—Poetry and Photos by Taylor Graham,
Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down for
Form Fiddlers’ Friday!!
DIMINISHING OCTAVE
Spotlight on the white dog leaping
thru an ever-moving hoop,
vine-twining a walking
lady’s legs; dancing
on its hind paws—
almost makes me
forget there’s
a
dark world
beyond this
bright enchanted
circle of circus.
Out there where my own dog
waits to guide me thru unlit
spaces of peril and wonder.
Spotlight on the white dog leaping
thru an ever-moving hoop,
vine-twining a walking
lady’s legs; dancing
on its hind paws—
almost makes me
forget there’s
a
dark world
beyond this
bright enchanted
circle of circus.
Out there where my own dog
waits to guide me thru unlit
spaces of peril and wonder.
WOODSTOVE MORNING
Every day of this December
it seems the household lights grow
dimmer even as the sun climbs
announcing a shortened morning.
It seems the household lights grow
feeble in this home that feels
its age in subfloor, stud and socket;
dimmer even as the sun climbs,
sparkling frost on field and pasture,
and the first birds seek our feeder,
announcing a shortened morning.
Scoop ashes. Tinder, kindling.
Strike a match, light up the darkness.
Every day of this December
it seems the household lights grow
dimmer even as the sun climbs
announcing a shortened morning.
It seems the household lights grow
feeble in this home that feels
its age in subfloor, stud and socket;
dimmer even as the sun climbs,
sparkling frost on field and pasture,
and the first birds seek our feeder,
announcing a shortened morning.
Scoop ashes. Tinder, kindling.
Strike a match, light up the darkness.
THOUGHTS FOR A WOODSTOVE
Golden Shovel on a line from Esther Popel’s “Theft”
A flame red-purple in the woodstove is forever begging.
Hours breaking oak branches over the knee, sawing, heaping them.
After flame, embers red among ash—where are trees going to?
Quaint ways of speech, a remembered farmhouse, so the phrases go.
House so cold around its edges, shut-off rooms, the hearth is home.
“Make it do or go without,” words to live by, without or with.
She sewed her own, plain not flashy, no flaming colors for her.
WHOLE-HEARTED
for Caleb
six hours he worked—axe
hefting into dead oak left
lying as useless
strokes rhythmic as days
months years of drought or downpour
splitting rings of time
heaps of golden wood-
flesh fallen as from heaven
from untiring arms
kneeling at woodstove
in the cold, dark hearth-corner
I crumple old news—
tinder, kindling—light the match
split oak holds a warming flame
OLD-TIMER KERF
Kerf: 1. a slit made by cutting with a saw. 2. the cut end of a felled tree.
Blade’s edge shows us a life—
old log house that wasn’t thatched
but sturdy so a growing heart could thrive.
Handy with axe and knife,
broken things fixed not just patched.
The fields around were humming like a hive.
Trips to town in his truck
but long-time hours on a horse,
mending fences, just doing to survive,
at peace. What bountied luck
(if weather is luck) life’s course.
Count the tree rings, measure a man alive.
Kerf: 1. a slit made by cutting with a saw. 2. the cut end of a felled tree.
Blade’s edge shows us a life—
old log house that wasn’t thatched
but sturdy so a growing heart could thrive.
Handy with axe and knife,
broken things fixed not just patched.
The fields around were humming like a hive.
Trips to town in his truck
but long-time hours on a horse,
mending fences, just doing to survive,
at peace. What bountied luck
(if weather is luck) life’s course.
Count the tree rings, measure a man alive.
THE MUSE’S COUCH
Not that I’ve ever caught her there—where
have I ever caught her? She’s always
on the move. But there it is, boulder-
couch all plush with moss and lustrous green
in praise of latest rain and this day’s
illuminating sun. A place for
Muse to lay herself at ease, free as
verse, a personal meditation
space to contemplate the heavens framed
by boughs of oak all lush with leaf or
bare to weather which becomes the Muse.
Today’s LittleNip:
DECEMBER GIFT
—Taylor Graham
This frigid morning
frost-flowers by the doorstep
silver in sunlight.
DECEMBER GIFT
—Taylor Graham
This frigid morning
frost-flowers by the doorstep
silver in sunlight.
