Watermark

Song to a Coastal Hunter

Trap a white ermine.  Scatter salt
on the snow.  Its tongue will freeze fast. 
Use its pelt for your pillow. 

Draw a deer to its death to blanket
your bed.  Put salt-licks in the forest. 
Wait with your bow. 

Catch a wild songbird.  Sprinkle salt
on its tail.  Cage the bird in your bedroom
to sing you to sleep. 

Hold fast to a woman.  Taste the salt
on her skin.  Leave your sea scent behind
when you go.

 

Carnival of the Cats #45

Featuring the work of
Margaret Krakowiak
[Take your time; it's a long story]

whom I tried to contact for permission
but her email and other site are deceased
so I hope she will forgive me

Welcome to this edition of the fashionable, famous, Carnival of the Cats, a collection of the fluffy, the fantastic, and the fabulous!

Chocolate Cats; Lucky Cats; Cats Cats Cats

The Web has been generous to us this week, offering lots of kitties:

hello kitty,
originally uploaded by qB.

               Edible Kitties

 

Grouchtastic,
originally uploaded by zalgon.

      
         Softie Kitty

Poems, Poetry, Poetics, Cats

My regular readers will know that I rarely talk about my poems, or poetics --  I just post the poems and move on. Last night, in my usual waiting- for- sleep place, I began to prepare a post about The Ledge, and my surprise at its reception; I woke this morning to find that an anonymous and (I think) deliberately illiterate troll had found that very poem (and that spammers had found my GMail address.) So, lots to talk about. But first things first:

• the basement tapes is a new audio blog, an open-mic space for poets, set up by ray sweatman. I've posted one poem there, and will be posting more; if you would like to participate (and please do!) email ray. Go have a listen.

Now, about The Ledge:

Snapshot 26 January 02005

mid-night
in last week's storm
hundreds of ducks

crowded
the curve of ice
along the river

low muttering
a whisper
of wings in water