Poetry

. The Duke D’Alençon Meets Joan of Arc What task from the dauphin comes to me hence? A lowly maid now seeks his audience. This Joan, a girl from province unheard of, They say she can hear voices from...

. An Open Poem to Evil “Gravity is real... it’s hard to keep a bag of shit in the air forever.” ---Alex Wilhelm You goofy spoofin’ kooks are pitchin’ poop. You’re selling poison no one wants to...

. Apollo in Retirement Quite early he approached a humble hut, With saxifrage and canneberge sun-brewed To melt the stone that galled the shepherd’s gut, And brighten him with warmth of health renewed. The...

. A Glass for My Father Marie-Maurille de Virot, Mademoiselle de Sombreuil (February 14, 1768—May 15, 1823) My father was the Marquis de Sombreuil: An old man when it happened, but back then The Revolution...

. On the Extradition of Julian Assange The fiends who wield the power here on earth (The ones who gag our speech to gain control) Are shouting out just what the truth is worth By extraditing this heroic...

. Who Bled When all is said and life be trod, One takeaway the Son of God Made clear, when rising from the dead? The winner here's the Guy who bled. . . Alec Ream is a writer living in Virginia. His poetic...

. A Modernization of “To His Coy Mistress” You say we should some years delay The coming of our wedding day, But God commanded us to try To fruitful be and multiply. To make new life, we cannot shirk; The...

. In Praise of Bollywood To India! To visit from afar... My journey there would be a dream fulfilled. To visit Delhi, Agra, Bangalore, To ride an elephant, pluck a sitar; I’d see a thousand temples loudly...

. Speechless I have smelt the perfect scent of the flower of a rose, Known intoxicated freedom where frangipani grows. Watched majestic rivers meet the wild and moody sea, And flown right over mountains where...

. Decolonising the Curriculum – Dual Scenario on Salford University's recent treatment of the sonnet. We must decolonise our poetry Because it’s the twenty-first century, So don’t get preachy, telling...

. Why This Time, Why This Place? When I die And leave this land, Please dear Lord Extend Your hand. Extend Your hand To this good soul, Who finds this life Does take a toll. The toll it takes Has many...

. . My Thoughts Laid Bear  “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering” ---Winnie the Pooh I like to mull....

. What Is “Pro-Choice"? If my child were sent to die, Be chopped to pieces like a pig, To spare him death, I’d plead and beg, __His life with mine to buy. Yet pregnant moms demand their “rights” To...

. Classical Poetry and the Martial Ethos by Andrew Benson Brown . The Heroic Age Towards the end of “Egil’s Saga,” one of the masterpieces of Icelandic literature, the eponymous hero composes a verse to...

. "Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing" ---Lines On Dreadful Instagram Poetry A halitosis belch of steam Spewed out in words. Ream after ream Of cheese puff, air-stuffed offerings Of...

. Judge Not We notice, Signor Alighieri, that You have a rather well developed bent For taking your opponents to the mat And showing them that in the Main Event They will be pinned like insects to a wall To...

. Classical Camouflaged __It begins, like all prose poems today, with a bit of narrated diary, as though it were a tale by Hemmingway, but more self-conscious and less flowery. __It then proceeds to rub the...

. Canzone to the Virgin by Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) Translated by Margaret Coats Virgin beautiful, vested with the sun And crowned with stars, who pleased the Sun supreme So much that within you He hid...

. Jeffrey Epstein in His Cell On nights like this a lesser man might pray; Instead he dreams of islands in his cell And sends his thoughts a thousand miles away To there await the hour of his farewell. The...

. Nature at Peace The feeder for our hummingbird. Was torn down by a bear today. She didn’t growl a single word She just reached up and had her way. And then, as if they owned the place, Two deer sashayed...

. A Tribune to Mrs. Malaprop My fellow poets, lend me your arrears! Of arms and divan I sing. Let’s have three cheers For Mrs. Malaprop, that dole enchanting tongue-tried Miss Communicating aunt From...

. "Gravitas" On the Sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 B.C. adapted from Livy’s “Ab Urbe Condita,” Book V, Chapters 38-42 The sunset torched the summer sky, __The spectral moon rose round When a shadow...

. Share your poetry on currently unfolding Russo-Ukrainian war in the comments section below.  We received a large response on our first post of poetry on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and our...

. The End Begins a rondeau redoublé Now the end begins, do not despair. It’s meant to be. What better battlecry? It’s time for positivity and prayer. The unjust try to justify... then die. The mighty...

. And Turn Thanks for the twenty seconds of Your crisp, medicinal perspective, Encapsulated in a laugh That shook like a bragging monkey’s ass. Call it a joke, a gentle nudge— It pushed me over some good...

. Servant of the Servants of God Servus Servorum Dei —a title of the Pope A small informal gathering of clergy From satin cassocks down to the discalced Queue in line before the Petrine Seat. There are some...

. From Heathrow to Houston I heard my words would never change a thing From those who had a nose for senseless stuff. They warned me that my odes would never bring Me joy. They cursed my verse as puffs of...

. Habakkuk’s Prayer after Habakkuk 3:2, 16-19; excerpts of the prophet’s prayer as he awaited certain destruction of his nation, Judah, by the Babylonian armies (6th century BC). My Yahweh God, I raise my...

. A Man’s Retreat A man’s retreat is his garage—a place To keep his vehicle, yes; but also space To store his manly, miscellaneous hoards: The glues and putties; automotive oils, Waxes, wipes, and...

. More than My Queen My Queen has always been a noble force--- A force for good on chilly English days. Her friendly face, her air of grace---my source Of joy in more than crown-and-sceptre ways. I saw her...

. The Twins _Said one foot to the other, _“Please don’t nag, you’re not my mother, I am sick to death of listening to your woes. _You lament you’re always tired, _Whereas I am always wired, Quit...

. Expansive Poets, Classical Poets, and the Future of Poetry by Michael Curtis Modern poetry is not—it is neither poetry nor modern.  Poetry is words lined in measure, of some three seconds length, the...

. Uvalde I’m struck with news and views today __As youth and truth lie dead. Words bruise me in a mad melee __Of mind-marauding dread. I’m stunned by words, too many heard __To mull...

. Memories of Memorial Day Sad son standing all alone Staring at the marker stone. Father died he never knew--- Died for him and died for you. Widow’s tears upon her cheek. Trembling body feeling...

. Liberty If skies were ever-blue each lustrous day, If moons were in bold bloom each raven night, If life was never fouled by disarray And all beneath the Milky Way was right, __Would we require a tempest’s...

. Race Then and Now Race did not matter, The way we were taught. It never should influence Judgments or thought. Just look at the person, We’re mostly the same, With stereotypes Cause for nothing but...

. Simplicity I’m aching for a vague simplicity: Sophistication’s dainties have grown cold And tepid on the plate and suddenly My tastes lean toward a warm sobriety That feels quite new yet somehow very...

. You are invited to a reading of exquisite poetry and conversations with the poets.  . Date & Time Sunday June 26, 2022 2 p.m. (New York time), 7 p.m. (U.K. time) Duration: 1 hour . Location Join...

. Karl Barth Platz 1999 Perhaps we walked the same worn cobblestones, Between the same sheer walls, shops clean and trim, Down the same pathways, past the same old homes, And were startled alike by graffiti...

. Reviewed Book: Modern Art: An Exhibition in Criticism, by Michael Curtis, National Civic Art Society, 2022 by Evan Mantyk On May 12, 2021, a terrible painting somehow sold for $103 million. It depicts a...