__________________
Taylor Graham has lit up the darkness for us today with her poetry and photos, and many thanks to her for that! The varied selection of forms she has used include a Trimeric (“Woodstove Morning”); a Mirror Octet (“Diminishing Octave”); Normative Syllabics (“The Muse's Couch”); a Haiku Sonnet (“Whole-Hearted”); a Haiku (“December Gift”); a Monoku / Golden Shovel (“Thoughts for a Woodstove”), and a Kerf (“Old-Timer Kerf”). The Kerf and the Monoku were two of last week’s Triple-F Challenges, and “Lighting Up The Darkness” was our Tuesday Seed of the Week.
I’ve tidied up our “Hot Links” section in the lower box on the right of this column, and have begun to add links of interest again. This week, I stumbled upon The Japan Society’s Haiku Corner at www.japansociety.org.uk/?pg=haiku-corner&fbclid=IwAR1STcdx7gTnUlIoHxYWdg3m8lR8ZcEfv6NEAIaWbn4E7RYl55x-kVOX4RY#a/. Check it out!
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, there will be poems posted here from our readers using forms—either ones which were sent to 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 challenges. Whaddaya got to lose… If you send ‘em, I’ll post ‘em! (See Medusa’s Form Finder at the end of this post for resources and for links to poetry terms used in today’s post.)
There’s also a newly dusted-off page at the top of Medusa’s Kitchen called, “FORMS! OMG!!!” which expresses some of my (take ‘em or leave 'em) opinions about the use of forms in poetry writing, as well as listing some more resources to help you navigate through Form Quicksand. Got any more resources to add to our list? Send them to kathykieth@hotmail.com for the benefit of all man/woman/poetkind!
Last Week’s Ekphrastic Challenge
Here are some poems written about last week’s Ekphrastic Challenge:
He was captivated
by her fruit blue eyes,
the sunlight squeezing
juicy orange sweet
from her red hair.
Before they finished
their blueberry vodka
lemonades, he was
punch drunk in love.
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
* * *
SUNNY SIDE
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Blue, orange, complementary,
if that’s your taste from colour wheel;
is that why many eateries
have chosen words for logo, name?
From Tangiers, a Moroccan crop,
the tangerines reach season’s peak,
yet first drop, Christmas stocking hose,
though who ate fruit when sugar mouse?
Best marmalade yet thick-cut jar,
from Orangery, child at Kew,
tinned mandarin for Sunday tea,
satsumas, then, fresh, fruit bowl ware.
Easy peelers from Jaffa’s rôle
may speak of coppers, fast-food chain,
segments or slices, squashed or crushed,
once pith, pips, stripped, a drink with bits.
For blueberries a recent guest
outpricing Clements, swingeing rhymes
of lemons, and the city chimes,
a fruitful guide to London’s bells.
Those berries, boys in blue again,
by vibrant orange, dodger hue,
a superfood, told magic too,
so nibble antioxidants.
Dusted with bloom, they feel untouched,
which largely true till pond influx;
while all so good, and welcome break,
give me a plate of ham and eggs.
* * *
THINK ABOUT IT
—Caschwa (Carl Schwartz), Sacramento, CA
all of life is choices
and all your choices
amount to this:
whole or sliced
food, news, speech
everything else
hand on Bible — whole
detail-oriented — sliced
wedding vows — whole
prenuptial agreement — sliced
new car smell — whole
on-time payments — sliced
rule of law — whole
enforcement strategies — sliced
favorite team — whole
stadium seating — sliced
* * *
Carl has also sent us a Monoku, another one of last Friday’s challenges. The Monoku is astonishingly similar to the Golden Shovel, as Taylor Graham has demonstrated with her "Thoughts for a Woodstove" [see above]:
BEFORE BREAKFAST
—Caschwa
indiscernible sounds and vibrations bookend sleep
***
—Caschwa
indiscernible sounds and vibrations bookend sleep
***
two feet, eroded by pumice and age, gently touch the floor
***
random pots and pans and dishware fall into place
***
aroma of fresh coffee brewing carves out an agenda
***
the TV news is a cow, unabashedly chewing cud while we gather ‘round to watch
* * *
Here is a kool Kerf from Kaschwa:
GARDEN GIFTS
—Caschwa
some of our memories
savor moments of extreme
satisfaction and rewarding outcome
these will make good stories
rising up to be the crème
of the crop, things we’ll share as a twosome
when others leave the room
and we can spark joy with our
happy happenstances, even if dumb
no hint at all of doom
just a magical flower
frozen in awe by a hummingbird’s hum
* * *
Claire Baker used one of her forms, a Stepping Stones, to write about our Tuesday Seed of the Week, “Lighting Up The Darkness”:
—Caschwa
some of our memories
savor moments of extreme
satisfaction and rewarding outcome
these will make good stories
rising up to be the crème
of the crop, things we’ll share as a twosome
when others leave the room
and we can spark joy with our
happy happenstances, even if dumb
no hint at all of doom
just a magical flower
frozen in awe by a hummingbird’s hum
* * *
Claire Baker used one of her forms, a Stepping Stones, to write about our Tuesday Seed of the Week, “Lighting Up The Darkness”:
LIGHTNING IN THE DARK
—Claire J. Baker, Pinole, CA
Forked
lightning
jolts night sky,
five bare maples,
slow sap electric—
magnetized silhouettes.
