Poetry

. The Sky with Birds Just Lately Born Sometimes there’s a sadness in my heart. A stone, a thought, a fearful start. Yet I rise and see the morn, The sky with birds just lately born. So brave they try their early wings And taste wet crumbs of earthly things....

. Shams Shams-i Tabrizi was Rumi’s intimate friend and spiritual mentor. I stayed awake those short midsummer nights When naked druids danced beneath the moon’s Hypnotic glow performing pagan rites And marking stones and trees with sacred runes. Years later, in the vatic Persian sun, I delved into the bright...

. . A Broadside Drawn up before us, proud and sure, Costumed in their haute couture, And sporting all the best coiffures, With colours purple and azure, Loom the powers of disarray, Armed with bromide and cliché, With which to tar or to gainsay Whomever pines for yesterday. Though theirs...

. A Holy Picnic A small child had a vision in the light Of day, while sitting square upon the rug. It seemed as if she rose to a great height, And there, her senses gave a mighty tug As if to warn her there was more to come. And...

. The Winter Cold I so despise the winter cold; I admit it makes me utter all kinds of truly nasty words, disposition in the gutter. The snow, the ice, this arctic clime do not set my heart aflutter, and skidding down those icy roads, that does sorely make me...

. Dark Sky Back home, the dark is overborne By a billion busy diodes Emitting artificial light, Thence seeping out into the night. But, up here, there are auroras, Constellations, and nebulae--- Or so the motel owners say: “Last week, we saw the Milky Way.” So, we wind through wooded...

. Calendar Poems by Margaret Coats January loves what goblets hold, And February complains of cold. March plows the fields with furrows new, And April nurtures each flower’s hue. Dew on the grass, and leaves above, prepare May’s beds for sylvan love. June produces its fresh, sweet hay; July makes...

. New Year’s Resolution a villanelle by David Whippman And what have you resolved for the new year? I guarantee your vows will be in vain. Oh, I don’t doubt that right now you’re sincere. But soon, your good intentions disappear. Just as it’s happened time and time again. So...

. Same Old New Year   I bid adieu. You shuffle out. A new you shimmies in--- A you without the frown and pout, A happy you of zip and clout, And once again I’ve little doubt You’ll make me rich and thin. You’ll bring me zing. You’ll make me sing....

. Her Silent Prayer  for Isabel Vaughan-Spruce  Beneath the whisper of suburban trees One sombre, sunless, British afternoon, A hushed and humble lady stood at ease In thoughts that rose above the earth and moon To float beyond the turmoil and the tears. Those needful dreams adrift beyond this world, Those buoyant musings soaring as they swirled, Drew ruthless forces from officious spheres. As life and limb was sucked from pulsing womb, A pack of bullish bobbies on the beat (All taught to snuff out thoughts before they bloom) Sniffed...

. Two Empty Chairs “We did the NFP bit for awhile ... and have felt revulsion over it ever since. During that time we might have had at least two more children.”  ---Letter to the Editor, Seattle Catholic, 2002 Two empty chairs, each in its place— The kitchen table’s vacant...

. “Where Ever-present Joy Knows Naught of Time” ---Dante, Paradiso, Canto X, D.L. Sayers translation a rondeau redouble Where ever-present joy knows naught of time, The music of infinity is sung In full-toned harmony and richest rhyme, In higher speech than any earthly tongue. Outside the bounds of days or...

. Crimes Against My Sanity At any-given-time o’clock While tidying my house, I find--- Oh look---is that another sock? It really isn’t such a shock; My kids for chaos were designed At any-given-time o’clock. I can’t tell if they try to mock Me, or if they are truly blind (Oh...

. Addiction A ripple imperceptible, like hints of amber in the tiring balsams, swells to waves of apprehension, then imprints a vision on my mind, with carousels of pirouetting bronze bouquets that plead for my attention with a fiery spin, a touch-me-not exploding into seed, a symphony of reed and...

. Villanelle for Timothy When chains of cold resentment in the end Entangle souls and circle ‘round to bind, There’s freedom in forgiveness, my dear friend. When grievance woos the wounded to offend And “justice” justified is anger blind, We’re chained in cold resentment in the end. To slay the...

. On Attending a Holiday Ensemble with My Wife We’re gathered in a colleague’s home, Invited to this performance; Watching musicians’ fingers roam, I’m taken to when providence Crossed mine with Dr. Miller’s part, He not just wakening my muse, Stirring a love of every art--- But off to concerts...

. The Fall of Babylon Come hear the footsteps march at warlike pace, Come see the merchants weep and craftsmen flee. The vengeful grin on every stranger's face; The angel's cast the millstone in the sea. Behold the fate that's shortly to befall This queen of whores who rides a...

. Wisdom When young I dreamed of someday being wise, And pictured brilliant input holding sway. But via jolts of life now realize, There’s wisdom also in what you don’t say. . . No One Fully Measures Up No one lives life precisely by my standards. No one does just...

. How Troubling to Know Mrs. Pain How troubling to know Mrs. Pain. She has written some ludicrous stuff. Some think that she hasn’t a brain, And some think she has just enough. She types her stuff on the computer, Sometimes late into the night. The hairstyle she has doesn’t...

. St. Joseph's Hymn of Praise Matthew 2: 10-15: “And when the Magi were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word:...

