Clear Shot Into Autumn

 

 

—Poetry and Photos by Taylor Graham, Placerville, CA

—And scroll down for Form Fiddlers’ Friday!!

 

THE PIT STOP

Spark plugs failing, too far from home to walk;
a fixit shop in rusty-age’s best.
Car jolted to a stop. No need to talk,


his sleeves rolled up and snap-to-duty pressed,


he plugged the sparks back into place, and snug.
What did I owe him? Hands like birds disbursed
the question into August heat, like jug


of water lifted to the lips in thirst.


My little hatchback, windows wide, and pert


for on-the-road-again. AC below
its notice. Every surface kin to dirt
and doghair, riding with the natural flow.
He grinned godspeed, hands empty but profuse

with simple blessings of no spark plugs loose.

 

 

 

 

 

CLEAR CONTENTMENT

On the road to Shingle Springs
how the blue sky clearly sings
the smoke is gone, it no more stings
and the schoolyard slides and swings.

 

 

 

Look hard for the egret!

 

ALBA, EGRET

By early September light
a tall candle white as dawn
among the lakeside shadow—
it lifts, flying low then gone.

 

 

 

 

 

TODAY’S ASSIGNMENT

O monostichs and limericks—
you say at best they’re verbal tricks
but just catch the beat
in the soles of your feet
and see how the word-itching sticks.

 

 

 

 

CODE OF CONTENTMENT   

We broke out of willow thicket
to get bogged down in wet meadow,
feet in mud, knees adrift in flowers.
Lenticular clouds held above the summit,
sea-smoothed in tides of wind.
In a stream bend, a pool caught snowmelt,
blue lens reflecting lodgepole
upside down as in a mirror.
Where would we find the code to let
us out of this place?
Why would we want to?

 

 

 

 

 

STOREHOUSE

This fall of acorns like the beat of Autumn drums—
can enough ever be enough when Winter comes?

 

 

 

—Photo Credit Shared with Lara Gularte

 

Today’s LittleNip:

‘TIS THE SEASON
—Taylor Graham

A woodpecker, heeding the call
of Winter on breezes of Fall,
unburdened bare ground
of acorns he found,
and loudly fussed, I want them all!

_______________________

Our thanks to Taylor Graham today for a fine passel of poems and photos! The photos are mostly from Wakamatsu Farm, where Taylor and Katy Brown held another in their series of workshops last weekend. Watch for another in a couple of months.

In addition to addressing Medusa’s Seed of the Week (“Contentment”), TG has sent her poems in many forms: a Sonnet (The Pit Stop); an Englyn Proest variant (“Clear Contentment”); an Alexandrine Couplet (“Storehouse”); a Limerick (“Today's Assignment” & “’Tis the Season”); a Word-Can Poem (“Code of Contentment”); and a Welsh form, the Awdl Gywydd, last Friday’s Fiddlers’ Challenge (“Alba, Egret”). She says, “Limericks are like Double Dactyls—once you get the beat in your head you can't stop…”

And now it’s time for . . .

FORM FIDDLERS’ FRIDAY! 

 

It’s time for more contributions from Form Fiddlers, in addition to those sent to us by Taylor Graham! Each Friday for awhile, there will be poems posted here from some of our readers using forms—either ones which were mentioned on Medusa during the previous week, or whatever else floats through the Kitchen and the perpetually stoned mind of Medusa. If these instructions are vague, it's because they're meant to be. Just fiddle around with some forms and get them posted in the Kitchen, by golly! (See Medusa’s Form Finder at the end of this post for links to definitions of the forms used this week.)

[Somebody better tell that grasshopper to get to work—winter's on its way!]

Here is a beautiful Quatrain from Joyce Odam in iambic pentameter. We could almost call it a List poem:

CONTENTS     

—Joyce Odam, Sacramento, CA 

 

A cameo brooch in its snap-tight velvet box;

a string of yellowing pearls; a folded chiffon
purple scarf; an envelope with hair inside; and
a still-fragrant, old sachet, of faintest lavender.

