Poetry

. 20/20 Vision You’re lurking in the shadows with a wink. I see your flute of crystal, hear you pop Your cork as spirits soar and keen arms link To strains of Auld Lang Syne as clock hands stop. In moonlight, while lips melt in midnight’s kiss, You sashay in as glasses ring and rise With toasts to bright tomorrows---future bliss In highs and sighs as...

. On the Birth of the Grand Millenium 1 January 2000 A panoply of adolescent eyes Looks out into the frosty air they breathe Into the puffs of mist their mouths devise At wild humanity whose shoutings seethe While birthing their collective child. Demise And genesis alike the masses hail;...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okGcYTF8pHk . CREDITS Poetry: Robert Burns (1759-1796) Audio/Visual Work: Society of Classical Poets Voice-Over: S.A. Todd Photos/Footage: (1) "Drei Mönche bei der Brotzeit“ by Eduard Grützner (1885) (public domain); (2) “Fireworks Finale” by Beachfront, used under Creative Commons 3.0 Unported (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) from videvo.net Music: “Auld Lang Syne” by Alexander...

. While Unheard Anthems Raise Nature has a panoply __Of instruments it plays. The forests form the canopy __Uplifting arms in praise. Woodwinds play the melody __Blowing on the reeds. Cold sleet plays the timpani __While thunder shakes the trees. Icicles are tinkling bells __As winter keeps the pace. A...

. The Dodo of Mauritius This island nation scarcely can be proud Of avifauna lacking common sense, Surviving only in the perfect tense, Their right to life, existence disavowed. With beaks immense, these pigeons well endowed, Why did they never peck in self-defence? Their dovelike mildness giving no offence, They...

. Fields of Grass In youth I ran through fields of grass, Convinced that I could fly, And endless were the days to pass Seen through my guileless eye. Childish thoughts and childish games, The fun went on and on and on, And all my friends and all their names...

. Poppy A vase of poppies on the table there, Twelve years have past, all white is now her hair. A shadow running up the path she sees, Her son has come! Her end to miseries. Twelve years have past all white is now her hair. She missed him much,...

. Sonnet 1 (In Theory, Real) Are dreams confined to stars or stars to dreams? Both full of mysteries and seldom clear, Restrained, yet free to dance in vivid streams Of consciousness, of life and fire and fear, For isn’t that how all these are perceived? Compelling to the science...

. To Saint John the Evangelist by Eustache Deschamps (c. 1346–1406) | translated from French by Margaret Coats Young, perfect, just, in all you had to do, Fresh virile flower of virginity, O man of marvels, to describe Him who Is Son of God in very Deity! You fed at...

. Anyone But You The phone may ring; The call will bring __Anyone but you. The mail will come; It will be from __Anyone but you. A text may buzz; I’m sure it was __Anyone but you. Oh, this is dire; I don’t desire __Anyone but you. . . Crunch...

. My Sonnet as Texted Her face, uplit as she scrolls through her phone, no feelings shown, she wears light like a mask. Have we two lives we share? Is each one’s own? Afraid that I know, I’m too scared to ask. I stay in shadows, silent, statue still, and...

. A Sentimental Villanelle This year I’m wrapped in Christmases of old--- The tinseled tree and glee of hearts on high. My mood is laced with myrrh and graced with gold. The air is spiced with mulling wine as cold Fleurettes of snow illume the twilight sky. This year I’m...

. Introduction Each year I compose or arrange music in celebration of Christmas. This year I have created three arrangements of familiar Christmas music, each introduced by a poem. The organ piece is based on a Reformation hymn tune famously set by Bach in his cantata of the same name....

. https://youtu.be/fx3NidSVFKk . A Wretch Like Me by Joe Tessitore To miss the mark, to lose my way,To choose the dark, on Christmas Day.No star I see, no Virgin Birth,No joy for me, no peace on earth. But for a wretch like me He came,To fetch me from my sin...

. . Dramatis Personae: Ebenezer Scrooge: An infamous miser Bob Cratchit: Scrooge’s assistant Mrs. Cratchit: Bob’s wife Tiny Tim: Disabled child of the Cratchits Jacob Marley: Scrooge’s old partner Mr. Fezziwig: Scrooge’s former employer Old Joe: A well-known London fence Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future: Three spirits sent to...

. The Night He Came The stench of damp straw mixed with mold, The low moan of the night wind cold, The murky shadows draping all Within a drafty cattle stall--- These were the first things that He sensed The night His pilgrimage commenced. There was no incense for His...

. It's a Wonderful Life The forecast promised luscious, gleaming snow; Instead the sky pours bitter, freezing rain. The lights are strung but half of them won’t glow.Our tree sags like the one in Charlie Brown.We watch the news. It’s sad and full of strain.I force a festive smile but...

. The North Pole's on Lockdown ‘Tis the night before Christmas; it pains me to say--- The North Pole’s on lockdown before the big day. The elves have been furloughed and fester in bed. The toy factory’s folded and Rudolph is dead… Poor Prancer and Dasher and Dancer are lame. An arrow struck Blitzen...

. The Tunnel to Australia It’s raining every day in Merrie England. It’s falling from the sky most every day. But I’ve just heard about a place that’s burning, In a country that’s so very far away. I’m sure that they could use some extra water. This stuff that’s lying...

. The People That Walked in Darkness The Christmas lights are out tonight, __Early and fierce and brave. The lawns of all suburbia, __A parti-colored nave. Their swollen ranks caused me to think __How changed the world should be If they could crowd the ballot-box __And vote rather than we!...

