The Family of Humankind

Photo by D.R. Wagner, Elk GroveNIECE—George OppenThe streets of San Francisco,She said of herself, were myFather and mother, speaking to the quiet guestsIn the living room looking down the hillsTo the bay. And we imagined herWalking in the wooden pastOf the western city. . . her motherWas not that cityBut my elder sister. I rememberedThe watchman at the beachTelling us the war had ended—That was the first world warHalf a century ago—my sisterHad a ribbon in her hair.__________________MOTHERING MY SISTER(to Jenny)—Patricia Heinicke, SacramentoI remember a bassinet wovenfrom balsa the color of papyrusto cup, to gently rock, to drift—a bassinetwith you insideyour back as wideas the height of my small hand.That first of your summerssometimes I held you in my kindergarten arms.When you were lifted away, refusing all comfort,I lay awake, fearing spiders in your crib andwanting again that agreeable ache high on my bicepwhere your head lay.***Now, again, my fingers fathom your face,around your eyes, deep as matins,making ointment of your tears.Soon another bassinet will driftinto this flood and yet I rememberthat pale vessel, with you inside—who will always fit my hands,your disconsolate cries ever hauntingmy dreams.___________________WINNIE THE POOH—Mitz Sackman, MurphysI have dusty memoriesFinding Winnie the PoohVisiting a used book storeWith MomThat always hadA nose-tickling odorWe were living in San PabloWhere I lived from most ofAge threeThrough going to first gradeA quiet neighborhoodWith lots of other kidsOne SaturdayWe went to a bigger townWent to Berkeley to shopThrough an old book storeLooking throughSome one else’s former treasureFound one of our ownAn old red bookOf Winnie the Pooh storiesWritten by a fatherFor his sonNearly a half-century beforeMom read the stories to usSteve, Jackie, Tim and meAt bedtime__________________KITH, BUT PERHAPS NOT KIN—Kevin Jones, Fair OaksMy grandmotherWas an only child.My motherWas an only child.I amAn only child.At leastThat’s whatMy evil twin tells me._________________THE THREE LANGUAGES(after the Brothers Grimm) —Taylor Graham, PlacervilleIf all you learn in one year is Dog-talk,and all you learn in the next is Bird-song,and the third year is only Frog-lament,of course no one will understand you.You’ll be thrown out of the houseof Humankind; disinherited, wanderingamong wild creatures, forest-folkwho keep their own wordsfor the treasure of this green, ensorceledworld: fields before the fallof asphalt, snow-melt rivers unslickedby oil, air with no combusted stain.At last, can you come back to teachyour human brothers and sisters even oneof those three tongues?_________________Photo by D.R. Wagner_________________Today's LittleNip: The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible. —Vladimir Nabokov_________________—Medusa SnakeWatch: What's New from Rattlesnake Press:Rattlesnake Review: The latest Snake (RR21) is now available (free) at The Book Collector, or send me four bux and I'll mail you one. Next deadline is May 15 for RR22: send 3-5 poems, smallish art pieces and/or photos (no bio, no cover letter, no simultaneous submissions or previously-published poems) to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. E-mail attachments are preferred, but be sure to include all contact info, including snail address. Meanwhile, the snakes of Medusa are always hungry; let us know if your submission is for the Review or for Medusa, or for either one, and please—only one submission per issue.Also available (free): littlesnake broadside #46: Snake Secrets: Getting Your Poetry Published in Rattlesnake Press (and lots of other places, besides!): A compendium of ideas for brushing up on your submissions process so as to make editors everywhere more happy, thereby increasing the likelihood of getting your poetry published. Pick up a copy at The Book Collector or write to me and I'll send you one. Free!NEW FOR APRIL: A SpiralChap of poetry and photos from Laverne Frith (Celebrations: Images and Texts); a (free!) littlesnake broadside from Taylor Graham (Edge of Wildwood); and Musings3: An English Affair, a new blank journal of photos and writing prompts from Katy Brown. Now available from the authors, or The Book Collector, or (soon) rattlesnakepress.com/.April 15 was the deadline for the second issue of WTF, the free quarterly journal from Poetry Unplugged at Luna's Cafe that is edited by frank andrick. Submission guidelines are the same as for the Snake, but send your poems, photos, smallish art or prose pieces (500 words or less) to fandrickfabpub@hotmail.com (attachments preferred) or, if you’re snailing, to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. And be forewarned: this publication is for adults only, so you must be over 18 years of age to submit. Copies of the first issue are at The Book Collector, or send me two bux and I'll mail you one. Next deadline, for issue #3, is July 15.COMING IN MAY: Join us Weds., May 13 for a new rattlechap, Sinfonietta, from Tom Goff; Vol. 5 of Conversations, the Rattlesnake Interview Series by B.L. Kennedy; and the inauguration of a new series, Rattlesnake LittleBooks, with Shorts: Quatrains and Epigrams by Iven Lourie. That’s at The Book Collector, 1008 24th St., Sacramento, 7:30 PM. Free!Medusa's Weekly Menu:(Contributors are welcome to cook up something for any and all of these!)Monday: Weekly NorCal poetry calendarTuesday: Seed of the Week: Tuesday is Medusa's day to post poetry triggers such as quotes, forms, photos, memories, jokes—whatever might tickle somebody's muse. Pick up the gauntlet and send in your poetic results; and don't be shy about sending in your own triggers, too! All poems will be posted and a few of them will go into Medusa's Corner of each Rattlesnake Review. Send your work to kathykieth@hotmail.com or P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. No deadline for SOWs; respond today, tomorrow, or whenever the muse arrives. (Print 'em out, maybe, save 'em for a dry spell?) When you send us work, though, just let us know which "seed" it was that inspired you.Wednesday (sometimes, or any other day!): HandyStuff Quickies: Resources for the poet, including whatever helps ease the pain of writing and/or publishing: favorite journals to read and/or submit to; books, etc., about writing; organizational tools—you know—HandyStuff! Tell us about your favorite tools.Thursday: B.L.'s Drive-Bys: Micro-reviews by our irreverent Reviewer-in-Residence, B.L. Kennedy. Send books, CDs, DVDs, etc. to him for possible review (either as a Drive-By or in future issues of Rattlesnake Review) at P.O. Box 160664, Sacramento, CA 95816.Friday: NorCal weekend poetry calendar Daily (except Sunday): LittleNips: SnakeFood for the Poetic Soul: Daily munchables for poetic thought, including short paragraphs, quotes, wonky words, silliness, little-known poetry/poet facts, and other inspiration—yet another way to feed our ravenous poetic souls.And poetry! Every day, poetry from writers near and far and in-between! The Snakes of Medusa are always hungry.......!_________________Medusa encourages poets of all ilk and ages to send their POETRY, PHOTOS and ART, as well as announcements of Northern California poetry events, to kathykieth@hotmail.com (or snail ‘em to P.O. Box 762, Pollock Pines, CA 95726) for posting on this daily Snake blog. Rights remain with the poets. Previously-published poems are okay for Medusa’s Kitchen, as long as you own the rights. (Please cite publication.) Medusa cannot vouch for the moral fiber of other publications, contests, etc. that she lists, however, so submit to them at your own risk. For more info about the Snake Empire, including guidelines for submitting to or obtaining our publications, click on the link to the right of this column: Rattlesnake Press (rattlesnakepress.com). And be sure to sign up for Snakebytes, our monthly e-newsletter that will keep you up-to-date on all our ophidian chicanery.