Monday, Monday…
—Poetry by Joseph Nolan, Michelle Kunert,
Caschwa (Carl Schwartz), Michael Ceraolo
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
JUMPING BOUNDARIES
—Joseph Nolan
I screamed at you, finally!
When you persisted in doing
What I forbade you from doing,
Since you refused all boundaries,
All proscriptions,
All prohibitions,
Since each one,
To you,
Was an invitation
To probe each proscription,
To see whether or not a worm
Might not be wiggled under a fence
That marked a boundary,
Then a garter snake,
Then a boa-constrictor,
Then a python,
To swallow a new-born fawn
Of independence,
Of individuality,
Of personal freedom.
And when,
In the strongest possible,
Somewhat, still-civil tones,
You were warned not to do it again,
You decided to pull the plug,
And go away,
Never to call, again,
Since you had to have your way,
No matter what,
Since, for you,
Each personal, boundary wall
Must be jumped
And your flag, planted
On that interior ground!
To say, “All is mine!
You have none for your own!”
—Joseph Nolan
I screamed at you, finally!
When you persisted in doing
What I forbade you from doing,
Since you refused all boundaries,
All proscriptions,
All prohibitions,
Since each one,
To you,
Was an invitation
To probe each proscription,
To see whether or not a worm
Might not be wiggled under a fence
That marked a boundary,
Then a garter snake,
Then a boa-constrictor,
Then a python,
To swallow a new-born fawn
Of independence,
Of individuality,
Of personal freedom.
And when,
In the strongest possible,
Somewhat, still-civil tones,
You were warned not to do it again,
You decided to pull the plug,
And go away,
Never to call, again,
Since you had to have your way,
No matter what,
Since, for you,
Each personal, boundary wall
Must be jumped
And your flag, planted
On that interior ground!
To say, “All is mine!
You have none for your own!”
HOW OLD DREAMS DIE
—Joseph Nolan
My old dream
Perches on my shoulder,
A parrot
Ready to fly.
I fed it well
When I was young,
But now,
I stuff it full
With all a dream
Can take.
I serve it muffins and cake,
Fresh worms from the garden
And ask that it sing
Our old songs,
Call out the names of relatives
From times when
We felt we belonged.
It’s what an
Old man does
Because it’s
All an old man can do
When he cannot be
A young man
Or let his
Old dreams die.
—Joseph Nolan
My old dream
Perches on my shoulder,
A parrot
Ready to fly.
I fed it well
When I was young,
But now,
I stuff it full
With all a dream
Can take.
I serve it muffins and cake,
Fresh worms from the garden
And ask that it sing
Our old songs,
Call out the names of relatives
From times when
We felt we belonged.
It’s what an
Old man does
Because it’s
All an old man can do
When he cannot be
A young man
Or let his
Old dreams die.
WHY A WOMAN NEEDS A HUNDRED
PAIRS OF SHOES
—Joseph Nolan
It’s not that ninety-nine was bad,
But still she wanted more,
Another pair to hang
On a rack
On the back
Of her closet door.
It’s not because
She ran amok
Through shopping malls
And stores,
Though she has been through them all.
It’s just because they caught her eye,
A shiny, fancy pair.
She couldn’t live without the ones
That sparked her imagination,
Dreaming in bright reverie
Of fittings by Prince Charming.
Something with a big, brass buckle
Or zippered-side,
Perfect for beloved bride
Or for a horse’s ride,
Something for the countryside
Or for a mountain trail,
That will not slip
On dust or let her fail.
A pair for plates with caviar,
One for formal dining,
One for her convertible-car,
And one more pair, besides,
Depending on her mood,
To add to her selection,
Her fashion's full-perfection.
PAIRS OF SHOES
—Joseph Nolan
It’s not that ninety-nine was bad,
But still she wanted more,
Another pair to hang
On a rack
On the back
Of her closet door.
It’s not because
She ran amok
Through shopping malls
And stores,
Though she has been through them all.
It’s just because they caught her eye,
A shiny, fancy pair.
She couldn’t live without the ones
That sparked her imagination,
Dreaming in bright reverie
Of fittings by Prince Charming.
Something with a big, brass buckle
Or zippered-side,
Perfect for beloved bride
Or for a horse’s ride,
Something for the countryside
Or for a mountain trail,
That will not slip
On dust or let her fail.
A pair for plates with caviar,
One for formal dining,
One for her convertible-car,
And one more pair, besides,
Depending on her mood,
To add to her selection,
Her fashion's full-perfection.