. Hedge Theory The hedge plants are trimmed by a gardener with shears As they have been, like clockwork, for twenty-five years. Yet they push out new shoots in continuing hope Of extending their reach through the fence on the slope; Protruding through uprights, with glossy new tips, Their ruby...

. This Present Madness “To sleep! Perchance to dream; aye, there’s the rub…..” ---Shakespeare, Hamlet I The daily nightmare hovers; and each night We pray to stay unconscious---not to dream (Perchance to prophesy the planet’s scream At despots’ brutal thefts and threats.) The plight Of humans hangs half-hid behind a...

. Twelve Chaucerian Limericks for Paul Freeman Some pilgrims went riding to Kent, And here’s how the journey was spent: As they traipsed through the dale They each told a tale Of sacred or worldly intent. Some of the stories were clean, And others absurd or obscene. Whether gentle or...

. Critical Race Theory It’s quite amusing when some first Defend it with persistence, Then---feigning that they’ve not reversed--- Deny its whole existence. . . Federal Government Logic The National Park Service says That animals should not be fed, Since it ends self-sufficiency When handouts can be sought instead. Meanwhile...

. Habeas Corpus Of those whose job it is to get results It might be asked: to what infernal purpose? Extortion, threats, felonious assaults, And foul deceptions only scratch the surface Of crimes they’re always willing to commit In order to accomplish what they’re after. Complaints of being roasted on...

. Journey’s End To Adventuresome Children at Bedtime Mountain, forest, stone, and stream all glisten under sun, While golden morn and midnoon beam call children out to run. But after day has had his say, see night ascend her throne; Home to bed and hearth and song, we shut out...

. The Harp  by Gustavo Bécquer | from Spanish by Cheryl Corey Obscured by corner shadows, gathering dust, perhaps forgotten over time—there stands the silent harp. So many hidden notes entombed on muted strings, which like a bird asleep upon a steadfast bough, await the snow-white hand who makes their...

. Three Sisters Clotho When mother sat me down, I feared the worst. Her words, however, offered praise instead. “Your gentle hands are motherly,” she said. “That’s why I’ve chosen you to be the first of three, the Fates, henceforth to spin the thread of life." I sit before the...

. Panic What is this feeling that sometimes afflicts Us with awful intensity and fear? A feeling close to panic, very near To dread, to terror; something that constricts The breathing, chokes the throat and lungs, inflicts Its toll in sleepless nights and days of sheer And utter misery, when...

. Fool’s Gold The gutsy suffragettes gained girls the vote--- One bold soul trampled by a monarch’s horse Grabbed patriarchy by the gloating throat. Her ghost changed every voiceless woman’s course. Their song rang out throughout the universe Till women took the working world by storm And broke the lifelong humble-housewife curse. Now duster-toting blokes are thought the norm. Some barefoot men stood pregnant by their sinks--- Pregnant with a hex-the-sexes scheme, With ways and means to ditch the blues for pinks In plans where man is but a...

. A Spider in My Room In the corner, there's a spider Between the ceiling and the wall. Its legs are long, its body small, Seeing it there my eyes grow wider, Fearing it to be the kind Of spider I’ve been warned about. I swallow back a piercing shout...

. . Bidenflation to the finale of “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie Fuel prices go up Tomorrow Bet your shrinking dollar that tomorrow They will soar! Inflation will rise Tomorrow All the things you shop for Will cost more! The money you slaved To save Is worth less The government’s...

. Tidal Lock for Michael Collins died (Oct. 31, 1930 - April 28, 2021):, Apollo 11 Command Module Astronaut who saw the dark side of the moon Has one brave man's small step dethroned the moon And brought the celestial ineffable down to earth? The TV replays ran all that afternoon When that...

. A Flower for Giannina Milli by Alceste De Lollis (1820-1887) | translated from Italian by Adam Sedia A fragile herb, this blooming flower, I planted with my hand one day; Once more I fed refreshing power Into its bristling barbs’ array; _By me it sprung, by me it grew,...

. Lightning Could Strike Just when hope Is out the door, Has flown the coop, Has said “No more.” Just when "up" You have now "given," Just when life Seems so now riven. In she walks Her smile so easy, Her skin so soft, Her sway so breezy… In she...

. Tamara to Emily for Emily Dickinson We viewed the lighted houses well below, whose roads ran serpentine through mounding snow, zoomed in on walls that formed each hollowed room, then juxtaposed the gaiety and gloom. While crumbs were sprinkled sparsely on the floor to fatten the emaciated poor, the...

. There Was a Free Nation That Swallowed a Lie sung to the tune of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" . https://youtu.be/luLcKkCHWFo There was a free nation that swallowed a lie. I don’t know why they swallowed that lie. Perhaps they’ll die. There was a free...

. Advent Twist "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple . . . But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he...

. Sibylline Sonnets for Advent The sibyls were ecstatic prophetesses active from about 600 B.C. in the Greek coastlands of Asia Minor, and in Greek colonies on the west coast of Italy. A few apparent quotations from their verses exist; we know about them mostly from ancient writers who lived...

. Samode Palace Hotel An erstwhile palace, and all wished to claim a former sultan's, not a servants', room. So we drew keys, for all had paid the same and won two turrets and a vast bedroom. But, best, adjacent to that room there was a tiny courtyard open to...