by phillipw | Mar 26, 2024 | BO, CH
The Boy Jesus When Not Working in the Carpenter Shop Unthinking grace is like a child at play. The hummingbird in hover, April flight, Does not consider gracefulness in sway Of gorgeousness or whether beauty’s height Is being skated through the blossom air. The cat...
by phillipw | Feb 24, 2024 | BO
Inklings of Immortality Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Perhaps these stones are where the gods sit when We spend mere time away from boulders, waste Our spirits. Rocks like these wait not...
by phillipw | Oct 18, 2023 | BO, EN, Uncategorized, ZE
Tuesday as Spiritual Breakthrough Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The master teacher of the Zen monks tells One monk to jump to foaming whirlpool waves. He jumps and finds himself in no deep wells...
by phillipw | May 31, 2023 | BO, IV, WH
The People Who Too Easily are Bored The people who too easily are bored Have boring minds, my brother Ivan says. When brains were given out, too many scored At low IQs. Not one of them’s a wizz At anything except their boredom. If They sit alone without their...
by phillipw | May 29, 2023 | AL, BO, DO, LO, OS, WI
BruteBitchBastard Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “like murdered singing birds” Lord Alfred turned to singing something worse Than that monstrosity, that attic room Abomination. He became...
by phillipw | Feb 2, 2022 | BO, CO, FI, HA
Tears of Melancholic Glee The lost child crying, Crying, crying. Even so . . . Catching the fireflies. ~ Ryusui The twilight darkens like a threat. The boy Wipes eyes and suddenly he sees a flash Which floats across the air. It’s like a toy That he has dreamed of,...
by phillipw | Nov 6, 2021 | BO, DU, GA, Ho, MU, PA, PH, SE, SI, ST, WH
Jalousie in Natural Light—Avant la Rêve For Mrs. Pat Silver and Bob Stubbs She chose a piece called “Jalousie” for flute And keyboard that was strange to both the boys, But then the both of them were teens. To suit The ceremony “Jalousie” had poise But sounded...
by phillipw | Aug 15, 2021 | BO, CO, MI, SE
And Moaning about How We Can’t Go Get a Sunburn on the Costa Blanca As calm as Eisenhower after war While playing golf with Mamie left behind, We turn ourselves away to things much more Enjoyable. Ignoring earthquake grind Of human flesh and souls in Haiti, we Get on...
by phillipw | Aug 10, 2021 | BO, RE, SA
Vision as Daybreak Like white cloud samples brought right down to earth By Buddha as a guide to finding death Inside his blank Nirvana, they bring birth To sacred thoughts, these insights. They bring breath To bodhi. When they come, they come like...
by phillipw | Jul 15, 2021 | BO, FI, PO
A Doll Manufactured before Sex Perhaps: Prelapsarian Porcelain Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The doll, its face, and limbs, hold dignity As sweet as childhood when imagined by A sentimental mind, a...
by phillipw | Jun 28, 2021 | BO, EN, EP, HA, IN, RE, SA, UN
They Hold their Hats in Deference in their Hands Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Two men are bowing at the crossroads to Each other. Though already distant they Grow fainter even as they set off...
by phillipw | May 30, 2021 | BO
Translucent Fun like Daydreams Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “Only we’ll live awhile, as children play, Without tomorrow, without yesterday.” ~ A. Mary P. Robinson, “Let Us...
by phillipw | May 9, 2021 | AE, BE, BO, ES
Wisteria Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The problem with true beauty is that you Lose interest. You can look at it so long But then your mind goes wandering from the view. The truest...
by phillipw | Apr 25, 2021 | AN, BA, BE, BO, CH, FI, MI
Michael Barham Antiques at the Top of the Portobello Road The shops are multi-coloured on their fronts, The pink ones and the gold ones and the grey (Lead blue). Yet then a true blue one confronts Your vision. [Other shoppers wander. They Don’t have a clue. ...
by phillipw | Mar 19, 2021 | BL, BO, GA, ST, Uncategorized
Bob Stubbs Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem He wallowed in his first epiphany. He could not bring himself to leave the thrill Of it behind. The first polyphony When it appeared in music...
by phillipw | Mar 7, 2021 | AM, BO, BR, CH, EN, FL, MA, PL, RU, SM
International Geographic The tawny boys run through the woods and streets Wherever they are raised, in rural realms Of citrus Florida, where sunshine meets Them under orange grove trees or under elms In England—everywhere. They build their dykes Or dams, their...
by phillipw | Feb 18, 2021 | AE, BE, BO, ES
Bonsai: Big is Not Better Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem …… Who says that small is not as good as large? Would you prefer a splendid sailboat or The heavy, hulking hull plate of a...
