Poem for Monday

Content is King
By Rebecca Wolff

I queen it

over emptiness.

I invent it, a surplus,
a bombast of nervous

encryption so the process
of blanking becomes

isometric -- Pilates.
I think of how clueless

and relentless-
ly depthless

my mother, nonetheless
she birthed and hers

is the aspect
and prospect

the matter
and subject

and

gangway.
I find something to say.

The king is content.

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"This is the crypto title-poem of my new collection 'The King,' which in large part has to do with becoming a mother or otherwise encountering -- embracing -- objective reality," writes Wolff in Poet's Choice. "In my young womanhood, I experienced an enduring existential paralysis that caused me to have great difficulty in producing spontaneous utterance. This wore off eventually, thank heaven, but even now poetry serves as a fulsome reprieve from any lingering sense of incapacity...language arrives, and means. Here it even rhymes, and puns."

We spent all of Sunday at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, which opened this weekend. We got up early so we could get there in time for the 11 a.m. Fight School, where we met Dementordelta, with whom we then saw the early joust, the first set by the Mediaeval Baebes, Shakespeare's Skum's production of Hamlet, the second set by the Mediaeval Baebes, Shakespeare's Skum's tag-team Romeo and Juliet, Daniel Duke of Danger, Fight School: Reloaded, and the late joust, plus bits of other acts, roaming musicians, lots of jewelry and craft shops. We were quite well-behaved and only bought brass-and-glass rings.

We also ate -- I had a huntsman's sandwich (turkey bbq) for lunch, a turkey leg for dinner, and lots of soda and a root beer float; younger son had a chicken empanada, a loaded baked potato, a turkey leg, and various desserts; older son had a turkey sandwich, a waffle, a turkey leg, and I'm not even sure what else. All of it was very good and we had a quick dinner with my parents since the kids decided they were still hungry at 7:30 when we were near home. Now I am quite exhausted and younger son has his first full day of school for the year on Monday so I shall just post some pics...


King Henry VIII greets some young visitors to Revel Grove, site of the Maryland Renaissance Festival.


Fight School at the Market Stage: "We always speak in unison!"


Sir Henry Clifford at the first joust of the day in the arena.


The Mediaeval Baebes during their first performance of the day at the Blackfriars Theatre.


Shakespeare's Skum's Hamlet contemplates revenge while Gertrude contemplates lustful distraction at the Globe Theatre.


The Mediaeval Baebes, this time in green, during their second set at the Blackfriars Theatre.


Fight School: Reloaded returns to the Market Stage for the traditional Vulcan lirpa battle.


Lances shatter in the late joust.