photo of Victoria of Baden as a bride (Smycka sth)‘The Wedding Dress’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick The Society April 3, 2025 Culture, Humor, Poetry 8 Comments . The Wedding Dress The dress, first cleaned and vacuum-packed, _Was safely stored back then, Remaining perfectly intact _And never seen again. . . The Prestigious Publication’s Poetry The words seem arbitrarily selected, And randomly presented on the page. With any meaning in them undetected, And I’m as smart as most folks of my age. Its editors and poets must get pleasure, In feeling high enough to see sublime Endowment in what most could never treasure, And I, prestige or not, won’t waste my time. . . The Joy of Leftovers We mixed fresh veggies, grass-fed meat, _Good carbs and pungent spices. Tonight we’ll have a tasty treat, _Tomorrow sloth suffices. . . The New Conservatives Are Democrats The efforts to cut waste and fraud __Have wide support, While Democrats, conservatively, __Stand athwart. . . Russel Winick recently started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 8 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson April 3, 2025 You obviously have a chauvinistic male point of view regarding wedding dresses. Ha, Ha! By the way, I have about 40 plastic containers of stuff I loved that I may never open and see again in my lifetime. When I was in graduate school, I came across books by Talcott Parsons that defied understanding with such highly obscure words and phrases. He is still the epitome in my mind of one that fits your description. Some foods need time to blend and enhance the flavor. They seem to improve with age (like cheese?). I am still pondering “athwart” as meaning either “across” or “counter to.” Russel, you already know how much I enjoy your chiseled snappy poetry. Reply Russel Winick April 3, 2025 Thanks Roy. “The Wedding Dress” derived from a recent conversation between two women about the irony of their unseen wedding dresses. Yes, “counter to” is the intended meaning of “athwart” in “The New Conservatives.” And thanks again for your always-kind words. Reply Joseph S. Salemi April 3, 2025 Four snappy little gems of poetry, each one neatly composed. About unusual vocabulary in poetry — I think you’ll find that today the workshops generally forbid students to use any word at all that isn’t in the 4th-grade Basal Vocabulary List. It’s part of their campaign against “elitism” and “white privilege.” The acceptable poem has to be plain, stupid, and unproblematic. It’s all part of a long-range de-skilling program for the general public. Many editors will not even accept a poem that deviates from the ordinary Subject-Verb-Object syntax of a sentence. And they would excommunicate you for using words like “sublime,” “pungent,” “sloth,” “suffices,” and “athwart.” Reply Russel Winick April 3, 2025 Thank-you-very-much-Sir. I-will-try-to-do-better-next-time. I-don’t-want-to-make-anyone-mad. Reply Cynthia Erlandson April 3, 2025 I also decided long ago not to waste my time with the “prestigious” poetry publication. Your description of its content is quite amusing. Reply Russel Winick April 3, 2025 Thank you Cynthia. It actually was difficult to find words to describe how bad I felt that poetry was. Reply Margaret Coats April 3, 2025 Russel, this group of four (each and all) is even better than your usual. Your description of a prestigious publication’s poetry is not only well done, but indicates why poetry has lost its place in general periodicals. Decades ago, original poetry appeared in many kinds of magazines and newspapers. Most did not deal mainly with poetry, but added a poem or two or three to their typical content. But when The New Yorker and The Atlantic and others began to lead the way in promoting modernism, readers either complained or lost interest. Gradually this became clear to editors and the vast majority of publications abandoned poetry, leaving no platform for the many poets who could formerly think of placing their work in the local daily news or a monthly ladies’ magazine. Modernist poetry suits only the echo chambers likely to be read by its writers. As you show, it is an elite niche market. About wedding dresses, you tell exactly what happens to most when the bridegroom’s tuxedo goes back to the rental store. I know of just one happy circumstance when wedding dresses get recycled. At Traditional convents, girls about to receive the religious habit go to the altar as brides of Christ, wearing a wedding dress–which is often their mother’s. Afterward the family may donate the dress to the convent, so that there will always be a few of various sizes available if a girl has none. But the dress must be fittingly modest, covering arms, chest, and back, which is rarely the style these days. And maybe that’s a reason why married women find so little occasion to wear the dress again! Reply Russel Winick April 4, 2025 Thank you Margaret. I’m sure that “elite niche” would like my poetry (which also is a niche, but not elite ) about as much as I liked what triggered this poem, so to each their own, huh? For “The Wedding Dress,” I researched what some people do who want the dresses re-used somehow — and there are many fine options – but ultimately I decided not to take the poem in that direction. Thanks as always for your great insights. 