2014

—Photo by Michelle Kunert

CARRYING A CONCEALED BALLOT
—Caschwa

Yep, I was charged with that and
Sentenced to 2 presidential terms
Of hearing unfounded comparisons

Assuring a caring nation and those who
Couldn’t care less that a man of color
Must have the brain of a peacock

I voted for that man, back when
Polling places were set up so that
Ballots could be cast in secret

Times have sure changed
Now the darkened ballot booths
In polling places are under the

Harsh spotlights of the news media
Which purports to know every little
Detail about voters and their choices

It is now public record which
Candidates I favor and which
Hand I use to wipe my ass

To keep up with the voting, persons
Applying for citizenship will not only
Have to prove literacy skills

But now they will have to show
That they are computer literate
(I misspelled that the first time)

A.D. Winans reading at Shine June 11, 2014 

—Photo by Michelle Kunert

EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE OKAY
—Caschwa

I live in a land where
Everyone owns a gun
And all the traffic lights
Are green, imagine the fun

For each and every concern
That takes emotion to new heights
A Minister of Explanation (MOE)
Consoles us with sound bites

MOE in high office
MOE in the public square
MOE on the radio
MOE everywhere

Some gunmen went into schools
And shot the kids dead
Everything’s going to be okay
Is what MOE simply said

Gone are the hardy folk
Who build bridges and trust
MOE has taken their place
And left us with dust

Recession, war
Global warming and crime
Let’s take some action
But not on my dime

 Trina Drotar reading at Shine June 11, 2014

—Photo by Michelle Kunert
 

IN APPRECIATION 

(of the works of Tom Goff, D.R. Wagner, et al.)


I

There is a creek near my office building
That rarely flows like a meandering stream
But the water rather gathers in lagoons
Which attract various ducks, geese, and egrets

One can stare at the water for hours
And entirely miss whatever spectacle
Is enjoyed by the ducks bobbing their
Heads under, or the geese swooping down

And then Summer approaches like a grassfire
Putting the whole ecosystem In the dryer cycle
And the water vanishes, as do the waterfowl
Leaving a crusty bottom of earth with no purpose

II

Some poems, just to eyeball them for form,
Look like a still pond, or that crusty bottom
Of earth with no purpose:  there is no movement
Apparent on the surface to excite the readers

But if the byline is Tom or D.R., keep on reading
Because they will swoop you down for a closer look
And bob your head under the still water
Revealing mysteries the crusty bottom tries to hide

III

A poem is movement, whether by rhyme or alliteration,
Or by the event of connecting ideas in a new or
Modified way.  It is the ripple on still water,
It is your foot sinking in the crust.  Enjoy!


—Caschwa

—Photo by Ann Privateer

PASSWORDS I HAVE KNOWN
—Ann Privateer, Davis

Parseitall
abjuremeplease
maxmybutt
squeekyscreen
OmE2
4tiffication
hereinmiddleearth
44wrinkles
saintivycarrotjuice
quietplease
saintly1wins
ChristianIT
1ofaKind
ebullE.ant
HappyHubcaps
As.is.m8
candylandscavage
M&M'S4ME
retchtifyit
milltownbaby
vacuousgaze
ethylic.effluvia
10ebrous

 Eva West reading at Shine June 11, 2014

—Photo by Michelle Kunert

THINGS AT NIGHT
—Ann Privateer
 
when automatic sprinklers go off
when store floors are scrubbed
when babies take liquid aspirin
when lovers cling to promises
when airplanes take flight
when clouds become cotton candy

when the sun enters
when the moon disappears
when rainbows encircle our image
when we are the center

a giant breast pin
with wisps of wonder
buoys up all things
at night for one
brief moment.

 —Photo by Ann Privateer

LAST NIGHT
—Ann Privateer

I slept with a spider—
all night long, we fought
for the bed

sheets, and blankets slung
precariously
we trying to sleep

each in our own web
strangers at first, later
no worse, crushed,

then cursed with eyes
open, eight legs
unaccustomed to stillness.

 —Photo by Ann Privateer

A MOONLESS NIGHT
—Ann Privateer

curls of ebony, miniatures at play
before being seen
after a beam
ignites sheen
dissolving to gray.

a moonless night
elongates flight
before lift off
slips away
to lighten shape

on a moonless night.

______________________

Today's LittleNip:

PUNC ROCK
—Caschwa

Met this blushing German fellow
With dangling umlauts
A member of the tortured tildes
Crooning about the stain
Of a question mark
Ending with a tax
On your apostrophe

______________________

—Medusa, with thanks to today's contributors and wishing Michelle Kunert a happy belated birthday (yesterday). Note also that this is a very busy weekend, reading-wise, in our area. Scroll down to the blue box below the green one at the right of this column for all the skinny.

Martha Ann Blackman reading at Shine June 11, 2014

—Photo by Michelle Kunert