by phillipw | Apr 16, 2024 | EI, PR, WH
Above the Big Old White-paged Bible She Held, Though Below It Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem She did not have to breathe. Why breathe when lungs Were lifted into visions and in trance With Christ and...
by phillipw | Jan 17, 2024 | AU, FA, PA, PR
Heroic The autumn brings the woods to life at last, The life of splendor made of God and light, The light and colors dreamed of though more vast Than men imagine even in a rite Of Orthodox and patriarchal sheen Of silk, embroidery. The...
by phillipw | Aug 28, 2023 | PR
Seamless Spirit and Muons Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The primitives...
by phillipw | Oct 27, 2022 | CA, FE, LO, PE, PR
Fast I lay my hands against his fur. Its black Glows, glossed, on light green of our duvet top, The counterpane. My fingers warm his back And side. They warm me, too. My cat’s gone plop To sleep in black and white and green. This calm...
by phillipw | Aug 8, 2022 | AE, BE, ES, PR
Yearnings White clouds are lovelier or much more bright Than high blue domes. The sky above them both, And clouds and Orthodox cathedral, write A trinity of beauty, God’s own oath. A prayer for monks to chant these three compete. A shape of...
by phillipw | May 30, 2022 | AR, HE, HU, PH, PR
Bright Young Men Know Better The sun god sits in golden light upon A golden throne and sends out golden beams. The robe he wears is purple prinked at dawn With rose gold frets, Greek frets. His presence streams From in his palace in the farthest east, An east beyond...
by phillipw | May 21, 2022 | PR
Unbalanced Gods “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God” ~ Exodus 20:5 Prometheus was never praised, adored Or worshiped like true ancient gods required. Demanding sacrifices for reward Of favors, those were monsters. They inspired Deep superstition, or at...
by phillipw | Apr 24, 2022 | HA, PR, TR
Gleaned from the Darkly Glowing Web Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The rightwing ravings from a friend of long Ago are like the readings in a mind Inside an ancient prophet with a strong Dementia...
by phillipw | Mar 27, 2022 | MA, PR, SE
Wedding Wings: Hymenoptera The thought of weddings brings a joy to some, The brides and grooms in white and black, perhaps To mothers of the brides. Joys overcome The nagging doubts, but joys tend to lapse. Among the guests the odd one here and there...
by phillipw | Mar 27, 2022 | CA, PR
Clarity and Confusion Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem He shows contentment with his claws. A paw In whiteness stretches out and claws curve out Of white and pink. The curves of...
by phillipw | Mar 8, 2022 | BI, BR, PR, RU, Uncategorized
Empty Charms Replaced His Stunning Charm — Two Sutured Sonnets The media in ignorance gets in The way of people’s understanding of The truth. They put a glossy glamor spin On heroes and then shy away from love That falls outside the types that Christians would...
by phillipw | Nov 22, 2021 | AN, FR, MA, PR
Straight Road Willows Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The friend has gone along the long straight road With willows all along on left and right. Their greenness does not...
by phillipw | Sep 28, 2021 | BR, EL, GR, Ho, KE, LU, MO, PR
Elizabeth Taylor Never Managed Bangles to Compete with THAT Though class means one thing in Great Britain, class Means something else in Hollywood. It’s glitz There, glitz with gilding. Briefly, it means crass With Cadillacs and white fox fur with tits Concealed,...
by phillipw | Sep 26, 2021 | AE, DE, EM, PR, RA, WA, WH
Barbaric Yawp His “poetry” is not so much a thing Of barbarism as it is like Greek Or Roman oratory. In its ring It has the sound of bombast. No, not sleek, But more like overstated prose tricked out As verse on pages. Rhetoric high-flown Quite...
by phillipw | Sep 23, 2021 | EL, LU, MA, MO, OS, PR, Ta
A Skin-deep Sea in a Fake Heaven The depths of shallowness are what the stars Dive into. Starlit deeps make slickness glow Like Barbarella dressed for sex-grooved Mars, Or Marilyn with one leg raised to show The blue pool has not killed her yet. Like Wilde...
by phillipw | Sep 15, 2021 | LU, MO, PR
Elizabeth Taylor Never Managed Bangles to Compete with THAT Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem When class means one thing in Great Britain, class Means something else in Hollywood. It’s glitz There, glitz...
