Poetry

. Sestina 276 On the night of April 14-15, 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students were kidnapped from a high school by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria The dream was vivid, sickeningly strong, the type that wakes you up because extreme duress propels your pounding heart along...

. How to Write a Formal Poem(That Doesn’t Seem Like One) abandon capitals at all times. TrustYour sense for sound but, please, avoid rhymes. ChooseA rhythm you can readily adjustAnd phrase what you mean so it does not fitIambic’s smooth predestination. UseYour head, or use a pencil if you must,To...

. Horace, in your guide to painting poems, Bid a poet paint in synchrony. Carve, in sandy caves where writers roam, Ships ensconced in loam and birds at sea. Horace, sir, you broke me at hello. Genius, wit and art---tall cups to fill. Poet’s charge is flow, I know. I...

. Dillard “Sparky” Barker Is a Doc at CDC. He’s announced a market- Driven cure for you and me. Helicaps—not beanies Are the answer to our prayers. The downward blowing breezes Now defeat all virus scares. The proof is unequivocal, The science has been settled. And now, it’s not that...

. Is poetry that’s free as free as all That?  Surely it’s the poet who is free Or not.  He makes the choice to make a sprawl Of words (and punctuation?) dribblingly Straight (straight?) along the right-hand margin, or Elects to wander from that side to God Knows where.  Then reeling like a...

. Though many scores were lost, those that remain May well be thought the richest heritage Ever bequeathed by one blessed human brain: Incomparable gems on every page, Now reverently passed from age to age, But when the ink was fresh how roughly tossed Aside as passé! And who now...

. Dear President Biden You act as if you were elected To spend my great-grandchildren’s money. By spending trillions you’ve infected Each one of them with debt gone viral, And I don’t think it’s wise or funny To doom them to a downward spiral. I know that endless spend-spend-spending Will...

. Isaiah 5:20---Uncancellable They often call good evil, And call the evil good. Misclassifying basics? One wonders how they could. With light for darkness put, And darkness put for light, Seems schooling, friends, and news, Reversed what’s wrong and right. Then put sweet for the bitter, And bitter for the...

. The Plague They muzzle their breath, Sealed in rooms as if in tombs, Scared to death of death. . . A Tale from the City They’ve worn my patience very thin So I wear my mask upon my chin “Nose exposed!”, a stranger’s cry! “Brains in chains!”, my swift...

    . Dusk Till Dawn  The ocean rainAnd sleep played me—A willing pawn.I dreamt of youFrom nautical duskTill nautical dawn. . . Love Is More We shall be soul mates tillThey etch our names on stonesOr let our ashes flyFor love is more than justThin skin and brittle bones. ....

. excerpted from the sonnet sequence Philip, Prince of Greece and Great Britain He wore a white gold crown wherever he Was living, Denmark, Greece, and also here In Scotland and in England.  Like a spree Of happiness, he was a musketeer Of royal beauty whose blond diadem Was full...

. Night Verses The airy rush of thoughts today The evening breeze has whisked away. The wind that spoke to me in wings Has flown and left old, scattered things. Some small and faint discarded words Remain like fragile bones of birds. I gather letters from the ground, Recall their...

. Tribute to 19-year-old Kyal Sin, known as "Angel," a dancer, taekwondo champion, and first-time voter who was killed during the protests against Myanmar’s CCP-backed military coup Remember her proud, girlish way Of marking that Election Day? She sealed it with a purple kiss. In hindsight, ignorance is bliss, For...

. When all guns have been banned,__When all rifles are taken,When your words have been censored,__When your life has been shaken--- When all schools fear the state,__When our history's erased,When all freedom's been choked,__When religion's replaced--- Only then you’ll discover,__That the Right to bear arms,Was our only protection__From the Left's luring charms. ....

. The House That Fauci Built by Dr. Weslie Ubeca Within the U.S. government, he was the highest paid He sighed, denied, and p-lied; he was a yo-yo on display. Like Doctor Faustus, Doctor Fauci, sold his soul to be an actor on the World stage, there at the CDC....

. Our neighbours bought a sheepdog: a heeler brindled blue, And all was well (or so it seemed) until his faults showed through; For when it came to penning sheep, he lost a large amount, And bit the hand which fed him when taken to account. They use him very...

. Cherry Blossom Viewing Like someone else, in unaccustomed dress, I choose that silken smoothness graze my skin __As fragile branches effloresce, Revealing vernal consciousness within Of transient white or pink I can caress With fingers titillating opaline Just opened buds exploding as they tease __My sight. They tremble; I...

. We stick to what we know, what we can touch, Hold in our hands; unable to foretell What lies ahead, denying Time with such Abandonment, pretending we are well Aware of the truth, we close our eyes To reason, snapping pictures of the here And now, though, all the...

. Ballade of Prayer to Our Lady (in the voice of the poet’s mother) by François Villon (1431-1463), from French by Joseph S. Salemi Lady of Heaven, who holds earthly sway And reigns as Empress of the hellish deep, Receive me, one poor Christian, as I pray That I may...

. Rededication The sullen days of winter Remain a galling splinter Within my thickened skin, So let the games begin! Though I’m inclined to focus Upon the blooming crocus, The loom of April fills My mind with daffodils. With every spring, an Easter, But will it bring me feast or...

