Art and Nature The well is deep Where poets keep Their unused words, And sylvan groves Are treasure troves...

  Star of Wonder We read of three Wise Men at Christmas each year Who left home on a journey...

  Yeonmi Park’s Advice to Americans You don’t ever want to be a country that’s like North Korea, where a...

  Caravaggio Light floods the window, spearing glass and Matthew. Leaning forward now, in conversation, he is called. The bright...

  Refrigerator Bird “Say the word for penguin.” Jen Jen waited. Silence. Then I guessed: “Refrigerator bird?” Laughter shook the...

  The Oak Trees Stunned by the sunlight on a winter day, A shock too strong to meet, I turned...

  A Cardinal on a Snowy Day A single cardinal, on a snowy day, Cloistered in a nearby hemlock branch...

  The Mayor’s a Maniac by Susan Jarvis Bryant The zodiac’s off track. The Little Bear is lost. The mayor’s...

  Single Room Cigarette, 17th Floor Yale Club of Manhattan “...the earthly city glories in itself; the City of Heaven...

  Legacy of Light One by one, extinguished stars return to take their places in the fallen night; So long...

  The Swarm "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" From Lord of the Flies, by William Goldring...

  Lament of a Poet Falsely Accused of Using AI A charlatan, a master thief am I, the ghost of...

  A Gift from the South Seven degrees outside. How can it be that clouds float northwards? It’s not arctic...

  New Year’s Peeve   I. Cassandra’s Countdown The Eve arrives in sequin-spangled zing. The clock ticks on as tipsy...

  Homage to Brigitte Bardot ---God bless Brigitte Bardot for her courage and frankness. “And God Created Woman…” yes, indeed—...

  Dearth of Emotional Intelligence Most everyone believes they have the skill To understand and manage their emotions, But some...

    Fireflies Driving down a country road one sultry summer evening, with headlights sweeping through the little clouds of...

  Real Poetry Free verse is naught but prose in guise. No one can tell me otherwise. Confessions, images, and...

  Flaws Awareness of a flaw Does not negate its gnaw; It chews upon the self And cultivates itself. Investing...

  Her Grace The day arrived when Edna was too blind To live alone. She gave her things away— The...

  Twelve Labors More Part I. And There He Was   I. And there he was! Great Socrates who knew...

  A Perfect Match is Found _Some people love the valleys. _Some people love the mountains. _Some people love the...

  The Seven Crossings When I was a child, my mother sung Of verdant plains where bright light hung, Of...

  An Open Book I pray that I may be an open book, A simple person on a simple path,...

Poet and painter Paul Erlandson reads his work at the Society of Classical Poets' in-person Poetry Symposium held in Naperville,...

  Otto and Octavius at Christmas Mother and Father Octopus, And Otto and Octavius, A cephalopodic family, Live in the...

  Darkness and Dawn   I. Christmas Whispers A brood of vipers slithers in the sun With darkest hearts and...

  Nativity In midnight fields we eating, bleating sheep (and some asleep) pursued our ovine way as shepherds rudely passed...

  Still, Still, Still A Translation and Musical Arrangement of a German Carol   "Still, Still, Still" is a German-language...

  Ishtoka There’s a lake on the way to Ishtoka Bay whose name I won’t recite. It’s the kind of...

  Krampus Traces, Tracks and Rounds ’em up   The Prologue St. Nicholas compiles a list each year Of children...

  The Final Cricket The August cricket-choir’s crescendo, In percussive stereo, Extends its forte clamor, frantic For its final chance...

  Emotional Ocean We sail or putt a tiny skiff, When tidal waves force us adrift _Over white caps of...

  Virgo Too late, too late, the summertime has gone. Alone, I wander in the bleakening That creeps across the...

  Arga’il’s Epistle to the Priests of Moloch Hail, Brethren of the Sacrificial Rite, Ye priests of Moloch, pride of...

  Fog of Confusion I claim these rolling hills _Of age-old granite, And the shadow of their bulk _Upon my...

    https://youtu.be/lt_M2Lf99mE The book is available on Amazon here.     Leslie Lippincott Hidley is retired from the safety...

  Christmas Stockings   I Nigh ev’ry sock I’ve ever worn Was gift to me on Christmas morn– A fact...

  Dirty White Dwight’s Plight Finally, the rains return, And Dwight the snowman’s taciturn Sad features are yet sadder still,...

  Safer? My photos were safer in boxes My words were secure in my books. They say that the cloud’s...