Caged Time: New and Selected Poems

By Helen Kanevsky

Caged Time is a fast-paced poetical narrative, an intricate blend of reality and fantasies, a trek down a path of sober magical realism.
Caged Time reflects on fate, survival in a hostile world, the unforgiving compliments of age, death, a warning to future generations!
Caged Time is rooted in the real events and fantasy, confessions and imagination but when you start to read you’ll be wont to stop for a while, look back at your life and see how your reflective memory and Helen’s observations intertwine.
But be careful. You may find the author’s mood and unusual turns of phrase, rubbing off on you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Aug 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483415222

Helen Kanevsky

The first short-short story that I wrote in my introductory English class in San Mateo Adult School was about a homeless woman who managed to find a janitor position in a doctor’s office and went shopping in Nordstrom. I always knew how to dream big. Pretty soon I learned that many American success stories were made by poorly equipped people—some college dropouts, some who were mentally or physically disabled. Well, I started to write my beloved poems, prose, and short stories long before I gathered a little ability to speak and be understood. Why not? All those success-story folks didn’t have an MBA or mastered any calculus. It is America after all—nothing stood between me and my vision about the pursuit of happiness. I still didn’t make my first million or even a thousand dollars, but I have published my first book of poems. I hope you will enjoy my narrative and start your own vision about the pursuit of happiness, and when you get rich, please do not forget to buy a few copies of The Devious Route. I would really appreciate it.

Book preview

Caged

TIME

NEW AND SELECTED POEMS

Helen Kanevsky

Copyright © 2014 Helen Kanevsky.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1521-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1522-2 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 7/24/2014

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Connecting The Dots

Just Do It!

In My Mind

My Second Chance

A Naked Angel

Field Workers

God The Father

The Temptation Of Pomegranate

Neglected Momentum

A Stop

Fading Off

The Home I Knew Is Gone

Fortune Cookie

Alone In The Trench

Resurrection

Liberation

I Am Good At Doing Nothing

On The Nature Of Things

Redefining Normal

Nobel Prize

In Cooperation With Walt Whitman

Joseph’s Legacy

My Jewish Classmates

Lena Danchenko

The Versatile Pot

The Family Album

My Mother

Laundry

There Is Nothing To See Here

On The Death Of Professor V

On The Death Of My Father

The Gloves

The Razzmatazz

Colored Dreams

The Daydreamer

The Rain

Hope

The Bridge

Somebody

The Hungry Poem

The Faust Trick

The Breast-Beating About The Sixties At The Solana Beach Antique Shop

The Gelatin Silver Black-And-White Photograph

Reading Dante On San Francisco Bart

London

Havana

Citizen Of Modesto

Debunking The Impossible

I Am Gifted In Many Ways

Life Seasons

Japanese Proverb

A Second-Hand Breather

Ukraine

Peace Sign

My Tribute To Mandela

My Friend Ed Musing On His Late Uncle Elmer’s Old Black-And-White Photo

FOREWORD

Helen Kanevsky is a Russian-born American poet and writer. She enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and walking her intelligent dog Sierra. Helen is a vivid, lifelong reader, a diligent Netflix user, and a theater and museum devotee. Being the mother of two outstanding children, who are grownups now, she has nothing to teach them anymore and, fortunately, can learn a lot from them today. Helen’s loving and supportive husband shares her value system. The author sees life as an endless chain of possibilities. She believes that there is still something for her in store. A stubborn individual believing equally in hard work and a lucky chance, she thinks that her ability to write well depends on her youthful looks. The author is a person who loves buying clothes but dresses pretty sloppily, who wouldn’t mind having an extra drink occasionally, who is not superstitious at all, and who is totally open-minded. It is easy to go on and on about Helen Kanevsky, but it would be much more impressive if the readers discover her unconventional world on their own from her poems.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It is my privilege to thank several delightful people for their help with this book: Bruce Neuburger from San Mateo Adult School for introducing me to English grammar and for his sensibility to social injustice; Professor Arlie Zolynas from MiraCosta College for introducing me to the world of American literature and American culture; Marie Jordan, a poet and novelist, for teaching me the ABCs of writing; Karen Gaines for her enormous effort of editing my poems; my friend Terrie Wallace for encouraging me to keep writing and for sharing Sierra, the dog, with me; my good friends and neighbors Ed and Ann Arnold; my husband, Leonid Gornik for the unconditional love and support of my crazy idea to become an American poet and for the cover design; my daughter Sofia for giving me her clock with caged girls inside for the book cover; my son Vladimir for always finding time to read my poems even when busy with his demanding job and five kids; and my friend Helen Wallace for her engaging stories and for making for me a unique rag doll, appearing on the back cover of my book.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

Unnaturally purple juicy plums,

suspicious-looking and probably doctored goat cheese,

honey that looks too pure,

and a sweet hummingbird

circling a few inches