. Life Under the CCP for Amy Yin and her UK family Loud thumps were more than company; __front door as thin as any. Mum walked across the noise to see __each thump enlarge to many. Then clumps of feet clacked on our floors __with yaps demanding logins To access...

. If He came now, God’s only Son, To save a world that’s come undone Would we continue to defy His truth, to stoke the ruthless lie That claims His name is not the One? His Word torments the twisted tongue With light that blazes like the sun; Would we...

. The world is full of suffering and pain; We wait in fear for death to walk our way; We look for anyone that we can blame Projecting fear and hate along the way. Where fear has entered, love can never be And with it, peace of mind is gone...

. “The strife is o’er, the battle won”—18th c. Hymn As hapless hope and hopelessness collide The mid-day sun looms black above the cross; A dies irae bearing bitter loss Where life and death each breathed their last, and died. With undried, grief-wept tears creation cried As God’s pure gold...

. Easter! by Rosario Previti (1882-1967), from Italian by Joseph S. Salemi Why your bitter torment on the cross, Martyr of Golgotha, if the world on which You poured your blood in agony remains Savage and fierce, and man still steeped in sin? The hand that healed the leprous and...

. Praise Him for the lightning in the gale,For balmy winds, for crystals in the snow.Wonder at the gaudy peacock’s tail,Observe how huge the elephant can grow! The turtledove, the maculate giraffe,The leopard’s feral stealth, the eagle’s wing,The neighing of the horse, the dolphin’s laugh;The joy in God which once...

. Sonnet 181 Jesus had suffered more than we can tell, But when released, His soul at once aspired To save the just, whom their long wait had tired. See Him descend to Limbo’s dreary hell In search of those who early served Him well And, ages since, His coming...

. I’ve had a nightmare! Let that just man go! You’re right that he’s done nothing wrong. They’re wrong To want him dead. No, nothing you could write Above his head could possibly undo Your guilt. He’s innocent, however long You try to wash your hands of him. That rite...

. Behold the Queen of Heaven weeping, seeping __Tears that rend her heart and ours. As one __Who mourns she grasps and clasps the seeming-sleeping, __Pierced, and bloodless body of her son. A body void of God’s expired breath; __A pietà of human flesh and bone __Where heaving, grieving love...

. She burns to bear his burden (take the weight) But he is far beyond her guiding reach. Beyond her soothing arms, he meets his fate. Her heavy heart has nothing left to teach… For these are not his first steps; they’re his last. His skin (once kissed and dressed...

. The Lovely World Behold the frozen, flaxen fields at morn– The tall grass shining on the hills of clay Which sunlit wisps of winter frost adorn In dazzling white, as for a bridal day. An air of holy wantonness imbues The outspread earth which, quiet as a nun, Displays...

. Sue was the star of Central High. In girls’ athletics she excelled. Her competition would just sigh. The best of it she ably quelled. Track, swimming, wrestling, volleyball— No other girl could match her skill. Twenty-five trophies lined her wall And she looked forward to more still. Alas, her...

. For the Birds The cardinal in his bold, red cloak; His wife so subtle, so bespoke. In complimentary blues and grays, The raucous jays---they have their ways. And in the trees, the chickadees! Their song is always sure to please! There at the feeder, every morn, Sunflower seed mixed...

. With what perfection are the seasons spun; When we grow tired of the opulent sun, A wind from the north comes fanning our cheek The trees turn riotous; the sky looks bleak. As if to anticipate we may tire Of autumn’s rushing Pentecostal fire, The trees for a shocker...

. A Box of Chocolates is like Life: (That Mrs. Gump she got it right.) You  never know just what you’ll get, so take a chance: Jump in; don’t fret! Life’s Bittersweet---both dark and light--- but with some luck, most bites you’ll like. It helps to read the Contents Card, as some...

. Nature's Magic Some say that there is magic in the night,but it holds no more marvels than the day.The sun emits her own fantastic lightwhile moon and stars are safely tucked away. Though night seems more enchanting, that may bebecause nocturnal hours bring mystique.The starry sky reveals some mysterybut...

. Ode to Hidden Splendor I heard your rolling croon beyond my vision Blooming in the balm of winter’s breeze--- A thrilling spill of crystalline precision Amid the Spanish moss draped on the trees. My heart took flight with each falsetto note, Then fluttered at the height of your refrains--- The dazzle and pizzazz of soaring song Rising from your silken-feathered throat. Your air, beyond compare on coastal plains, Resounded with a twang so sweet and strong. Yet when I looked...

. The candlelight was dim and spare And Claire was there, lost in prayer And slightly swaying to and fro (She dances for Him, this I know) And I do swear that she did glow--- Whence comes this light? He does bestow. . . Joe Tessitore is a retired New...

. O, how I wish I could write about pandas, Cute, bamboo-shoot-eating, black and white pandas. Furry and cuddly like overgrown teddy bears, Roly and poly in singles or mating pairs. Pawns in the game of First World foreign policy, Used to help leverage trade and diplomacy. Putting a happy...

. The Parting of the Sea Salvation in the parting of the Sea, Its churning waves pierced by a knife of cloud And split in two allowing us to flee Egyptian swords! As one astonished crowd We ran with haste into the wondrous scene! A liquid canyon carved from waterfall...