—Poetry and Photos by Taylor Graham,
Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down to
Form Fiddlers’ Friday for poetry by
Caschwa, Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
and Joyce Odam
—And then scroll down to
Form Fiddlers’ Friday for poetry by
Caschwa, Nolcha Fox, Stephen Kingsnorth,
and Joyce Odam
FIST OF BLACK OAK
The woodsman left a round of black oak
too long for my woodstove, too big
for my chainsaw to handle. Three years
later I find a fist bursting thru the kerf
with no regard for a tree’s careful record
in rings—drought years and seasons
lavish with rain. This morning the fist is squeezing lemon pudding—
or maybe it’s yellow-brain goop—
out of the trunk. I consult the fungus app
on my phone; Laetiporous gilbertsonii.
I’ve seen it before. But not like this,
not like an angry hand making a statement.
The woodsman left a round of black oak
too long for my woodstove, too big
for my chainsaw to handle. Three years
later I find a fist bursting thru the kerf
with no regard for a tree’s careful record
in rings—drought years and seasons
lavish with rain. This morning the fist is squeezing lemon pudding—
or maybe it’s yellow-brain goop—
out of the trunk. I consult the fungus app
on my phone; Laetiporous gilbertsonii.
I’ve seen it before. But not like this,
not like an angry hand making a statement.
WALK OFF THE MONKEY
News from Gaza, Ukraine, indicted former commander on rampage to be the future, and even last night’s dream of cloned infant transformed to frog to be eaten as sacrifice? or a fairytale ending? Load dog in car, scrape windshield, drive to trailhead. Open air. Dawn breaks the dark but not the silence; breaks monkey mind. Start walking. Flowers gone except star-thistle, everlasting, coyote-bush just budding out for winter bees. Around a bend in trail, sunup finds its way thru cell towers and transmission lines.
Sun touches autumn
leaves with gold, saffron, amber—
morning’s daily news
NO HANDS WAVING
I had to scrape the windshield to get here
and now the few walkers I meet are warm-
capped, hands-in-pockets no one waving but
smiles on every face. It’s good to brave
the brink of winter as we must today,
and walking stirs the blood & straight ahead
sun lighting autumn trees. A lovely day!
HANDS FOR KEEPING NOTES
on trail,
my brain’s amanuensis to recall
the scene: yellow
cottonwood heart-leaves
green of willow
mullein’s giant fuzzy jade rosettes
&—straight ahead
doe
startled at point
where RR track x’s 2-lane
at 1-way bridge 90-deg curve
slows everybody down but
doe darting S an instant—bolting N
which way? RR & chipseal & cyclone fence
materials-yard & scruffy woods—
she’s gone.
PROOF FOR DOUBT
I think, by size and depth and shape,
it must be bear who left this print
in mud. I have no measure-tape.
I think: by size and depth and shape
and how the hairs lift off my nape
of neck, an eerie sort of hint.
I think, by size and depth and shape
it must be bear who left this print.
TOILET TRIOLET
The trusted King’s Groom of the Stool
was privy to secrets discreet—
advisor and wiper, no fool,
the trusted King’s Groom of the Stool.
He knew things that weren’t taught in school,
the out-comes of what royals eat.
The trusted King’s Groom of the Stool
was privy to secrets discreet.
The trusted King’s Groom of the Stool
was privy to secrets discreet—
advisor and wiper, no fool,
the trusted King’s Groom of the Stool.
He knew things that weren’t taught in school,
the out-comes of what royals eat.
The trusted King’s Groom of the Stool
was privy to secrets discreet.
*See https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/king-toilet-attendant-england for info about the Groom of the Stool.
Today’s LittleNip:
OUTSIDE THE SCHOOLYARD
—Taylor Graham
Math workbook pages
discarded on leaf-fall ground
for the wind to solve.
___________________
Good morning from the foothills, as Taylor Graham tells more tales of walking exploits and autumn adventures! Forms she has used this week include a Haiku (“Outside the Schoolyard”); a Haibun (“Walk Off the Monkey”); some Blank Verse (“No Hands Waving”); two Triolets (“Proof for Doubt” & “Toilet Triolet”)—the latter is obviously a Toilet Poem. The Triolet and the Toilet Poem were last week’s Triple-F Challenges.
El Dorado County poetry starts Monday morning with a Poetry in Motion read-around in Placerville, and on Sunday afternoon in Camino, El Dorado County Poet Laureate Stephen Meadows will read with Rina Wakefield, celebrating Native American Heritage Month. For details about these events, and news about El Dorado County poetry, past (photos!) and future, see Taylor Graham’s Western Slope El Dorado on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ElDoradoCountyPoetry/.
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 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 Photo
Last week, we received responses to last week’s Ekphrastic photo from Caschwa, Nolcha Fox, and two from Stephen Kingsnorth:
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
nice weather invites
some outdoor activity
choice of a lawnmower
powered by fossil fuel,
or knowing the ropes
powered by the wind
the lawn is quite happy
to grow a little more, the
sailing boat pulls at its
constraints like a bronco
* * *
BAR BOATS
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
She floated into the bar, jasmine perfume sailing in the air-conditioned breeze. Her velvet gown rippled as she struggled with her mink stole. Rowdy truck drivers, suddenly refined, ran to the door to help her. Women gaped, tossed aside in her wake. I slipped out unnoticed, grateful to escape the cloying barnacles of beer breath and clammy hands.
* * *
NEW HORIZONS
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
Kon-Tiki, tale of derring-do
was filmed, told through my boyhood days,
less black and white, in flicker haze,
of Thor, with surname Heyerdahl—
named Norse mythology as well—
who piloted his rush mat raft
across the ocean, photographed,
in echo of genetic trace,
Americas to Easter Isle,
before when men claimed Christopher,
which meant reframed, the past in err.
