Poetry

. On Lies and Liars A Double (Petrarchan) Sonnet . “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he...

. King Dom’s Dream Kingdom “In death’s dream kingdom…” —T. S. Eliot, “The Hollow Me" Ukrainian Victoria Amelina has died from injuries along with others; it was dinnertime. It happened in the city Kramatorsk, more death, more grime, another dozen dead at th’ restaurant where they had dined. She had...

. Poorer by the Day a villanelle They pay in promises they will betray; A scam as cold and ancient as the sea. While those who work grow poorer by the day, Their masters mint fool’s gold to give away To marks too selfish, starved or blind to see They’ve...

. Sonnet I Our arms are leaves stretched out; our thoughts can bloom The grandest only when we crowd out those Who have been planted in a place of doom— Perhaps for something only Heaven knows. While growing up and finding our own way In life, each cannot help but...

. Melodious Curlew Melodious curlew mottled brown and bister, No longer raise your crescent-shapen beak Towards the waning moon, to which you shriek That harmony which haunts the twilight’s glister; Your love, though flown afar since last you kissed her Beneath the heathy hills along the creek, Has parted on...

. Via Appia Beneath the pines of Rome, the wrinkled sibyl will croak your future for eleven cents, and with her finger in the dust will scribble predictions of uncertain consequence. But go near, fix your eyes on her immense eyes, clear blue like the Roman sky but colder: you’ll...

. July 20, 1999 a villanelle for Falun Gong Practitioners after 24 years of persecution Your path is narrow, yet look at where it goes As you seek truth and truth defines your ways; The land of bliss waits past the swamp of woes. When rancid scorn and thorns are...

. Meditation on the Moon O! think about that strange celestial clump, That ball of dust God found beneath His bed And set it spinning round the Earth instead Of tossing it in outer space’s dump. Its orbit’s but an apathetic slump Of quarters, halves, and shadows dark as lead...

. ***** The Red Hotel has blood on ev’ry floor Where ev’ry room is numbered 666 And blood-greased door knobs bolting every door Suspend a blood red sign of ZZZ So slaving cleaners need not knock to fix The bleeding fat pretense of sanctuary. The bloody owners of The Red...

. Good Friday, Revisiting Glamis "Not in the legions Of horrid Hell can come a devil more damn'd In evils, to top Macbeth" ---Shakespeare The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and...

. On Silicon Avenue The lawns on Silicon Avenue were mowed on Wednesdays. All the hedges, too, were cut. On Thursdays cars were polished till they glowed, or else you got a bullet in the gut. The Sheriff-Bots were programmed to instil in urban folk a sense of civic pride;...

. The Park The Park he’d built, which hovered overhead, Went far beyond the scope of any to That time constructed.  Architects were bred For several generations: some were wed To siblings just to purify the strain Of perfect planners able to pursue This massive project.  Sure and steady grew...

. It's Dangerously Close to Too Late Virtually stormed by countless disciples, __trolled by their merchants of Hate, We, who obligingly counter their tactics, __impassioned to join the debate, Must, with our poetry, furnish our young __with the strongest of weapons required To cope with the onslaught of absolute evil...

. Balderdash? What are these hidden, unseen things? Do angels, demons, float on wings? Such ghostly shapes the full moon brings! __Our modern minds dismiss. Who twists and turns a shooter’s mind? Who ties the rope a rapist binds? Who wields the axe so many grind? __Is it a thing...

. A Birthday Prayer Dear God, a new year has begun, My thirty-fourth of blessèd life. You’ve given children, lovely wife, And lately, happy, newborn son. We have, by your munificence, Enough intelligence and health, Sufficient store of worldly wealth, A humble, city residence. You’ve sent me teachers, priests, and...

. Me and My Pronouns Pronouns—I’ve gotten rather tired of them. Not quite so tired, though, as of being queried as to mine. “He,” “him,” “his”—why can’t I hem them up, the lot of them, and have them buried? I hereby put my foot down: from now on I’ll have...

. Panchavati, An Introduction by Maithili Sharan Gupt (1886-1964) translated by Paddy Raghunathan The full moon’s mesmerizing rays Appear to skim the lake and sand, As moonlight, fresh, diffuses over Surfaces of sky and land. The earth transmits a joyous pulse From melodies of green grass blades. On cue, the...

. The White House Coke Though Hunter left his laptop at the shop, The Woke deny he lost his White House coke, And call the chance of Joe partaking nil--- Has anyone drug tested Dr. Jill? . . On Second Thought I’d like to be the type of guy Whose...

. Stand There comes a time to stand for what you know To be the right, whatever be the cost. Then get you up to speak, or do, or go, To fill some gaping breach, though you be tossed From wave to towering wave, while dervish winds Pull sail from...

. Suiseki Rainfall has stopped; it’s the best time for hunting a stone. Drizzle still dampens debris; Trees put forth roots unobtrusively; mosses have grown; Animals leaving their burrows run free— Sodden land quivers, unearthing examples unknown. Seeking encounters fortuitous, off we proceed, Hillsides with streams our most suitable goal,...

