Poetry at the Saratoga Senior Center, March 13

This monthly gathering of poets is now just an open mic, no featured poet — but the same good, local poets & the same brownie-baking host, Rachel Baum. She had suggested a theme, COVID-19, & to start us off she read “Love in a Pandemic” by John Grinsell, then went on to read her poem on that theme, “I Would Be That Bud.”

David Graham read “Ode to Pandemic Hair,” sprouting like mushrooms. I read one of my poem cards, “Easter Sunday,” finding painted rocks. Rhonda Rosenheck read a poem from her own project on the theme, the poem titled “Opulence.” David Gonsalves has a conversation with COVID-19 in his poem “Misery for 2 & 4 Hands.”

Pat Curtis’ poem was not about COVID, but about traveling across America by car, from the cat’s point of view, “I Remember the Old Home.” Elaine Klein read her poem, “Smallest Deserters,” not COVID, but a sad screed against cancer. Elaine Handley was on theme with a piece titled “Quarantine 2020.” Lin Murphy read a piece about trying to get the vaccine, “My COVID Covert Mission.” Sue Valartis read a descriptive piece about her town & her home.

Jeanne Ungar did 2 short pieces, the first about a garden, the 2nd titled “The Past that Weaves Me.” Susan Kress also had a garden poem, that she wrote this morning, “Today in the Garden” with the birds.

Marilyn McCabe read a poem with a nod to Elizabeth Bishop, “Man Moth.” Leslie Sittner brought us back to the theme with an exploration & word-play with “Pandemic.”

Our host said we had more time & a few of us read another. I read my poem “Epidemic” in 3 very short parts, on bird flu, swine flu & COVID. Rhonda read “Recipe for a Day of Isolation,” which was indeed formatted as recipe. Sue read “COVID Haircut.” Jeanne read “A Collection Clouds” inspired by her former job as security at the Museum of Modern Art. Leslie read “Bleeding” about a nose bleed that brought her to the Emergency Room.

Always a mixed bag of local poets, this open mic is held at the Saratoga Springs Senior Center, 290 West Ave., Saratoga Springs, NY at 1:00PM on the 2nd Friday of each month.