Aliyah Monroe reading at Sac. Poetry Center July 3, 2017
—Photos by Michelle Kunert, Sacramento, CA
—Photos by Michelle Kunert, Sacramento, CA
It turns out Johnny
was thrown in the hoosegow
for growing a couple of pot plants
in the usual manner
But the feds wanted him
to finger other guys,
Tossed him in A Block
full of felons and murderers.
Didn’t eat for days on end.
Why not? I asked.
“those guys would just come over
and take your tray”
he says—“big guys, mean guys.”
Until that day
they discovered he knew
how to play Contract Bridge,
A finesse
that not only got him lunch again
but landed his ass
back in section C
with shoplifts & vagrants.
(Alisdair remember’d)
—craig steiger, nevada city, ca
Angela James reading at SPC July 3
DEEP WITHIN ME
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
Lies an extensive body of knowledge
Minus the toe tag
Waiting for someone to come forward and
Recognize the features
A quiz show viewer with the right answer
Though not a participant
A bus rider who knows the route well
But forgets where to get off
A musician playing piano and trombone
For hours and hours
Finally skilled enough to reach the intended notes
Most of the time
An organized shopper who reads and clips coupons
Reliably brings them along
Oh, the self-check-out line is much shorter
If only it would ask for coupons
I land a job as a British museum docent
What a thrill!
My very first day on the job describing
Fast trains, slowly
ChaRon Smith reading at SPC July 3
A COLLECTION OF FACES
YOU CHOSE NOT TO MAKE
—Caschwa
Poker table
Silent auction
Wedding
Funeral
Graduation
Birth
Forgot to pay
Prayer meeting
So-so orgasm
Right key, wrong car
Mime in a mosh pit
______________________
ALTERNATING CURRENT
—Caschwa
Summon the power
And it comes to you
Every time, just when you need it
Via a handy cord
What could be better?
Innovative science has given us
Cordless independence
Freedom at last
From those terrible cords
All over the place
Keyboard, mouse
Cell phones
Garden tools
Charge me right now
You have no choice!
You’re on your own
No more power
From mommy and daddy
No more cord
Long ago trashed in bio waste
Get up off your butt
And charge those batteries
Don’t intermix them
Totally taboo!
Isn’t life better now?
Zacariah Rush reading at SPC July 3
INVISIBLE
—Kevin Jones, Elk Grove, CA
Misread it the
First time.
Too hard,
I thought—
Couldn't beat
That challenge.
Then read it
Again.
Invisible. Sure.
I'll just send
The next
Few lines:
_________________
Today’s LittleNip(s):
FORBIDDEN LOVE
—Caschwa
“…to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and invisible, until death do us part.”
* * *
MY FAVORITE PASSWORDS
—Caschwa
•••••••
••••
••••••••••••••
________________
Our thanks to today’s contributors, some of them contemplating our Seed of the Week: Invisible, about which Kevin Jones says, “somehow I just can’t see it. . .”
This week’s poetry readings in our area begin tonight at Sac. Poetry Center at 7:30pm with Joe Braun and Lauren Lavin plus open mic. Also tonight (and every Monday from now on), 7pm, ZPG Promotions & Sol Life present The Intersection open mic, 35th & Broadway, Sac. (outside of Old Soul at 40 Acres), a new weekly experiment in guerrilla performance art. No sign-ups, no amplified sound; just jump up and jump in!
Poetry Off-The-Shelves meets at the El Dorado County Library in Placerville on Wednesday, 5pm. On Thursday, Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe presents featured readers and open mic, 8pm. And coming this Sunday, Poetry in Placerville presents Jeanine Stevens and Tom Goff plus open mic, 1pm. Scroll down to the blue column (under the green column at the right) for info about these and other upcoming poetry events in our area—and note that more may be added at the last minute.
—Medusa
150 Invisible People
Installation in a Church by Cuban
Artist Collective Los Carpinteros
Celebrate poetry! For more about this
art installation, go
to
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