 

Joyce also sent us a fine, fine Canopus Stanza. As with all form poems, it doesn’t hurt to read it out loud to get the full effect:


HEART-EASE     

—Joyce Odam

Brooding into silence, you withdraw.
An hour into winter—and you feel
something in the mind begin to gnaw—
something that the heart begs to reveal.
Wet shadows stream against the windowpane.
You let the mind and heart begin to heal.
You sit and watch. You listen to the rain.

 

 

 

 

 

Also sending us form poems this week is Caschwa (Carl Schwartz). About his first one, he says, “Here is my attempt at an Awdl Gywydd, based on watching Thursday’s Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which featured Fleetwood Mac’s headliner, Lindsey Buckingham. I snuck a peek at Turco* to clarify that Robert Lee Brewer’s oversimplified description of “rhyme with the 3rd-5th syllable” actually meant syllables 3, 4, or 5.” I agree that Brewer was unclear in that regard, and thank you, Caschwa, for clarifying it. The Turco that Carl is referring to is Lewis Turco:

*For information about Lewis Turco, go to:
•••Biography: www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/lewis-turco
•••To purchase (be sure to get 2020 edition): www.amazon.com/Book-Forms-Handbook-Poetics-Fifth/dp/0826361889/.

 

So here is Carl’s Awdl Gywydd:

 

MUSICAL PUZZLE PIECE

—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

late last night, early this morn
rock band with no horn fronted
a twelve-string guitar which was
odd because how it sounded

in among amplifiers
shoes in clothes dryer create
acoustics quite audible,
the tug and pull of our fate

a hollowed wood instrument
granted consent to join with
ear-popping, high decibels
huge anvils of the blacksmith

* * *
 

Carl also sent us two List poems:

SERIOUSLY
—Caschwa

Garry Shandling’s vacuum cleaner
Pat Paulsen’s speaking out of both sides of his mouth
Jack Benny’s pregnant pause
Gilda Radner’s positioning
Johnny Carson’s comebacks
Soupy Sales’ outtakes
Ernie Kovacs’ spontaneity

* * *

I KNOW HOW TO DANCE

—Caschwa

I. That’s my foot
II. That’s my other foot
III. move them
IV. while moving something else
V. it doesn’t really matter
VI. people will see motion
VII. some will try to copy
VIII. they’ll give it a name
IX. everyone is happy
X. just keep moving…
XI. …something
XII. you got it!

__________________

Many thanks to our SnakePals for their brave fiddling! Would you like to be a SnakePal? All you have to do is send poetry—forms or not—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!

__________________

FIDDLERS’ CHALLENGE!  

See what you can make of this week’s poetry form, and send it to kathykieth@hotmail.com! (No deadline.) This week's challenge:
 

Double Dactyl: www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/double-dactyl  [Don’t blame me—TG started it~ See her mention of the Double Dactyl, above.]

__________________

MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry forms mentioned today:

•••Alexandrine Couplet: www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms?category=209
•••Awdl Gywydd: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/awdl-gywydd-poetic-forms
•••Canopus: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/forums/topic/1199-metric-forms-from-pathways-for-the-poet
•••Double Dactyl: www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/double-dactyl
•••Englyn Proest Dalgron: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/englyn-proest-dalgron-poetic-forms
•••List Poem: clpe.org.uk/poetryline/poeticforms/list-poem
•••Limerick: poets.org/glossary/limerick
•••Quatrain: www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-a-quatrain-in-poetry-quatrain-definition-with-examples#quiz-0
•••Sonnet Forms: blog.prepscholar.com/what-is-a-sonnet-poem-form
•••Word-Can Poem: putting random words on slips of paper into a can, then drawing out a few and making a poem out of them.

______________________

—Medusa

 

 

 

—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of

Joseph Nolan, Stockton, CA

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.