by phillipw | Aug 16, 2021 | CA, LO, PE, PR
Self-envy I suffer from that rarest illness, called Self-envy. Everyone, it seems, but me Is desperate, as if they each are walled Up in a prison or are like a quay That no ships come to, ever, but my days And nights are full. I have a cat who...
by phillipw | Aug 3, 2021 | BI, LA, PR, SK
Cosmic Encryption Broadcast Wide as Bach The mounting skylark sings the song of world Religions everywhere. The leap from ground To piercing toward the stratosphere is swirled With incandescent notes. The lark has found The meaning of the universe and sets Itself...
by phillipw | Jul 20, 2021 | HU, MA, PR
Jeff and Richard Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem When males are born, they have the chance to be Men, toiling on a farm in sweat and muck, Or fishing in the roiling waves the sea Throws...
by phillipw | Jun 21, 2021 | CA, CH, FA, IN, PI, PR, RE, RO, SU
Miraculous Bunkum The minds of pilgrims plod along because They lack the gifts required to see without A relic. Hunkered there inside its gauze Of cloth of gold as if in holy pout, It waits for priests to open up its box Or gate, the reliquary encrusted with ...
by phillipw | May 30, 2021 | BR, DE, HE, MA, PR, VI
The Bridegroom Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem He wakes up in the bridal bed. The sheets Are white but crumpled. She is slumped beside Him in a different sleep. Her throat pulse...
by phillipw | May 1, 2021 | LA, PR, RE
Perverse Psychology Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem I keep on losing arguments with me. I don’t like losing them with anyone But it’s far worse (a serendipity Unwanted) to face up to...
by phillipw | Apr 26, 2021 | JO, MA, PR
Implacable Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “The sea is as deepe in a calme as in a storme.” ~ John Donne, Sermons, Mundus Mari “If hypothetically Mount Everest were placed into the trench at this...
by phillipw | Mar 29, 2021 | AN, OB, PR
Eons Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The centuries long committed to the sound Of silence have forgotten colors too. We cannot know these times. They are a mound, That opened, offers...
by phillipw | Mar 28, 2021 | AD, CO, DO, DR, EL, FA, MA, PA, PR, RE, SE
There to Efface Himself in Ecstasy Religious? There to efface himself in Ecstasy he flailed about. Yes, he tried Cocaine at first and, lolling in that sin, He won election victory as he fried His brain that way. Of course he used plain Ole dope as well but somehow...
by phillipw | Mar 23, 2021 | DE, PR, RE
Antarctic Ambivalence Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem We think of death . . . and warmth is hardly part Of such reflection. Buddha does not think Of death as much as he attempts to chart The...
by phillipw | Mar 15, 2021 | FA, IN, LO, MA, MO, PR
Love’s Predestination The baby Cain asleep upon the breast Of Eve with Adam looking fondly on Would be enough to make the sight arrest Unease in anyone. At that white dawn Of motherhood with Eve as God designed Her lovingly, her man as beautiful In her fond...
by phillipw | Jan 18, 2021 | GR, MO, ON, PE, PR, UN
Monism Teaches Oneness 一如 (Ichinyo) Shirobotan aru no tsuki ni kuzurekeri The white peony; At the moon, one evening, It crumbled and fell. ~Shiki Translations are quite tricky things. They ask For huge commitment from the ones who try To make them. Those...
by phillipw | Jan 14, 2021 | AE, BE, DE, ES, PE, PR
Dual Supplication against Death The flower burns its whitest white but not Alone. Beside it in the window glows A candle in the evening air so taut The flame burns on without a flicker. Those Who know the truth can see that light is light In spirit even when the...
by phillipw | Dec 29, 2020 | HE, PR, SE, ST
The Trappings of Romance He’d clamped his lips together both to halt His making shouts—and calling out that name. He knew that theirs had been a wild assault Against his nature. It had been his shame. The yellow hair that clung about the head Was stylish in the...
by phillipw | Dec 21, 2020 | IN, PR, RE, SU
Moanasteries, More Like Most prayers are cramped things. They are far too full Of names, though mostly just the one, your name. Prayers think that childishly their words may pull A loveless god (or God) to feel some shame For not observing our exactest...
