Hello, Autumn!

Debris in the Wind
—Paintings by Douglas Polk, Kearney, NE 

Opera star Placido Domingo is facing charges of "sexual harassment”
      There are claims he gave women “undesired” kisses and groping
      But I personally think that if I was going to commit sin of a sexual nature
      It would be with a “sexy” opera star such as Placido Domingo
      Probably better and less regrettable than doing it with a “rock star"
      Anna Netrebkos defends Domingo and probably would agree with my premonition  
      Indeed there are some men in the world who it totally would not be cool to have an affair with,
      and it’s not like Domingo is a politician or a president        
      For instance that’s why it’s totally not cool to “hump” President Donald Trump
      (Sorry Stormy Daniels, you bimbo, white trash porn star!)  
      And, worst of all, comedian Bill Cosby just raped women without consent after knocking them unconscious
      It’s also not cool to make out with a star who could infect you with HIV like, say, Charlie Sheen
     Yep, a lot of guys would hope they, too, are, at around 80 years old, as “hot” as Placido Domingo


—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento, CA

 Hollywood
 

PLANETARY DAYDREAM
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
 
The human race
As just a planetary daydream
A random permutation
With capacity for survival.

Evolution from fermentation
Of pond-scum set on silt,
In heat of summer sun,
Baking into something tasty
For tiny critters
Who live in mud and play
And like their diets dirty.

How could we possibly
Ever get here from there?
Or, how could we not?

A daydream can be unimaginably powerful
When dreamed by an entire planet.
What if this dream should overheat?
What then would be left to eat,
For creatures great and small,
Who only know how
To go on dreaming?

___________________

SHADOWS AND LIGHT
—Joseph Nolan

How could you tell
If a shadow
Passed across
The face of the sun?

It wouldn’t stand a chance,
No more than a snowball in Hell.
There’s only so far
A shadow can go
Into light.
Shadows don’t get on too well
In the light. 

 The Outsiders

WE, WHO CARRY SHADOWS
—Joseph Nolan

We, who carry shadows,
Wander into the moon,
Feed ourselves starvation
And drink up dying thirst.

Our greatest need—
To bleed, or else regret,
What hasn’t happened yet
But someday, will
Of course, someday, it will!

Amnesia would be a blessing.
Memory’s a curse.
We wish it were just a dream,
But know it’s something
Far, far worse!

___________________

POINTING
—Joseph Nolan

What’s the point of pointing?
We can point things out,
Point toward where you should go,
Point into the darkness,
Point toward the light,
Toward the door,
Toward the future,
But don’t point toward one another
Or it is considered rude!
In intimate social circles,
Pointing is eschewed.

 The Eye

I ONCE KNEW A MAN
—Ian Copestick, Stoke on Trent, England
 
I once knew a man
With whom I was schooled
Bullied, beaten
Wanted to prove he was a man
I once knew a man
Indoctrinated and fooled
I think he went
To Iraq or Afghanistan
I once knew a man
His parents, they loved him
Worried, fretted
Him they wanted to shield
I once knew a man
Tricked by those above him
His guts were strewn
Across the battlefield
I once knew a man
He was dumb, he was proud
Believed in Queen and Country, all that
When it happened
It was quick, blinding and loud
I once knew a man
But he'll never come back

 The Party

WHILE THE DOG
STEPS OUTSIDE
AT NIGHT
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
 
trees
trains
flashing planes

stars
cars
some are ours

chair
sit
planets lit

drones
phones
muffled moans

gnats
cats
darting rats

moths
squirrels
laughing girls

stalking
guise
dragon flies

hounds
sounds
lost and founds

police
fire
oh so dire

gasp
burp
crickets chirp

 Stuffed Toys Come Alive

DIBS!
—Caschwa

History has given ruthless imperialist,
pest control agents the glorified name
of explorers to record their exploits to
tame land that had not yet been settled.

They came to America and sought to
eradicate those Indian savages.

