Poetry

. To the Residents Down Below I am a bookish kind of rat And like each rat before me, I’ve come to the conclusion that There’s few folks that adore me. Although I feel that this is wrong, I try to be pragmatic, I’d like us just to get along...

. Her birthday cake was verily a sight--- A work of art, a sugary-sweet confection, That much to all the revelers’ delight, The baker decorated to perfection. It brought a special twinkle to her eye, To see it topped with flowers freshly-picked, But when the reddest-red she did espy, What...

. On the Greek isle of Tilos are the ruins of the sanctuary of Pythian Apollo. Over them has been built the Church of the Archangel Michael. "Now rot here on the earth that nourishes men. No longer will you live to be an evil mischief to mortals." —Homeric Hymn...

American historian Victor Davis Hanson and Canadian professor Jordan Peterson recently commented on the decline of American universities. Though they did not specifically mention poetry, the mainstream poetry establishment, or po-biz, today is very much intertwined with American universities, making their commentaries below tantamount to an urgent critique on the...

. The enemy has canceled me And yet, as far as I can see, I still exist, I am still here And so resist and have no fear. Theirs is a vile, historic curse, But this time, friends, it will be worse. There’s nothing new in what they say, The...

. Default, to a Fault There are as many deeds I ought to do As there are jobs in urgent need of doing. My task is knowing whether to pursue Them, or, too overwhelmed, to stop pursuing. As numerous as shores that hem the sea Are duties I am constantly...

. For teachers seeking a quick solution, see 10 Great Poems for Teaching in High School Classrooms. Introduction to Poetry Illuminating yet mysterious, exciting yet elegant: classical poetry never goes out of style. From the lyrics in people's favorite songs to Robert Frost's nature-themed poems to Basho's haiku to Shakespeare's...

. To my friends on the wall who fought valiantly,We thank all the dead for ensuring we’re free.Remembrance, though fleeting, is etched on this wall.Above waves Old Glory. You answered his call. With honor you fought, and your life’s blood you gave.Your name’s on the wall, wherever your grave.You knew that...

. R e w i n d... If time could suck the bullet from torn flesh, And pry its steely bite from splintered bone, Stitch tattered life and limb to start afresh, Unbloody muddy trench, uncast the stone; If time could snatch back all each battle stole With hands to...

. “We’re running things now; we are great, you are small.” “You will talk as we think, or you’ll not talk at all.” No longer permitted to utter their Truth, they are banished and exiled--- dispatched with a poof! The land they’re interned in ---called Limbo by name--- is sheltered from Hope but...

by Daniel Kemper “Metrical variation” is widely used in discussing late twentieth and early twenty-first century poetry writing. Although this term technically includes both random variation and controlled variation, its use to mean only random variation is extremely widespread. Timothy Steele notes in the Introduction to “The Fun's in How...

. He wakes up with the morning’s light, __stares at the empty bed. A ritual for fourteen years __since tears have all been shed. The empty coffee cup remains __unused upon the shelf, and never touched in all that time, __alone, all by itself. Old wedding pictures on the wall...

. Chaos Abounds What thoughts are left unthought? What is profound? Does any quest of value still remain? So much that once was sacred, now profane, Defines the soul still searching. Common ground May not exist, but seldom is it sought. Reflection rarely yields a different view. Truth comes, it...

. Limerick I have lived my whole life about me And at last I can finally see That my choice only smothers, Life is all about others And the truth really does set you free. . . Senryu I was born to dance. Alas, I sat on my ass When given...

. Haiku A grounded sparrow Wings hurt, head raised to the sky "Is this how I die?" . . A Snowflake From sky’s descent and earthward bound, __A snowflake, small and bright; It’s slow and steady, floating down, Until he lands without a sound, __And shrouds the dirt with white....

. Fallen Arches “Not one change of species into another is on record… we cannot prove that a single species has been changed.” ---Charles Darwin I heard today that Darwin’s Arch had crumbled. Its lid blew off and plunged into the sea. The dizzy heights of Charlie boy have tumbled....

. Her name was Tatyana she had eyes of steely blue, She seemed the sort of girl from whom you’d learn a thing or two. So ample in the bosom and so slender in the hips, And every man she came across would sigh and smack his lips. The sunny...

. I met the Sun this Maytime morning, it stunned the outside wall. Across the day I watched it yawning, make dangling shadows crawl. No curtain clouds closed down its shining. Its single brilliance beamed. All day I caught the hot sun ironing the mayhems I had dreamed. It pressed...

. Moon Song Selene to Endymion Night, for ever, ever night. __Sleep as the Gods would sleep, __Beautiful boy; sleep; sleep; Rest ever in the cool night. I shall smile on you moon-bright, __Lay beside you and weep, __Weep. Gently shall I keep You young, lovely in the night. Shine...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goCspjRZxic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0r7BFVRqY0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1vX_ecpLxs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWmGAoWQIzk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRPTpa7gjkU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGXI0U-5OPg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmBx9zTV2XU

. Videos of this event now available here. You are invited to a reading of exquisite poetry and conversations with the poets. This reading is part of a quarterly series of online poetry readings planned for 2021-2022. . Sunday May 23, 2021 2 p.m. (New York time), 7 p.m. (U.K....

