Poetry

. Ecstasy and Me I’ve not, I fear, the spiritual thrust To quite propel myself to mystic heights; To taste the inconceivable delights That saints have savored, hallowed and nonplussed By drawing near to something so august The very soul with tender awe ignites And somewhere in the human heart...

. The Miasma Enshrouding Disneyland I came here as a fairytale-struck child; The tickets cost less than a week of pay And we would spend a carefree, joy-filled day. The park was clean; the rides were fun though mild: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean. The Haunted Mansion where blithe...

. Ode to Old Tom Old Tom he stalks the English Dales, The Patron Saint of potent ales. He makes you wobble when you walk, He makes you gobble when you talk. He warps the function of your brain, The common-sense from you, he’ll drain. He makes you hang around...

. . Traitors on Ice: Canto XXXII of Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . If I could summon up such raucous rasp __in rhymes as could apply to that sad sluice____Ninth Circle of Hell __where all the stones converge, and then could grasp my theme more...

. Beyond the Shadows  The light from above may be blinding And cause us to shelter our eyes, But promises God makes are binding, For laggards as well as the wise. At last we get used to the brightness, Descrying a path up ahead That leads to a place where uptightness...

. Paths —Inspired by “Is Mod Se Jaate Hain” (see below) by Gulzar from the film: Aandhi, 1975 Sheer multitudes of paths diverge from here— Some are jet setters, some meander slowly— Which one among these paths should I draw near? Promising fame and fortune, some paths steer Me towards...

. Two Ekphrastic Poems . The Light of the World, Holman Hunt As predawn darkness shrouds the land, With warm-lit lantern in his hand The risen Jesus stands before A rusted, weed-choked, shuttered door And knocks, and waits, in hope that he— Before the night has passed—might be Invited in...

. Icarus Sings I’ve tempted fate, And sought the sun, I’m Icarus, I’ve come undone. My wings have failed, For what it’s worth, My long descent, Shall end on earth. I tempted fate, I, fate did shun, I’m Icarus, The fallen one. I tempted fate, I sought the light, But...

. Poet Paul A. Freeman challenges you to write a nursery rhyme in the style of the Mother Goose classic "Jack and Jill." Below is his model example. Post yours in the comments below. . Nigel Neath Nigel Neath lost all his teeth Through eating too much candy; He threw...

. Child's Laughter It bubbles forth from deep inside his soul; Joy twinkles brightly through his youthful eyes, For any pain he knows, his laugh defies: This shattered world has briefly been made whole. It rings out clearer than choir bells toll, And sings God’s promise out to hopeless lives....

. To Dance with Death I caught the fierce gaze of the trickster, Death. He charred bleak Aztec ruins with his breath And shadowed me through pueblo, plaza, palace, With knife in hand---a Mexican Macbeth. The pyramids perspired with his malice. An apparition with a straw hat crowned, Death stalked...

. All Saints' Day by Gabrielle de Coignard (c.1550–1586), translated by Margaret Coats O Saints, you have your heritage in hand Because you battled Satan’s sanctimony! Though burned or tortured, you gave testimony; A thousand torments tore your valiant band. Arrived in port, you see the whirlwinds fanned Around our...

. The Legend of Ole Stingy Jack Do you recall Ole Stingy Jack?Whose tricks cost him a great set back?They say he tricked the Devil twice,But when he died he paid the price. At first denied the pearly gateAnd left to wander shadows late.The Devil did show some remorse,And gave an...

. Word Witch She’ll tease and tempt with mystic words, __This foxy sorceress. Her syntax soars like sun-bound birds--- __This wizard poetess Casts slick linguistic spells that sing __Of Cupid’s carnal kiss. Her saucy muse is sure to bring A red, red rose and diamond ring, __But cannot conjure bliss. She’ll thrill and spill the sweetest sea __Of honey...

. The Great Sonnet I set myself to write a sonnet. I labored hard and long upon it. Sweet verse some maid might shed a tear at, More ere's than one could shake a spear at. I spoke of luv, both hers and his's With lots of thee's and thou's and tis's. "My...

. Mrs. Cyclops Ain’t really gonna leave. I’ll just pretend, Brontesa. Cy and I are bound. I simply Can’t bear to turn a blind eye to my mate--- Not even if our love-life’s off of late; Not even if his skin is coarse and pimply. At least not till his...

. The Democratic Party Dressed for Halloween The Democratic Costume Party is held on Halloween With Hillary as Jezebel, the dangerous sleazy Queen. Joe Biden comes as Dracula, the vampire looking flushed, Who tries to take a bite of every female neck he touched. Kamala is a stringed Pinocchio with...

. . Plato’s Pumpkins  A patchwork quilt of pumpkins sown with gourds, odd fellows green and yellow ‘twixt-and-‘tween October’s orbs of orange the overlords of cowboy, tramp, and witch come Halloween. . The pumpkins, large and small, a fertile ground: goose eggs and horns and hooters, fat and lean —the...

. Extract from DoorWay Canto 3: Constellation of the Virgin DoorWay is the Poet’s journey through Heaven. Having left the constellation of Libra in Canto 2, he now enters the Constellation of Virgo where he finds and meets various ‘innocents’ and literal virgins of life, as well as Dr. Johnson,...

. Apocalypse Women The Christians gather at the baby’s grave. There are no tall stones in the children’s field. Red scarves veil women’s heads among the crowd And one, eyes streaming with a grief unhealed, Turns toward us, mouth wide open in her cry, Her full-throat wail. The veil of...

