—Poetry and Visuals by Smith, Cleveland, OH
O yes
Mind monsters
cranium creatures
environmental viruses
survival of the fittest
sing hallelujah
ever onward in sorry sojourn
I dance between the shadows
suck what sun I can
watch women walk the harder path
Wife says she's "the Zen in resentful"
while I keep pushing OFF buttons
in this ever-ON world
O let us pray
may the bad be better
and the good remain
Mind monsters
cranium creatures
environmental viruses
survival of the fittest
sing hallelujah
ever onward in sorry sojourn
I dance between the shadows
suck what sun I can
watch women walk the harder path
Wife says she's "the Zen in resentful"
while I keep pushing OFF buttons
in this ever-ON world
O let us pray
may the bad be better
and the good remain
Old
We write what we know
and right now it's a heap of sweat
in hot bath heat trying to hide the pain
outside's humid, dampening noise
making far farer
and yet faint hope lurks heavy
behind the hot
Slow slide neck into liquid hug of heat
soothe lizard brain
where flies are for eating
poop is fair play
and pain always pays
in our rapid run to rot
We needed lizard brain
to crawl from ocean
to beach
to tree
survive savannah
beat competing meat
eat sheet bleat repeat
but that was then
this is now
now we don't
we can't
it's fuck-all stupid
If it eats it feeds it fecunds
follows god of flesh
entropy
bleeds vermillion by the millions
enough bone dust for all
free underground resting rotting Johnny
Can't go back
can't control forward
so be here now
knowing
Set a chair
light a lamp
roll out a rug
offer friend or passer-by a word
a cup of coffee
a toke
let em in on the joke
while we await the punch line
Fast Lane
And we're off
pain taking the lead by a length
me hurting behind
I'm an angry man
in an old body breaking down
with a good heart
and a skeptical mind
I hurt myself
not on purpose
just hurt myself
cuz that's the clump of clod I am
hurt myself
then hunker down to endure healing
I am Sisyphus I am rock I am hill
Me not smart monkey
but me not dumb
and me not only one
DNA
what a way
to play
The gaps between the ghosts getting smaller
ghosts of course getting oftener
Zen Garden
I love my life
I love my wife
don't like world strife so much
down to weary
wary
worried thought climb
from good of me
through bad of them
(and me we)
I sweat my poisons out
hope sum left in balance
thing about pain
they're daily
like dark seed of sun
thing about seed
is plantings unknown
in brain of bloom and blame
and groan
which we must own
thing about thing
is no thing
Zen in
Ing
Methodology
Go write your words in sand or stone
you still age and break
likely die alone
No matter who or what pulls the strings
God or plot naught before or after
you have to pay the rent
You're born and washed in bowl
you die and are washed in bowl
it's the dirt between that matters
You wanna play you gotta pay
you wanna pray you gotta pay
go or stay?—pay
Me, I'm making memories
to keep me moist
in the near hereafter
Eatbeat
Digging through the night
looking for the layers
needed for the light
Worm warm wonder
moist earth magic
penetration however slight
Greed got us here
and greed'll get us killed
so sez want and will
Once the race was won
the finish line went wrong
preyed upon the dumb
And now we eat the eaten
beat our meat replete
seek new deals to sweeten
Don't know much
but been around long
learned some of the song
Keep the worry
work the weary
sharpen wary way up high
Food Chain
There are life forms
beneath us
around us
on us in us
above us
beyond us
we can't see
or even fathom
life miles below sea surface
in what darkness deep as a grifter's heart
or life covered in miles of ice
colder than a preacher's art
life is what life does to life
in self-serving circle
eat to be am
die to be eaten to be am
I am what I am when I'm eaten
me myself the lie
The River Runs
I take what sun I get
I give what cheer I got
life goes on
I got coffee
I got me
I got wife in kissing tree
the road not taken
I been taken
repeatedly
There's lies below
more lies above
helping push of shaping glove
you got your gods
you got your not nods
you still have to pay the rent
Sitting in a parking lot
watching a man sitting in a car
driver door open
scratching betting cards
looking for money
finding little or none
doing it again
and again
going in coming out
more cards
grim face
doing it over an hour now
in for cards
out with cards
sad silence
I wish him well
must be serious to keep the prayer going
My god's not meat
my god is the all of nothing
the knot of now
Never pray to meat
it rots
Where's this edge?
You get to it and there's another
there's always another
another up or down
in or out
and they all want rent
If not rent, respect
which is psychic rent
Here in workaway world
stress runs the mess
gets the killing done
fills the pantry
cooks the kitchen
preys on land run wrong
Stop and smell the roses
before they rot
and fall to the ground
They're beautiful either way
Improvements
Today’s LittleNip:
Like the cicada
I sing my song
leave a husk
___________________
—Medusa, with Pre-Halloween greetings to Smith-by-the-zoo (Stephen B. Smith), and thanks for his fine, fine poetry and visuals this morning from this Kitchen witch over here on the Other Coast…
Requiem
—Smith
A reminder that
Tim Hunt and Michael Gallowglas
will be reading in Davis tonight, 7pm.
For info about this 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!
Tim Hunt and Michael Gallowglas
will be reading in Davis tonight, 7pm.
For info about this 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!
