—Photos by Katy Brown, Davis, CA
BETRAYAL
—Wayne Russell
She acted as if
she was falling
ever so softy in
love with me.
But when the sun
peeked through the
cracks in the bedroom
blinds, I awoke to find
nothing.
Betrayal?!
Was it written in the stars?
Her fangs dug in deep, slither
and crawl, while helplessly I lay,
a victim of her spell.
___________________
FACE THE MUSIC
—Wayne Russell
—Wayne Russell
Alone in the crowd
a sea of faces soundly
contorted.
Lost in the sway of her
hips and the music of
her diamond eyes.
That accent's to die for!
Can we share the night
together? How about the
rest of our lives?
Are we in love? I bet I am!
May as well face the music.
THE BIG JOB
—Ian Copestick, Stoke on Trent, England
Well I've got my gang
I've got my sawn-off
I've got my plans
They're all drawn up
I know the day
I know the time
When the Giros are paid
When the money arrives
We've got a van we stole
About a month ago
Hidden in a lock-up
That nobody knows
The chassis number's
Been ground away
Here it comes around
It's our pay day
We've got a Merc, a B.M.W.
A Golf G.T.I.
If it comes on top
We've gotta fly
You've gotta keep all the different
Parts screwed down
You wouldn't believe the
Grasses in this town
Every single guy who
Supplies you with a motor
You can't let him know what
It's gonna be used for
Or else he's giving it the big man
Going round the pubs
And then you might as well
Just give up
All the stress, it builds and builds
Too much adrenaline can make you ill
I really can't let my plans screw up
I've spent far too long just planning this job
I couldn't take another long stretch inside
I'd kill myself first, just out of pride
My missus would disown me too
By the time I got out, the kids
Would be finishing school
I just can't let this job go wrong
I'm a big man, I've just gotta be strong
Well, today's the day, my bowels are loose
I've got the shooters, the boiler suits
The ski masks and the latex gloves are in the B.M.'s boot
I don't want to, but if I have to I'll shoot
Well now it's 12 hours later and I'm on the run
I've dumped the boiler suits, the ski masks and most of the guns
The Golf G.T.I., well it just broke down
There's 2 security guards in the hospital downtown
I don't dare think about my missus and kids
I don't want to think about what we just did
When shotgun pellets hit human skin
The blood and flesh flies, your head it spins
I know the pigs are on our trail
I can't face another 10 years in jail
I put the sawn-off shotgun to my lips
I hear a police loudhailer and my finger slips
SPOOKS
—Ian Copestick
It's 2:30 a.m., I'm feeling wired
My eyes are out on stalks
I wish I was hungry, I wish I was tired
My mouth feels like I've been chewing chalk
There's spooks hiding in the shadows
Every time I turn my back
I've gone too far down a one-way road
I don't know if I can turn back
I don't know when I last ate a full meal
And I haven't slept properly for days
Don't know what I think or how I feel
I'm wandering around in a daze
The spooks are hiding in the corners
Darkness is on their side
I wish someone would warn us
And tell us how to fight
Drugs will be the death of me
Of that I feel quite sure
I'm growing old, I'm getting weak
I don't feel able to endure
The spooks are creeping up behind me
They are close enough to touch
They know just where to find me
It's all becoming far too much
AUTUMN BEGINS
—Caschwa
We are pipe cleaner dolls.
Our handlers twist and turn us
to conform with whatever makes
them feel good at the moment.
MSNBC, Fox News, Fake News,
all part of our distorted family…
a little bend here: free will.
a slight turn there: the Original Sin.
Fig leaves fall where they may,
one on pubic hair
another on truth,
most on the ground where we walk.
And we just keep on walking,
funny shapes and all, until we
gather enough pipe soot, then
we are tossed out with the trash.
