Poetry

. Crossing the Swamp After about an hour hiking the swamp, I knew. A week’s rains flooded out the trail. Tall sameness of pines stood round me. Stagnant water, coffee dark, spread before me. My new boots stamped sucking cleats to nowhere on red mud. I knew! But first, denial....

. My Favourite Photo of Mum I’ve just found my favourite photo of Mum, standing in the snow of a new century in the back garden; her sweater’s bottle-blue, her smile an ad for British dentistry. Sleeves rolled up, stood beside a wooden fence, she acts as if she’s conjured...

. Deep in the Heat of Texas a rhupunt One hundred one, a scorching sun that I should shun. I shed no tear. Sun blazing down, the grass is brown, I do not frown I’m in good cheer. The soil on fire as we perspire in all attire. I am...

. First Footsteps on a One-way Journey to America Leave home behind, another lies ahead, Beyond these hills, these clover-covered dales; Empty the mind aboard those sea-bound sails, To fill with saline tears the ocean’s bed; But forward steps make thought turn back my head, The thought of all that...

. Ghost in This House "I don’t mind staying in, there’s another ghost here. He sits down in your chair, and he shines with your light, And he lays down his head on your pillow at night.“ —lyrics from “Ghost in This House” by Hugh Prestwood A cherished lover doesn’t...

. The Boy Who Cried Wolf Once there lived a shepherd boy who Despised his dull profession. His job was to alert the town When wolves would show aggression. One Saturday in late July, He thought it would be hilarious To stand at pasture’s edge and shout, “A wolf! Come...

. The Fall of the House of Yellow On July 28, 2023, after months of failed negotiations between Yellow Freight Lines and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) over Yellow’s proposal to consolidate their hodge-podge network under the banner “One Yellow,” Yellow shut down and filed for bankruptcy. The Teamsters...

. The Cultured Hedonist Art responds to our need of pursuing an activity without end, for the pleasure of the pursuit, whereas morality compels us to follow a determinate path to a definite end. —Emile Durkheim by Joseph S. Salemi Religious conservatives often complain that the contemporary world has been corrupted...

. My Boy His mess of hair plays with the wind; Eyes beaming now, he shines alive, A thrill to watch amongst his friends, The guys who throw, and hit a drive, And catch the fun, with glove and dirt, And run ‘round bases on the field, to home, from...

. Lahaina I’ve felt your restless tides and watched your palms Sway in the breeze that sweeps in from Lanai; I’ve joined your mission church in singing psalms, And gazed across the strait at Molokai. Hawaiian royals occupied this place; Explorers came, and whalers from Cape Cod; And missionaries; men...

. Mighty Oak Spread thy boughs, oh mighty oak, __Let fall thy wine-red leaves, Which, when the rains around thee soak, __Shall pile up high as sheaves. Some leaves are scorched in summer sun, __Or lost in violent gale; Some leaves don autumn’s raiment dun, __Till they, too, finally fail:...

. The Jet Not Owned When climate czar John Kerry was chastised, For flying in his carbon-spewing plane, He angrily replied he’d never owned A private jet---he called that charge insane. It’s true---the high polluting plane he’d use, For years on almost every trip he’d take, Was owned by his...

. Beach Fragments A million tiny fragments strewn across the sand Along the foaming margin of the boundless sea--- The spiraled, fluted castles built so splendidly Now smashed and shattered, mere detritus on the strand. The sculpted contours, hues and patterns tell how grand Slow, humble, unseen labor shone once...

. The Outing . I Miss Deidre Ealing of Tiny Tots School, A woman who'd never be anyone's fool, Observing her charges like little buds sprouting, Decided the next day they'd go on an outing. Departure was posted that morning for nine; No clouds could be seen and the outlook...

. Facing a Famine of Fatherhood in memory of Father Peter Carota They say a country road or city street, The pavement, stones, and dirt pressed by his feet, Recall a holy man who passed thereby, But what of paths where bytes of data fly, The fibers, wires, or airwaves...

. Pick-up Truck Dude This dude in his old pick-up truck Sped recklessly, riding his luck. __He swerved ‘round the bend, __Lost control in the end, And got his truck stuck in the muck. . . Sleeping Kitten The kitten slept, feeling quite smug, As snug as a bug in...

. Two Summer Villanelles . l. Lone Star Sear The burn and boil is grim for some. I’m red of neck and flushed of cheek. I’m roasting under summer’s thumb. Cicadas thrum and twang and strum Their shrill and tinny, eerie shriek. The burn and boil is grim for some....

. To a Sand Gazelle You must believe the light will carry you, Across the Rub al Khali of your life. Let happy times light up your whole life through. Green oases are scattered through the dunes, It’s true, the empty quarter nurtures life. You must believe the light will...

. Some Questions? “We’ll know our disinformation is complete when everything the U.S. public believes is false.” —William J. Casey, former CIA director Does anybody still believe, in ode or threnody, Lee Harvey Oswald murdered John Fitzgerald Kennedy? Was there so much corruption in that so-called Camelot, and false analysis...

. Two Kites Ascending a Spenserian sonnet Two kites ascending, carried on the wind, Each in its way, a most delightful thing. So unalike yet wonderfully twinned, Defying gravity in taking wing. The feathered kite, from aeried crags will spring Into the air and in the heavens, soar. The silken...

