—Poetry and Photos by Taylor Graham,
Placerville, CA
—And then scroll down to
Form Fiddlers’ Friday for poetry by
Nolcha Fox, Lynn White, Stephen Kingsnorth,
and Caschwa
ON SIERRA’S WESTERN SLOPE
We walk the pond loop this morning thru oak & buckeye woods, immersed in sights & sounds. Golden dead-grass landscape of mid-June, wildflowers withered. What catches the eye is critter scat—wild animal droppings. Easy to misread: was this a coyote who gorged on grapes in a vineyard? is this a gray fox latrine—small black poops close together on the trail? could this be bobcat? this, opossum? Here’s where prospectors rearranged landscape—human or burro-loads of rock and topsoil relocated in quest for gold. And now you tell a geology of this place—rocks formed in ocean so many eons ago. Are we walking an ancient seaside?
boulder like a whale
surfacing, its mouth open—
history’s hunger
We walk the pond loop this morning thru oak & buckeye woods, immersed in sights & sounds. Golden dead-grass landscape of mid-June, wildflowers withered. What catches the eye is critter scat—wild animal droppings. Easy to misread: was this a coyote who gorged on grapes in a vineyard? is this a gray fox latrine—small black poops close together on the trail? could this be bobcat? this, opossum? Here’s where prospectors rearranged landscape—human or burro-loads of rock and topsoil relocated in quest for gold. And now you tell a geology of this place—rocks formed in ocean so many eons ago. Are we walking an ancient seaside?
boulder like a whale
surfacing, its mouth open—
history’s hunger
OPTIONS
I can’t wrap my mind
around shooting off into space—
leaving the garden to ground squirrels,
a whisper of wind in oak leaves—
for the mixed blessing of starry days
and nights, sunrise on Earth
so far away.
I can’t wrap my mind
around shooting off into space—
leaving the garden to ground squirrels,
a whisper of wind in oak leaves—
for the mixed blessing of starry days
and nights, sunrise on Earth
so far away.
NO TRESPASSING NO LOITERING
Of course a Corvid doesn’t loiter.
No Trespassing signs have no meaning
for a bird of his feather. Black as the metal
spears lined up as fence, he lifts off
from dumpster-pavement, black fan-tail
announcing Raven. Aerobatics is
his dance, his chance. Now he’s exulting
among leafy canopies and steadfast
trunks of oak. Private Property, the sign
says, but a woodland is avian’s place.
And now, look, he’s found a partner
on the other side, the two of them
as nature gives them the right-of-way.
STUBBORN
Oak’s
tenacity
is deeply rooted
in the face of this cutbank
transforming woods to highway
not thinking of trees
as having
soul.
DO YOU CARE?
If you knock on the door with your fist
you won’t leave a thumbprint.
It’s best to believe in leaving things
just the way you found them.
It might happen to mean
closing an old ranch gate behind you.
Or putting out the campfire
to dead ash, all your tracks swept clean.
Will this make you popular?
Would anyone know you were there?
WE GET UP ANYWAY
As if frying breakfast eggs
or smudging the room with sage
might ignite the house.
Heart-stopping moments
might start with familiar, intimate
ritual or habit—how to describe
the tilts of chance that make
daily existence so touchy.
___________________
Today’s LittleNip:
BUT IT’S HOT
—Taylor Graham
Look! summer snowflakes
caught but not melting on tall
green stems—Queen Anne’s Lace.
___________________
Our thanks to Taylor Graham for fine poems and fine photos as we finish off the first half of 2025. Regardless of the "tilts of chance", we get up anyway, she says.
And thanks to TG for all the forms she uses, making them look so easy! Those she has sent us this week include a Word-Can Poem (“Options”); a Joseph's Star (“Stubborn”); a Just 15s that is also a Word-Can Poem (“Do You Care?”); a Response to the Tuesday Seed of the Week, Birds of a Feather (“No Trespassing No Loitering”); a Haibun that is also a Word-Can Poem (“On Sierra's Western Slope”); and a Haiku (“But It’s Hot”). The Joseph/s Star was also one of last week’s Triple-F Challenges.
In El Dorado County this Sunday, Poets and Writers of the Sierra Foothills features Linda Toren and Gary Thomas in Camino, 2pm. And El Dorado County’s regular workshops are listed on Medusa’s calendar (if you scroll down on http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html/). For more news about such events and about EDC poetry—past (photos!) and future—see Taylor Graham’s Western Slope El Dorado Poetry on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ElDoradoCountyPoetry. Or see Lara Gularte’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/382234029968077/. And you can always click on Medusa's UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS (http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/wtf.html). Poetry is Gold in El Dorado County!
And now it’s time for…
FORM FIDDLERS’ FRIDAY!
Check out our recently-refurbed 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 and other ways of poetry. 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
Poets who sent responses to last week’s Ekphrastic photo were Nolcha Fox, Lynn White, and Stephen Kingsnorth. Stephen wrote two, in fact:
STRESS
—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY
My boss told me to
take time off and go
somewhere to vacay.
He said I stressed
coworkers out and drank
up all the coffee.
I booked a trip to
paradise—white sand,
blue seas, and sunshine.
We lost an engine
as we flew, the cabin
hot and crowded.
When we finally
debarked, I found my
wallet stolen.
My luggage flew to
Michigan, my stomach
lost its cookies.
A hurricane was
forecasted to land
before the weekend.
I decided to
go home before
I tried the hammock.
Paradise was
stressing me far
more than merely working.
