What Some Mondays Are Like in Wildlife Photography…
—Poetry by Joseph Nolan and Caschwa (Carl Schwartz)
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of Joseph Nolan
WHAT THESE ROCKS HAVE SEEN!
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
Oh,
What these rocks have seen!
Passing sandals,
Ankles, mean,
Hurrying
To make the scene,
Somewhere
In the distance.
Somewhere
Rocks can’t see,
Around a bend,
Farther up a path,
And when they soon return,
We shall see the aftermath
Of their merry party.
Not invited
To any parties,
Maybe skipped
Across a lake,
Nothing they might take
Along to win a bride.
Maybe just a spot
To lay one’s head
Or just a place to spread
A picnic cloth?
We rocks
Worry not,
For what we have
Or haven’t got
Or which way
Light may fall.
Rocks
Don’t worry
At all,
For tree
Or branch
Nor avalanche,
Which is what they call
It when we fall,
Together!
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
Oh,
What these rocks have seen!
Passing sandals,
Ankles, mean,
Hurrying
To make the scene,
Somewhere
In the distance.
Somewhere
Rocks can’t see,
Around a bend,
Farther up a path,
And when they soon return,
We shall see the aftermath
Of their merry party.
Not invited
To any parties,
Maybe skipped
Across a lake,
Nothing they might take
Along to win a bride.
Maybe just a spot
To lay one’s head
Or just a place to spread
A picnic cloth?
We rocks
Worry not,
For what we have
Or haven’t got
Or which way
Light may fall.
Rocks
Don’t worry
At all,
For tree
Or branch
Nor avalanche,
Which is what they call
It when we fall,
Together!
FALLING TOGETHER
—Joseph Nolan
I slumber
In a meadow,
In shadows,
In a glade.
I wonder
Whether
Any effort,
Might be
Equally repaid?
How beauty
Can climb
An escarpment,
To lay its
Laurel wreath
In the face
Of the sun?
And I wonder,
How we,
In perpetual motion,
Might fall
Together
As one!
—Joseph Nolan
I slumber
In a meadow,
In shadows,
In a glade.
I wonder
Whether
Any effort,
Might be
Equally repaid?
How beauty
Can climb
An escarpment,
To lay its
Laurel wreath
In the face
Of the sun?
And I wonder,
How we,
In perpetual motion,
Might fall
Together
As one!
LESSONS FROM THE RUST-BELT
—Joseph Nolan
Rust exists,
Seen or unseen.
Rust persists.
Rust ruins,
Crumbles,
Wrecks and
Points to exits,
“The way out
Is through collapse!”
—Joseph Nolan
Rust exists,
Seen or unseen.
Rust persists.
Rust ruins,
Crumbles,
Wrecks and
Points to exits,
“The way out
Is through collapse!”
LOVE IS FOR LIFE
—Joseph Nolan
Life is for love and love, for life.
It's normal to need someone,
A husband or wife,
A devoted lover,
Another,
To share our troubles,
Happiness and needs,
So crusty shells
Must crack away
To make new room
For love to make us
Dance and sing,
Though it makes us
Also, bleed.
—Joseph Nolan
Life is for love and love, for life.
It's normal to need someone,
A husband or wife,
A devoted lover,
Another,
To share our troubles,
Happiness and needs,
So crusty shells
Must crack away
To make new room
For love to make us
Dance and sing,
Though it makes us
Also, bleed.
WHITE RAP
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
the feudal lords of Goetsch
had no flex to their approach
no more welcome than a roach
every person had a station
not the model for this nation
nor the chosen innovation
landed aristocracy
doesn’t mix with democracy
net result: hypocrisy
free elections by public consent
was our new form of government
three-ring circus under the same tent
careful balance of the power
ignoring people paid by the hour
huge gap in wealth turned many sour
we hire police for security
some fail test of maturity
right to life dwindles to obscurity
color of your skin
limits what groups you’re in
where you go, where you’ve been
you may wonder what’s ahead
people get shot dead in their bed
and we just move on, like it has no cred
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
the feudal lords of Goetsch
had no flex to their approach
no more welcome than a roach
every person had a station
not the model for this nation
nor the chosen innovation
landed aristocracy
doesn’t mix with democracy
net result: hypocrisy
free elections by public consent
was our new form of government
three-ring circus under the same tent
careful balance of the power
ignoring people paid by the hour
huge gap in wealth turned many sour
we hire police for security
some fail test of maturity
right to life dwindles to obscurity
color of your skin
limits what groups you’re in
where you go, where you’ve been
you may wonder what’s ahead
people get shot dead in their bed
and we just move on, like it has no cred
SADLY, WE ARE NOT READY
—Caschwa
Since the beginning of WWII,
a number of hostile foreign
nations were testing the limits
of our defenses in different fields
of battle.
In response, our Congress exercised
its empowerment to declare war
on 6 occasions, each passing with
a unanimous vote in the Senate.
Finally, as is well documented,
we deployed a nuclear weapon
to stop the enemy from any
further testing of our defenses.
