THE POEMS OF MINDY MATIJASEVIC

TO THE EARTH´S FLOWERS When you turn out to be beautiful all the creepy insects and arachnids crawl out of the darkness to get near you, to be on you, in you, sucking, nibbling. When you turn out to be beautiful They come out to, in some way, devour you. Claw at your heart, try to claim it as theirs look for places within to penetrate, to work their slimy selves inside, searching for your gems to take and leave you empty.

URBAN GODDESS She´s an urban goddess Has a woman home Rounded, shaped as a dome Where stretch marks Are worn as badges Veins and bellies bulge Talking and singing and laughing abound and spontaneous shimmies occur.  A home where menstrual flow is celebrated welcoming fertility and maturity where women´s periods like the phases of the moon are not altered but respected. A home where girls are safe, clits protected as they were physically designed to be. A home where boys and men are welcome to love, not rule.  She´s an urban goddess. Let her in.

1/3 TWINKIE TOO MUCH My aunt Selma´s 3 children had a package of 3 Twinkies and were made to share with me. The oldest one gave me 1/3 of his. The youngest one gave me 1/3 of his. The middle one, the only girl, decided I shouldn´t end up with three thirds when they´d end up with only two. “You´d have more than us,’ she said. They had 2 parents, 2 sets of grandparents, and 2 siblings to my having no functioning parents at all. I guess my cousin Robin, like her mother, could tolerate me as long as I knew my place.

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Hidden Treasure Reading Series     About Hidden Treasure The Hidden Treasure Reading Series was born from my desire to bring some of the best of Manhattan to the Bronx via poetry/spoken word artists. This desire was met with a bar owner, Johnny, who wanted to have a poetry night at his bar -- Johnny O's at 2152 Westchester Avenue in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. The rest is poetic history. Publicist Anne Leighton donates her services; we've been written about in local papers and featured on the cable show "BronxTalk" and video magazine "Bronx Magazine." Bob Cohen, lifetime friend and fellow writer, has helped me in every way with this project as he does with very many aspects of my life. Hidden Treasure has been going and growing since October 2003. WE'VE GONE MONTHLY! READINGS AT 8pm   Poetry/Prose Readings The last Monday night of the month at 8:00PM, the Hidden Treasure Reading Series features a poet or prose writer. We've had some great ones! In our first year, we've had the pleasure of hearing the works of (in the order that they appeared) John Rodriquez, Ken McManus, Bob Cohen, Jackie Sheeler, Peter Dolack, Denis Gray, Tommy Doyle (musician), Miriam Stanley, Oscar Bermeo, Claudia Alick, Stefanie Lipsey, Tony Hoffman, Lora Renee Tucker, Rosette Capotorto, Marguerite Maria Rivas, Brett Axel, Chavisa Woods, Radomir Luza Jr., Alison Koffler, performance poet Eric "Zork" Alan, and for our first birthday, Lou Benjamin. Short story writer Bob Cohen kicked off our second year with stories of growing up in the Bronx and caving throughout the world and was followed by poet Robert Milby, Tiffany Osedra Miller, Liz Fania Werner, Thaddeus Rutkowski, Cecly Placenti, Bruce Weber's No Chance Ensemble, Anne Leighton accompanied by actors/musicians Brad Hougham and Jann Klose, F. Albert Salinas, Vi viana Grell, Dayl Wise, Ahi msa Bodhran, Nancy Haiduck, Lucy Aponte, Jean Lehrman, and Kurt Sass. Our third year began with E.J. Antonio. An OPEN MIC follows, hosted by Mindy Matijasevic (me), and truly welcomes prose, music, monologues, and short scenes as well as poetry. We have had many hidden treasures at the open mic, making each evening so rich an experience. One of my favorites, Frankie Michele, once said about the poetry nights, "there's always magic." Johnny O's is at 2152 Westchester Avenue (1/2 block from the Castle Hill Avenue stop on the #6 train). (718) 792-6078 No cover/ no minimum/ yes contributions. Questions? Feel free to contact me at mindyinthebronx@aol.com or call Johnny O's at (718) 792-6078. The media may contact Anne Leighton at   leightonmedia@aol.com or (718) 881-8183. http://hometown.aol.com/mindyinthebronx/myhomepage/business.html