LONGING FOR THINGS PAST
—Joseph Nolan
Everything you’ve worked for,
Held, obtained and grasped,
Passes in the moment
When its time has lapsed,
But if you wish to do so,
You could put it in your Will,
To put all your belongings
You’ve lost
Behind glass,
And put them on your mantel-piece,
To visit, when you’ve gone.
Without a human body,
You would not feign to touch them,
But for them, you could long!
I am tired of hearing the radio station at work playing ads from this company called USAA
I’ve openly at work mock their slogans and say what they really are meaning
They ought to say “We’re USAA, if you’re a veteran who can’t afford a home or car we want to insure
We don’t care, even if you’re left living in a tent on the street
USAA: we only want the veterans who are a source of profit for our for-profit business
Just because we thank you for your service doesn’t mean we will aways serve you
nor even consider it an honor to help you with whatever you need in life,
and we’ll leave it instead to some charity to possibly help you if you need training for a new civilian job…”
—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento, CA
I’ve openly at work mock their slogans and say what they really are meaning
They ought to say “We’re USAA, if you’re a veteran who can’t afford a home or car we want to insure
We don’t care, even if you’re left living in a tent on the street
USAA: we only want the veterans who are a source of profit for our for-profit business
Just because we thank you for your service doesn’t mean we will aways serve you
nor even consider it an honor to help you with whatever you need in life,
and we’ll leave it instead to some charity to possibly help you if you need training for a new civilian job…”
—Michelle Kunert, Sacramento, CA
It was sad to see on Entertainment Tonight that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie officially split up
when of course they were first already known as the hot Hollywood couple who would not commit Considering Jolie's internationally adopted children who once probably thought they could call Brad Pitt their “Dad”
Pitt apparently abandoned raising a family with Jolie in his pursuit of his affairs with other women
Jolie even mentions to the media that she is the “responsible” parent toward the adopted kids, instead of Pitt, and she is the one teaching them lessons they need for life, including how to drive a car
Frankly, if it were up to me, the 57-year-old Pitt would be “punished” for being husband number three to decide to leave Angelina Jolie and no longer supporting her being a mother, along with her career of making films which raise up human rights issues. . .
. . . such as not getting hired again to do another movie
—Michelle Kunert
THE NEW ORDER
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
the scene is a railroad crossing
with all the bells and whistles
activated, the ground shaking
under foot
approaching like a herd of elephants
who own whatever part of the
landscape they choose to visit
is the new Senate majority leader,
Chuck Schumer
who has gathered all the bills that
former leader McConnell tabled
and put them on freight train cars
pulled by 50 strong Dems in the
Senate, plus one more for VP Harris
shrinking McConnell to the role
of a youngster on a moped, waiting
till the path is totally clear before he
dares to proceed even one tiny inch
across the tracks
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
the scene is a railroad crossing
with all the bells and whistles
activated, the ground shaking
under foot
approaching like a herd of elephants
who own whatever part of the
landscape they choose to visit
is the new Senate majority leader,
Chuck Schumer
who has gathered all the bills that
former leader McConnell tabled
and put them on freight train cars
pulled by 50 strong Dems in the
Senate, plus one more for VP Harris
shrinking McConnell to the role
of a youngster on a moped, waiting
till the path is totally clear before he
dares to proceed even one tiny inch
across the tracks
ALL BY CHANCE
—Caschwa
humans are bound by
existentialism’s whims
each and every day
this is how Democracy was born:
a mayfly spent its one day on
the bloom of a century plant
and voilá! look at us now
the quest for total freedom all
geared up for a holy war against
any measure of responsibility,
balance of the two extremes
appears to be an utter impossibility
quite well beyond our ability
despair is our only civility
as we raise our flags half staff
—Caschwa
humans are bound by
existentialism’s whims
each and every day
this is how Democracy was born:
a mayfly spent its one day on
the bloom of a century plant
and voilá! look at us now
the quest for total freedom all
geared up for a holy war against
any measure of responsibility,
balance of the two extremes
appears to be an utter impossibility
quite well beyond our ability
despair is our only civility
as we raise our flags half staff
THE GIFT OF HINDSIGHT
—Caschwa
I
California 2009
Revenue ran low, so the governor
furloughed state workers for the first time ever,
when this act was challenged, the court found
it was not only legal, but expressly provided for
that sequence of events showed how our
government plans ahead like a sleeper cell
using the intricate fabric of law to ensure that
those at the top stay in the money
II
Wham: Women given the right to vote
Maybe it was just too good to be true
all those lavish parties to celebrate that
