Egg in search of suitors
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of Joe Nolan
—Poetry by Stephen Kingsnorth,
Shiva Neupane, Joe Nolan, Sayanı Mukherjee,
and Nolcha Fox
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of Joe Nolan
—Poetry by Stephen Kingsnorth,
Shiva Neupane, Joe Nolan, Sayanı Mukherjee,
and Nolcha Fox
RENDEZVOUS
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Exotic taste if roll the tongue,
but in blank verse, still here the voice,
as ear hears whisper, reads a line
that must be burnt or eaten whole.
Is it mystique of foreign root,
a route through movie, black and white,
from French Resistance, parachutes,
to sacrifice and Croix de Guerre?
More hints of intrigue, secrecy—
what’s not put in appointment book,
or diary date, except by code,
for fear of confidence betrayed.
Why lower tone, adultery,
the tryst of lovers in the dark,
as if some sordid cover-up
of infidelity at large?
Or actual meeting of the spies,
collusion with the enemy,
dead letter drops, posts marked with chalk,
the tradecraft of a former age?
Or preset rendezvous for good,
deceit intended for the best,
sum dollar store conspiracy;
stay mum, await your thankyou gift.
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Exotic taste if roll the tongue,
but in blank verse, still here the voice,
as ear hears whisper, reads a line
that must be burnt or eaten whole.
Is it mystique of foreign root,
a route through movie, black and white,
from French Resistance, parachutes,
to sacrifice and Croix de Guerre?
More hints of intrigue, secrecy—
what’s not put in appointment book,
or diary date, except by code,
for fear of confidence betrayed.
Why lower tone, adultery,
the tryst of lovers in the dark,
as if some sordid cover-up
of infidelity at large?
Or actual meeting of the spies,
collusion with the enemy,
dead letter drops, posts marked with chalk,
the tradecraft of a former age?
Or preset rendezvous for good,
deceit intended for the best,
sum dollar store conspiracy;
stay mum, await your thankyou gift.
THE RIVER OF IGNORANCE
—Shiva Neupane, Melbourne, Australia
Indeed, belief is a drug
to aide our ignorance.
I do not need such an auxiliary
to gain mental luxury.
I enjoy rafting in the tributaries
of my curiosity.
The daunting journey to truth
what nourishes my thoughts.
I do not enjoy kayaking in the
treacherous river of ignorance.
The purpose of life may be vanished
in the river of ignorance.
—Shiva Neupane, Melbourne, Australia
Indeed, belief is a drug
to aide our ignorance.
I do not need such an auxiliary
to gain mental luxury.
I enjoy rafting in the tributaries
of my curiosity.
The daunting journey to truth
what nourishes my thoughts.
I do not enjoy kayaking in the
treacherous river of ignorance.
The purpose of life may be vanished
in the river of ignorance.
Arctic Ox
SOCIAL CONTROL
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
The moo-moos
Are all going
Baa-baa.
Each bull
Has a ring
In its nose.
They’re all
Trying to convince us,
What they were
Compelled to do,
Was something they
Freely chose.
But puppet-masters
Work through strings
They pull to get their way
And demand that
You deny it
Or else
You’ll be
Thrown away—
Replaced by another
Media star—
A brand-new
Incredible show,
They create to continue
The game they play,
Charging money
For you to go.
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA
The moo-moos
Are all going
Baa-baa.
Each bull
Has a ring
In its nose.
They’re all
Trying to convince us,
What they were
Compelled to do,
Was something they
Freely chose.
But puppet-masters
Work through strings
They pull to get their way
And demand that
You deny it
Or else
You’ll be
Thrown away—
Replaced by another
Media star—
A brand-new
Incredible show,
They create to continue
The game they play,
Charging money
For you to go.
THE LAND OF CRYSTAL MANSIONS
—Joe Nolan
In the Land of
Crystal Mansions
Stones are
Never thrown,
Lest they wreck
The things
We love.