. . An Iffy Christmas   with a nod and a wink to Rudyard Kipling If you can’t rise above the treetop fairy (That plastic risk to Rudolph’s rosy nose); If you can’t marvel at the Virgin Mary And Jesus in the face of weather woes; If you can’t quit your...

.   Christmas Rules and Promises My first rule for this Christmas is__No carrot sticks for me.They might have been a snowman's nose,__So I will let them be. My second rule this Christmas is__Your gift I will remember;So if it turns out kind of cheesy,__I'll match it next December. My...

. Glory in the Night It was a night like any night, when in the evening chill Cold shepherds sat by bonfire's light on many a naked hill To warm themselves while watching over flocks of wandering sheep That grazed on grass and clumps of clover, veiled in darkness deep....

. The Animals on Christmas Eve Some boarded dogs stayed for a while Until their owners took them home; I walked them all, in single file, But left the cows and pigs alone. My mother went the extra mile For little chicks that needed love. In March, they lived with...

. Nativity Scene The hour draws near to midnight, and a priest Completes his preparations for the feast, Assisting at last practice with the choir, Inspecting layout in a makeshift stable, Checking on the altar boys’ attire, And bringing out the Babe his arms will cradle. “This Child comes here...

. A Christmas medley by poet Jeff Eardley: . . Jeff Eardley lives in the heart of England near to the Peak District National Park and is a local musician playing guitar, mandolin and piano steeped in the music of America, including the likes of Ry Cooder, Paul Simon, and...

. The Present---Tense The partial thaw of yesterday now slips Beneath a crust of light that is white snow. This snow is hiding stumbling blocks that trip Intrepid elders' steps to broken hips As small-warmed kids are dangled off the floor, Yanked from falling by firm parents’ lifts. As sun...

. Vom Himmel Hoch by Martin Luther (1483-1546) translation by James A. Tweedie 1. From highest heaven I here befall To bring a good news tale to all. So much I want this tale to bring To tell it I will gladly sing. 2. A little child this day is...

. Sunday Morning While the World Burns Another something, somewhere, every day Perturbs the practised calm of her routine. Those sad reflections on the fractured screen Of tragedy ten thousand miles away Deface the morning’s promise with dismay And make its dull demands seem so obscene. She’s running late: the...

. “Use the Word ‘Cancel’ or ‘End’ Instead of 'Abort'" —Stanford University's 'Harmful Language' List What might have been What could have been What would have been A child who dared to climb a tree Who dared to jump and skin their knee Eyes filled with possibility, A child who learned to tie...

. See the painting more closely here. Eden The newborn world is all aswirl with beasts Obedient who, as God specified, Have duly fruitful been, have multiplied And claim laid to the garden west to east. Their prowl for food and flesh knows no surcease; With feral instinct so preoccupied...

. Continuation You and I are of two discrepant minds: We disagree on all that matters—plus, Our separate brains are not quite sure what kinds Of things they favor, making four of us. The four of us engage in conversations That sound like bickering in closed committee Meetings where doubtful...

. Mother’s TV It numbs regretBut, better yet,Helps her forget,Lest devils spawn. It quells each thoughtOf folly’s rotLost, sold, or bought,From dawn till dawn. Time Confounder,Siren Sounder,Demon Drowner …Is always on. . . Amber of the Evening Amber of the evening meeklyCreeping up the stairs,Slinks into the room discreetly.Amber of...

. There She Goes When Everyone’s a Woman, No One’s a Woman upon reading the news story here. There she goes, erased from Cambridge pages--- An instant relic wafting on the fringe Of lunacy as sybils, saints, and sages Forewarn of doom and logophiles cringe. There she goes---Eve’s ostracized from...

. ---To My Beloved Husband Our married love is no ethereal sound Which dies away when wedding bells cease tolling: No idle lust for courting or cajoling Which dissipates, its petty joys once crowned; Nor yet a chain to keep the body bound, Inured in stagnant care and yearly foaling:...

. The Tartini Tones Combination tones generated by violins of good quality can be easily heard, affecting the perception of the intervals. The harmonic content of the dyad is enriched by the combination tones and this is positively perceived by the listeners. —Giovanni Cecchi, University of Florence Italian Tribune, November...

. Winter’s Perfection A Zen aesthetic guides winter’s perfection--- uncluttered, austere, natural, still, subtle, embracing flaws and daring introspection, a quiet season, slow, without the hustle of spring and summer, harvest’s rush in fall. A single tree’s bent by the weight of the snow, a peasant’s hunched beneath the wood...

. The Portrait   I dreamed I was an artist, and had made A likeness of the one I loved for all To wonder at, and, that the homage paid Might grow, I hung it on a trendy wall. It was a likeness, but had subtleties Which left the character...

. Arrival of Spring Each wing delivers news of a young earth: The nightingale, the end of moonless woes, The dove, the peace of melting mountain snows, The hummingbird, a lightness dense with mirth. The goldfinch tells the sun what joy is worth, The starling stirs the nimbus clouds that...

. Autumnal Wind Autumnal Wind, who are in speed as swift As was the Spring with which my life began, If you would sigh upon this lonely man, And whistle through his heart’s wide-open rift, Then from the thorns of life I bid you lift This fallen leaf; to blow...