* * *
—Claire J. Baker, Pinole, CA
Forked
lightning
jolts night sky,
five bare maples,
slow sap electric—
magnetized silhouettes.
* * *
And here is an Ars Poetica from Stephen Kingsnorth. Poetry books are, after all, bound sound:
BOUND SOUND
—Stephen Kingsnorth
The words out there, secret poets,
not deceit, just never shared;
almost a journal, personal page,
self-exposure, searchlight scared.
Sometimes textbook wired for sound,
sometimes noises written down,
read and hear to understand,
play the fool and maybe clown.
I watch the film composer talk—
so much involved, though never trace;
I hear, recall, but know not whence
it came or which its home, its place.
Wrapper round the printed sheet,
few leather-bound in other age,
or perhaps rapper follow beat,
wisest words can sound from sage.
___________________
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!
___________________
TRIPLE-F CHALLENGES
—Stephen Kingsnorth
The words out there, secret poets,
not deceit, just never shared;
almost a journal, personal page,
self-exposure, searchlight scared.
Sometimes textbook wired for sound,
sometimes noises written down,
read and hear to understand,
play the fool and maybe clown.
I watch the film composer talk—
so much involved, though never trace;
I hear, recall, but know not whence
it came or which its home, its place.
Wrapper round the printed sheet,
few leather-bound in other age,
or perhaps rapper follow beat,
wisest words can sound from sage.
___________________
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!
___________________
TRIPLE-F CHALLENGES
See what you can make of this week’s poetry forms, and send them to kathykieth@hotmail.com! (No deadline.) How about a Duodora:•••Duodora: from Viola Berg’s book, Pathways for the Poet: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
AND/OR in the same resource, scroll down to a form with a lovely name that has just seven lines, the Lyrette. (By “strong word”, I think they just mean, e.g., no ifs, ands, or buts):
•••Lyrette: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
AND/OR the wee Marianne, even smaller, with just five lines:
•••Marianne: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••See also the bottom of this post for another challenge, this one an Ekphrastic photo.
•••And don’t forget each Tuesday’s Seed of the Week! This week it’s “Bells”.
____________________
MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry terms mentioned today:
•••Ars Poetica: www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/ars-poetica
•••Duodora: from Viola Berg’s book, Pathways for the Poet: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Ekphrastic Poem: notesofoak.com/discover-literature/ekphrastic-poetry
•••Golden Shovel: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/golden-shovel-poetic-form
•••Haiku: www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html
•••Haiku Sonnet (four Haiku followed by two lines of seven syllables each): www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/haiku-sonnet-poetic-form
•••Kerf: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Lyrette: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Marianne: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Monoku: https://www.waleshaikujournal.com/post/monoku
•••Normative Syllabics: hellopoetry.com/collection/108/normative-syllabic-free-verse AND/OR lewisturco.typepad.com/poetics/normative-syllabic-verse
•••Stepping Stones (Claire J. Baker): Syllables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
•••Trimeric: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/trimeric-poetic-form
For more about meter, see:
•••www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-iambic-pentameter-definition-literature
•••www.pandorapost.com/2021/05/examples-of-iambic-pentameter-tetrameter-and-trimeter-in-poetry.html
•••nosweatshakespeare.com/sonnets/iambic-pentameter
•••www.thoughtco.com/introducing-iambic-pentameter-2985082
•••www.nfi.edu/iambic-pentameter
____________________
—Medusa
See what you can make of the above
photo, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
***
—Photo Courtesy of Public Domain
For upcoming poetry happenings in
Northern California and otherwheres,
click on
UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS
(http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html)
in the links at the top of this page.
Photos in this column can be enlarged by
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