. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part IV: Becoming a Poet Laureate by Daniel Kemper Inflationary times. The invisible...

. Ba’al "And they built the high places of Ba'al to burn their children with fire as burnt offerings to...

. Three Views of Venus "When you’ve got a goddess, make good use of her. —local guide, Green Velvet Bedchamber...

. Elder Abuse What’s left to us to say? There’ll be no more debates. We know the truth now. Biden...

.  Soulmate Your spouse ideally is your best friend,Providing love and laughter end to end,Supporting and enhancing all day through,But...

. To the Full Moon Heavenly voyager, you course Across the skies’ infinity--- The calm, serene celestial sea, Which yields...

.. 1. Generative artificial intelligence As for-profit tech makes some obverse sense: It markets to itself, its own monopoly Secured...

. The Pink of Gentle Hermione and White of John Paul II The lodger pauses, as he leaves, to gaze...

. Again Sir Charles Hallé plays Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata for Henri–Montan Berton and Luigi Cherubini, Paris, ca. 1835 The two...

. Savannah Blossoms Blossoms dress the trees __On Southern parkways Where petals glow like silk __If skies are fair, And...

. The Lazarus Effect Until you’re raised, you’ve no idea how dead You were, how long you’d been beyond the...

. Rending the Night Remembering My Army Service in Vietnam . Flying bullets rend the night, Sleeping birds in instant...

. Were She to Ask, and I Affirm Were she to ask, and I affirm That I'd still love her...

. Spanish Moss A thicket hides the remnants of a grange, An antebellum place of ghosts and rue--- A gothic...

. Memento Belli _My father had mementoes of the war; _he kept them in a box above his clothes, _where...

. The Plagiarising Poet A young lad sat in class—geography— Bored and in a peaceful reverie. The school bell blared,...

. On the Dine-and-Dash Phenomenon In restaurants, we dined but didn’t pay; we gourmandised, then upped and ran away. An...

. Flamingo The S-curve of that sinuous neck,The stern black tip of that great bill,The blue eye with which we...

. Just Like That No special words, no passionate embrace; No gazing, full of meanings, soul to soul. Just casual...

. Four Letter Words My dad was smart, my dad was wise; He crossed his t’s and dotted i’s. His...

. Ora Pro Nobis pray for us The dead die when we living let them die; We breathing clasp to...

. Reward for How You Live from Italo Calvino’s Italian folktale “Gesù e San Pietro in Friuli” One night, while...

. The Ghost Girl One sunny May, I ran to play, __When I was twelve years old, Upon the hill. ...

. The Snare Drummer’s Plight The highlight of the evening is Bolero. The snare drummer begins the famous beat, the...

. Some Words to Catholics about Bergoglio God only knows what’s left to say— Most Catholics drift from day to...

. The Day the Roofers Came He fled the day the roofers came. His fur was fluffed and frizzy. He...

. A Precious Wife Is Like Fine Wine A precious wife is like fine wine, made mellow with the years,...

. Periodicity Springfield, Illinois, May-June 2024 All our town has caught cicada fever. Seven broods emerge, the selfsame time. This...

. . Five Rose Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke translated by Alan Orsborn . The Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke...

. Sidetracked Life’s troubles come in all varieties,From nagging aches that barely raise a frown,To fearsome packs of deep anxietiesThat,...

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part III: Something in the Rafters by Daniel Kemper I wander into the...

. A Sonnet for My Son on Father’s Day You coo her name in buoyant notes of joy Then watch...

. A Sonnet ---for my father, an avid gardener and feeder of wildlife, who recently underwent hip surgery No one...

. The Doctor An expert in each area, this man's The doctor for all things in disrepair— Tea kettles, doorknobs,...

. Mates of the Greats Gauguin the banker thought Painting while married was Quite a nice hobby And so did...

. Distant Thunder Oppressive heat in heavy air; Oppressive light from summer skies; White clouds glow with a garish glare,...

. Home Run Oh my God the play we made, And, really quite efficiently. We had two billion pawns we’d...

. Ozymandias after Percy Bysshe Shelley More solitary than an orphan’s reachThat vigil, that the shifting peaks repel,A site of...

. Meeting Xu Zhimo by Margaret Coats Three Chinese girls behind me in the line Escape King’s College Chapel evensong;...

. . Download "Longfellow's Bridge" on your favorite music app HERE. . Longfellow’s Bridge (Lyrics) lyrics by Gunny Markefka, inspired...