Poetry

. 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...

. in response to Mike Bryant's "CDC: New Guidance" “The Helicap’s a wondrous thing,” I heard the salesman say, I ordered one from Amazon, it came the other day. It fits just like a bathing cap; it's colorful and slick, And has these huge propeller blades that spin at quite...

. Apophis Apophis is the name of a near-earth asteroid that passed by our planet a few months ago, a name it shares with the Ancient Egyptian evil serpent god and one of the Hyksos pharaohs of Egypt. Apophis, demon-snake, Foe to truth and light, Coiled at the cusp of...

. Congratulations to the winners! Readings of the top three winning poems have been published here: . FIRST PLACE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69i-IfOt9-k Connected by Sasha Palmer I’m Russian-born, live in the USA,I’m Catholic, and Falun Gong to me—A chain of cryptic hieroglyphs that sayNothing of consequence; and yet I see—Beyond the mystery—a...

. Sarah Liang is a veteran reporter with the Hong Kong Epoch Times who was recently assaulted by communist agents. It seems there’s little hope to bless __as Hong Kong’s hard time hardens. Its skin-thin blossoms’ fallen mess __is brushed from Hong Kong gardens. On Springtime trunks, Wind’s mallets bang...

. The Bunyip’s Spell A native girl of spirit strong, As graceful as the flitting fishes; Went swimming in a billabong, Against her mother’s stated wishes. And though the water, murky grey, Embodied trouble in the making; To swim on that idyllic day Was deemed to be a risk worth...

. Raw Now, listen, if you want to know the truth: The world's a battleground of claw and tooth. . Spare the Details Elections, like the spawning of the salmon, Are something we would rather not examine. . Dutch Courage Though everyone will vote for whom they like, Damn few...

. Piteous Fools! The time has comeWhen all men seek to be is numb.The toils of our daily lifeDo overwhelm us all with strifeWithin ourselves; we aim to findA refuge somewhere for our mindTo have its day of rest; the meansMay vary, as do our routines,From day to day, from...

. An Angel Speaks to the Imprisoned Derek Chauvin “Although it has been difficult,__I know you’ll make it through.Of course you never were at fault;__There’s little you could do. The cards were stacked against you from__day one by those who lackA sense of how quick punches come__When facing an attack,...

. For a Friend Fighting Cancer And so it seems before the dawn that darkness reigns and hope is gone. I understand that is the way you feel. But dawn will come, and then bright sun. One day your struggle will be done. And you will be quite different when...

. When I was eighteen years old, something happened that had a profound effect on my view of the world. Next door to us in Woodside there lived an Irish family with two daughters, both of them under ten years of age. One day the elder of these two girls...

. Entering college is an easy way Of making lots of friends, a herd of mares; Just drink a toast to Lenin any day, Down vodka’s revolution with your cares. Attending climate rallies might just aid Your fame among your left progressive mates, And help your faith in God almighty...

. A Sonnet for My Son On Mother’s Day, I simply have to say I’m humbled by my role and heartened too. The gift of you has paved a wondrous way To seeing life through stirring points of view. I’ve basked in scenes through eyes alive with joy--- Your toddler-take...

. At Matins’ hour, the middle of the night,I woke, and soon found I was not alone;A man who seemed past sixty to my sightThis sentence said, and sang it in good tone:O threefold God on the eternal throne,To be content and love Thee I have cause:My trifling youth is...

.For all my lifeI felt alone---Out on the road,As well as home. I saw couples With children near,Filled to the brimWith sweetness dear. But then it came,This life in me.I am “with child”---Now all can see. It’s in my walk,My softer voice,My warmer hand, My surer choice. I sleep so...

. Split a line from a nursery rhyme and use the halves to open and close a poem. Post yours in the comments section below. This challenge comes from Joe Tessitore, who offers the below two examples: . "The Farmer in the Dell" The farmer Raised a tower for his...

. Part II of the Coffee Trilogy. (Part I can be found here.) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.    ---John 1:1 A light without a shadow could exist like a lonely star in lonelier space; a shadow though,...

. Today I spied you, red in beak and claw.You perched atop a roadside pole to dineOn scaly prey with silver skin, pecked raw—A mullet dish of thrashing flesh; a fineBeachside feast; a smorgasbord of sweetAnd briny meat with spiny, hairbreadth bones,All talon-torn by hunger bared and wild.I gazed upon...

