Poetry

. In a Twenty-minute Tuk-tuk Ride That day, the river of our luck had dried. No taxis. Air-conditioned buses crammed with half the town. Just when I said, "We're dammed," a tuk-tuk by the roundabout defied my...

. The Bar ---after Lord Alfred Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar" The sail is set, the breeze is strong. I pray the crossing won’t take long. My Pilot knows these waters well. But time and tide no man can...

. Dragons Lost at Sea In salty seas green dragons fly the waves, With plastic scales—a man-made guard from rot. Submerged to sleep in rocky water caves; Bereft of flames they blow and bubble not. A cargo...

. I No Longer See It on Mulberry Street I used to walk home from school each day, then report back to Pop, what I saw on my way. I'd imagine all sorts of things wondrous and neat, in my mind, with my brain, on...

. Galileo Under Confinement Scene: Florence, 1636 AD. In the third year of his life imprisonment (as sentenced by the Holy Inquisition) Galileo Galilei---now 71---poses at his prison-home for the Flemish...

. Notre Dame Re-Opens To touch this holiness we have no right, Nor did we earn the privilege to restore Its grandeur. Bringing anguished hearts to soar, We purge remembrance of one fiery night. No lives were...

. Variation on a Poem by Blok How hard it is to walk among the living And make like you are not already dead, And speak up apropos of life’s misgiving To generations shrouded out ahead. And, looking...

. Offerings of the Heart A Symbolic Poem . The songs of Yamato From seeds of healing sprout As offerings of our hearts, And if ever hurt we feel, Swiftly songs arise; Heard by hearts, we heal. For one need...

. Fake Sales “Fifty Percent Off”The store signs all say,But I have to scoff---There is simply no wayThat the clothes I picked outFrom the “sale” in that store,Were---on this there’s no doubt---Ever...

. Meditation on Herbert’s “Church Monuments” "…Mark, here below, How tame these ashes are, how free from lust, That thou mayst fit thyself against thy fall." —George Herbert, “Church...

. After the Snow The snow fell through the night, night-long, The deepest snowfall of the year. By dawn it covered everything, Pearl gray unfolding everywhere As light leaked inward from beyond Through...

. On the Death of a Child To lose a child is tragic, yet those winks to tenderness, to bonding, still exist as memories, creating lasting links twixt parent and the prematurely missed. The day of birth; the...

. Meditation 1 “Grace has drawn nigh to mouths, once blasphemous, and has made them harps; sounding praise.” ---Homily on Our Lord, (1) "Let your speech always be with grace." ---Colossians 4.6 Grace...

. Roofless Church The stone-hewn walls, No window sash. No pews, no halls. Burnt logs, damp ash. The roof, vanished. No organ flues. Shaped block, granite, And endless view. Above, hawks soar. No bells to...

. American Espionage and the Soviet Target I was assigned to Russia as an Army attaché— A legal spy who operated every single day. The era of the Soviets was run by KGB. Just one uncareful step and then...

. "It Just So Happens" Dark creatures prowl the islands of the mind On silent paw, as panthers in the night; Two em'rald eyes, and shadow intertwine To weave a myst'ry with the curved moon's light. We sail our...

. When Poems Are Lyrics and Vice Versa by James A. Tweedie Lyrics are poems written to join with music to form a unity in the hope that the two together will transcend what either the words or music can...

. When Fervid Female Stoops to Folly after Goldsmith’s “When lovely woman stoops to folly” When fervid female stoops to folly and starts insisting she is male, proclaiming that she’s Paul, not...

. Speak Loud God's Praise ---to the tune of Ellacombe ("I Sing the Mighty Power of God") Speak loud the praise of God most high!__Give thanks for He is good!Let those who know His power to save__Be first to...

. Lamb and Lion God spoke and caused a great commotion, putting time and space in motion. Nothing is now, or was ever not a part of His endeavor. That’s why He’s the Great I Am. The stars proclaim His...

. Black Friday Before Christmas Many of the stories are real ones from the Internet. ‘Twas the month before Christmas right after Thanksgiving.I ate lots of turkey. I really was living.I decided to go to the...

. Fair Game on Thanksgiving Day Please tell me if you think I’ve crossed a line by unremittingly abusing you with strings of salty words not rightly mine but borrowed from a wicked man I knew who’d done...

. The Greatest Gift of All To wake and find I still can see and feel And know deep down what is and isn’t real. To weep when all I’ve planned is ground to sand Yet somehow find once more the strength to...

. Celestial Potatoes Thanksgiving morning, poised I stand: near cutting board, honed knife in hand. My self-taught method must suffice: ten pounds of tubers, peel and dice, pot-boil, purée with whipping...

. Book Reviewed: Uttering the Unutterable: Aristotle, Religion, and Literature by Louis Groarke, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2023 by Margaret Coats Literature is shortchanged in the modernist and...

. https://youtu.be/ayfBdVJxeKk . . Andrew Benson Brown's epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, chronicles the major events of the American Revolution. He writes history articles for American Essence...

. Election Correction Newsome, Whitmer, Pritzker, Hockel, Murphy Have a strange idea of how things should be. Then, of course, there’s Minnesota’s Walz Simply watching folks destroy their malls. This is...

. Ode to the Dogs Puppy to playmate they bring us much joy whether sleeping or hunting for favorite toys. Mischief abounds while they teethe and make noise as we patiently groom their behavioral ploys. Rapid...

. Samhain Behind the turning leaves a red-breast peeks,In light dim-lit by mists on Samhain dawn;The earth is churned by drumming, grubbing beaks,Before the frosts are hard and food is worn.In orange...

. The Ballad of Mark and P’Nut The lamp is lit, computer’s on, __My coffee has been brewed. I scroll to find the harrowing tale, __The story millions viewed. At twelve o’clock, October’s end, __A rap...

. Madrigal à la Tasso The surface of the lake reflects the flight _Of one and then another swan; _How it would add to my delight __To know where each has gone, _As when, my love, I look upon Those rapid...

. The Lop-Sided House A lop-sided house on the edge of a cliff; A family trying so hard to be nice As their eavesdropping neighbors spy, wondering if They can catch every word said on every device. The...

. Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, Loved by the Viewer and the Baronet The lady wanted prettiness and style. (The artist wanted pounds.) The chintz Gave both her wants. A “quizzical half-smile” Invites a...

. Underfoot Fescue and clover: A luxuriant carpet Fit for a king’s feet. . . Murder They take noisy flight, Leaving the harvest’s stubble To hungry field mice. The crows will not make a sound When they...

. Montana High School Reunion The big fella who grew up in Butte, Claimed his high school sweetheart was so cute, __Going back would be grand __A reunion was planned So he went out and bought costly boots. He...

. Contemplative Days A sky of dim and pale display __Brings forth late autumn calm. "A restful peace," it seems to say; __My soul receives the balm. The faded leaves of golden tint __Which cover thick the...

. Smile “Nothing you wear is more important than your smile.” ---Connie Stevens I didn’t weigh your sway and worth__Until you left my faceDevoid of joy and minus mirth.__You left without a traceOf...

. The Trochaic Poems of Dorothy Parker by Joseph S. Salemi A few poets become famous, while most go down into oblivion. But a small scattering of them are eventually categorized as “minor poets,” whose...

. Talk Around the Urn In our Sunday best, on folding chairs, We solemnly talk around the urn; A tear, a sniffle, show who cares For the loved one who will not return. No box is there with dressed up...

. A Colossal Event of Avoidance “This is a colossal event of avoidance not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas.” ---Marn’i Washington, FEMA Supervisor, November...