—Poetry by Ann Privateer, Caschwa (Carl Schwartz),
Michael Ceraolo, Joseph Nolan
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of Joseph Nolan
IN A MOMENT
—Ann Privateer, Davis, CA
The music of fruit
Resonates
in a U-verse of song
Peaches perched
On high, broad patterns
Small shy strokes
Envelope the senses
With fragrance
That soars, apples too
Like colorful dreams
That fly away then return
When least expected
To sing their own sweet song.
—Ann Privateer, Davis, CA
The music of fruit
Resonates
in a U-verse of song
Peaches perched
On high, broad patterns
Small shy strokes
Envelope the senses
With fragrance
That soars, apples too
Like colorful dreams
That fly away then return
When least expected
To sing their own sweet song.
GROWING FOOD
—Ann Privateer
Where do blue skies hide
When rain fills the day
They cry sobs of joy
For blue berries and seeds
Then morning light appears
New leafiness by evening
Skid to resume anew.
—Ann Privateer
Where do blue skies hide
When rain fills the day
They cry sobs of joy
For blue berries and seeds
Then morning light appears
New leafiness by evening
Skid to resume anew.
SHAPES
—Ann Privateer
Jagged or broken
Round or elongated
Detached from the main
Dangling root systems
Growing intimate
With soil and the slope
Of things to be harvested
Tomorrow, lush colors
Curvaceous chugging
Tastefully, valued
By people that breathe.
—Ann Privateer
Jagged or broken
Round or elongated
Detached from the main
Dangling root systems
Growing intimate
With soil and the slope
Of things to be harvested
Tomorrow, lush colors
Curvaceous chugging
Tastefully, valued
By people that breathe.
THE DROUGHT MADE ME DO IT
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
plastic container from
agave nectar could be
melted down and recycled
if only there weren’t bits of
the material sticking to the
inside and outside of the
container, and we are
graded on cleanliness
the simple solution would
be to soak the container in
hot water……..but NO!!
there is an acute water
shortage, plus we can’t
just tap into energy sources
to make the water hot any
old time of day or night
without facing a severe
monetary penalty
we could put blinds on
all the windows like we
were running big machines
that print counterfeit currency
but they are watching the
meters with drones, satellites,
UFO’s, G-men of all types,
watching us all the time to
make sure we are not
expending too much energy
or using too much water
so we will not recycle that
container, it goes right in
the trash bin headed for
the landfill. done deal.
did what we could
no regrets
goodbye
junk
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
plastic container from
agave nectar could be
melted down and recycled
if only there weren’t bits of
the material sticking to the
inside and outside of the
container, and we are
graded on cleanliness
the simple solution would
be to soak the container in
hot water……..but NO!!
there is an acute water
shortage, plus we can’t
just tap into energy sources
to make the water hot any
old time of day or night
without facing a severe
monetary penalty
we could put blinds on
all the windows like we
were running big machines
that print counterfeit currency
but they are watching the
meters with drones, satellites,
UFO’s, G-men of all types,
watching us all the time to
make sure we are not
expending too much energy
or using too much water
so we will not recycle that
container, it goes right in
the trash bin headed for
the landfill. done deal.
did what we could
no regrets
goodbye
junk
KA-CHING!!
—Caschwa
Ka-ching!! Ring up those sales, don’t wait for safety checks to be as thorough as best practices would indicate, because the buying public has become comfortable with mass recalls. So roll out that new automobile product and let public roadways and highways be the proving ground for your tires, air bags, transmissions, etc.
Neither should you expend valuable business resources on doing all the work to test food items, when you can release them to the general public right now and let consumers use their own digestive systems and allergy response mechanisms to highlight where more testing is needed.
Go ahead and build those housing and office structures as fast as you can and get buyers to sign up pronto on the dotted line before all that mandatory testing has been conducted and completed.
Will the survivors of dead consumers sue the company? Sure, but if the company starts collecting revenue from sales sooner than later, there will already be capital on hand to issue payments for negotiated settlements, which is all in all less expensive than to conduct truly thorough safety checks.
The system is already set up to rank business health and growth above consumer safety issues. So take heed, it is going to keep going on just this way until we are willing to change everything.
we buy seeds of dreams
in expensive tapestries
then just hope and pray
—Caschwa
Ka-ching!! Ring up those sales, don’t wait for safety checks to be as thorough as best practices would indicate, because the buying public has become comfortable with mass recalls. So roll out that new automobile product and let public roadways and highways be the proving ground for your tires, air bags, transmissions, etc.
Neither should you expend valuable business resources on doing all the work to test food items, when you can release them to the general public right now and let consumers use their own digestive systems and allergy response mechanisms to highlight where more testing is needed.
Go ahead and build those housing and office structures as fast as you can and get buyers to sign up pronto on the dotted line before all that mandatory testing has been conducted and completed.
Will the survivors of dead consumers sue the company? Sure, but if the company starts collecting revenue from sales sooner than later, there will already be capital on hand to issue payments for negotiated settlements, which is all in all less expensive than to conduct truly thorough safety checks.