. I asked the moon, "Do you feel all alone?" She said, "I have no time. I've lots to do. To all the stars, I am a chaperone. Tonight I'm in good company with you." I asked the moon, "Do you begrudge the sun?" She said, "my heart's devoid of...

. There once was a very big lie, That our country refused to deny. While we did what they told us, To the Commies they sold us And we kissed all our freedoms goodbye. . . Joe Tessitore is a retired New York City resident and poet.

.. Whoever said that change is good Is living in a purple wood Behind a tree behind a bough; A purple horse and purple cow, For progress is a purple haze Confusing nights; confounding days. Our education system’s shot. No morals teach for we forgot To Pledge Allegiance, say a...

. Set your priorities—don't be uncouth—know the Secret to happiness lies in this truth: “Though the Sum of all things is a secret worth looking for, Perfect lasagna is something worth cooking for.” Take what you know, do a Ted Talk and teach on it. Don’t overdo it, present it,...

. Six hundred years before Old Sarum fell, the might of Rome faced down the Gallic tribes on earthen ramparts between circles scribed, intent to bring rebellion to the quell. Caesar himself came out to face the Gauls but Vercingetorix had scorched the land and left the Legions without ground...

.   "To indulge in hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian tergiversation is not to show your erudition: rather, it is to be superficial.” ---Steven George Krantz Thalamic tarantismLed to tachyphagia...Ventripotential schism,Perhaps a slight dysphasia? My nudiustertian hike Featured pogonotomy.This mumpsimus is likeA walking botched lobotomy. Hippopotomonstro-sesquipedalianism,It sounds like an animal, thoughIt’s what every animal isn’t....

Compiled by Roy E. Peterson Readers are encouraged to add other great poets' and writers' epitaphs in the comments section below, or write a poem for their own epitaphs. . Prologue Both authors well and lesser known Write their own epitaphs for stone. What fascinations fill my mind To think what...

. One Fate Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 Shall I portend, and shall I explicate What eyes can see themselves, ere they go blind? The moral and sagacious of mankind Know not a whit what destinies await, For to the hand of God they are consigned. Who knows what fortune then shall arbitrate,...

. Prayer Of people who pray, Routinely or not, He wonders what the case is. Are they of belief Prayer has an effect, Or touching all the bases? . . Opinions in Fact Some folks voice opinions So matter-of-factly They seem to think everyone Reckons exactly. . . Decisions in...

by Michael Curtis When next you float down the Yangtze River through Jingzhou City, likely you will notice Guan Yu, God of War, looking rather ambitious, rather restless; at 190 feet in height, a bit imposing, at 1,320 tons, quite a bit threatening, a person out-of-place at Upper-East-Side cocktail parties,...

. "I Lived and languished.” —Andrei Platonov by "Weird” Ace Blues Last year we learned th’ Empire struck back with fierce synergy. The populace was pummeled by the techno-tyranny. O, Obi Wan Kenobi—he was nowhere to be found. Across the Globe we lived and languished; innocence was drowned. From China...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5FdfL8sVRM Like Abelard and Heloise Like Abelard and Heloise This woman has the gorgeous mind. Her touch of tenderness and ease Calms the ravages I find. Her cheeks are one dear downy bed For my sore heart to rest upon, And the sultry words she said Vanish but are...

. written while walking out my front door You weren’t born with that thing on your face, So look in your mirror and see the disgrace Of a coward whipped into his or her place--- Your dignity’s vanished and left not a trace. . . Joe Tessitore is a retired...

. Like a bell struck in the clear night, A voice that no one hears Tells me to leave my bed and write With ink distilled from tears. The stars exert their influence, The moon shines white on black, The planets weave a circle dance Around the zodiac. Bent under...

. Vaticination  Sibylla says, Fear archers of immunity! Beware the vanguard shock troops sharpening double tongues, Whetted with grave authority To weaken hearts and spew contagion into lungs. They bend ingenious bows of bitter consequences; The arrows superspread aberrant effluences Throughout a population’s rungs, First targeting hale elders, and those...

. The first soft days of Springtime greet my eyes __Like a young girl’s face smiling fresh and clean, The sunlight falls, like hope, from cloudless skies __Upon a budding world, all tender green; But sweet, sad odors drift upon the breeze, __That seem to carry my soul far away,...

. The Tale of Governor Do-as-I-Say-Not-as-I-Do-som It’s funny how Democracy In many states now colored blue Produces rank hypocrisy, A birthright of the privileged few. And there we notice Gavin Newsom Imbibing wine for all to see, Complicit in a maskless twosome Inside a swanky eatery. But this is urban...