Fortunately, we were ready.
About 80 years later comes the
Insurrection of January 6, 2021,
and the Congress, empowered by
the Constitution to raise funds and
deploy a militia to suppress such
insurrections, cannot agree to
even hold a vote, let alone take
meaningful action.
They are testing us again. Without
one shot being fired, they have taken
note that the same Congress that
was so hogtied by an insurrection that
it could do nothing at all, might also
fail to move a little finger, even if dire
circumstances dictated that they
declare war again.
The chances that we will be sternly
tested again are far too high to be
acceptable. Sadly, we are not ready.
—Caschwa
Since the beginning of WWII,
a number of hostile foreign
nations were testing the limits
of our defenses in different fields
of battle.
In response, our Congress exercised
its empowerment to declare war
on 6 occasions, each passing with
a unanimous vote in the Senate.
Finally, as is well documented,
we deployed a nuclear weapon
to stop the enemy from any
further testing of our defenses.
Fortunately, we were ready.
About 80 years later comes the
Insurrection of January 6, 2021,
and the Congress, empowered by
the Constitution to raise funds and
deploy a militia to suppress such
insurrections, cannot agree to
even hold a vote, let alone take
meaningful action.
They are testing us again. Without
one shot being fired, they have taken
note that the same Congress that
was so hogtied by an insurrection that
it could do nothing at all, might also
fail to move a little finger, even if dire
circumstances dictated that they
declare war again.
The chances that we will be sternly
tested again are far too high to be
acceptable. Sadly, we are not ready.
THE BACK OF THE MOON
—Caschwa
(following Future Shock
by Alvin Toffler)
used to be able to name
all the different car models
put out by the Big Three
not any more, not even close
can’t even pronounce some of them
and then there’s all the oceans
and all the seas, bays, and rivers—
might as well be the back of the moon,
there is no part of my brain offering that
data for easy retrieval
earlier in my lifetime, the whole state of
California had just three area codes
not any more, not even close
now it’s more like infinity
some urban areas had postal zones
replaced by Zip Codes, plus extensions
and don’t get too complacent, because
they change those around now and then
Our same old Constitution is still standing
tall with bushels of Amendments added
over the centuries; go ahead and rent a
cherry picker, you’re sure to find something
worth sharing…
_______________________
Today’s LittleNip:
AND THEN SHE SAID…
—Caschwa
while rocks on the path
memorize and retain all,
a fly on the wall
will take fastidious notes
for lovely conversations
_______________________
Thank you, sunny Monday contributors, and away we go into another week of June! Some mention of stones here, after our Seed of the Week: What These Rocks Have Seen.
Tonight, Mon. (6/14), 7:30pm: Sac. Poetry Center’s Socially Distant Verse LIVE & ONLINE presents Writing From the Inside Out Showcase at us02web.zoom.us/j/7638733462/. Meeting ID: 763 873 3462; password: r3trnofsdv/.
used to be able to name
all the different car models
put out by the Big Three
not any more, not even close
can’t even pronounce some of them
and then there’s all the oceans
and all the seas, bays, and rivers—
might as well be the back of the moon,
there is no part of my brain offering that
data for easy retrieval
earlier in my lifetime, the whole state of
California had just three area codes
not any more, not even close
now it’s more like infinity
some urban areas had postal zones
replaced by Zip Codes, plus extensions
and don’t get too complacent, because
they change those around now and then
Our same old Constitution is still standing
tall with bushels of Amendments added
over the centuries; go ahead and rent a
cherry picker, you’re sure to find something
worth sharing…
_______________________
Today’s LittleNip:
AND THEN SHE SAID…
—Caschwa
while rocks on the path
memorize and retain all,
a fly on the wall
will take fastidious notes
for lovely conversations
_______________________
Thank you, sunny Monday contributors, and away we go into another week of June! Some mention of stones here, after our Seed of the Week: What These Rocks Have Seen.
Tonight, Mon. (6/14), 7:30pm: Sac. Poetry Center’s Socially Distant Verse LIVE & ONLINE presents Writing From the Inside Out Showcase at us02web.zoom.us/j/7638733462/. Meeting ID: 763 873 3462; password: r3trnofsdv/.
On Saturday (6/19), from 5-8pm, a new monthly program will premiere in Placerville on Main Street: the Third Saturday Art Walk, featuring art, music, poetry (at the Belltower), $5-7 specials at some restaurants, and other fun stuff at local merchants. Notify El Dorado Poet Laureate Lara Gularte (larag@aol.com) if you’d like to read a poem.
Also this Saturday (6/19), 7:30pm, Sac. Poetry Alliance features D.R. Wagner reading from his new quartet, Distant Lights (Cold River Press), at 1169 Perkins Way, Sacramento—plus open mic. Host: Tim Kahl. Please bring a mask if you are not vaccinated. Facebook info: www.facebook.com/events/946413116191632/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22surface%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22create_dialog%22%7D]%7D/.
_______________________
—Medusa
_______________________
—Medusa
(Bless his little heart!)
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