. Insomnia Kyrielle The stars above have gone to bed, their quilt of clouds a calming sweep as moonlight strokes their tossing heads: O lord have mercy, let me sleep! Here in this dark I lie awake. The cliff of slumber is so steep I cannot find a path to...

. The Nation’s Heart The Nation’s heart has passed away, A loving grandmother to all. And now it’s for her son we pray Whom Charles the Third we’ll learn to call. But will he fill that vital space Elizabeth has left behind? For peerless was her poise and grace, This...

. Heavy Excess a plea from the human realm I must flee this land where feelings choke, Unrope attachments that were tied in love. Through halting rites of passport checks I grope. My bulky baggage makes my body slope. I’m strapped to grief, this loss, this toss and turn, This...

. SCP Poet Cynthia Erlandson of Michigan has won the 2023 Maria W. Faust Sonnet Competition.  Her sonnet, "Fire and Ice," is a Top Four prize winner, which is the highest designation in the contest.  A Zoom reading will take place this Saturday, July 15th, 12 pm noon (EST), and...

. Better with Love I thought I was a pleasant sort __When we first met. Not perfect but near sweet and kind __As one could get. ____I knew I had rough edges ____And for fixes I made pledges ____But there seemed no need for hedges __In a nice safe bet....

. Peace For Our Time "I believe it is peace for our time... Go home and get a nice quiet sleep." ---Neville Chamberlain “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.” ---Winston Churchill. A triumph, yes, a veritable smash! From Munich I convey peace...

. The Billboard a pantoum It’s propped along the route I roll— A squatting square against the sky, Atop a sturdy metal pole, To tell me what new thing to buy. A squatting square against the sky, It blocks the airy, fluffy clouds, To tell me what new thing to...

. Don't Mess with Texas Gals On My Late Life Wife . Don't mess with my hot Texan. She's Texas born and bred. She does not fool with strangers. She'd rather see them dead. They said when she was born She had fire in her eye, The doctor wouldn't spank...

. The Misologist “There is no greater evil one can suffer  than to hate reasonable discourse.” ---Socrates He reads the notion on the page. __It isn’t to his taste. It blazes fire that stokes his rage. __It lays his creed to waste--- Too bright for those who prize the dark It lights...

. A Poet's Plight I’ll think of a theme for my next little verse, intriguing and witty, though still must be terse. Not road kill, dead flowers, nor weeding the lawn, it can’t wax poetic nor bring a big yawn. A subject noteworthy I need to create, which won't give...

. My Resignation Be still, my Heart, be stiller than the grave. When consciousness dissolves into the sea, This desperate taste will fade with memory Of nothing, undisturbed by bitter wave. Be still, my Heart, be stiller than the grave. And now deep vices and regrets take hold. The taverns...

. Forever Nine My bare feet merge with weathered, knotty pineAs dripping swimsuit water cools the pier.The day belongs to me, for I am nine,With end of endless summer drawing near. My tanned and sunburnt skin soaks in the sun;My heartbeat hastens with adrenalin;My back foot thrusts me forward as I...

. The Great Legitimizer by Euphrates Moss Up from the barbaric yawp of Beowulf and routing through Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), an Italian poet of great distinction, Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340s-1400) created the greatest collection of short stories ever assembled. Recognized by consensus as his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales used Middle...

. Putin That’s, I’m sure, a vampire: Gnaws on bones, bloody-lipped. —A. S. Pushkin. “Vurdalak,” Songs of Western Slavs (Это, верно, кости гложет Красногубый вурдалак. —А. С.  Пушкин. “Вурдалак”, Песни западных славян) What’s in the mirror that you see? No bloody fangs, which would be fitting: you feed on corpses of your victims. You make them...

. Graves “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them.” ---Ezekiel 37:13 There was a time indeed when I was dead: Oh: breathing yes, and witty, so I’m told; Yet deep within me wormed a sour dread That...

. Snowfall: Via Negativa “Less is more.” ---Literary Dictum Out on the highway, snow settles in place Covering the tracks the traffic has traced Blotting out edges, disguising the rough Burying the world in heaps of white stuff Obscuring the details of branches rimmed white With down-drifting flakes that fill...

. Independence Day? a rondeau Some dared. Some died. With pluck and pride And guts and grit the brave defied Despotic rule. They stripped the foe Of dominance below a glow Of stars that spangled eventide. With God and gumption on their side, They brawled and bled for kin that cried Beneath...

. To All Great Eagles Up on High To all great eagles up on high I hope you hear my battle cry! I have some plans I know you’ll love While you are circling above. There is a retailer to maul That has a Target on its wall. As if...

. Fourth of July Limerick Top left, there’s an oblong that’s blue; add in fifty stars, white in hue. To offset the stars are parallel bars, six white, seven red, straight and true. . . Paul A. Freeman is the author of Rumours of Ophir, a crime novel which was taught...

. America Is Not the Same America is not the same. __I do not recognize it. We all know who should bear the blame, __But still we analyze it. The teachers’ unions and the press _  All share part of the shame. Our legal system is a mess __That functions...