. Today I will be turning seventy, An age I’ll claim with some temerity. I’ll welcome it with both serenity And sober, grave, austere solemnity. I’d hoped to celebrate my destiny By jotting down some lines of poetry. But RhymeZone claims with full-blown certainty, “There is no word that rhymes...

. A life alone is at its center bare, A quiet conversation with myself, A single, threadbare suit I always wear, A volume set aside upon life's shelf. A time or two fate's hands would find me paired, Awakening to partnership each day. A coupled time where thoughts and deeds...

. The Spirit blazes in an upper room; A hundred twenty flames spout sparks to cast Christ’s wildfire on the earth, and make it bloom. The Magdalen, apostle unsurpassed, Conveys her fragrant nard to salve Provence, While Peter and Paul inspire an empire vast. New missioners serve far-flung nations’ wants:...

. May 12, 2021 The weakness of this president’s admin Has put us in the mess that we are in. The winds of war now howl all over the place From Israel to UFOs in space. The hombres cross the border with such ease. The looters feel they may do...

. My count of sheep was off as twilight fell And father’s friend, Ben Ezra’s lamb was gone! I had to find her! Searching past the well I climbed the rocks exhausted but pressed on. Delay could mean her life! She’d failed to heed My shepherd’s call and so risked...

. The State of Art The art world has completely turned around. Now critics blind themselves, or close their eyes, Shout how their contacts and their creds abound, And laud sick rancid leavings to the skies. Admiring excrement (which has been canned, Shown, sold, and showered with the highest praise)...

. Everyone Knows Fog and smoke! Such confusion we’re subject to! So much danger to me and you From the yahoos without a clue! Now we’re woke! It’s high time that we reassess This society’s thorough mess. Toward utopia we will press! . 1. Our experts tell us, “Build back...

. My Texas Tempest Silver Lining  It’s said that during times of heightened pain Your world contracts. You’ll find it’s apt to shrink--- A small domain; no fuss, no stress, no strain--- A place for you to breathe with ease and think; A space for you to drift away and...

. Isolde and the Men of Stone Who could believe, except on ancient trust? The stones grew pliant, yielding into shape When softer nature touched them; human forms Emerged, as marble figures half-begun. —Ovid, Metamorphoses, I, 400-406 Her mind a buzzing hive, Isolde walks On gaping earth. An excavator’s teeth...

. The Phones with apologies to Edgar Allan Poe Phones, phones, phones, See the people with their phones, Silver, pink and paisley phones, On the subways and the buses and the sidewalks, all alone, Lost in intimate exchanges with their phones, phones, phones. Hear the murmuring of phones, In their...

. Light Side an interpretation of the apology by the DarkSide ransomware hackers Our motives are mercenary, and apolitical.Putin puts in a good word; we’re good guys!We’re taken aback that we hacked such a criticalline of supplies; it’s a nasty surprise.Now branded as anarchists, worse, analyticalterrorists plotting a nation’s demise,$5...

. The Purloined Lectern by C. Aubre DeWiles It was the fall, November, 2020, in the night. My friend, Earl Dolan Page, and I were chatting in low light. We sat within his little study in his little flat; there drinking wine, au troisieme. That is where we were at. At least...

. The Dove Returned The dove returned! The Earth is dry; A golden sun lights up the sky. This ark shall rest on land again Each creature freed from cage and pen, Each yearning bird released to fly! The old world’s gone. We’ll not decry God’s judgment though we’ll long...

. Two by two, the Uyghur stand in long Lines. They carry nothing to call their own, The final destination, a great unknown, A distant, re-education labor camp, To spend their days and nights in toil For state and corporate masters. Kept as slaves Until---that’s if, escaping early graves, They...

. My erstwhile master taught me well And I supposed I could adjust As did the comrades in our cell, But when he said he’d bite the dust I levied that I’d say goodbye And champion another trust. I should have known he’d testify, “Somebody will betray me soon.” We...

. A portent for our loss, this bird, so nigh Its end. The slowly creeping dusk had dared It to emerge, its doughty spirit bared, Eyes bright as lightning in a sullen sky. The lesser creature never questions why It lives in constant fear nor why a bird Must needs...

. Unimaginable written in celebration of the 100th birthday on May 16th of the Poet's mother, Marjorie Tweedie, a resident of Walnut Creek, California I have a good imagination. In my mind’s eye, a spotted, black and white carnation’s As tangible as flaming neon-pink Dalmatians; Each one as clear and...

. A Woke Recipe for Disaster a villanelle Heap fresh and zesty chaos on despair. Rub salt in history’s wounds till hatred sticks, Then sugar discontent with bogus care. Pour rage and scorn on free-speech freaks who dare To shower ice on mayhem’s spicy mix. Heap fresh and zesty chaos...

. My Paola’s love is constant as the sun That daily sheds its beams on hill and dale; No sooner set, it hastes again to run With steady pace, the same unswerving trail. When cold winds blow, the warmth of her embrace, Like sunlight, penetrates me to the core; Her...