Poetry

. Don't Call Me Shirley A Comic Homage Robert Hayes as reluctant pilot Ted Striker: “Surely you can’t be serious!” Leslie Nielsen as Dr. Rumack: “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.” (From “Airplane!” screenplay by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker) I said to him, “But surely that’s...

. On the Epstein Files Debacle ---a villanelle Where are those awful Epstein files? It doesn’t matter left or right! Who are those sordid pedophiles? We need a cleanup on this aisle, From desk to void, they’ve taken flight, Where are those awful Epstein files? They think they’re fooling us...

. One Dumb Mistake When young I made a dumb mistake And was arrested by the cops. I found myself alone in court. Needless to say, my case was lost. And I was sentenced by the judge For murder: ten to twenty years. In prison I had many years To...

. Not All Angels Play the Harp Not all angels play the harp, _Or sing in heaven’s choir. Some of them are warriors _Who fly on wings of fire. Daniel saw before his eyes _A mighty angel standing. Gabriel the messenger _Gave Daniel understanding: “Looking up, he saw there stood...

. Living Dead The riffled rush of water mingles withThe wind among the Ponderosa pinesAs damp chill of late summer mountain rainSoaks through my shirt and clings and binds it toMy skin as if I were a mummy wrappedIn strips of liquid linen, parodyOf Karloff’s walking dead, where echoes ofThe...

. Martha “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” ---Martha, Luke 10 In Jericho, the house was washed in white, Where roses climbed around each windowpane. The scent of baking drifted through the night, And laughter...

. The Harvest As drops of water drop and drip and drop, Each dripping drop soon fills the deepest crack. But when there is a freeze, they split the rock And once it’s cleft, no hands can pull it back. So too, His seed, when sown in hardened hearts, Will...

. Unspoken Moments A sunpatch nap the first warm day of Spring, A curled up kitten sleeping in your lap, A country walk down lanes where robins sing, The surge of joy in every thunderclap And burst of rain that sets one's spirit free. A book by Dickens, Stevenson, or...

. The Hokey-Cokey---Chaucer Style With music was a dingy tavern blessed, In Southwark, where we stopped to take our rest. The Miller, Robin, on his bagpipes played A tune---the Hokey-Cokey---and he made Us pilgrims form a circle, where we put Each arm in first, then out, and then each foot....

. Poetic Influences Elements swirling in motion,Music in splashes and streams!Waterfall, wild rushing river,Nature is stirring up dreams. Fog on the shores of illusion,Mixing with mist from the seas.Whispering wind o'er the coastline,Verses aloft in the breeze. Grandeur of sunrise and sunset,Moonbeams that light up the soul,Echoes of rhyme in...

. Of a Feather Professor Swann was new among the fonts of knowledge chugging up the tenure track; he'd earned his place among the college fac- ulty with bold views and a fierce response to critics. Apropos to ambience the ivied walls lent, students dared attack his points with blatant...

. Vesper At dewfall Pipistrella brings her silent flickering silhouette to haunt the after-glimmerings that linger on the garden yet. And quiet overcomes the sky; and shadow pacifies the night; and indigos intensify one lonely point of silver light. Deeper stillness amplifies the distant road, a far-off bark; and purer...

. Lasting Karma What’s the key to living life that matters? How do we spend this precious time on earth? Listen to the lessons of our fathers ---they illustrate the path from birth to death. So fleeting is the beauty of our bodies which amble down a trail from dust...

. Myths _I mined the Grecian myths _and wrung from them this gem: The gods amuse themselves with us and we amuse ourselves with them. . . Chuang Tzu We steal all our lives, was Chuang Tzu’s belief, to gather up booty for some greater thief. . . O Lethe...

. Poetry as a Pathway to Critical Thinking —with a focus on metaphor and image Poetry: “the right words in the best order.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge Critical thinking: “conceptualizing, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, questioning, and exploring information, ideas, and expressions from multiple perspectives.” by Leland James First, on “metaphor,” Robert Frost...

. In this poetry challenge, poet Roy E. Peterson challenges you to post a classic poem and a poetic response to it (of any length). See his example below. Post your choice of poem and poetic response in the comments below. Feel free to comment on others' poems as well....

. The Flower’s Refrain A tender shoot breaks through the ground, Drawn upward by the golden sun; It spreads its quiet leaves around, And grows till warmer days are done. It heeds not time nor wind nor rain— Still, it grows, and grows again. A bloom appears with breathless grace,...

. Family Affair It was an educational affair, So many distant relatives were there, And it was nice to learn who they all were, Too bad without a death, this won’t occur. . . Argument Avoided There’s no need for an argument, _We do not have to fight. I’ve learned...

. Pope Leo XIV’s Green Mass My aim is red. My game is green. _I’m cloaked in clouds of white. This choking planet’s mine to clean. _I’m virtue’s guiding light. I’ll save this smoking Earth from death _With sermons---cool and calm. I’m here to ration excess breath _To keep the...

. For Liza Am I Westward Bound _The year was 1868, __The place—Old King James’ town, _Young John was by his window sat, __Entranced and looking down. _For walking by was Liza Jane, __With flowers in her hair. _In all his life, he’d never seen __A lady quite so fair....