by phillipw | Dec 9, 2020 | AN, GO, GR, PR, RE
“The Isles of Greece, the Isles of Greece!” The icons looking over valleys down Beneath, and over hills across the way, Are placed to shine like jewels on a crown. This crown looks far to mountains where priests pray And past the harbors where boats wait before They...
by phillipw | Dec 7, 2020 | AN, AR, CA, DR, FA, GA, LU, PR
Gabriel or Lucifer? My cat is like an angel when he dreams, An angel from the furry realms of God. It is as if he more than merely seems To be archangel-like, a cat who’s awed By holy visions twitching in his paws, And lies angelic in his twitching calm. His...
by phillipw | Nov 29, 2020 | CA, PR, ST, SY
Conjurors versus Christians The caves are sacred everywhere. Their dark Prepares us for epiphanies, obscure Pronouncements, and a sibilant remark Wrapped up in mystery. The caves immure The unimagined as on painted walls. The buoyant deer and horses floating...
by phillipw | Nov 27, 2020 | AL, GO, IS, PR, RE
Revenant Religion The ancient skies were filled with gods and gods And gods. We sickened of them, most of them. The priests and prophets held them up at odds With us. The gods were one vile diadem That crowned creation. But these gods were red As death...
by phillipw | Nov 4, 2020 | Ho, PR, RE, SA, SE
Who is Healed? “I stand up to see thighs covered in blood and semen and sweat, and I heal. I heal.” ~ Jaime Mathis, It Rises and Falls The sight transfigures. It ennobles. Eyes Become the prophets of a sainthood’s view. A holiness of liquids comes 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 | Oct 29, 2020 | AN, FE, HE, JO, LA, PA, PR, TH, WH, WI, WO
Presence Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The past is never past, is more than ghost Or Undead creature. Passed away the past Is not. It lives within. Its whispered boast Inhabits mental...
by phillipw | Oct 15, 2020 | AN, GA, HA, Ho, LO, PR, SA
Innocent Intentions in Love Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem He chose a love perpetual those years Ago. His kind of love has been around Since men began to fall in love with tears. He knew, but did...
by phillipw | Aug 2, 2020 | AN, GA, Ho, IN, KE, PR, RE
Some readers may find this piece offensive. If you think you might be offended, please do not read it. Conversion at the Cliff Edge of the Great Rift Valley Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Beyond...
by phillipw | Jul 20, 2020 | AE, AG, AR, BE, ES, MA, PR, TR
Upon the Face of Agamemnon “and also he [King Priam of Troy] admires Agamemnon for his beauty” ~ Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, XIII, 906 Forget that Helen for a moment. Think Of gorgeous men. The King of Troy could not Resist men’s beauty. Helen caused a stink That...
by phillipw | Jul 20, 2020 | CH, DI, JO, KE, PL, PR, SO
True Love For Charles Randall Stanfield Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “I can never feel certain of any truth but from a clear perception of its Beauty.” ~ John Keats...
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 16, 2020 | GR, MI, MY, OR, PR
Some Myths are Far More Real “Orpheus is a hero, not a god, and a hero more valuable than most gods, just as Prometheus was.” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 21 The gods are less than Orpheus of Thrace. Gods loomed up large but they were never real. Majestic for a...
by phillipw | Jul 14, 2020 | AN, AP, DE, GR, PR
Ruined Myth and Heavy Reality Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The pillars look more like some backbones stripped Of skin and muscle than Apollo’s space In Delphi and are squat and stodgy, chipped And...
by phillipw | Jul 7, 2020 | AN, PO, PR, RH
Heroes, Victims, and Poseidon The metre of ancient Greek poetry succeeds in “achieving a length and complexity that are unusual in the heroic verse of other literatures.” ~ Michael Grant, The Rise of the Greeks, 325, as quoted in Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 16....
by phillipw | Jul 7, 2020 | AN, EP, PO, PR
Epicinian: Poetry Is a Victory if We Do Not Bastardize It “The continuous efforts of English poets in every generation to rediscover a ‘language really used by men’ would have been incomprehensible to a[n ancient] Greek.’” ~ Michael Schmidt, The First Poets, 15,...
