—Bowls by Richard Billiet, Placerville, CA
—Poems and Photos by Carol Louise Moon, Placerville, CA
—Poems and Photos by Carol Louise Moon, Placerville, CA
VELKOMMEN TARTOUM
Five Russian men chatter in Russian
at a restaurant table, gingham cloth,
silverware and napkins neatly placed.
At a restaurant table, gingham cloth
aprons of waitresses welcome us
as we sit down to dinner.
Aprons of waitresses say VELKOMMEN
but I hear a French greeting and I smile,
responding with, Muy bien, gracias.
I hear another French greeting and smile.
My husband holds one of my hands, then
suddenly a sugar packet appears.
My husband holds one of my hands, then
suddenly the sugar packet disappears
reappearing from his left ear.
The sugar packet disappears again,
reappearing from behind his right ear.
I love this place. I love his way.
Responding with Muy bien, gracias,
we remain seated and finish our dinner,
silverware and napkins neatly replaced.
With sugar suddenly appearing
and reappearing from behind his ears
I love this pace, his way with sugar.
WHITE GOAT TARTOUM
With ears perked and eyes wide
a white goat stands in stillness,
two hooves on the pavement.
The goat stands in stillness
near an old gray country house
whose windows are wide open.
Near the old gray country house
a curious hoot owl hoots,
shutters flap in the wind.
The old hoot owl hoots, and
shouts heard from a window,
and the shattering of dinner plates.
Shouts from the kitchen window,
the ancient story retold,
frighten the goat who has
eyes, as windows, wide open.
With the shattering of dinner plates
and shutters flapping in the wind,
the frightened goat now has
all hooves on the pavement.
SAND SNAKE (Rhymed Pantoum)
This golden snake is rarely seen,
except in early September
when I survey this sand citrine,
its rippling waves of amber.
What if early next September
he rests, becomes trapped and caught
while slithering through the amber?
Does he wonder, perhaps not,
what he’d become if he was caught?
A snake-hide purse with winking eye!
And so he wanders and dares not
rest, only to be caught and die.
He watches me with blinking eye
surveying all his sand citrine.
Slithering by to hide, not die,
this golden snake is rarely seen.
(prev. pub. in Rattlesnake Review, Vol. 10)
WHITE CAT IN THE ALLEY (Pantoum)
I was relieved to find a white cat
whose eyes have shown yellow and lit
the way I should walk home at night
to my cold, cold cottage in town.
Whose eyes have shown yellow and lit
as much as the white cat in the alley?
To my cold, cold cottage in town
I depend on every sign and token of luck
as much as the white cat in the alley:
the coin in my boot, my cloak and swagger.
I depend on every sign and token of luck.
All these, plus a green moon, fool-proof as
the coin in my boot, my cloak and swagger.
One never knows what lurks in the shadows—
all these—plus a green moon, fool-proof as
a fool with DT’s, now a limp not a swagger.
One never knows what lurks in the shadows,
the way I should walk home at night.
A fool with DT’s now, a limp not a swagger,
I was relieved to find a white cat.
Today’s LittleNip:
Snakes in the ancient world, because of their skin-shedding ability, often symbolized immortality or eternal youth.
―Alice K. Turner, The History of Hell
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Our thanks to Carol Louise Moon for her pantoums and tartoums this morning, and her beautiful photos of Richard Billiet’s wooden bowls! For more info about pantoums, see www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/pantoum-poetic-form/. The tartoum is a variation of the pantoum; see if you can make out the difference.
Poetry events in Sacramento tonight include Sandy McIntosh and Mary Mackey with the Marsh Hawk Press Chapter One Project, poets writing about how they decided to become poets. Sac Poetry Center, 6pm. Also: Speak Up: The Art of Storytelling and Poetry at The Avid Reader on Broadway, 7pm. 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!)
—Anonymous Photo of Goat’s Eye
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.