They came to Texas and sought to
deport those Mexican invaders.

They came to Sacramento, California
and sought to rid the downtown parking
garage of rats.

They came to the hills of Culver City,
California and sought to remove an entire
population of skunks that had long before
called those hills home before real estate
developers put in a glut of condominiums.

No doubt, we are on the path to find life
on some other planet, and we will for
sure give the whole event the spin that
it is we who are the victims of invasion.

__________________

ELECT ME
—Caschwa

I am the very best candidate
running for office because
I will fail
for sure
and I will fail for you

because we know there is
simply not enough public
money to properly fund every
worthwhile program

so I will take the national
budget to the track and bet it
all on one horse

consistent with what the polls
and the trends say I should do

Civil Rights
Cutest Baby Picture
Defense
Discrimination
Environment
Global Warming
Gun Control
Healthcare
Immigration
Taxation
Unemployment
Zero Tolerance

pick your horse 

 The Scream

IT’S ALL A HOAX, FOLKS
—Caschwa

Wikipedia
Climate Change
That whole Russian thing
Green New Deal
Allegations vs. Kavanagh
Puerto Rican death toll from Hurricane Maria

But if you really want to see the real deal
come look at the marvelous leadership skills
of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and
Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un

In fact, since you’ll believe anything I say, work
is already in progress to entirely redesign the
U S of A to more closely resemble those great
nations I do so admire

Come along, sheep

____________________

GOT IT!
—Caschwa

Me:
It was a bright, sunny day at the ball park
and there I was, high in the grandstands,
a beer in one hand, a fielder’s mitt in the other
waiting for a souvenir to come near

Finally, my moment had arrived! Sunglasses
on, visor down, I saw the ball leave the bat
and head in a high arc toward my area, just
a little bit ahead of my row

I got up and moved to the aisle way, stepping
down to the optimal position to make the catch
leaning over the fencing, stretching as far as
I possibly could…one last sip of beer…mitt open

I made the catch!!...but in doing so must have
also fallen over the fencing…and it didn’t feel
like a hardball in my glove, but something
square like and plastic…

Spouse:
Honey, you fell out of bed again, with your
alarm clock

__________________

Today’s LittleNip:

Lower
Income
Bracket
Earnings
Rarely
The
Yardstick

—Caschwa

__________________

Welcome to Autumn! The equinox took place this morning at 12:50am (see www.almanac.com/content/first-day-fall-autumnal-equinox/). (We don’t turn our clocks back, though, until Nov. 3.)

And a mighty autumn thanks to today’s contributors for their comments on the world around us.

Poetry events begin in our area tonight at 6pm with the Poetry in Motion read-around at the Placerville Sr. Center on Spring St. in Placerville. Then at 7:30pm, Sac. Poetry Center features Alexandra Mattraw and Margaret Ronda plus open mic on 25th & R Sts., Sacramento.

Saturday will be a busy day, starting at 9:30am with Writers on the Air featuring Frederick Foote and guests, plus open mic. That’s at 25th & R Sts., Sac., hosted by Todd Boyd. Then at 2pm, Creative Minds #5 spoken word gathering of artists of all kinds meets at GOS Art Gallery, 1825 Del Paso Blvd., Ste. #2, Sacramento. Free; all ages welcome. Door prizes, open mic for various art forms. Hosts: Straight Out Scribes and Gary "Gos" Simpson.

Poetic License poetry read-around also meets on Saturday at 2pm in Placerville Sr. Center, 937 Spring St., Placerville. The suggested topic for this month is "snuff" but other subjects are also welcome. Then at 4pm, back at Sac. Poetry Center, Episode 2 of Drop in with Frank, a film & animation show about the life of poet-writer-psychonaut-runaway Frank Andrick, debuts at 25th & R Sts. in Sacramento. 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.

Interested in workshops? Check the green box at the right for a listing of local ones which will be held this week and/or later.

—Medusa, celebrating the poetry of Fall

 Apple Season!

—Anonymous Photo

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.