by phillipw | Dec 13, 2022 | CH, GO, LA, NA, SA
The Lamb “And suddenly there was with the angel a heavenly host saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” ~ Luke 2:14 The lamb looks up and sees a light, a star Or something heavenly, a...
by phillipw | Jul 11, 2022 | AT, CA, HI, MA, NA
Dispensation Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem What falls from heavens here upon the earth Brings mornings set with richness and with flux. A fullness settles, once with grief or...
by phillipw | Jul 4, 2021 | AR, NA, PO
Blush Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Three thousand sonnets, thereabouts, he writes But then three plums with blush and underglow Come into his existence. Smooth skin lights Up...
by phillipw | Jun 22, 2021 | NA, PA, TU
The Cosmic Certainty is Propulsion A double nature of the universe: All parts of it endeavor to remain the same And every part aspires to be a nurse To its demise. This dual colored aim (Or aims that strive as one) is like a spring That yearns to be a spring forever...
by phillipw | May 22, 2021 | NA, SI, TO
The Yellowstone Experience and Grand Canyon Experience, etc. Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem We see the sinkholes roiling up from stained Ennui. We gawp at geysers spewing scald Of superheated water...
by phillipw | Jan 17, 2021 | AE, AN, BE, ES, MA, NA, SE
An Alternative Universe Has No Narcissus Blossoms Lingering by Ponds Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Narcissus climbed down from the edge and stepped In, lowering himself until he saw The water start...
by phillipw | Jan 13, 2021 | AE, AR, BE, EN, ES, MO, NA, PE, SA
No Divisions Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Tokonama no Botan no yami ya Hototogisu ~ Shiki The darkness of the alcove Where the peonies are; A hototogisu...
by phillipw | Dec 27, 2020 | KA, LI, NA, RE, VE
Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima The past is nuclear, exploding in A present moment boring as a brown Field waiting for some turnip seeds. The skin Of now is guiltless, threatless till the frown Of yesterday’s wide sins rips up the fleece. The grimace is electric in...
by phillipw | Nov 2, 2020 | CO, CY, GE, Ho, MU, NA, PO, PR, ZY
Zyklon B The darkness hangs so heavy it might make A sound if struck. The darkness is like black So weighty nightmares might begin to shake If they encountered it. Hearts might attack It. Hearts are only hearts, though. They are made Of blood and...
by phillipw | Jul 19, 2020 | AR, HE, Ho, NA, PH, PL, PO, XE
The Truth about Ancient History, Plato, and Poetry “Socrates says in the Republic that he and Plato’s brothers might have to inform poetry about the ancient quarrel between it and philosophy. Glenn Most (“What Ancient Quarrel between Philosophy and Poetry?”) argues...
by phillipw | Jul 5, 2020 | AT, DE, NA, YO
Two Men from Two Small Places Save Poetry for the Universe: Athenaeus of Naucratis and C. D. Yonge of the Village of Eton Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem One thousand and six hundred later years...
by phillipw | Jun 25, 2020 | AN, NA, PH, PL
Cave versus Agora That Plato thug looms; just pathetic, though, Pretending that he’s thinking straight about Ideals. He doesn’t have a clue. The glow Of solitary thought, that drought, Is all he cares to focus on. Supreme And dictatorial his brain but in A...
by phillipw | May 17, 2020 | Ho, NA, PH, PL
Actuality vs. Philosophy without Armpits Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem How troubling that some strangers from our past Are still alive. They keep on grasping throats And minds like zombies. Souls...
by phillipw | May 15, 2020 | CH, CR, NA, WI
Weakness Again and Again The English chopped the neck of Charles One, And next they had a king not called a king, The Lord Protector. Soon they called the son Of Lopped Off Head to bring back royal bling Like orb and crown. He failed to make an heir, Producing...
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 3, 2020 | BE, LO, MA, NA, SE
Narcissus Was the Perfect Lover in the Heights of Maleness, Leaping, and Diving Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Narcissus did not know. He came to love His own clean image, glossy, bright, and pure,...
by phillipw | May 2, 2020 | AR, DA, NA, PR
Appearances I go to choral evensong and sit In regal beauty in the queen’s own free Saint George’s Chapel. I have used my spit To cut the pain a corn has caused to me When I put on my snakeskin shoes, the blue ………. Ones, Hugo Boss. ...
by phillipw | Feb 18, 2020 | NA, PS
The End of the Cretaceous in Nazi Germany At times our ids rise upward and become A sort of luminescent threat like prints Upon the shore of dinosaurs. A dumb Impression haunts us. The three-clawed track glints With something previous to evil. This Trail,...
by phillipw | Feb 16, 2020 | NA
His Soul Grips Him from the Depths Narcissus’ soul reached up just high enough From depths of water to invoke his love. His image seized him. Its embrace was rough, More like a rape. His beauty was above, Two times, upon the surface of the pool, And higher still...
by phillipw | Nov 17, 2019 | NA
Ugly Beauty You might want to read this sarcastic version of the Greek myth http://www.shmoop.com/echo-narcissus/summary.html before you read the sonnet. The music comes from speakers. Radio 3 broadcasts strains and sounds. They’re more like...
by phillipw | Sep 13, 2019 | NA
Portuguese Man o War ………………………………Wikipedia We know the posters’ gloss: Tahiti’s sea Serene as corn-flower glass; jade’s Phuket beach; Cool Caribbean’s blue; that apogee Of...