The system is already set up to rank business health and growth above consumer safety issues. So take heed, it is going to keep going on just this way until we are willing to change everything.
we buy seeds of dreams
in expensive tapestries
then just hope and pray
OH DEAR GOD, NO
—Caschwa
what if the job of designing
automobile dashboards was
turned over to meteorologists?
instead of a gauge to tell the
driver how full the gas tank is,
there would be some instrument
using oversized letters “H” and “L”
to portray in graphic detail just
how much pressure is in the fuel
line, and then there’s a commercial
no more numbers, your speed of
travel would be captured by a
satellite image portraying the speck
of your vehicle inching its way across
the continent
and don’t bother reaching for any of
those state-of-the-art fire extinguishers
you had on hand in your vehicle, they
would now be replaced by discount store
umbrellas, just to keep you ready, just in
case
tired of idiot lights? gotcha covered,
radiant, colorful, BREAKING NEWS!
holograms will fill the passenger area
of your car, accompanied by surround-
sound fanfares, while a panel of top
technicians will only say those magic,
three words: “This just in” and then yield
way to another voice recounting the
darkness of a local team’s sudden,
devastating defeat
—Caschwa
what if the job of designing
automobile dashboards was
turned over to meteorologists?
instead of a gauge to tell the
driver how full the gas tank is,
there would be some instrument
using oversized letters “H” and “L”
to portray in graphic detail just
how much pressure is in the fuel
line, and then there’s a commercial
no more numbers, your speed of
travel would be captured by a
satellite image portraying the speck
of your vehicle inching its way across
the continent
and don’t bother reaching for any of
those state-of-the-art fire extinguishers
you had on hand in your vehicle, they
would now be replaced by discount store
umbrellas, just to keep you ready, just in
case
tired of idiot lights? gotcha covered,
radiant, colorful, BREAKING NEWS!
holograms will fill the passenger area
of your car, accompanied by surround-
sound fanfares, while a panel of top
technicians will only say those magic,
three words: “This just in” and then yield
way to another voice recounting the
darkness of a local team’s sudden,
devastating defeat
TWO POEMS FROM DUGOUT ANTHOLOGY
—A Poetry Collection by Michael Ceraolo, S. Euclid, OH
Early Wynn
I liked to dress well and go out and have a good time,
but on the field I was all business
To illustrate my competitiveness,
it was written that I said I would knock down mother or grandmother
if they dug in at the plate or hit it back up the middle
I never pitched against mother or grandmother,
but after my son Joe Early had graduated
he batted against me in spring training
after I had been traded to the White Sox
He went up the middle against me,
and I knocked him down on the next pitch
* * *
Charlie Gehringer
I think it was Lefty Gomez
who gave me the nickname The Mechanical Man,
which was funny as you would expect from Lefty,
but it ignored all my hard work,
the real secret of my success:
I tried to never stop improving on and off the field
I had that same philosophy after I retired from the game
My name would get me in the door,
but, once in, I worked hard to show I belonged
—A Poetry Collection by Michael Ceraolo, S. Euclid, OH
Early Wynn
I liked to dress well and go out and have a good time,
but on the field I was all business
To illustrate my competitiveness,
it was written that I said I would knock down mother or grandmother
if they dug in at the plate or hit it back up the middle
I never pitched against mother or grandmother,
but after my son Joe Early had graduated
he batted against me in spring training
after I had been traded to the White Sox
He went up the middle against me,
and I knocked him down on the next pitch
* * *
Charlie Gehringer
I think it was Lefty Gomez
who gave me the nickname The Mechanical Man,
which was funny as you would expect from Lefty,
but it ignored all my hard work,
the real secret of my success:
I tried to never stop improving on and off the field
I had that same philosophy after I retired from the game
My name would get me in the door,
but, once in, I worked hard to show I belonged
Today’s LongerNip:
OUR LIVES TOGETHER
—Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA
Don't play dumb with me.
You know what I mean.
I am inside you.
You are inside me.
We float through
Each other's dreams,
Capriciously.
Oftentimes,
We will not say
What we know
Or feel, today,
Or worry for
Tomorrow.
We take things
As they come,
As they fall apart
Or drift away.
Sometimes,
There's nothing
We could say,
Since we both know,
Already.
What is there
For us to do,
Such as we,
We two—
Planted here, together,
On this glade,
Our lives, together—
The lives that
We have made?
______________________
Our thanks to today’s contributors of poetry and pix! ’Tis the season of emerging fruit and vegetable wonders, and we are all thankful for it.
Next Saturday (7/10), 7:30pm, Sacramento Poetry Alliance presents Sue Daly and Lara Gularte, plus open mic at 1169 Perkins Way, Sacramento. Host: Tim Kahl. Please bring a mask if you are not vaccinated. Info: www.facebook.com/events/494883881573699/.
______________________
—Medusa
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
photos and artwork to
kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
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!
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
photos and artwork to
kathykieth@hotmail.com. We post
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!
