Poetry

. The School Bell The schooldays weave a maze inside my mind, A maze with streets resounding childish zeal; The world was then a fairy land designed For all I thought, a world with grand appeal. That giant...

. Long List of Requirements The sweet and lovely woman sought __A man to call her own. She had lots of prerequisites __And kept them cast in stone. Some friends were worried such a list __Would court...

. To My Brother after John Keats When I have fears that I may lose my sight before I've savored books I long to read, before famed writers oust my glooms with light and my starved mind their genius stories...

. A Mighty Fortress for Diane My eyes ache from the tears still left unshed As I remember all she meant to me. I still can’t quite accept that she is dead And find scant solace in the eulogy. A vibrant life...

. The Five Ages Beneath rose bower and sweet cherry shade Long since have Saturn’s golden people slept And for their sins the silver race were swept Hence and in lightning-blasted clefts were laid; Next were...

. Song of the Snow by Amado Nervo (1870-1919) translated by Isabel Chenot How miraculous Nature is! Doesn't the snow give light? Immaculate and mysterious, tremulous and quiet: it appears to kneel in noiseless...

. Bunker Hill: The Death of Joseph Warren from Legends of Liberty, Volume 2 Dramatis Personae Joseph Warren – Physician, spymaster, and major general of the colonial militia William Howe – Commander of...

. Fallen Hummingbird A formal-verse remake of a free-verse poem of the same name written by my mother on October 16, 2000, in memory of my grandmother Your hands, dear mother, on my mind have been— Your calm...

. Saint Sebastianus Sebastianus, soldier, pinioned, bleeding, Stands at his lonely and forgotten post Unperceived—no, even unsuspected— By the diseased and ulcerated world. Stomachs swollen with dyspeptic...

. The Unchecked Pawn Quickly Black castled king-side and planned his attack. White then countered with confidence, primed for a sack, with the sneakiest strategy he could contrive: nonchalantly he pushed his...

. Shakespeare Re-placed Re-Verse Engineering In the picture above, SCP poet James A. Tweedie has taken the image of Venus from Botticelli’s Primavera and relocated her to the upstairs bathroom in his home....

. The 10 Best Poems of Emily Dickinson by Monika Cooper Being presented with an Emily Dickinson poem is like getting a telegram from a strange planet: our own. There may not be any words you don’t know. But...

. Homebound They get too old to come to Mass, too sick, Too shaky on their legs or just too scared To leave the house. The bleak arithmetic Of life has caught them sorely unprepared And suddenly the simple...

. The Darkened Hill We drove and found the childhood place where you would run and hide for space away from family pain and disgrace. Up to the top of the darkened hill we crept and stopped to drink our...

. Without a Dad Without a Dad, you are not sure, And never know you could endure The many doubts that blur your sight, Or fears that stalk you every night; If he’s not present, there’s no cure. And then...

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. Venus Sighed Venus sighed and turned aside, tired of seeing people try to feebly mimic Beauty’s pride, too easily pleasing hungry eyes that eat what they are given. Steeped in heaps of plastic...

. The Old Native Chieftain The old native chieftain from forests among __Bright sparkling lakes of the tribe, With death approaching instinctively covets __The spot where his transition lies. Reclining in...

. Our Faith Is What?--- Canto XXIV of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns “O fellowship elected to the feast  ____Beatrice says to those amid the fixed stars __of our blessed...

. Puffins The puffin’s beak is bright: Quince yellow stripes contrast With chests of fluffy white And wings of satin black, But suit dense orange web feet. When jauntily upcast, Snouts call for tap and...

. Unchristian I hope you burn in Hell for nasty things You said to me, but if you don’t, I hope A host of energetic angel wings Will lash your eyes.  The blurry King of Kings, As toward His golden God-side...

. . Poetry for Children by Shaun C. Duncan . To speak of poetry for children might appear redundant at first. With rhymed and metered poetry hounded out of every "respectable" corner of the literary...

. Enlightened Minds Most live life unsure and frightened, bearing burdens they want lightened. Waking, working, living, dying. Wondering why they keep on trying. Until thoughts that sound so heightened come...

. The Barista’s Hands Surprisingly, she knew my name and used the chance to give a fleeting glimpse and catch me off my guard. I cocked my head, perused her angled pose, and stretched enough to match her...

. A Valedictorian’s Address at Harvard, about Claudine Gay written at the request of Brian Yapko, and in deepest appreciation of Chris Rufo, who broke this story wide open We’re gathered here to say...

. Kintsugi  There is an ancient practice in Japan--- Chipped and broken vessels, dear to hearts, Are mended with a striking golden blend. These cracked ceramics, kissed with artistry, Have former glory...

. The Resistance There’s something in the way you hear __My meanings when I speak; It draws me dangerously near, __Makes my defenses weak. There’s understanding in your eyes __That shakes me with each...

. Ghosts: At the gate of Auschwitz Наш поезд уходит в Освенцим— Сегодня и ежедневно (Our train is departing for Auschwitz, today as it does every day) —А ....

. Foothold Of hearth and home the better part is not the decorator’s art: not tasteful pillows, painted walls, or photographs along the halls, but sturdy footing, on whose rust a body steps with careless...

. Jewish Detractors of Israel Israel’s Jewish detractors, do you experience remorse? How does it feel to be traitors? Low’s the price of your voice. Jewish self-hatred runs rampant when Israel’s under...

. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/87O4CNfrZ2M https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ufJcOO-y7Ho?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GG9J2oEEiyY?feature=share . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and...

. Symbolic Expression As polar opposites these days,The liberals and conservativesExpress opinions different ways. They rarely ever are in sync,Since Liberals always say “I feel…,”Conservatives start...

. The Hunchback The belfry beckons. Once again it’s time. This is my cross, the task I’m forced to bear. “To the Cathedral! Hear the noon bells chime!” I summon all of Paris here for...

. In The Beginning We’re stuck in the middle, unsure of the ending but guessing the outcome by how things are trending should make it apparent it’s foolish to frolic and cause us to worry and be...

. Nero Redivivus Others suppose that he was not killed, but withdrawn instead so that he might be supposed killed and that he is still alive and in concealment in the vigour of age he had reached at the time...

. On Turning the Page of a New Year---2023-2024 The hour-glass is almost void of sand,a rounding of the sun described in grainsthat drain away. Now little time remainsas New Year stalks the browns and greens...

. A Prayerful Pantoum for the Perpetually Pessimistic  "We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."  ---Robert Burns For bellyachers belching bile this year For sourpusses (huffish and...

. New Year's Eve So swiftly tick the minutes to the close Of these twelve months, this day, and life itself! Which jars of clay will stay upon the shelf Another year, and which will break? God knows. For only...

. Woke Christmas We dream of Christmas like we used to know, With Santa Claus and sleigh rides in the snow, Big families all together, super-sized, But leftist thinking has metastasized And each says,...

. After the Stroke Aphasia: an impairment of a previously held ability to produce or understand spoken, written, or signed language, due to disease or injury of the brain. With pencil at the...