Each one
Goes about
His dream,
As does every other,
Content
With all the beauty
That’s surrounding.
Some pled mischief
As a cause
For doing mischief, back,
But in the Land of Crystal Mansions
It was against
The Rule of Greater Beauty
Ever to attack.
We could not grow
Such crystals, huge,
As could be carved to house us
Were we to drag us in reverse,
Back to the times of stone.
CANDLE
—Sayani Mukherjee,
Chandannagar, W. Bengal, India
Games of chiaroscuro air
My open-ended soaked-sun beach
The divine judgement
Why we open up our own
Pandora's boxes
Lying everywhere
In the name of love
Just falsifying money
Stifles my inwards
I just needed
A little candle soul
To sit beside
My honeycombed style
Before it's too late
We're shooting stars
Lost revenues new avalanches
My archery of bows
I just need one pinpointed
A single lotus petal
To smoothen out
Impurities of inward crevices
My fairy shiny letters
______________________
Today’s LittleNip:
RENDEZVOUS
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
I’m rainboots splashing in your puddle.
I’m the coffee snogging your cup.
I’m the dogs romping through your garden.
I’m the clouds embracing your moon.
Our meetings are no accident.
We are destined, meant to be.
______________________
Thanks to today’s contributors, we have some hot poetry today, some of it based on our Seed of the Week, Rendezvous. Be sure to check each Tuesday for the latest Seed of the Week.
—Sayani Mukherjee,
Chandannagar, W. Bengal, India
Games of chiaroscuro air
My open-ended soaked-sun beach
The divine judgement
Why we open up our own
Pandora's boxes
Lying everywhere
In the name of love
Just falsifying money
Stifles my inwards
I just needed
A little candle soul
To sit beside
My honeycombed style
Before it's too late
We're shooting stars
Lost revenues new avalanches
My archery of bows
I just need one pinpointed
A single lotus petal
To smoothen out
Impurities of inward crevices
My fairy shiny letters
______________________
Today’s LittleNip:
RENDEZVOUS
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
I’m rainboots splashing in your puddle.
I’m the coffee snogging your cup.
I’m the dogs romping through your garden.
I’m the clouds embracing your moon.
Our meetings are no accident.
We are destined, meant to be.
______________________
Thanks to today’s contributors, we have some hot poetry today, some of it based on our Seed of the Week, Rendezvous. Be sure to check each Tuesday for the latest Seed of the Week.
Coming up on Friday, Oct. 13, Winters Theatre Co. and Winters Friends of the Library present Lit Fest 1: Storytelling and Poetry. Submissions: A story between 4-6 min. long or a poem no longer than 4 min. long (as read). Free; 16 yrs. of age and older. Margaret Parsons Room, Winters Community Library, 708 Railroad Av., Winters, CA. Info: Info: https://www.winterstheatre.org/lit-fest-1/. Guidelines: https://www.winterstheatre.org/lit-fest/. Contact person: Janene Whitesell, WTC (janene.whitesell@gmail.com/). Deadline is coming up soon—it's Sept. 24.
This week, NorCal poetry features read-arounds, readings, open mics, workshops, and two and a poetry fest in Modesto. Click on Medusa's UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS (http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html) 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.
Some future events to take note of: The 30th Annual Dancing Poetry Festival in Kensington on Sept. 30; a VOICES 2023 reading in Locke on Oct. 14; a Capturing Wakamatsu workshop in Placerville on Oct. 22; and a celebration of Sacramento Poetry Day in Sacramento on Oct. 24. Plus, Calif. Poet Laureate Lee Herrick will read at the Sac. Poetry Center on Friday, Nov. 3. There will be many other happenings, of course—this is just to name a few. Lucky we are in this area, hotbed of good poetry events that it is!
______________________
—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!
(A cookie from the Kitchen for today):
Rumpelstiltskin
has cast his
autumn gold
over the foothills
again this year~