Experspiration

Exasperation~

—Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa
* * *
—Poetry by Stephen Kingsnorth, Claire J. Baker,
Caschwa, Joe Nolan, and Nolcha Fox
—Public Domain Photos Courtesy of
Joe Nolan and Medusa

 

 

FUTILE PROCESSES
—Stephen Kingsnorth, Coedpoeth, Wrexham, Wales

Doing the same again but expecting different results?

Frustration is foundation here,
that niggle-nagging, knocking on
the door exasperation hides,
except when open, gapes so wide.
It may see noise, explosive cloud,
more likely whimper than a bang,
a resignation as give up,
solution simply beyond reach.
It saps, it drains, it hollows out,
refrains from baring clues out loud,
a tempting, try another round,
though knowing tease still out of bounds.
It is as trapped in cyclic warp,
with no escape or exit door…

…for buttons pressed return once more
to the same point I was before.
The TV, laptop, telephone,
or even lost out on the moors,
when scene returns, passed heretofore,
for nothing new seen under sun.
The lexicon defines, falls short—
‘annoyance’, ‘irritation’ marked,
but synonyms do not account
for unique scale of mount to climb.
While I, exasperated more,
must calm and record how I am,
without sufficient instruments
to wield in battle with my mind. 

 

 

 

—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa

A DICTATOR, ALLIGATOR
—Claire J. Baker, Pinole, CA

Let’s juggle one day at a time
to make it through each cockeyed week;
this game may keep us nimble, prime—
just juggle one day at a time,
repress the words ideal, sublime.
Gol durn it, lovely words can’t speak!
Let’s balance one day at a time
to fake it through the shocking week. 

 

 

 

Oyster Mushrooms

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa

UNDER THE CANOPY
—Caschwa, Sacramento, CA

where the roots of trees
seek scarce moisture
rests an oyster
mushroom
seeking
distance
from all
other
living
things
so it
can
grow
tired
on its
own 

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy 

of Joe Nolan

VACATION VIBRATION
—Caschwa

It begins with a hummingbird
kissing a flower, then
fluttering away

after days and days at sea our
ship drops anchor and
visits a port

there is no time to sample all
the sights, sounds, smells
just a few

then we shuttle back to the ship
like our trip has just begun
again

our cameras are very old-school
from an era when film
was a verb

we started with many, many rolls
now all have been exposed
and await the darkroom

in one moment, I caught you bent
over the railing, sniffing
the air for fish

once we’re back home, we can fish
off the pier, let waves come and
go 7 times over

the hummingbird returns, wanting
more of that flower, its trip
begun again 

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa

HELP, I’VE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP
—Caschwa

The tree in the front yard stands tall and proud
it’s limbs once flourishing with leaves, which
recently abandoned their roots and floated down
to Earth

How sad when year-old children predecease
their parents

So I could not find it in my heart to add to my todo
list raking all those leaves and stashing them in the
green waste bin, to be taken away like trash

Must be that the old workplace motto “You can be
replaced” came from this ancient ritual where trees
shed their leaves to make way for new arrivals

Imagine if I tried to pull this trick at the office, and
annually just dumped all the contents of the In Box
on the floor to make room for brand new ones,
because, of course, it is only natural to do just that 

 

 

 

... just NADA and more NADA...

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa

NEITHER SNOW, NOR RAIN, NOR HEAT,
NOR GLOOM OF NIGHT
—Caschwa

keep getting emails assuring me
that my package is somewhere on
the path to my door

however, though the shipper has
created a label, and put it in some
bin to be awaiting transfer to some
other bin, to eventually be materially
transferred to the postal service for
actual delivery to my door,

just NADA and more NADA

The Tracking Number so benevolently
provided to me, doesn’t yet have the
all the right puzzle pieces in the right
places, and is set to eternally report
“Awaiting transfer to USPS”

That is the losing side of the coin, because
until it says “Out for Delivery” it will not
also state an expected time frame for the
hour of delivery, When will it get here?

