Poetry

. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin in reference to the recent storm in Maine In Maine the Governor had to delay A hearing where the government had planned To air, promote, consider and to weigh A law where...

. . Reviewed Book: Songs of My Life and Death by Peter Hartley, Grosvenor House Publishing Limited, May, 2023 by Susan Jarvis Bryant . Songs of My Life and Death is a treasure trove of poetic gems. It is a...

. Curse of the Desert Ill-tempered droughts strip lands of foliage sheath. Its barren womb still yields a wilted crust that liberates, from layers underneath, a swell of ruffled soil and choking...

. Red and Green . Red Tomatoes Tomatoes fresh or in a jar Must top the list of red by far. Good in various cuisine, Rich in healthy lycopene. According to a dietician, Cook to get the most nutrition. Add to...

. Whence Come You, Shepherdess? . Translator's Note: “D’où Viens-tu, Bergère” was one of a number of old songs and carols from the French region of Périgord collected by Emmanuel Casse and Eugène...

. 10 Great Poems for Teaching in High School Classrooms by James Sale . 1. Language with a Twist . I Saw a Peacock… I saw a Peacock with a fiery tail I saw a blazing comet drop down hail I saw a Cloud with...

. December Oak Leaves Puis çà, puis là, comme le vent varie, A son plaisir sans cesser nous charrie, (The wind, gleefully, pushing us, changing its mind, Forwards and backwards, all of the...

. . Webb Beyond the vast and empty sky, Where darkness dwells forever wide, The eye arrives to question, "Why?" The universe has long denied A distant glimpse to those below Who seek to see where stars...

. Miles Fidelis (The Faithful Soldier)  for Joseph Salemi, whose essay introduced me to the soldier of this poem. The city shakes! Vesuvius spouts fire As Vulcan grins through Jupiter’s hot breath. Brute...

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. Are you looking for a good poem to read at your Christmas party or gathering? Is it a more serious or light-hearted event? Christmas poems come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. They can be short or...

. Against All Earthly Fire “Our earthly fire … no matter how fierce or widespread it may be is always of limited extent.” —A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce A checkered board in...

. Cattleman Sinewed arms and knotted hands, head inclined, intense you peer Toward the heavens, clear-sky eyes Viewing the parade of years. Corrals of cattle, sagebrush, sun with grief and gratitude are...

. The Color Plaid At Christmastime, when I was just a lad Of eight or nine, my aunt would bring me gifts: Some books of course, and shirts—but always plaid. I’d little sense of tartan, clan, or...

. A Travelogue of Wonders My friends, I’m here to speak of wondrous sights. The first, at Alexandria’s port, was built By Sostratus. Of all the harbor lights, This brilliant beam, when lit, outshines the...

. The Best Thing… What’s the best thing A man can do For his children--- Just what is true? It's not about The sports they play. It's not about Their meals each day. It's not about The songs they...

. Soft the Morning Starlight Shines Soft the morning starlight shines __Above in black-hued skies, Whose dark aspect, foreboding mien __Bid me not arise. I long to lay as yet a-bed __In cozy covers all, While...

. Here We Go Again… by Joseph S. Salemi Oh dear… it looks like the hillbilly software salesman is having another moral fit. Michael R. Burch of Nashville Tennessee has posted more venomous comments about...

. The Anarchist’s Wish “all the great men in the world and all the nobility could be hanged, and strangled with the guts of the priests” __---Jean Meslier, French “Priest” (1664–1729) “And the...

. Evening, Washington Metro Entrained, en masse, an ebb as from a beach: the tide drawn by the Capitol (the dome our moon) subsides. We move as one, yet each toward some divisibility called home. The trope...

. Fartgates: Of Biden and Kerry That climate crap (no pun intended)They’re pushing is so much projection,A bellywash that’s open-endedFrom an open-ended nether-section. The gasbags blather on and let...

. What’s Left to Say? a rhupunt  When women’s plans Are like a man’s, So they act trans, What’s left to say? When folks believe That to conceive Is cause to grieve, What’s left to say? When...

. Limericks for Lame Cowboys A cowboy who came from Seattle, Had a habit of disturbing cattle. __The horse made a jump. __He fell on his rump, And now he can't ride in the saddle. The cowboy was brave and had...

. 1.How odd a fallen snow’s fresh reassurance,Begotten in a winter’s biting cold,But taking edges off a world waxed old,And slaloming thought into other currents. 2.Oh how our minds do wander—even...

. Moon Before Yule The ashen lantern leavening the skyBegins in languor to proclaim sublimeFestivity to winter’s weather eye. The dome of heaven echoes back the chimeOf peals ethereal arising heardIn...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTgWaNsnpE . . The Odyssey, 21.388-22.125, translated with an eye on Homer's instinctively cinematic style. by Homer, translated by Mike Solot The cowherd, Philoetius,...

. Fugal Harmonies Softly chanted serpentinous neumes, melodic levitation, heavenbound, monotonal meditative sound; a capella in medieval rooms. Then Bach, delighting in the past, exhumes archaic modes. His...

. 10 Best Poems for Funerals by Susan Jarvis Bryant The right poem at a funeral service can make that final farewell extra special, but choosing the right one is not an easy task. I have chosen the poems below...

. To My Daughter A woman’s life is hard, they say---and true, Though now not as our mothers understood: They battled nature’s facts and custom’s due; Your battle will be for true womanhood. Though all...

. It Was Only a Winter’s Tale based on David Essex's classic 1982 Christmas song The nights are ever short and growing cold; the front door lies ajar from when you left one evening, though your reasons were...

. A Harvard Education Who dares to say that Harvard in The present situation No longer is a purveyor of A top-notch education? Why even its own President Just now was taught to deem Free speech of great...

. Thanksgiving I’m thankful most for what I can’t describe, Though otherwise I’m clever as can be At secular and sacred repartee. Yet when it comes to all that I’ve imbibed Of graces poured abundantly...

. Greta Thunberg Meets the Emerald Queen Part II of "The Emerald Queen: A Legend from the Future" One day through the forest leaves wafted her song, Attracting a young girl who wandered along, Who loved to go...

. Unsocial Addictions Why do some people lie, brag, or act mean?It must pump them up, like a jolt of caffeine.But soon they come down, right to where they have been,And can’t get back up, till they do it...

. Yet Another Year The birthday bells reverberate __Through haunted towns That lead you to an ancient gate __Beside which clowns Laugh aloud and break down in tears; __They stand and wait, Resembling dreams...

. There Is a Way? Is there a way for beauty to be painted with a word? Is there a way to write in ways so music can be heard? Is there a way to make a point that others can’t ignore? Is there a way to say...

. Convictions of My Thoughts and Deeds Convictions of my thoughts and deeds are vapors, not substantial things. There are no clouds that hold the breeze, they toss about on errant winds. __Look yonder!...

. The Risen Though now the hearth is left to smolder __And light will soon be gone; Fire shall rise from hearts far bolder __And shine like morning dawn! Though the trees now lie here withered __With leaves...

. Sonnet for Mom (October 21, 1933 - March 28, 2014) I could not see how much she cared for me; Her faults were amplified in my young mind. But now I’m only left with memories; Perspective changes as I look...

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