we had finally thrown off the chains of
royal rule, the source of countless grievances
and then you see that same blood-line government
at Stanford University distributing precious vaccine
to the highest ranking figures first, forcing the
front line workers who needed it most to just
Bam: Stand by, shut up, and don’t even think about it
III
Thank You Ma'am: Women's Rights, sort of
Once she was chattel, getting a modicum
of food, shelter, clothing, and often abused,
but now she is free working as a domestic,
no less abused, earnings lower than a living wage
IV
The Fiscal Cliff
The kingdom of old money
never stops guarding its castle from
those poor souls who built it
barefoot, pregnant, and heavily in debt
V
The Tea Party
Strains of patriotism blanket the
conversation like elevator music
not quite reaching those people
who actually climb the stairs
—Caschwa
I
California 2009
Revenue ran low, so the governor
furloughed state workers for the first time ever,
when this act was challenged, the court found
it was not only legal, but expressly provided for
that sequence of events showed how our
government plans ahead like a sleeper cell
using the intricate fabric of law to ensure that
those at the top stay in the money
II
Wham: Women given the right to vote
Maybe it was just too good to be true
all those lavish parties to celebrate that
we had finally thrown off the chains of
royal rule, the source of countless grievances
and then you see that same blood-line government
at Stanford University distributing precious vaccine
to the highest ranking figures first, forcing the
front line workers who needed it most to just
Bam: Stand by, shut up, and don’t even think about it
III
Thank You Ma'am: Women's Rights, sort of
Once she was chattel, getting a modicum
of food, shelter, clothing, and often abused,
but now she is free working as a domestic,
no less abused, earnings lower than a living wage
IV
The Fiscal Cliff
The kingdom of old money
never stops guarding its castle from
those poor souls who built it
barefoot, pregnant, and heavily in debt
V
The Tea Party
Strains of patriotism blanket the
conversation like elevator music
not quite reaching those people
who actually climb the stairs
Italian Girls Headed to School
LONG DIVISION TIMES 4
—Caschwa
in the discipline of math
some will master long
division easily, and others
will never quite get it
in the discipline of politics
long division is the grand-
daddy of foundational principles
one is expected to master to
ever get a position of power
in the discipline of chemistry
long division sits bubbling
over in a steamy pot of witch’s
brew, fully ready to defy any
serious attempts to catalog its
components
in the discipline of marketing
they dress up the pejorative
aspect of long division that
encumbers the continued
separation of consumers and
their money, by cloaking it in
more agreeable terms such as
“extended warranty”
—Caschwa
in the discipline of math
some will master long
division easily, and others
will never quite get it
in the discipline of politics
long division is the grand-
daddy of foundational principles
one is expected to master to
ever get a position of power
in the discipline of chemistry
long division sits bubbling
over in a steamy pot of witch’s
brew, fully ready to defy any
serious attempts to catalog its
components
in the discipline of marketing
they dress up the pejorative
aspect of long division that
encumbers the continued
separation of consumers and
their money, by cloaking it in
more agreeable terms such as
“extended warranty”
THREE POEMS FROM SOME AFTERNOONS AND EVENINGS
—Michael Ceraolo, South Euclid, Ohio
March-April 1790
Dear America (and beyond),
Do you know me?
In this issue of The Massachusetts Magazine,
or, Monthly Museum of Knowledge and Rational Entertainment,
my essay, "On the Equality of the Sexes" was published,
two years before Mary Wollstonecraft's book
Is she better known because she gave birth to a daughter
who became a famous writer in her own right
and also was married to a famous poet,
or better known because she died young,
or better known because America's
literature of the time was dismissed?
I leave it to historians and literary critics
to provide an answer if there is one
In my time my collected works, The Gleaner,
containing essays, plays, poems, a novel,
was published in three volumes and subscribed to
by Presidents and many other well-known
political and literary people,
yet
after I died in 1820
I was forgotten for a century-and-a-half
Whether you should read me now
I leave up to your considered judgment,
but I will not that the essay mentioned above
is, sadly, still relevant two-hundred-thirty years later
Sincerely,
Judith Sargent Murray
* * *
June 13, 1971
It had taken nearly one-hundred-twenty years
of egregious reporting and cringeworthy commentary,
but today, with the start of the series
exposing the Pentagon Papers,
—Michael Ceraolo, South Euclid, Ohio
March-April 1790
Dear America (and beyond),
Do you know me?
In this issue of The Massachusetts Magazine,
or, Monthly Museum of Knowledge and Rational Entertainment,
my essay, "On the Equality of the Sexes" was published,
two years before Mary Wollstonecraft's book
Is she better known because she gave birth to a daughter
who became a famous writer in her own right
and also was married to a famous poet,
or better known because she died young,
or better known because America's
literature of the time was dismissed?
