. Forever Nine My bare feet merge with weathered, knotty pineAs dripping swimsuit water cools the pier.The day belongs to...

. The Great Legitimizer by Euphrates Moss Up from the barbaric yawp of Beowulf and routing through Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375),...

. Putin That’s, I’m sure, a vampire: Gnaws on bones, bloody-lipped. —A. S. Pushkin. “Vurdalak,” Songs of Western Slavs (Это, верно, кости гложет Красногубый...

. Graves “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise...

. Snowfall: Via Negativa “Less is more.” ---Literary Dictum Out on the highway, snow settles in place Covering the tracks...

. Independence Day? a rondeau Some dared. Some died. With pluck and pride And guts and grit the brave defied...

. To All Great Eagles Up on High To all great eagles up on high I hope you hear my...

. Fourth of July Limerick Top left, there’s an oblong that’s blue; add in fifty stars, white in hue. To...

. America Is Not the Same America is not the same. __I do not recognize it. We all know who...

. Evra Our grandma Evra was a trifle difficult. If ever sound advice was needed she’d be there, But quiet,...

. Adams Mountain I gather in from this high place, my shadow sprawled on shivered stone: Dusk drifts down: autumnal...

. First Steps in a New World for Toribio Moras, age 14, Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1908 The young Castilian boy...

. . This Silence. Foremost among my woes: _This silence as it grows, __My mind fatigued from listening for your...

. Virgil Recalls Meeting Beatrice: Canto II of Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . The light...

. Classical Poets Live with Andrew Benson Brown Episode 5 Parts I & II: Why Amanda Gorman Is Not a Poet...

. La Campana Ring, grandfather! And ring for liberty. The bell spoke once and, speaking, croaked and cracked. Our gazes...

. Miracle of the Book Distance was short, but porters would be needed, And sacks were packed with small necessities....

. Incensed For days, drawn draperies of fire, pinned close by dry pines, needled us with smells of smoke so...

. The Number 44: The Cookery Class Now, this is a tale of a cookery class; It happened in Battersea...

. Le Bal Des Ardents for Joe Salemi On 28th January 1393 in Paris, Queen Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of...

. Psalm 23: King David’s Version When I was just a hungry sheep __and I was lonely, lost and scared,...

. Pillar of Salt “By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord...

. As Orwell Warned The Right now gets censored to silence, While schools and the media teach, That speech from...

. South Vietnam Warfare . Northern Jungle The rat-tat-tat of machine gun Split through the mist of morning sun. The...

. The Adventures of Verb At six, I had a dictionary Where I would meet a man named Verb, Superb...

. Darkface at Dusk "Death is swallowed up in victory" ---1 Cor. 15:4 At twilight, as I walked in solitude...

. Even the 49ers Don’t Play There Anymore Is San Francisco slip-sliding away? Old Navy, Nordstrom, Saks, the Gap, have...

. Job’s Rant Job 3: 3-10 . May darkness and death’s shadow claim the day When I was sent to...

. In Extremis ---from the Western wilds Here at the most attenuated ends Of America’s arterial transport map, Where pavement...

. This Is the Choice  The gates of hell Closed from within. No one sends us--- We lock ourselves in....

. The Deluge From Heaven came the rain; On Earth the waters swelled To wash away each stain The eyes...

. Reviewed Book: Laughing Matters: Poems with a Wink and a Smile by James A. Tweedie, Duncrest Press, 2023 by...

. Green I’m talking green: the greening ground Of spring and springing hope eternal; The spectrum’s hidden light unbound And...

. Pharaoh’s Dream Redux “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the...

. The Gallows The trial was quick, the verdict read: “Guilty as charged,” the foreman said. The judge declared the...

. The Straight-Fishing, Straight-Talking Jiang Ziya Far off in time and place but still on this small globe, By a...

. Runway Ready An Anorectic at a Playground . Scrawny, lean and teen Miss Annie sat upon her bony fanny,...

. Distant Thoughts from Nearby I need to turn my dog-ears up __and harken to the quietude ____ignored for many...

. The House on 58th Street for my father Salvatore J. Salemi (1913-2008) The house on 58th Street stood right...

. The Test The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' —Jesus (Matthew 22:39, NASB1995) Is...