Victor Kennedy
—Poetry by Victor Kennedy, a Canadian from
Scotland, currently living in Maribor, Slovenia
—Photos Courtesy of Public Domain
—Poetry by Victor Kennedy, a Canadian from
Scotland, currently living in Maribor, Slovenia
—Photos Courtesy of Public Domain
A FRANGIBLE FAIRY TALE
the fairies in the garden
flit among the bluebells
in the purple twilight
of a soft summer evening
the gentle susurration of their gossamer wings
barely audible
above the distant rumble
of approaching Russian tanks
the fairies in the garden
flit among the bluebells
in the purple twilight
of a soft summer evening
the gentle susurration of their gossamer wings
barely audible
above the distant rumble
of approaching Russian tanks
SPUTNIK
What woke me up was my mother saying
“No, Bobby, don’t wake him”
Dad lifted me up out of bed and carried me
Out to the terrace
“Look,” he said, pointing
At a bright light streaking across the sky
SHELLS
My friend is sad
Because she was rejected
I want to tell her
“Don’t worry
You’ll grow a shell so thick
That nothing can get in”
But I decide
It’s better
To keep my advice to my self
My shell
Is so thick
That nothing can get out
Maybe one day
Our shells will wash up on a beach
And someone will see them and say
“Oh look! So pretty!”
REFLECTIONS
Driving home singing along to the radio
“Hair so long and eyes so green
she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen”
“The thing I wanted most in life’s
the thing that I can’t win”
How did I manage to screw it up so bad?
I don’t need anyone to blame
I did it all by myself
If I was superstitious
I’d say I’d been cursed
Maybe I was meant to be a poet
I’ve got plenty to write about
since I mastered the art of flying crooked
The lover sees himself in the beloved’s eye
do vampires see their own reflections?
Driving home singing along to the radio
“Hair so long and eyes so green
she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen”
“The thing I wanted most in life’s
the thing that I can’t win”
How did I manage to screw it up so bad?
I don’t need anyone to blame
I did it all by myself
If I was superstitious
I’d say I’d been cursed
Maybe I was meant to be a poet
I’ve got plenty to write about
since I mastered the art of flying crooked
The lover sees himself in the beloved’s eye
do vampires see their own reflections?
Weylawey!
A CONUNDRUM
Of my country and of my family
I have little to say
But a tale of opprobrious matters
I shall here momently assay
And therefore your kindly attention
for only one moment I pray
Would I had had some encounter
with the faeries and mayhap the fay
But, alas, my life has unfolded
quotidian everyday
and notably dull and prosaic
in practically every way
Though as it is wont with mice and with men
it often did aye gang agley
But these setbacks into an existence
I managed to somehow parlay
and then when the sun came out shining forth
endeavoured somehow to make hay
Although I then did and still now do prefer
to relax, to repose, and to play
Those things that I wished to enjoy most of all
Regrettably lacked any pay
And tedious tasks that did irk me no end
Did fill up my daily in-tray
It is a truism that what I have said
I cannot now freely unsay
but against all and sundry misfortunes
I shall not here deign to inveigh
lest I be dogged by a raven
who stubbornly croaks "weylawey!"
And so, with a frown and the tears of a clown
I'll head home to town for just one more round
and raise up a glass, with the toast, "Going down!"
_____________________
Today’s LittleNip:
The happy couple
eagerly tear open the envelope,
a wedding gift
from rich old Uncle Sims,
to find
a postdated cheque
—Victor Kennedy
______________________
Originally from Scotland, Kitchen Newcomer Victor Kennedy studied guitar at Berklee School of Music, Boston; Astronomy at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia; law at York University, Toronto; and English Literature at the University of Toronto. At various times, he has eked out a living as a truck driver, lawyer, musician, scuba diving instructor, lexicographer, and English professor. He is the author of Strange Brew: Metaphors of Magic and Science in Rock Music (2013) and co-editor of Words and Music (2013); Symphony and Song (2016); Ethnic and Cultural Identity in Music and Song Lyrics (2017); Words, Music, and Gender (2020); and Words, Music, and Propaganda (in press). Welcome to the Kitchen, Victor, and don’t be a stranger!
Of my country and of my family
I have little to say
But a tale of opprobrious matters
I shall here momently assay
And therefore your kindly attention
for only one moment I pray
Would I had had some encounter
with the faeries and mayhap the fay
But, alas, my life has unfolded
quotidian everyday
and notably dull and prosaic
in practically every way
Though as it is wont with mice and with men
it often did aye gang agley
But these setbacks into an existence
I managed to somehow parlay
and then when the sun came out shining forth
endeavoured somehow to make hay
Although I then did and still now do prefer
to relax, to repose, and to play
Those things that I wished to enjoy most of all
Regrettably lacked any pay
And tedious tasks that did irk me no end
Did fill up my daily in-tray
It is a truism that what I have said
I cannot now freely unsay
but against all and sundry misfortunes
I shall not here deign to inveigh
lest I be dogged by a raven
who stubbornly croaks "weylawey!"
And so, with a frown and the tears of a clown
I'll head home to town for just one more round
and raise up a glass, with the toast, "Going down!"
_____________________
Today’s LittleNip:
The happy couple
eagerly tear open the envelope,
a wedding gift
from rich old Uncle Sims,
to find
a postdated cheque
—Victor Kennedy
______________________
Originally from Scotland, Kitchen Newcomer Victor Kennedy studied guitar at Berklee School of Music, Boston; Astronomy at James Cook University, Townsville, Australia; law at York University, Toronto; and English Literature at the University of Toronto. At various times, he has eked out a living as a truck driver, lawyer, musician, scuba diving instructor, lexicographer, and English professor. He is the author of Strange Brew: Metaphors of Magic and Science in Rock Music (2013) and co-editor of Words and Music (2013); Symphony and Song (2016); Ethnic and Cultural Identity in Music and Song Lyrics (2017); Words, Music, and Gender (2020); and Words, Music, and Propaganda (in press). Welcome to the Kitchen, Victor, and don’t be a stranger!
______________________
—Medusa, wishing our Jewish friends and SnakePals Shanah tovah on this Rosh Hashanah 2023.
Victor and Brad
A reminder that Mosaic of Voices
features Paul Aponte, Waldo Diaz and
Jackie Morales in Lodi today, and
Out the Way on J features Lauryn
in Sacramento tonight.
For info about these and other
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
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!
features Paul Aponte, Waldo Diaz and
Jackie Morales in Lodi today, and
Out the Way on J features Lauryn
in Sacramento tonight.
For info about these and other
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
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!
(A cookie from the Kitchen for today):
rumbling behemoth
rolls past every Tuesday,
gobbles up the garbage~