A sunset clause on what presumed,
would they believe except for screen?
We watched entranced, as captain scoffed,
Pacific storms, foam swells, deep troughs.
that straw would float despite the waves,
a challenge, our rhymed history—
that it was 1492
Columbus sailed the ocean blue—
delight that Europe not assumed
as masters of the universe.
How brave, post-war, our lore debunked,
smooth passage, certainty deemed sunk,
as Empire died about our shores—
soon proud, globe red of commonwealth—
our fathers less sure certain past,
their forebears standing at the mast
for they thought white had ruled the waves
and nothing native, but we’d taught.
Thor took them, shook them, lightning bolt,
gave self-assured unwelcome jolt,
that ancient folk of other stock
could see beyond horizons set.
* * *
SAILING BY
—Stephen Kingsnorth
Can boats at speed lengthen the day,
outrun the twilight, sink of sun,
bring close, horizon, far away,
still move its limit, vanish point?
Did clippers hope, reach home for tea,
fast cutters slice hours off last trip,
that yawl know slow yawn, night at sea,
a junk throw out those dateline tricks?
Way anchors hauled in, capstan wrapped,
with mainsail hoisted, windward aisle,
they trade winds at the owners’ risk,
so timbers shiver, mizzen flapped.
I think of all past midnight; hour
when airwaves broadcast and we hear
‘The Shipping Forecast’, BBC,
as music, ‘Sailing By’ is played.
* * *
Joyce Odam has sent us a Pirouette based on last Tuesday’s Seed of the Week, “Hands”:
Photo Courtesy of Public Domain
OUR HANDS NOT TOUCHING NOW
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento, CA
Light flickers between us :
the candle with its flame,
the glint of silverware,
the patterned tablecloth,
the wine with its shimmer.
The wine with its shimmer
becomes the focal point :
the shadows in the glass
hypnotic to our eyes. . . .
what was that thing you said?
* * *
And here’s an Ars Poetica, from Stephen Kingsnorth, about the dangers of confessional poetry:
—Joyce Odam, Sacramento, CA
Light flickers between us :
the candle with its flame,
the glint of silverware,
the patterned tablecloth,
the wine with its shimmer.
The wine with its shimmer
becomes the focal point :
the shadows in the glass
hypnotic to our eyes. . . .
what was that thing you said?
* * *
And here’s an Ars Poetica, from Stephen Kingsnorth, about the dangers of confessional poetry:
Cartoon Courtesy of Public Domain
FRACTION SANCTION
—Stephen Kingsnorth
A burden shared not halved at all,
but spread with each invested share,
for better, worse—and so this verse—
a story, worry, added strain,
the news, like grief, the cost of love.
But under wraps, the best to be,
a cordon ‘round the Eden tree,
that blame and pain may be constrained,
for there’s no gain, another drain,
so secret kept, learnt discipline.
In silence then, borne suffering,
slight sacrifice to whom it may,
but less anxiety returned.
This wisdom not conventional;
each partnership must find its own.
___________________
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
A burden shared not halved at all,
but spread with each invested share,
for better, worse—and so this verse—
a story, worry, added strain,
the news, like grief, the cost of love.
But under wraps, the best to be,
a cordon ‘round the Eden tree,
that blame and pain may be constrained,
for there’s no gain, another drain,
so secret kept, learnt discipline.
In silence then, borne suffering,
slight sacrifice to whom it may,
but less anxiety returned.
This wisdom not conventional;
each partnership must find its own.
___________________
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!
•••Tail Rhyme: http://www.poeticbyway.com/gl-t.html
•••AND/OR let’s take a cue from Joyce Odam and do a Pirouette:
•••Pirouette: poetryforms.blogspot.com/2013/04/pirouette-10-line-poem-with-6-syllables.html
•••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 “Full Moon”.
___________________
MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry terms mentioned today:
•••Ars Poetica: www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/ars-poetica
•••Blank Verse: literarydevices.net/blank-verse AND/OR www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-the-difference-between-blank-verse-and-free-verse#quiz-0
•••Ekphrastic Poem: notesofoak.com/discover-literature/ekphrastic-poetry
•••Haibun: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/haibun-poems-poetic-form
•••Haiku: www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html
•••Pirouette: poetryforms.blogspot.com/2013/04/pirouette-10-line-poem-with-6-syllables.html
•••Tail Rhyme: http://www.poeticbyway.com/gl-t.html
•••Toilet Poem: https://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/best/toilet
•••Triolet: www.writersdigest.com/personal-updates/triolet-an-easy-way-to-write-8-lines-of-poetry
____________________
—Medusa
Today's Ekphrastic Challenge!
Make what you can of today's
photo, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Public Domain Photo
photo, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Public Domain Photo
A reminder that
El Gigante online features
Tora Ghosal tonight.
For info about this 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.
Find previous four-or-so posts by scrolling down
under today; or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column; or find previous poets
by typing the name of the poet or poem
into the little beige box at the top
left-hand side of today’s post; or go to
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom of
the blue column at the right
to find the date you want.
El Gigante online features
Tora Ghosal tonight.
For info about this 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.
Find previous four-or-so posts by scrolling down
under today; or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column; or find previous poets
by typing the name of the poet or poem
into the little beige box at the top
left-hand side of today’s post; or go to
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom of
the blue column at the right
to find the date you want.
(A cookie from the Kitchen for today)
afternoon nap:
lulled to sleep by
woodpecker tap-tapping
the last of her acorns
into trees~