I leave it to historians and literary critics
to provide an answer if there is one
In my time my collected works, The Gleaner,
containing essays, plays, poems, a novel,
was published in three volumes and subscribed to
by Presidents and many other well-known
political and literary people,
yet
after I died in 1820
I was forgotten for a century-and-a-half
Whether you should read me now
I leave up to your considered judgment,
but I will not that the essay mentioned above
is, sadly, still relevant two-hundred-thirty years later
Sincerely,
Judith Sargent Murray
* * *
June 13, 1971
It had taken nearly one-hundred-twenty years
of egregious reporting and cringeworthy commentary,
but today, with the start of the series
exposing the Pentagon Papers,
The New York Times was the blind squirrel
finally finding an acorn
And, fifty years and counting,
they're still searching for another one
* * *
April 15, 1987
Today
seven million children disappeared
This tragedy did not make the news
The Center for Missing and Exploited Children
did not get involved in the matter
Because
these were the fictional children of real people
Their disappearance was directly related
to the change in the tax law
that required Social Security numbers
for those claimed as dependents
There is a happy ending, though:
two million of the missing seven million
reappeared in the flesh later,
complete with Social Security numbers
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
PREAMBLE TO INSURRECTION
—Caschwa
We the Rioters of the Confederate States, in Order to form a more perfect Snowflake, establish Autocracy, enslave domestics abundantly, provide for self-gratification, promote the general Warfare, and deny the Blessings of Liberty to everyone in sight, do ordain and establish this Insurrection for the United Snowflakes of our Mania.
___________________
A big sunny thank-you to our nimble poets today, and to Joseph Nolan for providing us with eye candy to wake us up on a Monday morning! Carl Schwartz writes: “On FaceBook, I saw a comment likening Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to a ‘gorgon, Medusa’s sister’.” Hurumph. My sisters have nothing to do with such nonsense…
Tonight (2/8), Sac. Poetry Center’s Socially Distant Verse presents Saruh Oktay and Scott Thurston, 7:15pm on Zoom at us04web.zoom.us/j/7638733462/. (Password: spcskv2020) Facebook info: www.facebook.com/events/5692161977476640/.
Thursday (2/11), 7:30pm, Literary Lectures features a talk on Zoom (us02web.zoom.us) by Sacramento Poet Laureate Emeritus Bob Stanley: "The Poetry of Carolyn Forché”, an analysis of the poet’s war poem (see poemanalysis.com/carolyn-forche/the-colonel)/. Facebook info: www.facebook.com/events/1323163534731288/.
___________________
—Medusa
finally finding an acorn
And, fifty years and counting,
they're still searching for another one
* * *
April 15, 1987
Today
seven million children disappeared
This tragedy did not make the news
The Center for Missing and Exploited Children
did not get involved in the matter
Because
these were the fictional children of real people
Their disappearance was directly related
to the change in the tax law
that required Social Security numbers
for those claimed as dependents
There is a happy ending, though:
two million of the missing seven million
reappeared in the flesh later,
complete with Social Security numbers
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
PREAMBLE TO INSURRECTION
—Caschwa
We the Rioters of the Confederate States, in Order to form a more perfect Snowflake, establish Autocracy, enslave domestics abundantly, provide for self-gratification, promote the general Warfare, and deny the Blessings of Liberty to everyone in sight, do ordain and establish this Insurrection for the United Snowflakes of our Mania.
___________________
A big sunny thank-you to our nimble poets today, and to Joseph Nolan for providing us with eye candy to wake us up on a Monday morning! Carl Schwartz writes: “On FaceBook, I saw a comment likening Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to a ‘gorgon, Medusa’s sister’.” Hurumph. My sisters have nothing to do with such nonsense…
Tonight (2/8), Sac. Poetry Center’s Socially Distant Verse presents Saruh Oktay and Scott Thurston, 7:15pm on Zoom at us04web.zoom.us/j/7638733462/. (Password: spcskv2020) Facebook info: www.facebook.com/events/5692161977476640/.
Thursday (2/11), 7:30pm, Literary Lectures features a talk on Zoom (us02web.zoom.us) by Sacramento Poet Laureate Emeritus Bob Stanley: "The Poetry of Carolyn Forché”, an analysis of the poet’s war poem (see poemanalysis.com/carolyn-forche/the-colonel)/. Facebook info: www.facebook.com/events/1323163534731288/.
___________________
—Medusa
Coming soon to an orchard near you!
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.
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
All you have to do is send poetry and/or
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work from all over the world, including
that which was previously-published.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
