Poetry

. The “La Vache Qui Rit” Candidate Here she comes smiling a big toothy grin at us Laughing and cackling her candidate talk— Does she make sense? No, she isn’t quite good at that; All she can manage is chitchat and squawk. She’s the Vice President, smug and unflappable, Certain...

. Men Sail Out The waves they come--- A timeless thing, The earth their home--- Adventures bring. Men sail out On wooden ships, Embolden hearts, Prayers on their lips. They do it for Their daily bread. They do it then To get ahead. They do it for Their families true....

. Summertime The summer solstice, when it finally comes, Begins the ebbing of the sunlit hours, Which daily add up to decreasing sums As passing days dim fair Apollo’s powers Yet even so, the season’s temperatures (as read in Celsius or Fahrenheit) go up, which as my garden crop matures...

. The Maze Her little game of make believe has turned into a nightmare maze. Her tears have spilled upon her sleeve while empty eyes have lost their gaze. Her maze is very hard to beat; The mice go round and round and round. Not one of them admits defeat...

. Well-Armed Lamb “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!” ---Benjamin Franklin Two wolves and one lone lamb sat down __to vote upon their lunch. That’s when the lamb began to frown __because he had...

. It’s All Her Fault ---with a nod to Eleanor Brown's "Bitcherel" Why write in meter when penning a poem, __You ask me, so here’s my reply: When I drop the rapturous roll of a rhythm __My muse fades away with a sigh. Some muses are fans of haphazard eruptions---...

. What Is Grief?  When we are plagued by grief, We only think of sorrow— The loss of a dear loved one Whom we won't see tomorrow. Tears haunt our swollen faces That burst and bare our souls. Nice words like “Rest in Peace” Can’t plug the empty holes. What...

. July The sounds of Nature presage__And brilliantly exudeAn all-compelling message__Of carefree attitude. The raven in the garden__That's cawing aw-aw-awAnd throaty-chirping martin__We’re in July! they call. It’s Summer! Ditch the guilt trip __And bleak work-ethic trap.It’s time to loll or take a stroll,__Eat barbecue and nap. Forget the dietary rules;__Today we’ll not complyBut eat...

. Endurance Endurance! A three-masted barquentine has lain a century beneath the ice. In frigid-climed Antarctica she’s been athwart the ocean floor. She paid the price for Man’s relentless struggle to compete with elements that Nature brings to bear. For months she’d creaked and groaned as ice floes beat against her...

. A Ballade to Becoming .. I. Conceptio You may have fame, be well to do, And live beneath a constant sun; You may attain all you pursue And be a friend to everyone. But, without fail, a time will come When all your efforts come to naught And all...

. The Northern Classical Garden ---on the transformation of a vacant lot by students and faculty at Northern Academy of the Arts in Middletown, New York ---after Keats  Our youth whose lives lie in the balance, More so are lost inside a maze— No guiding voice, but only silence And...

. The Vision of George Washington based on the story by Wesley Bradshaw, published in 1880 . I. Message Disclosed What you have heard of Washington is true. At Valley Forge, in those dark winter days, Our freedom-fighting soldiers suffered so I’d see the tears course our commander’s face. He’d...

. . An Epistle of Sullivan Dear Gilbert---your libretto is delightful! A charming English-Japanese confection. I now concede my words last week were spiteful And truly earned your heated interjection. Apologies. Your umbrage was quite rightful. You’re guiding G&S to sheer perfection. . Japan’s Mikado! What a striking thought! And...

. Cyprus  July 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the invasion of part of Cyprus by Turkey Land of my birth you’re blessed with gifts divine Of loveliness and beauty hard to find, Where Aphrodite from your sea did rise To taste the nectar of your air sublime. Cyprus, where the...

. Candlelight Vigil the persecution of the peaceful meditation practice Falun Gong by the CCP began on July 20, 1999 A single candle burns tonight, a sacred memory, An ember for the price of truth, a noble destiny, The story of a humble man who's never known of fame, Whose...

. My Vacation Trip in Verse by James A. Tweedie One of the comments in response to the recent “On the Meeting of Poets” post read: “A diary in verse. It’s original and interesting. I’d like to see more.” Since I journaled in verse that recent trip my wife and...

. Desire "Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." ---Langston Hughes, 'Dreams' To have, to HOLD what’s going FAST in longing TO capture my DREAMS, I’m looking FOR and wonder IF I’ll find these DREAMS before I DIE For such is...

. Second Chances Just know that you’ve been staked a second chance At any time the future’s looking muddy. Put on your shoes and socks, and join the dance. Don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth, askance, Pretending you can’t work for anybody Who thinks you’ve not been staked a...

. Colors by Kukai (空海) (774-835) translated by Joshua C. Frank Colors, fragrant like the flowers, Fade to ash in final hours, Extinguished, gone, returning never. No earthborn life can last forever. Depart today from your dependence, Across the summit of transcendence: Just quell your lusts and quit your schemes...

. The Small Commission When school yearbooks are thrust forth to be signed, We give out life advice. We speak our mind, And charge our classmates to keep some small vow: “Recall our good times!” “Stay as you are now!” As Christ did with his Great Commission bind His church...

