Poetry

Near a brief flash of lightning sits a bird, a white one on a gray and sloping roof, and rests against big blue clouds, like a surd, almost absurd, incapable of proof; and down below some city buildings gleam; green trees and shrubs stand in between; a lone bridge crosses...

God of men who’s dressed in white, Beard on face of long brown hair, Halo pattern traced in light, Nimbus flowing through the air. Glowing skin with mercy shines, Ancient toga wraps His frame, Fabric rich and much more fine, Than what mortals give a name. Eyes of keenest vision...

An Oklahoma Nightmare Leashed from the continent, it flew— on 20 May 2013— and caught the currents of the airy blue— colliding winds that swirled above—whirling. Sweet Jesus, the tornado's winds touched down west of Newcastle, Oklahoma, at 2:45 pm, and stayed aground for seventeen long miles fifty minutes! On...

In meadows green and pastures sweet, My love and I, we first did meet; She watched me tend my flock by day, And yet at night she went away. She was my sun, my warmth and light, There by day and gone by night. At the stream, swift and cold...

Pressure is what the loam feels when, buried and dis-tracted, it cannot function right; when it cannot get at the rain and light; when it, by a hellish heat, is harried. When it is not prepared, or preparing, To produce, what it was meant to produce; when its physical makeup...

The Union army's futile frontal attacks on December 13 against entrenched Confederate defenders on the heights behind Fredericksburg is remembered as one of the most one-sided battles of the American Civil War, with Union casualties more than twice as heavy as those suffered by the Confederates. Fredericksburg With frosted breath...

Grains of Time Somewhere through the hour glass, slip grains of time, eroding fast. Past and present times collide, revealing all truths hidden lies. Ties that bond are held so dear, but suddenly they disappear. Fear not hidden, courage slides, rocks back and forth, from side to side. Wide the...

The Ring for E. S. and W. S. "my precious," —Gollum, in The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien   I only knew but one tall dude who had a ring with magic powers. He had one large, silver ring. Although still visible when he put on his ring, it gave...

I saw him standing at the gate of heaven. It was in a dream, but seemed so real I was in awe. Behind him in my vision all was white and lit. Dear reader, though hard to believe, I truly saw this most magnificent of men. He was all shine...

Nothing to see here, they say each breath, People starving, as they feed us to death, Puppets on strings, all of us they bind, Right from our birth they program our mind, Who are they you ask, the unseen and silent, Keeping us distracted, by making us violent, Telling us...

The Old Brown Carpet Hurray! I don't have to vacuum The old, brown carpet, anymore! At last, I managed to get it Removed from the dining room floor! It wasn't at all difficult Deciding it really must go, Its age was indeterminate But many years of use did show. Once,...

Like roaches fighting over baited trap we climbed and clambered, even pushed and shoved while scrambling for some nourishment like love we’d push the other children off Mom’s lap. So certain of the limits of the feast – a pie too small for each to have a slice – our...

Exchange They go to take the heart of you, mark your skin & cut you through. With silk knives, their sharp skill connives to stroke apart flesh & lives. In surgic- al masks, they'll unpick the atoms gods had made stick until your profitable or- gan is isolated more &...

My love, accursed, will never let me go. I mourn your loss and all those wasted years. The wars that men have fought for causes, though, Can never bring you back, nor make it so That I can be a stranger to my tears. My love, accursed, will never let...

Come, tell me your story, master of prose. Use elements of the proper language To sway me to your side, and if all goes Well, hallowed will your words be on the page. So many things in common do we share, Like our emotional sincerity, Our love for beauty, and...

Spirit of green engendered in liberty Sweeping across the glanded glades Tangled tree spirits in tarnished brief Dancing shades of sunlit lauded leaves. Some reveries of buttercups in a sea of grass Sporting squirrels where frolicking en-mass A listed gesture abbotted in a shallow ditch Songs of flyers in myrtled...

Soft warm eyes searching, yearning full plump lips pouting and burning she looks upward in hope and desire burning inside consumed by fire. Big bright eyes warm and true deep inside, her soul shines through pining each day for her love elusive saving herself for her man exclusive Hanging on...

A red-tailed hawk on a bridge railing looks fixed, loosed from its master. Reading one haiku, two bowls of strawberries passed through three centuries. When I looked back, o, the man whom I passed, Shiki, was lost in the mist. A small, soft, brown hare chews upon green blades of...

How beautifully does Pisanello seize upon the Vision of Eustachius in paint, where all conjoins together in a whole to please, although a grim foreboding portrait of the saint, for he and family will all be put to death for spurning Roman gods. But here there is no taint. The...

No one could recall When, in days of yore, The calm York River Had so breached its shore, Or where such places Roiling water went! Remarked one and all, "'Tis a rare event!" So, with great surprise The deluge was met As downtown Bancroft Began to get wet... The riverside...

Department stores are nice But prices there are high If you've got lots of cash They've lots of things to buy But if you're like most folks Just trying to make do You'll want to save some bucks But get a bargain too I know a type of place That...