. The Certainty of Kelly Green My friend and I went to a coffee shop; She read her intricately crafted verse That proved that she alone was at the top Of all today’s poetic universe. She read her passionate, poetic pleas That children’s innocence may be preserved From porn cartoons...

. Mercedes Benz Makes a Corporate Decision Good morning, fellow members of the board. I’ve summoned you because your vote’s required To update social policies. We’ve fired Conservative dissenters and we’ve hired Smart men who find our leaders in accord. The polling numbers show cooperation Is clearly the most efficacious...

. Curious Couplets . Goose Lady When driving through a blizzard, Marge Espied a goose, not over large. Determinedly it marched along— One wing dragged as it sang its song And whistled wee wee as it went— A crippled chick, quite innocent. What could she do, or anyone? The gosling’s...

. Snowflakes on the Campus Snowflakes on the campus. Snowflakes in the hall. Snowflakes were insulted. Watch the snowflakes bawl! “Political correctness was breached by someone mean!” See the melting snowflakes, run to see the Dean. Snowflakes have no manners, make a lot of noise. Want their college paid for,...

. Paradise Lost Satan Found in the Modern by Michael Curtis The guardian prince Saint Michael, spiritual warrior, leader of the Army of God, cast into Hell Satan.  And there it is.  Yet, Satan is not content to lay about in the pit of Hell, prideful busybody that he is. ...

. Batten the Sovereign Soul I think we used to be stronger, home-made With simple stuff.  We’d read a headline, see An ad and know that we were being played. We’d roll our eyes and let the bias be. Perhaps we’d laugh like holy fools and try The part, the party’s...

. The Blame Game a kyrielle They rile. They gall. They know it all. These irksome jerks in folly’s thrall Are perilously cretinous. __It’s always Them. It’s never Us.   They grouse and groan. They mope and moan. With spines of sponge and souls of stone These gutless gripers cuss and fuss. __It’s always Them. It’s never Us.  They’re dull of head. Their wits have fled. Their loony lips are spewing dread--- The...

. On Water & Evil “Evil, like water, seeks the lowest point.” ---Earnest McDaniel The thunder clapped again, applauding light Displays, and weighted condensation fell From Heaven’s darkened brow—a picture of That story told about the Serpent’s flight From bliss eternal to Earth, then Hell. He flew! He fled! And...

. Conversion The great advantage of the years I stacked up often carelessly And often as a mutineer Against all simple things and dear, Is how I purely now by grace Within the smallest moments trace A curious sublimity. For though I once played beauty false And goodness for a...

. Some Post-Animated Protestations of Goliath of Gath Firstly, I protest That this protestation Is useless nonetheless. Secondly, I object To prejudice pronounced In so-called holy text. Thirdly, I revolt Against the pipsqueak king Whose crown was not my fault. Fourthly, I dismiss All Jewish, idle tales That boast of...

. The Forgotten Earl He thought about the sonnets that he wrote; The time he spent composing metered lines Of rhyme, divided into quatrains. He Alone devised the scheme;—but Virgil’s books! If only there was time to translate more Than two from The Aeneid epic poem; A masterpiece about a hero called...

. The End’s Hard Edge The End Is Near, it always was, Its point is clearer now because Collapsed disturbance occupies With moaning cries and droning skies; So penetrate to higher things Remembering what Evil brings: With atheism’s soul-in-mime, We’re far from god, the high sublime, And evolution's theory spreads...

. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate. Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members may participate, if not involved in judging the contest. The winner, if not a U.S. resident, must have a PayPal account or a bank...

. August. The rose-of-sharon blossoms float like stars Within my reach: I’m lying on the grass Observing sunset fade and twilight pass Between their leaves.  Cicadas sing their airs, A gentle dirge: the summer’s passing, too, With ticks and tocks of crickets counting hours That still remember June’s long days. ...

. Medieval Scam Letter Felicitations from the Holy Land, Where I, as sole survivor of a band Of mercenary soldiers stashed away Much booty; and concealèd it shall stay Until a boat’s procured to sail me home. I found your name within the Domesday tome, A family respected and adored;...

. The Sky Within The rolling sea becomes a frothy lather When argent Sister Moon calls forth a tide And sooty billows on the skyline gather. A flash of lightning urges us inside Where we observe the phases of our moods, Uninterested in commonplace diversions, And when a shadow of...

. Death Musings . 1 On New Year's Day my body fell as dead Before a frightened child who hid her face From terror's flaunt. Death-taunts delivered dread To this dear child with cold and reddened face Till I woke up astonished by God’s grace. . 2 My dance with...

. The Tortoise and the Hare in limericks A tortoise and hare were a-talkin’. Said Hare: “Why, your slowness is shockin’! __If we ran a race, __You’d be a disgrace. I’d win, even if I were walkin’.” Said Tortoise, “No, hare, I would beat you. As swift as you are,...

. One Law Away Everyone can agree that we all disagree. __We don’t see what we see quite the same. We all think that we’re right so we can’t help but fight __and incite against those who we blame. It should be no surprise when new conflicts arise __but some...

. The Heavy Launch of the Siegfried Idyll The landing offered just the space required for Wagner and the band that he had hired to play the idyl Cosima inspired, the mother of young Siegfried, whom he’d sired. The able men there present were quite tired from long rehearsal, yet...