. Freedom of Speech vs. the NBA The CCP has raged and seethed, oh joy! Daryl Morey was not playing coy, He spoke the truth, a gun then to his head: “Fawn now! Or else your hoop dreams are all dead!” Even Ted Cruz and AOC allied; When evil rises,...

. Brainwashed and Hopeless My old friend is a doctor---very bright, But he just said to me the GOP, Opposed equality and human rights, Here’s how such nonsense likely came to be. Conservatives must not be in his sphere, Or else it wasn’t politics they spoke. So everything he watches,...

. Dementing Torture of Benign           Drugs against Malignancy His life came to its End.  Smell of the medicine Departs chillingly.                                    ---Dakotsu The faint, faint fragrance of the cancer...

. Fire Lurks I recognize, while watching ghastly nightEncircle statesmanship revoltingly,Bright bursts of a spangled pyrotechnic star.America! No star, a land’s lost light.Companions, look and say if you can seeThe common faith that made us what we are. You patriots intrepid, rise and tryTo tell what blasts your households must...

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part V: Nose Blind by Daniel Kemper After a stressful day, because of issues with which you, dear reader need not concern yourself, I decided to swing by the Capital Gardens and rove over to the section of roses to de-stress a little....

. The Trail of Hate Amid the upbeat crowd a sudden blast Of noise arose like fireworks kissing skies. Fallacious musings struck then swiftly passed When crimson dripped before the saucer eyes Of those who saw the bullet-bitten ear Of Trump who dodged then dipped down to the ground As...

. Washington and the Cherry Tree from Legends of Liberty, Volume 3 Young George chopped down his father’s cherry tree, Not knowing that a woman lived inside. While playing with his hatchet, too carefree Out in the garden plot, he swung in wide And chipped a piece of bark from...

. Problem Child Barley and hops acquainted, meet, __And yeast completes the marriage. Soon happy news as something brews __With keg for baby carriage. Where he appears good cheer is found; __When gone, he's always missed. However with time and on the ground, __You’ll find him properly pissed. The loud...

. Storming the Bastille from eyewitness accounts July the twelfth, the City of Light was filled With brigands bought by dimes and dismal speech; How cheap to buy a riot in this heat— Yet hard to rouse Parisians so soft-willed. Louts rant of bread withheld, but within reach, Shout massacre...

. Anniversary Remembrance Sometimes I envy them the lives they lived, the death they died: They perished at the peak of lovers’ hopes and nuptial pride--- No growing old for that glad monarch or his happy bride. Some twenty years ago at summer’s end I saw them glide In glory...

. Gunfight at the Oatcake Corral There’s an old English town known as Fargo, In the dark, rugged hills of the west. Where they say, there was many a gunfight, But this one was one of the best. Old Homity was the Town Sheriff, A man to be trusted and...

. A Town The difficulty of describing how This town was then, may only be because So little happened there, compared to now, Though what occurred (the bustle and the buzz) Filled every room in each small house and more To overflowing with the acts of people Engaged in vicious...

. “I Worship My Mistress, for I Have Seen Her Beauty” ---Egyptian Coffin Texts, spell 484---a poem for Linda It may be said that I am weak,That what I did was not from strength;Only I persevered because of duty;But to that, what I say, and at length:I worship my mistress,...

. The Red Carpet There's nothing left to tease imagination When so-called starlets, vying for attention, Sashay the carpet practically nude; And you don't have to be a total prude To know when something isn’t right. Here You have these women wearing "dresses" sheer Enough to clearly see their breast...

. The Expert Class “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see” ---Benjamin Franklin The experts with professorships are filled with such great certainty. They warn us that the point that tips our world into catastrophe, is right around the corner and, though they have erred...

. My Patchwork Quilt Somewhere within my closet a patchwork quilt rests there; The patches cut by hands and with stitches sewn with care. The colorful creation once placed upon my bed, Provided warmth and comfort for such a sleepy head. Back in the Great Depression; till nineteen fifty-four Farm...

. Houses Made of Stone Masvingo, southern Africa’s the place; a backwater, land tired and over-farmed, where army ants cut underbrush and race trimmed morsels to their hills. The air becalmed and hot as Hades. Here a ruin lies called Great Zimbabwe; houses made of stone ‘Zimbabwe’ means in English;...

. Promises Made, Promises Kept... Give Me a Break! We know, because they promise us their virtuous intent when allocating funds is always currency well spent That supersedes all arguments of basic common sense— despite the fact the cost accrued for every buck they print Adds, of course, another layer...

. Becalmed When life is smooth—a gentle breeze On a porch swing—the garden lush. Retirement! Do as I please. Watch leaflets stir—two bluebirds fuss. Gardinia scent—I swing and swoon. My mind is still as a lagoon. I scoop yogurt with my teaspoon. No urge to move—no need to rush. The...

. Street 3/4 On both sides of this street, there are small stores Of groceries, canned food, medicine, and toys. Beside a Hindu shrine whose iron doors Are always fanned, an art school for teen boys Displays its billboard, saying, "Come! Let's learn!" This road I amble through once lay...