________________
NO LICENSE
—Caschwa
How often we hear
legal opinions that were
not put into law
*** ***
Family values:
skip the wedding vows and just
create more babies
*** ***
It is doubly hard
to wait and count business days
when you’re retired
*** ***
Got the diploma,
got the degree, still just a
kid, happy and free
*** ***
Someone may harm you
out of the blue, but it takes
a license to sue
*** ***
No requirement
for a helmet or license
in the good ol’ days
*** ***
Peter Piper picked
a pickling pepper that was
not his to consume
DEDICATED TO A GREATER
MISUNDERSTANDING
—Caschwa
The police often mention that
if a suspect is wanton enough
to shoot and kill a cop, they are
a proven grave danger to virtually
everyone they encounter.
Does this mean that if the suspect
is only wanton enough to rape and
kill a regular citizen, we can all still
breathe easily?
When convicted felons serve their
sentences, sometimes they are
considered for release on parole,
where they will have a chance to
rebuild their lives.
Why doesn’t society offer up some
similar program of opportunity for
young adults forever trapped in
unfortunate circumstances?
_________________
WHAT REALLY MATTERS
—Caschwa
Borne long ago from the Thirteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments to our Constitution,
various #BlackLivesMatter tedia
now appear on all manner of media.
The slogan reaches some people in the
heart, and offends others who still don’t
agree with the path our nation has taken to
restore honor and respect to a people forsaken.
Maybe it is time to change the hashtag
to adjust to modern-day USA priorities:
#BlackVotersMatter might just do the trick,
inundate the media and some of it will stick.
PLEASE EXCUSE JOHNNY FROM SCHOOL TODAY
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
Please excuse Johnny from school today
He’s afraid of the bullies
Who make his days
A disaster!
Please excuse Johnny from school, today
He feels it’s a torture
To try to play
With boys who
Beat him up
Every day.
He won’t be coming to school, anymore;
He found a gun
And shot them up
And now, he’s going away.
Maybe if bullies
Were not so bad
This poem’s ending
Would not be
So sad!
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
EVERY HUMAN IS INCOMPLETE
—Joseph Nolan
Comes lightning, quick!
Quicker than you can think.
Quicker than you can blink.
With a blinding flash
Before your eyes
Blinding in its brightness,
Searing in its heat,
A message from Zeus:
Every human is incomplete.
___________________
Our thanks to today’s many contributors, and welcome to Wayne Russell! Wayne says he is or has been many things in his 48 years on this planet: he has been a creative writer, world traveler, graphic designer, former soldier, and former sailor, and he has been widely published in both online and hard-copy creative writing magazines. From 2016 to 2017, Wayne fulfilled a lifelong dream of running his own magazine, called Degenerate Literature; sadly, due to time restraints, they had to close shop.
Some of you may remember Ashley Redfield, whose The Heart of a Poet was the first in the SnakeRings SpiralChap Series from Rattlesnake Press ‘way back in 2004. She did the poetry, and the illustrations were by her and her brother, Ethan. Ashley was 13 at the time and Ethan was 9, and they lived in Woodland. The Snake was very committed to publishing the poetry of youngsters such as her (remember Snakelets?). Well, Ashley is no longer 13, and she went on to graduate from Mills College after becoming Editor-in-Chief of Mills’ literary journal, Walrus. Now she is, among other things, a critic at goodreads. For more about her and the books she’s recommending, go to www.goodreads.com/author/show/10229517.Ashley_Redfield/. And bless your heart, Ashley, for always keeping me in the loop. She even lists her SpiralChap in her publications list on goodreads!
Poetry events in our area begin tonight at Sac. Poetry Center with Stan Zumbiel and Laura Rosenthal (plus open mic), 7:30pm. Tomorrow, Tuesday the 2nd, Poetry Off-the-Shelves meets in El Dorado Hills at the library, 5-7pm. On Thursday, in addition to Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe in Sacramento at 8pm, John Dorsey and Victor Clevenger will read at the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis (plus 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
Ashley Redfield, 2018
Celebrate poetry!
Celebrate poetry!
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