. The Pervading Presence The summer gleams in meadow, stream, and hill Beneath the warming sun of mid-July; No sudden sound disturbs the landscape still, Which, sleeping, lies beneath the azure sky. Here crickets chirping set an easy pace For clouds to climb and burbling brooks to flow. Here hearts,...

. Simply Chilling . I. A Boring Villanelle My humdrum life has been a constant bore--- An unembellished scene of somber tone. Monotony is coursing through its core. My listless weekends whisper, never roar. They lack in luster to the sober bone. My humdrum life has been a constant bore....

. After If ---with affection and all respect for dear Rudyard If you can keep your heart when all about you Are stretching reason to its reasoned end; Ignore all form and pretense, without scoffing, And jesting always, care that none offend; If you refuse to wait, but praise each...

. Eternal Rose, with Rows and Rows: Canto XXX of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns Six thousand miles away, high overhead, __perhaps noon blazes, while our world’s shadow __inclines, almost, as on a level bed, ____it’s daybreak in Italy and heaven’s zenith now begins to show...

. On Never Giving Up On reaching the point where it's tough to find answers to _“What-are-we-doing-this-for?” And the number of people that “couldn't-care-less” _Surpasses the “couldn't-care-more,” Always look back to the point where you started, _Examine the worth of your cause, Stir your resolve by reminding your Courage _That...

. There Are No Words ---on the July 4th Texas flash floods There are no words to quell a swell of grief That swallows hope and snatches at the breath Of those who gasp in startled disbelief At onscreen scenes of rising tides and death Surging in a roiling swirl...

. When Lovely Woman Stoops to Folly… by Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) When lovely woman stoops to folly, And finds too late that men betray, What charm can soothe her melancholy, What art can wash her guilt away? The only art her guilt to cover, To hide her shame from every...

. From Faust: The Tragedy, Part I Prologue in Heaven by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) translated from German by Josh Olson . The Lord, the heavenly host, and afterward Mephistopheles The three archangels step forward. Raphael: The sun exults in ancient praises, Competing with its brother spheres, And thunders...

. On Quantock Hills On Quantock Hills, as Skylarks sing aloft, A humble pilgrim walks on ways of old, In morning light, with air so still and soft, The book held in his hand doth gleam of gold. He sits to rest and contemplate his soul, But senses ancient darkness...

. The Juggler ---with special kudos to George Clooney, Whoopi Goldberg, Taylor Swift, Susan Sarandon, Tom Hanks, Mark Hamill, Robert DeNiro and a cast of far too many  If the Juggler has said it, it must needs be true For the Juggler sees deeper than I do. Or you. How...

. Optimism ---to the Class of 2025 The world is cold and hard and dark enough; We need not cloud it with our own despair. And it is furnished, too, with joyous stuff, And you may find a blessing anywhere You turn your eyes, if they are opened wide— The...

. Never Time to Spare ---a villanelle My daughter, I am watching you with love for I’ve been there, When dishes overflow the sink and books are everywhere, When everyday seems just the same with never time to spare. I see you take a breath and smile and separate a...

. Bodie The whistled whispers of a desert wind Drift through the dusty streets and haunted halls Where faded lives of those who loved and sinned Now flicker-flit like shadows on the walls. Unhinged, once swinging doors lie on the floor Of the saloon where ghosts of miners, dry And...

. Independence Day, 2025 It’s so much more than red and white and blue And stars that spangle banners flying high. It’s something strong and stark and deep and true. It burns with answers to the question why Souls ache to slip a granite-fisted grip. It’s something fierce that flickers...

. IRL —after G.K. Chesterton’s "A Ballad of Theatricals" (reprinted below) Though all the emails I receive—surprisingly politely read—Although the students can deceive,Although the work is fast indeed,Although, the angel in the chatShe comes by wifi not by wings,Though all the programming seems pat,Believe me, there are real things. Yes,...

. The Playland Once in a playland caked with fresh-born mud, I saw a league of book-freed children smile collectively like petals of a bud in varied forms, yet similar all the while. Palms latched, they capered; every tooth a pearl; all independent like the wandering clouds. No hands to...

. Request for Expression of Interest SCP Poet Russel Winick has graciously agreed to host an in-person SCP Symposium at his large residence in Naperville, Illinois. The tentative dates are from the evening of Friday, Sept. 5 to the evening of Saturday Sept. 6. It would include poetry readings, discussions,...

. Summer Family Cookout Criss-cross, hamburger toss, _Flip that sizzlin’ patty! Pretty please, and top with cheese! _You’re the Great Grill Master, Daddy! Three-two-one, slide it on a bun! _With ketchup, tomato and lettuce Hip-hip-hop, put a pickle on top _Call the kids to come and get it! Mom’s in...

. Bayesian Hubris v. Mercy Seat 11A “Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, who miraculously walked away from the Ahmedabad disaster, in which more than 240 people were killed” ---The Daily Telegraph on Air India Flight 171 crash Bayesian inference: a method of statistical inference ... used to calculate a probability of...

. Gorge Millennia before the Bass Pro tours, Sonar fish finders and electric reels, Some unsung pioneer dreamed baits and lures, Felt in his blood how landing lunkers feels. The knuckle dragger took a piece of bone, Slivered it down to a promising size, Fashioning gorge and braid all on...