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Roy Eugene Peterson April 3, 2025 You obviously have a chauvinistic male point of view regarding wedding dresses. Ha, Ha! By the way, I have about 40 plastic containers of stuff I loved that I may never open and see again in my lifetime. When I was in graduate school, I came across books by Talcott Parsons that defied understanding with such highly obscure words and phrases. He is still the epitome in my mind of one that fits your description. Some foods need time to blend and enhance the flavor. They seem to improve with age (like cheese?). I am still pondering “athwart” as meaning either “across” or “counter to.” Russel, you already know how much I enjoy your chiseled snappy poetry. Reply
Russel Winick April 3, 2025 Thanks Roy. “The Wedding Dress” derived from a recent conversation between two women about the irony of their unseen wedding dresses. Yes, “counter to” is the intended meaning of “athwart” in “The New Conservatives.” And thanks again for your always-kind words. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi April 3, 2025 Four snappy little gems of poetry, each one neatly composed. About unusual vocabulary in poetry — I think you’ll find that today the workshops generally forbid students to use any word at all that isn’t in the 4th-grade Basal Vocabulary List. It’s part of their campaign against “elitism” and “white privilege.” The acceptable poem has to be plain, stupid, and unproblematic. It’s all part of a long-range de-skilling program for the general public. Many editors will not even accept a poem that deviates from the ordinary Subject-Verb-Object syntax of a sentence. And they would excommunicate you for using words like “sublime,” “pungent,” “sloth,” “suffices,” and “athwart.” Reply
Russel Winick April 3, 2025 Thank-you-very-much-Sir. I-will-try-to-do-better-next-time. I-don’t-want-to-make-anyone-mad. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson April 3, 2025 I also decided long ago not to waste my time with the “prestigious” poetry publication. Your description of its content is quite amusing. Reply
Russel Winick April 3, 2025 Thank you Cynthia. It actually was difficult to find words to describe how bad I felt that poetry was. Reply
Margaret Coats April 3, 2025 Russel, this group of four (each and all) is even better than your usual. Your description of a prestigious publication’s poetry is not only well done, but indicates why poetry has lost its place in general periodicals. Decades ago, original poetry appeared in many kinds of magazines and newspapers. Most did not deal mainly with poetry, but added a poem or two or three to their typical content. But when The New Yorker and The Atlantic and others began to lead the way in promoting modernism, readers either complained or lost interest. Gradually this became clear to editors and the vast majority of publications abandoned poetry, leaving no platform for the many poets who could formerly think of placing their work in the local daily news or a monthly ladies’ magazine. Modernist poetry suits only the echo chambers likely to be read by its writers. As you show, it is an elite niche market. About wedding dresses, you tell exactly what happens to most when the bridegroom’s tuxedo goes back to the rental store. I know of just one happy circumstance when wedding dresses get recycled. At Traditional convents, girls about to receive the religious habit go to the altar as brides of Christ, wearing a wedding dress–which is often their mother’s. Afterward the family may donate the dress to the convent, so that there will always be a few of various sizes available if a girl has none. But the dress must be fittingly modest, covering arms, chest, and back, which is rarely the style these days. And maybe that’s a reason why married women find so little occasion to wear the dress again! Reply
Russel Winick April 4, 2025 Thank you Margaret. I’m sure that “elite niche” would like my poetry (which also is a niche, but not elite ) about as much as I liked what triggered this poem, so to each their own, huh? For “The Wedding Dress,” I researched what some people do who want the dresses re-used somehow — and there are many fine options – but ultimately I decided not to take the poem in that direction. Thanks as always for your great insights. Reply
