Subsonic Murmurings

—Anonymous Photos

RAW POWER
—Ian Copestick, Stoke on Trent, England

I was out earlier
Walking my dog
Suddenly I saw that
The sky upon the
Horizon had turned
To a beautiful
Peach/orange colour
Whilst the rest of the
Sky above it
Was a dramatic black
I also felt a prickling
On the back of my neck
I think it's Storm Callum
I saw it on the T.V. news
It must have been the
Electricity of the
Oncoming lightning.
Well it was the most
Exciting thing that
I have felt for
A long while.
Totally free, just a
Force of nature.
It made me feel
Somehow PURE
Somehow plugged into
The raw power of
Mother Earth.
Things like this do
Not happen too often
But it feels great
When they
Do.

FLYING HAIKUS ON A STRING
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

Naked truth, no lap
of disclaimer towels to
mislead onlookers

***

“I am one hundred
percent not guilty” said one
man, his hopes set high

***

The teacher who said
“There are no dumb questions” now
wishes she was right

***

I only have one
life to give to my country,
but I voted twice

***

Clear memory of
a movie character, or
was it another?

***

Dogwood, cottonwood,
sandalwood, hickory sticks,
breathe in their flavor

***

Barbeque season
is never really over,
though skies get wetter

HOMESICK ASBESTOS COMPANY
—Caschwa

The thriving, aptly named
Homesick Asbestos Company
got knocked clear off the charts
for having too many syllables
to fit nicely in a Haiku.

So now, instead of people
touching bad walls, or waiting
for them to catch fire, they take
the shortcut of putting weeds in
their mouth and lighting them up.

__________________

NOT FAIR
—Caschwa

Who uses this ultimatum the most?
“If you disobey my exact instructions,
I will hurt you badly or kill you.”

A child abuser.
A spouse abuser.
An elder abuser.
A dominatrix.
Responding law enforcement.

BEYOND HAIKU
—Caschwa

Four women accuse
white privileged gentleman;
truth:  swept under rug

***

The Senate will hear
only what it wants to hear,
turning a deaf ear

***

Brett Snapple, beyond
any doubt, is the finest
that there is on Earth

***

Honest soul, proven
impeccable history,
so was Patty Hearst

***

Balance of power
that serves one partisan side
locks it up real tight

***

More than 50 votes
to install a Supreme drunk
“I fall, no problem”

***

That’s why GOP
is in such a big hurry,
voters will wise up

TEMPLATE FOR CHANGE
—Caschwa

The ardent colonial spirit was not
wholly dampened by statehood. No,
it just took a few souped-up race cars
and parked them alongside ordinary
family cars.

Look at us now!  We have replaced
tall trees with taller edifices, dedicated
to the net profit of fewer and fewer
stakeholders,
daring
others
to
catch
the
trickle
down.

If only we could harness the eternal
fire of that giant economic machine that
continuously cranks out American flag
lapel pins and fashion jewelry crucifix
pendants, to direct it to serve the
immediate needs of the needy…

_________________

BAREFOOT & PREGNANT
—Caschwa

Among our higher echelon of leaders we
have some A as in A-Hole arrogant, rich,
white, men who derive great pleasure and
power from keeping helpless, needy people
just as helpless and needy as they started.

Make some room in the stinky garbage
pail, because they take all the “help the
poor” teachings of Jesus Christ and just
chuck them out like trash. 

So if you find yourself among the number
that lack the means to attain food, training,
housing, rehabilitation, sanitary supplies, bus
fare, self-respect, proper medical attention, a
good résumé, a worthy wardrobe, or an
appropriate racial profile, the A-Holes
g  r  i  n     e  a  r     t  o     e  a  r 
because you are living proof that they have
surely met their goal.

THE TUNNEL
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA

Behind where the flowers grow,
A deep, dark tunnel goes
Down into the Earth.

Deep-down, the tunnel goes
Deep into the Earth.
The flowers guard
The open doorway,
Into the tunnel, down,
Deep inside the Earth.

It is very quiet there,
Deep inside the Earth!
Too dark to let the flowers grow,
Deep inside the Earth.

Warm, in Winter,
And cool when sun is strong,
Because the deep, dark tunnel
Throws its shadow long;
Because the wind
Cannot come in
Into the tunnel, long,

And silence is the only song
Inside the tunnel, long.

__________________

THE PIANO
—Joseph Nolan

A piano is there,
Taking up air.
I dust it, sometimes,
Sometimes, I stare
Into its corner,
Why is it there?
No one ever plays it!

It was there
In case
Anyone cared
To play it.

But no one ever does, these days,
And so, the dusty keys array
Themselves in an unused line.
My wife says “This is fine;
What’s the problem?”

ELEPHANTS’ SONGS
—Joseph Nolan

There is a song unsung,
Un-sing-able,
In a register not yet won
By human voice,
Outside the range of human hearing.
Elephants, to each other, talk this way
They can hear each other’s
Subsonic murmurings
From twenty miles away.
The African sky, thick with meanings,
Untold in human speech,
Its sky, tattooed with rumbling,
Brought forth by elephant-breath.

Who could ever kill such a thing,
Or even dream its death?

____________________

Today’s LittleNip:

SPOTS OR STRIPES?
—Joseph Nolan

If I were just
A spot on the wall,
Would you still visit,
Or even call?

Or would you
Just drop it all?
And slide around the corner?

What would it take
To make you stay?
A spot has nothing
Much to say.
Spots cannot
Go out to play.

I think you’d rather
Stay away,
Or find a stripe
To spend your day
With.

____________________

Our thanks to three fine poets today for their Monday-take on the world! To hear elephant songs, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAF63rrzE-w/ and www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyZ_wLP51ag/.

And my apologies for such a late post. Our power was out all last night and until just a few minutes ago.

Poetry events in our area begin tonight with Jeff Knorr and Sandra Simonds (plus open mic) at Sac. Poetry Center, 7:30pm, in Sacramento. Thursday will be busy with Third Thursdays at the Central Library poetry read-around at 12noon in the Central Library on I St. in Sacramento, then with Leanne Grabel (plus open mic) at Poetry in Davis at the John Natsoulas Gallery.

On Friday, also in Davis, The Other Voice will host Jennifer O’Neill Pickering and John Bell (plus open mic) at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Patwin Road. Saturday, drop by the Hoot and Holler Cowboy Poetry and Storytelling Contest in Angels Camp, featuring poetry and storytelling, and even a prize! That’s from 12-1pm at the corner of Raspberry and Main.

And Sunday brings a choice of Poetry in Placerville, featuring Los Escritores del Nuevo Sol at Love Birds Coffee and Tea on Broadway from 1-3pm, or Davis Arts Center Poetry Series, featuring Dorine Jennette and Phillip Larrea from 2-4pm. 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

 Dumbo's Feather and the Power of Faith

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.