—Anonymous Photos
BRIGHT BLUE
—Ann Wehrman, Sacramento, CA
electric breeze invites street dust to dance
flips red-yellow-orange leaves akimbo in air
lifts birds into flight
warms dragonflies and my spirit
rich turquoise sky dome poked
by redwoods’ peaks swaying with dignity
interrupted by sparrows, mockingbirds,
and a displaced gull
who strayed too far inland during rain
yellow-white sun lights russet leaves
on smaller trees’ limbs
gnarled olive trees’ ripening fruit peeks out
another gust, leaves swirl across the road
I sit and watch, warm in autumn sun
let the wind dry my just-washed hair
bake aging joints until I want to
skip and dance with the leaves in autumn’s glory
SWEET REVERIE
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
Admittedly, the media’s popular subjects of
HOSTILITY and BARBED WIRE tend to tie
my poetic voice up in knots, so instead of
inviting all that TENSION, I’ll quietly remove
those DEMONS and FOOLS from the copy.
Just for a moment, lights gently dimmed,
I can now focus on me, my favorite pillows,
that stack of UNPAID BILLS, the little dog
needing some big attention RIGHT NOW!
Who turned the lights back on?
Ahh, that was refreshing. In that little, blank
space between stanzas, I actually got to
experience a tiny bit of sleep. Too bad the
favorable REM was replaced with RAVING,
EXPLODING,, MANIA,,, (DAMN comma rule)
Thinking back, the epitome of peaceful was
on the trail behind the Nature Center, so
beautiful, serene, problem free, until the up
close and personal HISS and RATTLE of a
snake basking a few feet in front of me….
So I’m waiting for cooler weather and cooler
heads to prevail before taking that same trail
again. Much thanks for allowing me to grab
a short nap.
__________________
I’M DONE
—Caschwa
Took someone’s great
suggestion to start at
the end point and not
spend too much effort
on preliminaries.
So here I am, my bare
toe on the finish line,
while others in the race
are still settling into their
starting blocks.
We skip due diligence,
DNA tests, and execute
the wrong suspects, so
why make such a fuss
at the beginning?
When the goal is clear,
just go straight for it, no
excuses: burn the witches,
burn the truth, burn the
city down to the ground.
LAND OF UNLIKELY
—Caschwa
Anyone who claimed to know
that this was coming was
rudely discredited
We now have awarded the
position of President to a self-
admitted sexual predator who
has never before held a public
office.
We have also awarded the
position of Associate Justice
of the Supreme Court to a man
so thin-skinned he cannot take
criticism without bitterly lashing
out at his accusers.
This ship of state has made it
through troubled waters before,
but the new on-the-scene danger
of Cyber attacks and hacking by
hostile foreign nations has now
torpedoed giant holes in our
defense, and sinking looks more
and more imminent.
Each of us makes our own choices
but it is the action of the group
that wins elections, so
get out and vote!
Partner with other voters,
help someone else get to the polls,
Make it happen!!
ROULETTE
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
True believers or
True deceivers?
Red and
Black.
There’s some green in between.
There’s always some green in between
Because they only pay 30 to 1
On a wheel with 36 slots.
The House always wins
In the long run.
In the long run,
It’s mean for your green
To be seen
Playing roulette.
_________________
FLOORS
—Joesph Nolan
So many things collect on floors!
It’s none of my doing.
It’s the work of gravity.
Everything, it seems, collects there:
Little pieces of useless things,
Dead bugs,
Dirt, dust, smudges, shoes, feet,
People who try to take it
Others who try to hold it
People trying to get in on the bottom
People ambitious to climb above it.
Floors don’t discriminate.
They uphold whatever gravity delivers.
DHARMA BUMS
—Joseph Nolan
Dharma bums
Take what comes
From across the
Lonely See
Of Sadducees and Pharisees
And Pharaohs’ time, undone.
Mystery, wrapped in legend,
Circumscribed in rum,
With wheels set loose
Upon the ground
To overtake
And run,
Running down a road
Into the vacant space;
Where time is immemorial-
Ego leaves not a trace!
WHAT IF YOUR HEAD EXPLODED
WITH BLISS?
—Joseph Nolan
What if your head
Exploded
With bliss?
Would you
Call it
A hit
Or a miss?
A guru’s bullet
Sent straight
To your brain,
To render you
Completely
Insane,
Every time
You tried
On shoes,
But what
Have you
To lose?
Any explanation
Might miss
The gist
Of what you
Had to say,
In a circular,
Circular, way,
Where any
Ambulation
Away from the
Major point
Would only prove
The issue:
That Bliss
Is something
That hits you
When you
Get in
The way!
__________________
Today’s LittleNip(s):
MULTITASKING CHECKLIST
—Caschwa
Sit in easy chair,
watch TV, maybe doze off
while dishwasher runs
***
Black toner covers
all five fingers of both hands,
do it yourself: done
***
Proactive game plan,
reach into bag of cookies
and take a handful
***
I’ve had some good sex,
good pizza too, appetite
continues for more
***
I am sincerely
devoted to avoiding
all of my chores: Done.
***
Gather and load clothes,
add detergent, set timer,
begin wash and nap
***
Unbelievable,
nothing stands to reason. Oh
my, what have I?. . . . Done.
_________________
Thanks to this morning’s contributors, and welcome to a week of be-witching poetry, starting tonight at Sac. Poetry Center with Witches Warlocks and Weenies, a reading with Josh Fernandez and Janne Marlies Maron, plus open mic, 7:30pm. Wear your costume!
Don’t be shy about sending Halloween poetry to Medusa’s Kitchen for posting on Wednesday; that’s kathykieth@hotmail.com/.
And Thursday, Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe will begin the month of November with featured readers and open mic, 8pm. 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
Celebrate poetry!
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.