* * *
POETRY PENDING
—Lynn White, Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales
I feel creative here
alone
awaiting
something
lingering lazily
on the beach
waves lapping
gently
I climb into my hammock
and sway slightly
waiting
for a seed
a spark
to inspire
to light my fire
then I fall asleep.
Perhaps I’ll dream.
* * *
CUMULONIMBUS?
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales
My spirit warmed by relaxed frame—
some wealthy timeshare, tropical—
the hint of paradisal claimed,
with colour codes, hot hex displayed,
invested content for brochure.
What speed, Styx ferry, from this dream?
Reactions speak of who we are—
the locals serving tourist trade,
the bribed who bury western waste,
the kids whose booze, fags, sold untaxed,
those cleaning toilets, sewer rats,
apartment dwellers, luxury?
Agenda as our work cut out,
or prospect for wealth to relax?
The bottle green, aquamarine,
a timber lodge and hammock hung,
is this our laze on silver strand,
retreat set under cloudless sky?
Cumulonimbus though in climb—
horizon may suggest a storm?
Too many waves in rising tide,
arresting crests in current warmth.
Heatseeking missiles, aiming tan,
prefer cooling off period?
May beach submerge before too long,
and those who serve this tourist trade
will lose their rôles in toilet clean,
supply of stocks to eat and drink,
with package trash on sand, in sea.
The cost of wealth, vacation breech?
* * *
BY THE SOUND
—Stephen Kingsnorth
Just see the strand and you’ll agree
vacation wealth buys spacious beach;
relax, enjoy sounds, sand and sea
But serving locals hold the key,
for western waste means ‘clean for leech’—
just see the strand and you’ll agree?
But pricey comes that luxury,
with sinking isles and tidal reach—
relax, enjoy sounds, sand and sea?
Not British briny, note drily,
as each who suffer, unheard speech;
just see the strand and you’ll agree?
Environment, summed in that tree,
while cumulonimbus too, teach—
relax, enjoy sounds, sand and sea?
In hammock dozing, miss their plea
despite request becomes beseech.
Just see the strand and you’ll agree
relax, enjoy sounds, sand and sea?
* * *
A Haiku chain from Caschwa (Carl Schwartz):
GHOST USHERS
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
Shadows that point in
the dark, directing you to
turn yourself around
as if the screen is
an active volcano that
spews lava, not scenes
to watch from your seat
comfortably munching some
popcorn and candy
Their voices turn shrill
you must evacuate now!
the show is over.
* * *
And some final words of wisdom from him, Haiku-style::
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA
Shadows that point in
the dark, directing you to
turn yourself around
as if the screen is
an active volcano that
spews lava, not scenes
to watch from your seat
comfortably munching some
popcorn and candy
Their voices turn shrill
you must evacuate now!
the show is over.
* * *
And some final words of wisdom from him, Haiku-style::
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
—Caschwa
—Caschwa
If by chance your name
is Court Knee, you could also
be Tennis Elbo
__________________
Many thanks to today’s writers for their lively contributions! Wouldn’t you like to join them? 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!
Many thanks to today’s writers for their lively contributions! Wouldn’t you like to join them? 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!
See what you can make of these challenges, and send your results to kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.) How about the Haiku’s big sister, the Fold:
•••Fold: https://poetscollectivepoetryforms.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/fold
•••AND/OR its 3-line cousin:
•••For-Get-Me-Not: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••See also the bottom of this post for another challenge, this one an Ekphrastic one.
•••And don’t forget each Tuesday Seed of the Week! This week it’s “High Hopes”.
____________________
MEDUSA’S FORM FINDER: Links to poetry terms mentioned today:
•••Ekphrastic Poem: notesofoak.com/discover-literature/ekphrastic-poetry
•••Fold: https://poetscollectivepoetryforms.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/fold
•••For-Get-Me-Not: www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1882-syllabic-forms-found-in-pathways-for-the-poet/#veltanelle
•••Haibun: www.writersdigest.com/write-better-poetry/haibun-poems-poetic-form
•••Haiku: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/haiku-or-hokku AND/OR www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html
•••Joseph’s Star: www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/josephsstar.html
•••Just 15s (devised by Sarah Harding): poem or stanza of 15 syllables
•••Response Poem: creativetalentsunleashed.com/2015/11/18/writing-tip-response-poems
•••Tuesday Seed of the Week: a prompt listed in Medusa’s Kitchen every Tuesday; poems may be any shape or size, form or no form. No deadlines; past ones are listed at http://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/p/calliopes-closet.html/. Send results to kathykieth#hotmail.com/.
•••Word-Can Poem: putting random words on slips of paper into a can, then drawing out a few and making a poem out of them
__________________
—Medusa
Today's Ekphrastic Challenge!
Make what you can of today's
picture, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Artwork Courtesy of Public Domain
Make what you can of today's
picture, and send your poetic results to
kathykieth@hotmail.com/. (No deadline.)
* * *
—Artwork Courtesy of Public Domain
For info about
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.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
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!
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.
Poets’ bios appear on their first MK visit.
To find previous posts, type the name
of the poet (or poem) into the little
beige box at the top left-hand side
of this column. See also
Medusa’s Rapsheet at the bottom
of the blue column on the right
side of this column to find
any date you want.
Miss a post?
You can find our most recent ones by
scrolling down under this daily one.
Or there's an "Older Posts" button
at the bottom of this column.
(Please excuse typos in older posts!
Blogspot has been through a lot of
incarnations in 20 years!)
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!
