—Anonymous Pie Photos
Early years filled with now.
Control reigns supreme.
No thoughts of tomorrow.
Life is my oyster.
Living the dream.
Children grown.
Few decisions now.
Tomorrow is here.
Can’t chew oysters anymore.
Remembering the dream.
Too busy to notice the years fly by.
Too oblivious to note declining abilities.
Too few tomorrows now.
Two oysters minced in broth.
Dreams fading.
A song repeats in my mind.
“Those were the days, my friend—
I thought would never end.”
Tomorrow is yesterday now.
Scattered memories float untethered.
—Sammie
THE PERFECT HOME
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
Consuelo and Libby,
each with widely different
views and opinions, were
looking for a new home
after a really long search
they finally settled on one
pick that appeared to please
everyone involved
but early on Libby thought
she smelled a small gas
leak and conveyed her
concerns to all who would
listen
Libby was roundly ignored
while Consuelo concentrated
on enlarging the fences and
installing state of the ancient
arts security features
until one day the gas leak
was more pronounced,
caused a bit of an uproar
inside the home, and even
began to trigger Consuelo’s
elaborate alarm system
Libby would not consent to
being torn asunder by a gas
explosion, and threatened to
bring charges against Consuelo
if he didn’t fix things right
Consuelo responded by launching
a multi-media attack on Libby
accusing her of bad faith,
bad breath, and everything else
Libby hired lawyers and brought
the charges, while Consuelo hired
clowns who made fun of Libby and
her “sham” charges
This may never end…
Apollo 11 Moon Landing Pie
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE XIII
—Caschwa
when one walks into
a bar and expects too much
it’s set up that way
drown misery with
cheap wine poured by cheap women
dressed in no more than
colorful tattoos
accompanied by groups of
heavyset bikers
watching you, waiting
for the least excuse to brawl
and leave you broken
down on the floor, with
your deflated self-esteem
and much-bruised ego
looking up at those
same women now pouring wine
for some other chap
who’d stolen your smile
to shine all over the place!
that’s enough, check please
Eye Pie: Here’s Pie in Yer Eye!
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE XIV
—Caschwa
when you punch a time clock,
work less than full time so they
don’t have to provide benefits
and you know any mistake of any
size could result in your immediate
dismissal
while top management gets big
salaries, all benefits, perks,
bonuses, and are actually part of a
regular program that recognizes the
long-term outcome of making mistakes
as being progress for the company,
which they kindly reward with an even
larger compensation package
_________________
WHAT IT FEELS LIKE XV
—Caschwa
when one realizes that the whole
“trickle down economy” concept
was derived from the age-old mire
of tradition which held that divine
royalty would grace loyal subjects
with special favors
and wasn’t that part of what we
had hoped to put behind us when
we won the revolution and drafted
our own Constitution?
WHIPPED TOPPING
—Caschwa
(following the expression “too
unbelievable” by James Lee
Jobe, Medusa’s Kitchen,
January 11, 2020)
Hark, the sound of a fanfare!
derived from medieval military roots
but now replacing bold knights on
horseback with an even bolder,
enhanced, graphics presentation of
BREAKING NEWS
a teasing, excessively sugary exterior
proceeds to smother us with too much
this and too much that, building a nice
cookie sandwich between “too
unbelievable” and “too undeniable”
and we just can’t resist taking giant
bites of that sweet cookie to swallow
whole, whipped topping and all, leaving
our unappeased appetites howling for
more
Tri-Sliced Potato Pie
Let's See—Which slice is too big?
THE TRI-SLICED PIE
—Joseph Nolan
I came upon a pie,
Sliced-three
And wondered
If the slice
Was too
Big for me,
But since it sat
So lovingly
Upon a windowsill,
Neglected, and free,
And I,
Being so desperately
Indebted to my hunger,
I took the tri-sliced
Pie asunder
And tasted its
Tasty wonder!
_______________
MY ROYAL CASTLE
—Joseph Nolan
I shall build a grand-old castle
One brick at a time
And when I’ve built my castle,
My life will be so fine!
To protect my stately castle,
I shall dig a moat,
Fill it up with crocodiles,
Which I shall feed with goats.
I’ll toss them off of parapets
As I sit and drink my wine
And summon up some minstrels
To play old songs, divine.
Oh! what a happy time
It’ll be,
When I’ve built my castle,
And I’m a royal majesty!
A square pie? Impossible!
LIFE IN SMALL TOWNS
—Joseph Nolan
On the church
There was a steeple.
Inside, were lots
Of people.
And a preacher
Gave a sermon
As if
They were
Still learnin’.
On Saturdays,
Came the bride
With a groom
Along her side.
And they went
Forth to multiply
As well as they
Were able,
Like horses
In their stables.
And the factory,
In town, supplied
Jobs and goods,
Besides,
To all who wished
To labor, there,
And spend their lives
With paychecks, spare,
Just enough
To survive.
Mummy Pie
SEASONS’ BLUSHING
—Joseph Nolan
The pear tree
Blushes in yellow,
The green glade
In gold,
When March
Brings to life
Early Spring.
The peach tree
Blushes in orange
And also in red,
As does the apple tree.
The pomegranate blushes
Vermillion.
Each in its own way
Give light to our day
When each is
In its own season!
Today’s LittleNip:
JUST PLAYING PRESIDENT
—Joseph Nolan
Random rules of disorder
Are being established
Willy-nilly
By a guy with
Really bad hair.
Why should we care?
If Johnny
Shoots Billy
At school one day,
He might simply say,
“I was just playing President!”
__________________
Good Monday morning and our thanks to today’s contributors! Poetry events in our area begins tonight at the Sac. Poetry Center, 25th & R Sts., with Paco Marquez and Stacy Gee, plus open mic. That begins at 7:30pm.
On Thursday, Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe and Juice Bar on 16th St. in Sacramento features Theatre Mutiny plus open mic, beginning at 8pm. Also on Thursday at 8pm, Poetry in Davis presents Kathryn Hohlwein reading with Laura Hohlwein and Bob Stanley, plus open mic. That’s at the John Natsoulas Gallery on 1st St. in Davis.
This Friday (1/17) at 8pm, SacUnified Slam presents New Works Only Slam at Luna’s Cafe in Sacramento. In Davis the same night, 7:30pm, The Other Voice Poetry Series features Len Germinara, Linda Jackson Collins and open mic at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Patwin Road.
Sun. from 1-3pm, Poetry in the Sierra Foothills features a special open mic: Bring poems inspired by Martin Luther King, or poems that would inspire King if he were alive today. That’s at Caffe Santoro, 493 Pleasant Valley Rd., Diamond Springs. Later that afternoon, from 4-5:30pm, Sac. Poetry Center will present Prose in the Afternoon, this month with Nancy Schnellkopf and Katya Mills, plus Flash Fiction with Kathleen Lynch. Then share 100 words of your own prose at open mic.
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.
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, still trying to figure out which piece of pie is too big. A girl does have to watch her figure ~
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.
clicking on them once, then clicking on the x
in the top right corner to come back to Medusa.