by phillipw | Jul 5, 2020 | OD, PO, PR
A Sacred Prize Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse Gods used to care about men’s singing love And poetry. A victory in song Made up of music and male words above The rest in contests was akin to strong Success in battle. ...
by phillipw | May 29, 2020 | AD, CH, FL, GO, HE, MO, PR, RO, SE, ST, Ta
Talleyrand & Gouveneur Morris Crippled Twinning “Your character is such that you destroy Unhappiness much faster than can fate Create its sadnesses,” said Monstesquiou To Adelaïde, who had the lovely trait Of being charming Countess de Flahaut— Which meant that...
by phillipw | May 26, 2020 | AR, CH, HU, MO, PR
A Common Prayer for Honesty Psalm 52:1 ‘an anthem in five parts, “Why boasteth thou thyself,” the second section adding a solo quartet, making a good nine-part work (1865).’ ~ Emily Daymond This criticism of himself becomes The context of his later anthem, “Why...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | AL, CH, EL, KI, PH, PR, WI
Simian Wound to Greece “The new Greek king, Alexander, … was out walking his wolfhound, Fritz … and the dog was attacked by a tame Spanish monkey. While trying to release the monkey from Fritz’s teeth, the king was attacked by its mate and severely bitten...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | BA, PH, PR, WH, WI
The Little Prince Who Grew Like me he grew up slim and sturdy, blond As Greece or Florida in sun. He crawled And stood up. Women around us were fond Of gold smiles, Philip and Phillip. They mauled Us with their cuddling kisses. We were fine, Right through it all,...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | AR, FO, HE, LO, PH, PR, QU
Arcachon, Summer, 1923, White-Blond Hair “quite too adorable for words, a perfect pet, so grown up & speaks quite a lot & uses grand phrases. He is the sturdiest little boy I have ever seen & I can’t say he is spoilt.’ ~ Louise, Queen of Sweden,...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | PH, PR
Lighthearted in Italy: Beginnings of British Insouciance At eighteen months the Attic prince was laid Inside a fruit crate on the ship that took His family into exile with a maid Or two and valet. Nanny calmly shook A blanket over him that winter...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | EL, PH, PR, QU
The Poet Passes through Surrey while Reading Young Prince Philip More like a colt than other creatures, born A colt with slim limb beauty and with lock Of blondness down his forehead to adorn It, princely maleness made those near him gawk. He was not a Greek god or a...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | PH, PR
What Comes from Having a British Housekeeper He, raised on Scottish porridge in the land Of ancient Greeks, on tapioca, rice, And other British blandness, grows a gland Enlarged enough that it can thrust and slice Its way to royal climax in a queen. That phyllo...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | PH, PR
Even as an Actor in Macbeth Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem 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...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | CR, GO, HR, PH, PR, Prinice Philip, QU
Queen Mary & the Governess: Ho Hum Hussies The queen of England met the young Greek prince. She said he was quite nice and had blue eyes. Her Majesty flunked the test to evince The slightest insight. That is no surprise. Queen Mary was just a bloody...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | HR, PH, PR
Battered Porphyry ‘The eldest girl, Ria, was in plaster up to her hips for four years as a result of a bad fall, and Hélène [Foufounis] later described how Philip would sit for long periods next to her [Ria’s] bed talking to her, refusing to be lured away by the...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | PH, PR
Sneakiness and Bravery The prankish prince observed, but not too well. His friend and he had seen the Arabs ply Their Persian carpets on the beach. To sell Some, Philip and Ianni had to shy Examples from the house and then both tried To hawk them door to door. It...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | AL, KI, PH, PR
More than Just Blue Eyes His family was as full of grief as most Extended ones, blue of flowers more Like purple though. While on the Baltic coast With Alexandra sporting on the shore Perhaps he temporarily forgot Along with her King Alexander’s death. They played in...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | PH, PR
Prince of Pigs ……………….. Who needs an enemy when kinfolk will Suffice? Close kin are guaranteed the best Assassins of your character. They spill The pigsty beans. That’s one great litmus test Of families. Princess...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | EL, PH, PR, QU
The Foal Who Might Have Been an Untamed Stallion A prince was just a swimming boy once (Though destined for the polo course), but still A little lad like others . . . and no dunce About controlling nannies. He was shrill In his refusal to be bossed around There on...