by phillipw | Feb 11, 2021 | BO, MO, ON, PE, SA
“Zen” * and Ichinyo (如) Aikiya The brief and long are similar — the same, Says Buddha. Bonsai in its little dish And Peony in vase have both one aim. This goal is much, much more than just a wish. Both items are the same, Gautama says. He knows the blossom has been...
by phillipw | Dec 26, 2020 | BO, BR, CO, DR, EX, GE, IO, JU, VU
Victors in Dream Geography Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem We want to conquer dreamers’ landscapes, sweep Through them triumphantly, explore each dream And make it ours. We want to fathom deep...
by phillipw | Dec 5, 2020 | BO, BR, KU, PL, RA, SM, TI
Titusville Spelled KKK “There’s no place like home.” If I were given Judy Garland’s shoes, I wouldn’t click their ruby heels to go To childhood Titusville. I wouldn’t choose The 1950s there where time was slow As Playalinda tides that inched up on The palest...
by phillipw | Oct 24, 2020 | BO, BU, EN, ME, MY
The Harvest of a Quiet Eye “The harvest of a quiet eye” ~ John Richard Vernon Ignore the razzmatazz, and sex, and stuff. Just look around you in the dawn and see A crack in God’s eternity, enough To show the mystical, mystery In twilight. Take an old, old book...
by phillipw | Oct 11, 2020 | BO, CR, HI, IN, LI, MO, PO, TE, WR
A History of Upswelling Poisons Unintended Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem e plants some seeds, some sentences and words In rows. What might become of clauses, verbs, And paragraphs he cannot know. ...
by phillipw | Oct 10, 2020 | AN, BO, DE, HE, IS, OX, PO, SA
Dead Sea Scrolls and Caves Discovered Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The words remain on pages and on scrolls Through centuries and millennia. On dark Cave walls the long lost paintings left by...
by phillipw | Jul 20, 2020 | AC, BO, BR, CA, CR, GA, HA, HE, KA, MA, NE, PA, PR, SA
Troy in New Orleans, Manhattan, or London Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem So I found “Helen” sitting in a streetcar; the Dionysian revels of her court were transferred to a Metropolitan roof garden...
by phillipw | Jul 19, 2020 | AD, AE, AL, AR, BO, LO, PA, PH, RO, SE
The Venerable, Ancient Need Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “And Socrates the philosopher, who despised everything, was, for all that, subdued by the beauty of Alcibiades; as also was the venerable...
by phillipw | Jul 15, 2020 | AN, BO, Ho
Scholarly Blindness “Since before 450 BC there was no prose literature, our only windows on the ancient world are the poems.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 8 It only goes to show that scholars love To focus narrowly. He looked so hard At Greeks that he is...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | BO, BU, CE, SA
Sappho Wrote about Twelve Thousand Lines of Poetry Twelve thousands lines of poetry were torched By time and Christians. Piety increased The ravages, all this because she scorched With love for girls. Bishops made a feast Of male disgust that Sappho caused by fire...
by phillipw | Jul 13, 2020 | BI, BO, GA, HE, JE, JU, LO, MA, RA, ZE
The next two sonnets may offend some readers. If you think you may be offended, please do not read them. Painless Pleasure: Two contradictory versions of the myth of Ganymede “to be very eager in the pursuit of pleasure is to go hunting for pain…. ...
by phillipw | Jul 6, 2020 | BO, ER, GA, ZE
Some readers may find this next sonnet offensive. If you might be offended, do not read it. Divine = Human Equation Human = Divine Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse “The matchless Ganymede, divinely fair, Whom Heaven, enamour’d...
by phillipw | Jul 5, 2020 | AN, AT, BO, CA, CL, CO, CY, HE, IS, PI, SA
Treasures from the Wreck of the Unrecoverable Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse “Athenaeus quotes more than ten thousand lines of verse in it, many not preserved or attested elsewhere.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets Ten...
by phillipw | Jul 5, 2020 | BO, PA, SC
Before the Internet in the Ancient World “Hellenistic culture was of necessity a culture of the book . . . : the age of the reader had arrived, and a poet was often a man speaking to a man, not to men.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 13 The audience grew smaller...
by phillipw | May 27, 2020 | BO, CH, EA, EN, FI, GA, HU, LI, PA, RO
Earl Grey in Old Imari Porcelain He could have stayed behind his desk. He could Have signed stock-trading bonds. He could have stayed Not writing symphonies. Each night he would Have travelled home to comfort. Hubert strayed. He could have travelled home each...
by phillipw | May 21, 2020 | BO, MU, PO
World Book Is there a book which you would choose to be The World when this one is destroyed, say, slim Selections of this earth’s best poetry On silk imprinted and with gilded trim? Or would you choose an ivory book of runes Encrypting lost religions...
