—Poetry and Visual by Smith, Cleveland, OH
(next to the Zoo)
Sunlight slips between the leaves
sparkles in their shadow
Spring slides into summer
aspecting earth side flow
Seeds grow apples fall
rot returns as red
All hail Schrödinger's box
in bet on life and dead
sparkles in their shadow
Spring slides into summer
aspecting earth side flow
Seeds grow apples fall
rot returns as red
All hail Schrödinger's box
in bet on life and dead
The Way is Not Straight
I live at the corner
of Crooked Tree & Branch
near Random Avenue & Marginal Drive
not far from Lost Nation Road
though no one knows how to get there
or how it was named
there's no there from here anyway
so when I go I'll go real fast
down Vroomin Road
foot heavy on the petal
mind easy in its load
Webwork
Young groundhog that side of glass
playing on our deck
kitten this side crouches
wanting
I turn to net, news
too much stupid
go back to deck
groundling's gone
but squirrel scampers atop rail
kitten quivers
I in I eases
Set
Love blood mars my arm
like bad unreadable alien poetry
from soft paw cat claw clutch
and fang
and believe my thin old man skin
love hurts
As Was Foretold
Outside Heat Dome hot
bath window open
in tub
water steams
sweat oozes everywhere non-stop
purging sin
of my human verminal destructions
Oh credit card country
give me plastic or give me waste
I Want
Go until pooped
then sit in charge body reboot
getting old's a hoot
Weary, worn, and wary
hopeful, but not unworried
now next unscary
I used to drink
until I turned to blood
woke in Intensive Care
First I drank to go out
then drank at home
then stayed home to drink
Thrashed about
in and out
acted lout
There's dance
there's data
there's deception
Now 33 years sober
15 seconds since caffeine
10 minutes from toke
Comfort Station
WALKING EDGE OF EASE
Add some caffeine to that THC, Mr Smith
and we'll get down to bidness
You can bid on this you can bid on that
wins depend on which what fed
You're alive, so something's dead
that's the Ying Yang yodel
Here just means another want there
their's the selfish model
Entropy regrets us high or low
so toke and sip I follow
It's the moments between sear and fear
I use to soothe the hollow
The rest? perhaps tepid, to be tasted
tested
A bit of abyss, please
Meatbeast
THE COFFEE BIN
(18 pocket notes for future poems)
Does one consume the reflections
floating atop one's cup of black coffee?
If so I'm only drinking
at the Neon Diner from now on
get more buzz per cup
Ching ching ching goes the coffee
slow slow slow goes the will
must coffee clink before brain links
That's a poor pour
so pour more
more caffeine
pour faster so I'll walk faster
and won't fall
gotta go gotta go gotta go
can’t stop can’t stop
or rat wheel will rust
and we'll all fall down
like sadsack clowns
limp in limb
laying around
let's fill my form with vroom
gimme some Zen zoom
caffeinate me over the hill
in mind/body will
3 pm
time to lose or chose
third cup of coffee or no
knowing I've no weed
to slow caffeine's carom
My, my, hot milk and honey chai
stained masala beige
a dance for tongue and caffeinated mind
Thanks for the buzz
Thanks for the love
Coffee, marijuana, cat, and wife
I have a nice life
Caffeine rings my ears
buzzes brain
electric exclaim
Weak cup coffee to pry my weary lids open
this freezing so-called spring morning
with weed running out and money not enough
and wife stressed with boss-lady worries
and the cat wheezing much and vomiting often
and the politicians in a race downhill
to dumber meaner cheaper
and decent folk so amazed not to be
locked away in concentration camps
they keep their head down and fear unsaid
Ahhhh, the first sip of pre-dawn coffee
the first toke of pre-dawn grass
Black pool of night before sun
surrounds as I drink black pool
of coffee in cup
Caffeine in my brain
need in my node
Drinking coffee from Kathy's cup
it's another day in Paradise
in the temple of the ample
Brain fuzzy cuzza not enough coffee
The push of coffee, the pull of grass,
the swoosh and soothe all bound
around untight to firmer ground
A black cup of black coffee
raised to my white face
And if you really want to up the ante
try a cup of cowboy Costa Rican pan coffee
Fair Trade of course.
Neon Coffee, please
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
If there's life after death
first thing I'll realize
is WOW no flesh pain
And I wonder
does brain pain go too?
Looking back it's miraculous
almost scandalous
that that-me survived at all
that I got to be me-me
though me-me ain't next-me
so far
I've seen too much magic
not to have a bit of belief
—Smith
___________________
—Medusa, with thanks to Smith (Steven B. Smith) for sending us glory in the summer. Steven, who lives by the Cleveland Zoo, writes to us from his own zoo, and we’re mighty grateful for it!
And we're glad to hear that yellow lab Marlowe Smith is recovering from his recent illness.
Mean Smith Blue
—Selfie by Smith
A reminder that today is
action-packed in NorCal poetry:
Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest
deadline; Poets & Writers Workshop
in Cameron Park; and Poetry Night
in Davis, featuring Rina Wakefield
and Carol Lynn Stephenson Grellas.
For info about these and other
future 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—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
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.
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
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!
action-packed in NorCal poetry:
Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest
deadline; Poets & Writers Workshop
in Cameron Park; and Poetry Night
in Davis, featuring Rina Wakefield
and Carol Lynn Stephenson Grellas.
For info about these and other
future 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—
and keep an eye on this link and on
the daily Kitchen for happenings
that might pop up
—or get changed!—
during the week.
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.
Would you like to be a SnakePal?
Guidelines are at the top of this page
at the Placating the Gorgon link;
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!
