Poetry

. Cemetery The grasses, flowing amber on the breezethat speaks to me in verses intimate,are stilled, as if contented to appeasemy meditative spirit, to permitobeisance from afar to monumentsof lifeless stone. Shall not eternitybe brashly coveting my every sensein moments soon to come? My destinyawaits beneath these fronds, their silhouetteslike...

. Storehouse of Memories My memory seems worst of foes when conjuring the times she knows will hurt me worse than fist-thrown blows __and bring hot tears. When memory is best of friends, sweet thoughts of blissful times she sends and, with her powers, soothes and mends, __herself endears. Rose-colored...

. While Reading Burns' 'Stanzas: On the Same Occasion' "Fain would I say" Burns wrote, has me inspired. Perhaps this inspiration’s meant to be a call to listen to a hope desired from Jesus.  Those once blind who see shall sing His way.  This soul inside of me will listen, keeping ever...

Playing with Matches "We don’t seek conflict with Russia but we are ready." ---Antony Blinken, March 4, 2022 We don’t seek conflict with Russia but we are ready, make no mistake. The finger that pushes the button will not tremble, the hand will not shake. When pillars of fire crown...

. Meditation Say to yourself at break of day: today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, proud, treacherous, envious, malicious. All this is because they do not know good and evil. But I know what the good is, and what evil is; and I know the offender, for...

. His Pen a villanelle written upon watching the movie Eternal Spring His pen flies back and forth, a righteous flurry That recreates the scenes of saintlike deeds, Giving shape to all that once was blurry. In youth, the ancient heroes’ wartime glory Inspired his hand—with legendary speeds His pen...

. A Southern Italian’s Reply to Shakespeare If you compare me to a summer’s day then, Bill, your mind has melted in the heat. Let’s go inside, there’s no one on the street. Just look at how the snowbirds flew away. If I were wealthy, I would not delay. Our...

. A Conversation Between the Poor and the Poorer, followed by an Envoi From the book five of the Man'yōshū, this poem is believed to be based on what the author witnessed while working as a provincial governor, as it is unlikely that Okura, a nobleman, experienced such extreme poverty...

. What Life Throws at Us A sentiment can sometimes get the best Of me and bring hard logic to an end. I need someone to share my destiny; Perhaps I need to find a better friend. Just why I feel this way is still a puzzle, Despite what certain...

. The Trees: A Moment Amongst the trees in such a wood That veils the sky with vaults of green, In sudden joyous peace I stood As nature did in full convene; The leaves and boughs above my head, A narrow path which elsewhere led. Outside the sun revealed the...

. Ambience Oh, what a difference lighting throws __On these autumnal scenes, As back and forth it hides or shows __Drab browns or emerald greens. When cloud conceals the light of day, __The life it also drains--- Apparent is the slow decay __Of foliage that remains, But let the sun...

. When Orpheus Looked Back I find no peace. I lean upon this stone As wine-dark waves crash on the Grecian shore, My voice and lyre silent as the grave. I have no songs for children nor of war Nor for a marriage I’d have died to save. A dirge...

. Last Words They say I traced my finger in the air Before I died and let the wind erase My final, silent words. Those who were there Had fixed their eyes upon my dying face But found they were unable to agree On whether I had died in peace...

. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester: A Restorative from the Restoration by Joseph S. Salemi John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, stands out because of his double-barreled reputation: he was a savage satirist, and a serious rakehell. His short life of thirty-three years (1647-1680) was packed with excitement and energy,...

. Alone Together Narcissus, in the days of old, Fell in love with his reflection. He knew none greater to behold And starved while staring at “perfection.” Now we’re enamored with our phones Reflecting worlds of our own minds. We sit and stare, as still as stones, Bound by the...

. The Red Sea From quite far off we smelled its salt And now stand stunned upon its shore. We stare into the writhing vault Where Moses sees a corridor. It seems there were not graves enough In Egypt so that now it’s rough And shallow holes of bloodied sand...

. Asinine to atheist evolutionists When your science cannot put to rights The special wrongs of our divinity, Your exasperation reaches heights That challenge all the laws of gravity. When you talk at us and see our hearts Are strong on blind belief and Godliness, Though we are more than...

. Ian’s Ire Forecasts: Storm blasts. Cars leave. Clouds heave Endless rain. Flood’s domain. Massive surge. Nature’s scourge. Toy boats heaped up. Homes filled like cups. Millions’ suspect Their lives are wrecked. Streets cleared of debris, Dead cars and Palm Trees. Owners return and gasp, Can’t wrap around and grasp...

. Eluding Beauty  “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” ---William Shakespeare I yearn to write about the moon, __The moon and that is all--- The moon, a lunar-pearl balloon, The moon that drenches mossy tomb, The moon that blenches blue lagoon… __But I can hear you call. You call from...

. Just Not Alone…   I never asked For easy tasks, For burdens light For just delights. Expected not The breaks I’ve got, And when they came I sought no fame. As demands abound, I’ve stood my ground. As storms have come--- I have not run! I asked to fight...