Final Drip Sun’s broke through, it’s blinding. The crickets fade away, adjourn. The glowing, steaming mist falters; Creeps down to ground to burn. Silhouetted branches Well with tears of resignation As morning licks away With fiery-tongued elation. The clouds have weaned away. Orphaned droplets slide leaf to leaf; Surrender, failing...

No Sweeter Spell Those things that I have told you, little things That no one else knows, things I’ve dared not share Fall out my mouth to you as if on wings - Cavorting swallows free upon the air. Then fearless do they fly and call aloft Whole flocks that...

Translated by Lan Hua The Yu Gong Valley - I Heading into a valley Quite simply traveling With nobody else But Master Li To accompany me Nothing is needed For either of us Except a place to sleep Empty and carefree Content without regard Whether it’s spring or summer Or...

One Saturday in Boston, The Beacon of the Bay State. Many people went a'walkin' And came upon a mainstay: Disciples of a Zheng Fa, Falun Xiulian Da Fa. All gathered in a circle, Together for a Hong Fa. They moved in synch to music, And spoke a truthful lyric. The...

What He and Michelangelo Know "There on the scaffolding reclines Michael Angelo." -Yeats The Hudson’s sunk in this great vale of blue. The Catskill’s hackle bristles in the sky. The setting sun transforms the clouds into Earthlike layers that Time doth stratify. This is no Rome, nor would I wish...

Storage Let us lug in more stuff Storage man mumbles hi First year by in a huff Second year wonder why Save dad’s lured fishing hat Mom’s torn wedding picture Worn collar from Push cat Who slept till you pushed her Oily third baseman mitt Broken wooden snow sled Clothes...

I. The greatest writers are the teachers; The paper is their pupil; Each sheet defiantly stretches With a stark blank, diffused will. But, the teacher writes a story To fill minds, however plain, Crafting a rich tale of glory, Inspiring from the mundane. So their wills are all together Unified...

One Has To "quod idem in poematis, in picturis usu venit in aliisque complaribus, ut delectentur imperiti laudentque ea, quae landenda non sint" —Cicero One has to keep on striving even when no one believes in what one is doing, nobody cares what one has achieved—then! One must go on...

Momma says you can do it. Fly away, little bird. Momma’s watched over you, fussed And taught you every word. Momma doesn’t know it all; The dangers out there lurk. She taught you to be vigilant; Ever stay alert. Momma says it’s time to go; Your downy fluff is gone....

Until He Dies With hollow bones a bird learns how to fly Not once despising frame all delicate, But pushed without the nest his wings to try, Fast finds the air till flight’s inveterate - And pauses not to ponder nor to care How fragile are his limbs amidst his...

Confection Connection The girls were bored and at a loss To find a treat that did not cost An arm, a leg, no more a dime They chose confectionary dross They pulled two nickels from the grime And gave them to the clerk part-time He took the coins, he let...

Hummingbirds How dramatic of thou hummingbird Glides like a cherub through airs curb Precious gems scatter across and fly To sparkle and gleam in our eye How the glistened hummer Unfolds an enchanted summer Soaring like magic rockets Landing on small branches pockets. On the summer’s sweet wing With a...

Oh sad age, how the years will pass us by, Pass us and then our last visions refuse, Refuse us to look on our childhood skies: Oh daughter I am a burden to you, And this vision of mine, oh cherished lake, Passes my mind and troubles me too late....

On the Beam At times when my roiled brain becomes serene, I may achieve a state of clarity In which intuitive insight grows keen, As if it were a beacon beckoning me, And then I sense the guidance of that beam Aiming to lead my wayward footsteps home While causing...

The water-birds too are fast asleep upon the Great Lakes of the North. Looking carefully, one finds shepherd's purse on a Vancouver sidewalk. The sound of water alerts a weasel to ducks upon the old pond.   Ibe Ware Desu LC is a poet living on the West Coast  

If I were dying, would you ask me to stay Until the Divine came to take me away From the Earthly protection of your arms, Ascending as energy, leaving your charms? Would you kiss me tender, say in my ear, Please go now with spirit, I love you dear, As...

As Icarus drowns in the deep-green, wine-dark sea, before the white, round fisher happily ensconced and th' extr'ordinary sailing ship embarking, a shepherd, standing near his flock and loyal dog, is gazing in the opposite direction tow'rd the sky. Above him, looking down, a plowman slogs along; he's turning up...

Unicorns on New Mown Lawns Quintessential qualities quite quickly quantified Each reason for the morning winds that oh so slowly died, Some things are inescapable, and never fade away And some things crumble slowly, like the bridges of the day, As tallow runs in silent streams down from the living...

People always offer opinions and advice, As to what you should or shouldn’t do, Though they can barely manage themselves, They seem to know what’s best for you. An old friend offers relationship advice, As he talks about his latest divorce, He always blames his latest ex-wife, And I just...