I’ve learned not to fret Dang It!! about
these protocols which have become the
new norm. Eventually, and I mean that
in terms of the greatest anxiety that might
accompany that term, I will be happy to
receive my package

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Illustration Courtesy of Medusa

POP! GOES THE RECALL
—Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA

Pop!
Goes the recall,
Surfacing to view,
Like a floating bobber,
Come back, for review,
Against the din and clatter
Of a hammer on tin,
Where you pound and pound
And pound and pound,
But just can’t
Bring the fish in,
Until you let it go.

Surfacing memory,
Like a fish on a line,
Who decides to swim toward you
After you’ve wasted time
Trying to drag him in.

Ha-ha!  He laughs,
Fish hook in his mouth,
“You thought you had me
Weeks ago,
But together,
We’ve flown south.”

 

 

 

—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa

MICKEY AND ROGER
—Joe Nolan

A baseball player
Talks to newsmen
Like a little brother
To an older,
With endearing smiles,
Homilies, vignettes,
Homey, gentle tones—
Expect the best.

If you’ve made them love you
Kindly, they may be,
But if, on their wrong side,
You, their enemy
And they will bring you down
Like a bomber over Germany
With flak clouds like a storm.

It’s what happened to Roger Maris
In the Summer of ‘61,
When he bested Mickey Mantle
For the home-run crown.
They hated him with a passion
And they brought him down.
Pretty soon, he left town.

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joe Nolan

WAITIN’ ON A TRAIN
—Joe Nolan

Waitin’ for the next train,
The next train and
The next rain after that.

A line of trains keeps rollin’
Keeps rollin’ and rollin’
The arms come down,
The red lights blink,
Cars wait in a line,
Goin’ each direction,
Givin’ up their time
So what we need gets through
To places on the line.

Waitin’ and waitin’
Waitin’ on a train
That stops at my location,
Opens up its doors
To let me get in
For exactly what I need.

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Medusa

DOWN THE BUDDHA CHAIN
—Joe Nolan

How far down the Buddha chain
Does desire go
When loneliness
Capitulates,
Under armor, honed,
Preparing transformation
From silkworm to moth?

Captured,
Cocoon’s silk surrounding,
Just a single tread
A mile long,
Spun and spun,
Brought into being
From its body,
A single thread
Incredibly strong,
Stronger than steel,
Inch for inch,
Fiber for fiber,
All to protect
A chrysalis.

How precious
Its internal cargo,
That nature
Would devise
A magical,
Monumental, tiny chamber
To protect a life
In the process of molting!

______________________

Today’s LittleNip:

Exasperation
is inspiration
sitting on its butt.

—Nolcha Fox, Buffalo, WY

______________________

Many thanks to our contributors, some of whom wrote to us about exasperation—a theme with which poets are well familiar!

Got a new book, or a call for submissions? Send it to the Kitchen; we’ll announce it far and wide.

 

 

 

 

Nolcha Fox, Melissa Lemay, and Barbara Leonhard have collaborated on a book which will be coming out this Thursday, called Bro ken Rengay: Unruly Poetry, from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1962374572?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_Q5ZRAYT3XJXN2H3XXVNM&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_Q5ZRAYT3XJXN2H3XXVNM&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_apin_dp_Q5ZRAYT3XJXN2H3XXVNM&bestFormat=true/. Congratulations, Poets!

 

 

 

 

Sacramento Poetry Center has two calls for submissions coming up, one for their journal, Tule Review (deadline 9/15), and the other for the El Cortez Memorial Youth Edition of the SPC New Rivers Chapbook Series (deadline 10/15). For info on both, go to https://www.sacpoetrycenter.org/publications-tule:review/). Deadlines are sneaky, slippery little devils that creep up on ya, so be sure to stay on top of these…

____________________

—Medusa

 

 

 

 Starling's exasperation over that dang empty dish~
—Public Domain Photo Courtesy of Joe Nolan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A reminder that
Poetic License meets
in Placerville today,
10:30 a.m.; and
Sacramento Poetry Center
features
Keith Ekiss & Rachel Richardson
tonight, 7:30pm.
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Northern California and otherwheres,
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 Hold onto your hats! 

Here comes mushroom season!