. The Modern Cardinal’s Song after “The Major General’s Song” from Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance from a faithful Catholic scandalized at the men purporting to lead the Church. I am the very model of a modern Catholic cardinal, I’ve passions homosexual, heretical, and criminal, I know no...

. Moonburst I saw a comet streak across the night, And rend the sky with fire-tipped harpoon; While stars went out in fits of astral fright, The comet struck and burst the silver moon. The moon came down in shards of silver ice, In million bolts that pierced the trembling...

. Dr. Quack My name is Dr. Henry Quack and in my little room out back, Are lots of pills and potions. There's drugs for this and drugs for that; if you’re too skinny or too fat, And drugs to cure emotions. I've studied books and bones and charts, learned...

. Σχολή (Leisure) A Meditation on Horace’s Carmen I.IX You see the glist’ning peak of Mount Soracte, which towers, high with snow, its straining forests bent low and cracking under their wintry burden, and frozen rivers stop, sharp with ice. So after supper fetch another log to feed the fire,...

. . Vanderbilt’s Nemesis Written for Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire who has called out the evils of lucrative transgender surgery on minors at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. They have since “paused gender affirming surgeries for patients under the age of eighteen.”  They reveled in the...

. I Sailed Away to Ancient Greece I sailed away to ancient Greece In search of Jason’s golden fleece. I climbed aboard the Argonaut, But could not find the fleece I sought. Odysseus was waiting there And took as pay my drachma fare. We had adventures on the sea That...

. Proposition One Proposition One, written by the state legislature, amends the California constitution “to expressly include an individual’s fundamental right to reproductive freedom, which includes the fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and the fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.” This is the language on the...

. Making Apple Butter Once he got the fire good and hot, Old Silas filled the kettle with some cider; and when it boiled down to golden amber, he added quartered apples to the pot. He settled in his chair beside the fire on this, a mild day for late...

. Critical Failure Failure to launch in every direction; Ran out of fuel before firing the rocket. Time for some long internal reflection; Retool the nav and reschedule the docket. Lost in the black with no way to light it; Missing in action way out on the ocean. Time to...

. The clerihew is a relatively new poetry form introduced by Edmund Clerihew Bentley in 1905. It is usually a single quatrain of light verse rhyming aabb, without a standard meter. The first line usually ends with a name, often one difficult to rhyme with, and comes up with a...

. Tower of the Winds Eight winds blowing, bluster overflowing,Buffet all the crevices of earth.Eight winds searching, lustily and lurching,Spawning every misery and mirth. First blows Boreas, minion of Polaris,Bane of maids and travelers on the deep.Frost upon his beard, a visage to be feared,Stallions in his care that do...

. Sincerity of the Left The sanctuary cities said: “Undocumenteds may come here, It’s merciless to keep them out, We welcome them with open arms!” “We’ll grant your wish,” DeSantis said, "Take fifty more of them right here.” “That’s inhumane!” the Libs all shout. “A cruel stunt that only harms.”...

. Brain to Heart God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. —Ecclesiastes 3.11 To dig deep holes for bushes, shrubs— White Hydrangea, Crape Myrtle red— Sweating, grunting, post-hole digging . . . Tulips ready for flower beds. I pause, gaze...

. Never Argue with a Progressive They never tell the truth, except by accident, And when they do, they’ll tell you that they really meant The opposite, so what’s a trusting man to do? Admittedly, such perfidy is nothing new, But we would like to take a person at his...

. The Good Samaritan Scene: The road between Jerusalem and Jericho. It is now three days since a good Samaritan has left an injured robbery victim in the care of an innkeeper. Your wounds are healing? Good. No, please don’t speak. Just have some wine. Fear not. You cause no...

. Serious Poetry Serious poetry, somber and grim; Dashing, descriptive, with narrative flair. Formal and versified; Rhythmic and dignified; Romance and rhetoric; ribald and prim. Taking you places while curled in your chair. Serious poetry, rhyming each line. Sonnets, rondeaus, villanelles, triolets. Explosive hand-grenades; Sharp-witted razor blades. Dangerous, edgy, designed...

. Equal Schmequal   The traits of men were glibly mocked __By those who thought men strange--- Those who thought the world half-cocked __ And fought for chop and change--- All those who chose to rise and rail Against the rock and role of male--- __‘Twas time to rearrange The natural order of the...

. The Tech Addict’s Lament As I take one more hit of electronic cocaine, I snort a fresh shot of noise into my brain And feel the cacophony’s endless refrain Charging at me like a runaway train. I collapse on the floor, and I think, “What a drain! I’d love...

. 1960s Soap Operas “Soap operas,” they called them. Housewives watched Them while they sewed or cooked or ironed clothes. At two o’clock each afternoon began The sleazy saga to which mom attached Attention, sympathizing with the woes Of characters unlike her, who would plan Adultery or revenge. She sat...

. Green Energy with apologies to Dr. Seuss I do not like green energy Don’t subsidize it, AOC. I do not like it in the dark, My solar panels will not spark. I do not like it with no breeze, Wind generators tend to freeze. I do not like green...