—Poetry by JD DeHart, Chattanooga, TN
—Photos Courtesy of Public Domain
PREDATORS ARE OFTEN SILENT
Of course, we had no idea
such teeth were set just at the boundary
of quiet tree line.
Who might have known that a hungry
force could exist as a mere shift
of darkness to light?
Such a soundless movement.
We have so many complicated
stories of assaults in cacophony,
yet damage can swiftly switch foot
to claw,
undetected.
My wife tilted with a rustle,
trying
to make sense of the change,
considering the air, looking at me
as if to say: Do you see it too?
I could only nod in July’s
amber porch glow,
before we turned back inside,
retreating to the safety of society.
Of course, we had no idea
such teeth were set just at the boundary
of quiet tree line.
Who might have known that a hungry
force could exist as a mere shift
of darkness to light?
Such a soundless movement.
We have so many complicated
stories of assaults in cacophony,
yet damage can swiftly switch foot
to claw,
undetected.
My wife tilted with a rustle,
trying
to make sense of the change,
considering the air, looking at me
as if to say: Do you see it too?
I could only nod in July’s
amber porch glow,
before we turned back inside,
retreating to the safety of society.
MARGINALIA
Now, here it is,
nestled in the ice path,
resting restless
at page’s side.
While the wide
blank field might
draw the eye,
free of lilt, unmarked,
virgin ground,
it’s a landscape
largely without contemplation.
Look instead at corners
of circumnavigation, the story
echoes from the mountain’s
sharp spaces,
often just out of sight,
spoken over,
ignored removed
a palimpsest reaching
onward, outward,
a counternarrative
ready to recenter.
How Unexpected
this new window view,
a trip to share about Salinger,
meeting Holden Caulfield
again.
this new window view,
a trip to share about Salinger,
meeting Holden Caulfield
again.
The story takes a turn,
a moment of decision, and here
I am, whispering and singing
words
on a new and yet familiar stage,
celebrating words from Zora
Beale on down to Long
Way Down,
and so will state again
a love for the written word.
DOES THE HORSE DESERVE A POEM?
What seemed like imminent death
galloped towards me.
I must have been fourteen,
thinking I knew more than
I did (probably still think that way).
Still galloping, he turned to the side
and passed gas—loudly.
Then trotted away. Anticlimactic.
Here I am talking about this
decades later, and does this moment
deserve to be preserved in poetic
form?
The horse, no doubt, is long since
passed on. I keep his legacy alive.
I saw him in the hollow,
at the neighbor’s house where
I cried at the age of twelve
because I misread country code—
threw a rock at a dog that was
chasing some deer, which I thought was
a universal action.
I can picture him now not stopping, what
might have been. Coming face to face
with barnyard rage, trampled.
When he saw that I did not run, I suppose
he decided there was no fun in it,
leaving me with only another story
to tell from the country.
Years later, I would tell my students
and some parts of this story always earned
an enthusiastic guffaw.
Perhaps, they might think, the best
story I ever told.
____________________
Today’s LittleNip:
TOO NICE
—JD DeHart
I suppose they might say,
except those few who have
whisked moments to froth.
We are travelers here one time,
so far as I know, and forestall
rather than rush to rage.
Nevertheless, backed in a corner,
I can find the bone-edge
words and deliver them,
well past the wishing
for compassion instead.
____________________
Our thanks to JD DeHart from Tennessee for his fine poetry today! We are, indeed, travelers here one time…
Tonight (Thurs., 11/10), 5-9pm: CSUS and Crocker Art Museum collaborate for U-Nite at the Crocker with readings by Brad Buchanan, Torsa Ghosal and Tim Kahl, plus Elaine Gale reading at 6:30pm. Crocker Art Museum Ballroom, 216 O St., Sacramento, CA. Info: my.crockerart.org/unite/467 AND/OR www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10226529181869692&set=a.1503501501396/. Members, children under 6 and students free; adults $15; youth (6-17) $8.
See? I warned you things can pop up at the last minute!
And a reminder that the Sacramento Poetry Center Confluence continues today with Josh Fernandez, Katy Brown, Anna Sprowl and Pat Killilea reading at Cordova Library in Rancho Cordova, CA at 6:30pm. Also tonight, Poetry Unplugged at Luna’s Cafe and Juice Bar will present featured readers and open mic. Click UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS at the top of this column for details about these and other future poetry events in the NorCal area—and keep an eye on this link and on the Kitchen for happenings that might pop up during the week.
____________________
—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—
and collaborations are welcome.
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—
and collaborations are welcome.
Just remember:
the snakes of Medusa are always hungry—
for poetry, of course!