. Autumn by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), translated by Bruce Phenix The falling leaves seem fallen from afar, as though in heaven distant gardens faded; they fall with gestures that deny, negate. And, falling in the night, the earth’s sad weight finds solitude apart from every star. We all fall....

. Reviewed Book: Selected Verse of Émile Nelligan: Québec's Great Lyric Poet, translated with commentary by Ian Allaby, Petra Books, 2023 by Gabriella Bedetti His masts touched the sky, he sailed on seas unknown. Ses mâts touchaient l’azur, sur des mers inconnues ---Émile Nelligan’s gravestone epitaph With today’s rising trends...

. Classical Poets Live with Andrew Benson Brown Episode 7 Part 2: C.B. Anderson, Poetical Gardener If you enjoy this video, please like and subscribe on YouTube to support the production. . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gPKUavbuZs . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and reviews published in a few journals. His epic-in-progress, Legends of...

. The Number 192: Inside the Floor in which we encounter a vision of Hell ’Twas on the 192 at Tottenham Hale, It happened not so many years ago, A certain Mr. George Arbuthnot Dale Experienced a bout of vertigo. While standing on the lower deck as usual He thought...

. The Reincarnations of Donald J. Trump after Andrew Benson Brown’s Legends of Liberty  . I. 218 B.C. Above the mellow grass, cliff faces soar Like walls to house a huge primeval god. The pass into the valley is his door Through which a hundred thousand soldiers plod. Their war...

. After Brain Death Based on the article “May We Donate Our Organs?” by Drs. Jay Boyd and Paul A. Byrne:  Warm and pink, his heart still beating, Cells dividing, still digesting, Still his blood is circulating, Lungs by ventilator breathing, Wounds still healing, urine passing, Eyes still open when...

. Mike Burch Still Around? Good Lord, No… with apologies to J.C. Squire’s Ballade de l’Évolution Créatrice Strange beasts have gone to their reward— The snaky Gorgon and the Sphinx, The centaurs and the satyr horde, The Cyclops with his foetid stinks. A backward glance through time, methinks, Reveals such...

. Excusing Evil A peaceful protest just took place, and some unlucky people died. Hamas just wanted more air space where at-risk kids could paraglide. As their kids soared, they saw a crowd, and they were frightened to their core. The pulsing music was so loud, it brought past trauma...

. The Word “Let there be light,” He said and light there was. The seething chaos split to day and night And space and time were brightly set abuzz. From atom unto Adam, highest heights To deepest depths His mystery did unfold Although we still don’t understand it quite: Among...

. Classical Poets Live with Andrew Benson Brown Episode 7 Part 1: The Problem with Arts Grants If you enjoy this video, please like and subscribe on YouTube to support the production. .   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRI302_8xiA . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and reviews published in a few journals. His epic-in-progress,...

. The Life of the Party The commissar, in his most common clothes, Patrols the margins of their conversations, And tries to feign that cheer which he so loathes, But is too cluttered with recriminations To offer more than trite regurgitations Of the most tedious new orthodoxies. Instead he listens...

. Cystolitholapaxy Cystolitholapaxy (si-stow-luh-THAA-luh-pak-see): a procedure to break up bladder stones into smaller pieces and remove them “It’s Cystolitholapaxy for you, For guys of your age, it’s the best I can do. I’ll see you back here in a couple of weeks, And give me a call if you get...

. Be Careful What You Ask For “Genie, please make me a banana split.” Poof! “You are a banana split! Just feel yourself sliced down the middle. Doesn’t it feel cool, dear Tony? I’ve thrown out the peel, and now that slit is widened by three scoops of rich vanilla ice...

. The Truth about Fall Colors  I am October’s most submissive bitch, And just when I believed I’d struck it rich, The gold that hovered overhead was blown Away before I’d claimed it for my own. And now the maples turning scarlet red Will shed their leaves on every flower...

. Quiet Night Thoughts by Li Bai (701-762), translated by Talbot Hook My bed looks over bright moonlight. I muse: could it in fact be frost? I lift my head and watch the moon; I bow my head and think of home. . 静夜思 , 李白 床前明月光 疑是地上霜 举头望明月 低头思故乡...

. Unveiled, They Appear Reminiscence, and longings, and echoes unseal, from the depths in the ground which has covered, concealed, recollections of those who you meant to reveal. What your senses revere, neath our cavern of earth, Is the essence you feel, for all that we’re worth. In your mind...

. Salome's Soliloquy John the Baptist rebuked Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, for an incestuous and adulterous union with his brother’s wife, Herodias. Herodias therefore wished to kill John, and found an opportunity when her daughter Salome performed a lascivious dance at Herod’s birthday feast. Herod swore to give the...

. Avoidance I don’t sign up for group Zoom calls __With folks I know are boorish. I don’t go visit galleries __Where art is amateurish. I don’t make plans which likely will __Cause me to have to wait, At my expense for people who __Repeatedly are late. I loathe when...

. Bunker Hill an excerpt from the forthcoming Legends of Liberty, Vol. 2 . The Eve of Battle The midnight moon. The month of June. A neck Of land. A hill of sand. A group of shadows With wheelbarrows—squeaking. “Quiet, heck!” —“No speaking—whisper!” Shovels out, they burrowed Ditches and raised...

. Words of Wisdom  “The only true wisdom is knowing  you know nothing.” ---Socrates She knows the what. She knows the why. __She knows the when and where. Her tireless tongue will testify __She knows the foul from fair--- A lofty boffin strutting tall, This knowing crower knows it all. He knows the how....