Pantoum

  Of Webs and Whispers   I. The Myopic Eye ---a pantoum A spider spinning scripture for the flies--- It...

  Breath of Night A sullen breath pervades the night the rhythmic stillness I can hear where peaceful dreams grow...

  Spontaneous Conjugal Combustion ---a villanelle He simply couldn't turn the other cheek On ceaseless babble drowning out the game....

  Pigeonholed The box they shove her in is small and dark. It skews all views and leaves her little...

  Hidden Harmonies “In all chaos there is cosmos. In all disorder a secret order.” ---Carl Jung   I. Slaying...

Lydia, De-Tattooed Lady ---with apologies to Groucho Marx The years she spent performing in the sun Have made her epidermis...

  Grave New Globe   I. Lair ---a pantoum You said that owning nothing was a blessing. You whipped our...

. The Bristlecone Pine For centuries, the stalwart pine has stood __in this unwonted spot. Its shallow roots and resinous...

. I Would Say Yes ---a villanelle for Larry on our 36th Anniversary We were young and rather stupid then,...

. Auntie Barb ---a pantoum She cuts the cheats and charmers to the quick—Her tongue will skin a scoundrel in...

. Sit in Silence ---a pantoum It's pure stupidity to sit in silence. It's only idiotic to be idle. Unconscientious...

. The Core of War a pantoum The trickster charms and arms both sides--- He funds the ally and the...

. Renaissance for Rob Salminen I am as old as I have ever been, And I've not seen all that...

. Song of the Sophist a pantoum I tiptoe past all that is true--- The facts never matter to me....

. Send in the Clones Year One. Computer, help me make this switch! This lab is now my church. Advance...

. Boycott the Bullies ---a pantoum for the real women boxers at the Paris Olympics Don’t let a slappy chap...

. Betrayal a villanelle Today she spied the shadow of a snake Slither through the spreading family tree--- A curse her startled...

. All Aboard!   a pantoum He’s pumped and ripe to ride the gravy train. He’s armed with cheese and charm...

. . Peaches, Plums, and the Sistine Chapel . . I. Pondering Prufrock   a pantoum  . The women come and...

. A Prayerful Pantoum for the Perpetually Pessimistic  "We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."  ---Robert...

. Tampering with Permanence  a Seattle pantoum __Here where I live, a cloud looks like a mountain; mountains float. Like...

. Not Alexa's President a pantoum on the news story here “The real risk with AI isn't malice but competence.” ...

. Wood a pantoum It’s only furniture. But that’s both truth and lie. To find Mom’s treasured things a loving...

. The Billboard a pantoum It’s propped along the route I roll— A squatting square against the sky, Atop a...

. Come September a pantoum Ohio State’s your home come September, Though we'll be lonely, stuck as empty nesters. Our...

. FIRST PLACE . Tooth and Claw a pantoum by Susan Jarvis Bryant Observe the tooth and claw of savage deed. Beware the ferric...

. Green... Greener... Greenest...   a doomsday pantoum Zoom with raving saviors to Net Zero. Bewail our frail and ailing habitat. Become...

. Signs of the Times . I. Hymn 6-6-6 a rondeau Hymn 6-6-6 on high display— The devil’s number where...

. How to Write Contemporary Poetry a pantoum in free verse composition keep letters lower case. dump classical tradition then...

. Screened. I. The Phony Mom a true story Her phone, in hand above the stroller, Blocked her baby from...

. Could it be Love? a pantoum My wits are kissed. Could it be love? My brain is drained of...

. The Fluctuations of Modernity and Antiquity a pantoum __Something is ahead, A solemn note on open sky, __It rises...

. In Plain Sight Our enemies aren’t rattling at the gate. Our foes aren’t firing shots from foreign ground. They toy...

. The Death of the Leviathan The monster finally meets its doom: Sound out the death-knell, light the pyre! The...

. Seeing the Light by Susan Jarvis Bryant . I. Peace Be with You… a pantoum   “Peace is possible, truth...

. Aspects of Love . I. Unrequited a rondeau redoublé Tonight, my eyes are open and aware. The kiss I trusted...

. The Joys of Spring a pantoum It’s here—sweet long-awaited spring. New blooms smell lovely; skies are blue. The trilling...

. Poppy A vase of poppies on the table there, Twelve years have past, all white is now her hair....

. What Is Truth? a pantoum To keep us blind and riven You falsify the facts. You will not be...

. Hypnosis Come over here, then, and sit in this chair, Gaze at this candle-flame, empty your mind, No need...