Poetry

  An Ode to the Indian Soldiers ottava rima Be choking chill or burning heat; be rain or sleet; thou're...

for Robert Conquest I. Each day Naftaly greets a prison train. Two days ago: spies and reactionaries, yesterday: kulaks from...

Paperboys lack actual colleagues, but I was a part-time paper boy, and my mother, a part-time colleague. When I’d oversleep,...

By Sam Gilliland The Poisoned Chalice Let he who lips me then beware, My potion’s more than honeyed mead, One...

I Keep A Different List My neighbor counts his losses and his gains, but I keep track of raindrops when...

The Great Living Hell On Communism Under the radar I fly Thru' an ever more darkening sky Thru' the smoke from the volumes...

By Con Chapman Boston may no longer be the Hub of the Universe, but its Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area remains...

When Santa’s sleigh took to the sky, He saw a wonder by him fly: A Chinese Fairy dance on clouds And...

  The Buds of Life On Nightly News I saw a sight obscene: A seahorse in embrace with cotton bud,...

  For Bishop Berkeley & for Madman Blake First, the wind; then, the waves; then the shore —but the Mind—yes,...

Any treatise claiming critical review of verse, whether in the widest sense, or, as in this case, the result of...

  Slowly yet steadily the heat starts to soar as the sun’s first rays glimmer in the east sky. With...

  Justice Rendered by Cal Wes Ubideer "Sanctuary cities help protect undocumented aliens." —"Weird" Ace Blues July 1st, 2015, Miss...

The silver masses rising in huge numbers, The ship alone upon the sprawling sea, The snores of men found tossing...

The Morning Muse This time of day the Muses pass As rolling clouds and dewy grass, To see their handouts...

Joseph Pulitzer Junior High September 1959 – June 1961 I think we spoke but fifty words, all told. No more...

. . What Tolkien Said “...together through the ages of the world we have fought the long defeat.” Galadriel, of...

The poetry of Fray Angelico Chavez can be read here. By Joseph Charles MacKenzie Fray Angélico Chávez, O.F.M. (1910-1996) remains...

A Slice of Eden A mango tart broke my heart dark one stormy day because it said I'd be dead...

For Joseph Charles MacKenzie Herein lies silence and serenity, Along with untold tales of many men, Mixing mud and straw,...

  Another Cakewalk Mark Twain may not be safe to read, at least in public places, Because he gawks with...

  For honor! For valor! The battle stole and won Where up the soul arises down the barrel of a...

I could but of thy outward parts compose A symphony of sensuality, Thy subtler habits then to serve as notes,...

  The swollen hill is pregnant with the Spring, A promise of a resurrection day, A warm renewal, life in...

by Dusty Grein The Man The American poet Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, CA....

  She remembers the first time his hand closed around her fingers, the smooth skin of youth and a slight...

  Narcissus Saw Himself Only Once “Due to the poor quality, high cost, and small size of these ancient glass...

  The birch, the elm, the aging spruce Cannot restrain the restless roots Of saplings drawn to the silent sound...

Note: Years ago I read an essay by R.P. Blackmur entitled “Lord Tennyson’s Scissors” which cited Tennyson for saying that...

  Progress We fill our landfills That we build sky high With electronic gadgets That we must all buy ......

When I speak of history I speak well; I leave behind the past where broken bones Lay scattered on blistering...

The Function of the Poet Tanslation by David Bellemare Gosselin God summons him in times gone awry When each can’t...

  Tikkun Olam*  His mouth agape, as though still asking questions, the Tsar lies at the end of his long...

  A Country Song (for my wife's birthday) I'm no longer young and strong and things take me twice as long Might...

Haunted, by a recurring memory, Suffocating, where gladioli grow, Gaunt, with grief, heart stilled, ever passionless, Those dream-filled nights, devoid...

  With sun seductive, blinding, thoughts of open rail reminding Of adventures held in albums, slightly faded, fondly worn; I...

  To do no harm, no deeds with base intent, To this end we must teach the little ones The...

  Kudzu* Yes, I creep to cover, smother, choking greenery like no other. I am Kudzu taking over places once...

  Upon a winter’s evening, The sun sits out of sight, While all the stars are dreaming, I peer into...

  Today I saw a little nest fashioned neat and trim, with plastic wrap, and grass and leaves entwined in...