by phillipw | May 20, 2020 | AL, AN, BO, CO, DO, GI, OS, PE, RO, WI
The Ultimate Chamber of Silent Adoration Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “When Robbie Ross died, […] he triumphed over both Bosie and Constance, by having his ashes interred in Oscar’s tomb.” ~...
by phillipw | May 13, 2020 | AN, BO, DI, GA, GO, GR, HE
Inner Sanctums of Hole-iness Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The gods loomed more than superstars do now. The gods were more like legendary fire Behind a gilded curtain. They would plough A lad or...
by phillipw | May 9, 2020 | BA, BO, SC, TE
Dumb Forecast That little wrinkled sack between his thighs Predicts. The contents there will make him grow Much bigger. Certain parts will spread in size, His shoulders, biceps, thicker neck. Down low Beneath his belly button, balls will swell And, yes,...
by phillipw | May 7, 2020 | AR, BO, HA, UN
Hairy Happiness The woman watches him. He’s at the sink Inside their hotel room. She notes his arms And shoulders most. She thinks of manly stink In black-haired armpits, glossy in the harms They do to heart and guts as she succumbs. He’s washing them with water...
by phillipw | May 7, 2020 | BO, DR, JO, LA, PA, PH, WE, WH, WI
Recurring, Not Forgotten Florida Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The childhood cosmos that returns in dreams Is full of butter suns, smooth, yellow, bright. The light is not like melting candy creams...
by phillipw | May 7, 2020 | BO, CY, GA, Ho, JE, LO, SY
How the Cypress Came to Be Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Sylvanus loved the boy and gave a gift To Cyparissus, gave the boy a doe. He doted on it. Then the truest shift Occurred. Sylvanus killed it...
by phillipw | May 6, 2020 | AD, AU, BO, CA, JO, JU, MA, NA
Modern Improvements I find it faintly droll that Caesar had No clue about Napoleon and Hitler, that Augustus never knew how ultra bad That Mao and Josef Stalin were. How flat Those Caesars would have felt if only they Had known how pipsqueak they would seem compared...
by phillipw | May 6, 2020 | AN, BO, HE, IN, LO, MU, RO, ST
Never Land Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “Ordinarily, romantic love is a popular theme in ancient India’s epics as well as in numerous plays that revolve around the romances of...
by phillipw | Apr 25, 2020 | BO, CH, ST
α — The first letter of the Greek alphabet “And all the sons of God shouted for joy” The memory of you rinses even light. Though clouds today add gray to sky and air, This flash-back makes white flowers cleaner white; I wash them in the essence of dark...
by phillipw | Apr 3, 2020 | BE, BO, CE, CH
People are Starving in South Sudan (This poem has many illustrations. Keep going till you have read the rhyming couplet.) “A macaroon! A macaroon! “I cannot live without a macaroon!” ~ Pierrot, Aria da Capo by Edna St. Vincent Millay “We live in an...
by phillipw | Apr 2, 2020 | BO, Ho, LO
Painless Pleasure: Two contradictory versions of the myth of Ganymede “to be very eager in the pursuit of pleasure is to go hunting for pain…. Homer…says that the greatest gods receive no advantage from their power, but are even much injured by it, if...
by phillipw | Mar 3, 2020 | BO, CH, MA
Decades Later He Stands with his Son Staring at the Merry-Go-Round The brilliant light of early joys, the joys A child knows when the Christmas tree Is found aflame on Christmas morn with toys And glistening ribbons, wrappings, gifts is glee Unknown in later life. ...
by phillipw | Jan 29, 2020 | AN, BO
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Dieric_Bouts_-_The_Annunciation_-_WGA2979.jpg Fingered: an Annunciation poem The only things that matter in this scene Are Mary’s hands. Her head is egg-like to A laughable degree; the...
by phillipw | Oct 16, 2019 | BO, DE
The High Days Great cliffs with deserts at their bottoms mark The years. Each steep descent goes straight to plains Strewn out as sand, and drearinesses arc Out flatter than the rocks of numbness. Pain Would be too much to ask. Boringness spreads Out, wide before...
by phillipw | Oct 15, 2019 | BO, CH, ST
Miniaturized Trees in Tiny Pots at 3501 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, D. C. To thrill his body never could have been The fact, much less the metaphor, of love. That’s not what love is anyhow. Between Us was full-blooded sympathy above That sort of...
by phillipw | Aug 11, 2019 | BO
World Book Is there a book which you would choose to be The World when this one is destroyed, say, slim Selections of this earth’s best poetry On silk imprinted and with gilded trim? Or would you choose an ivory book of runes Encrypting lost religions...