by phillipw | May 24, 2020 | PH, PR
He Would NEVER Have Been that Mean What turns a selfish, show-off boy to just Another henpecked husband? Upside down This Philip always had a childish lust For getting quick attention like a clown By standing on his head when guests arrived. At Villa Georges the...
by phillipw | May 23, 2020 | AL, AN, PH, PR
Mother’s Unhinged Love, Father’s Unrepentant Loves A blond much raised without his parents through His early years may be quite different from A brown-haired boy whose blood is far less blue. Instead of royal meals he got a crumb Or two from palace tables. Father had...
by phillipw | May 23, 2020 | EL, PH, PR, QU
Philip, Prince of Greece and Great Britain — a sonnet sequence within the larger sonnet sequence, The Encyclopedia Sonnetica Simian Wound to Greece “The new Greek king, Alexander, … was out walking his wolfhound, Fritz … and the dog was attacked by a...
by phillipw | May 23, 2020 | EL, MA, PR, QU, SE
H.R.H. Prince Philip His limbs have shrunk. The skin is slack And wrinkled like his balls have always been Though it is paler, thinner than that sack. The hairs that used to stick out from each shin Evaporated years ago and yet She still remembers him hunching...
by phillipw | May 22, 2020 | FO, LO, LU, PO, PR
Words without Song: a Sonnet [This sonnet sticks to all the rules for a sonnet except that it is laid out on the page as if it were five paragraphs of prose.] Is love a spate of rhyming in the veins? Or is it even less, a bit of plot (inside a thousand paperbacks)...
by phillipw | May 20, 2020 | AR, DI, GO, PR, UN
Imagine How Much Like a Man’s Shaved Armpit Allah Would be without Mohammad Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem No matter who the god is, he needs men To help. He needs the prophets to deploy Their fiery...
by phillipw | May 17, 2020 | CA, PR
Prospero Between my Legs My cat is lying on my duvet just Between my spread out thighs and calves and knees. That means he loves me or that he can trust Me. Earlier he did it, not to please Me but for pleasure for himself. He got Excited, though. The situation...
by phillipw | May 16, 2020 | AN, PR
Prezioso’s Precious Pets The only thing better than a kitten Is . . . kittens! The only thing dafter than A full-grown, hairy man fondly smitten By such fur balls is . . . a man and a man Completely stupid over them. But then There’s something worse: Antonio in...
by phillipw | May 14, 2020 | AN, CA, DO, GI, PR
Salvation for the Calvinist Fanatic Who Did not Know Yet that He Was a Lover of Boys; the Doctrine of Double Predestination? Christ’s zealot, Gide, was taken on a trip To London by a friend. This duo went A-slumming, spiritually . . . took a sip Of...
by phillipw | May 13, 2020 | IN, PR, VI
Alexander the Great Had No Inkling of Precious Christian Virtues When Burma was unknown, it furnished true Red, rubies brought to Alexander’s court. It was as if an incensed goddess threw The gems from mystery, sent gems athwart The deserts from the depths of...
by phillipw | May 9, 2020 | EL, MA, PR, QU, SE
H.R.H. Prince Philip His limbs have shrunk. The skin is slack And wrinkled like his balls have always been Though it is paler, thinner than that sack. The hairs that used to stick out from each shin Evaporated years ago and yet She still remembers him hunching...
by phillipw | May 8, 2020 | CA, PR
Food Vincit Omnia Today as Prospero came bounding in When he was called for breakfast, his black tail Was whanged out wide. He clearly thought a sin Had been committed, that some other male Had dared to enter our cat’s little patch Of territory, or...
by phillipw | May 6, 2020 | AL, PA, PE, PR, RO, SE
Zip, Zap, Slap Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem That oops-ish, Oh My Gosh-ish feeling comes https://www.bwpawards.org/winners2017#&gid=1&pid=1 Sometimes, yes even to an amphipod It seems. The...
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 | Apr 27, 2020 | AN, IN, PR
Disc World: Soapstone Discs Found Thousands of Years Later in a Dried Up Watercourse Millennia ago, before CDs And DVDs, artistic discs were made In India with carved motifs to please Their owners. Birds were set into a braid With animals around the edges. ...
by phillipw | Apr 15, 2020 | CH, PR, RO
Unmasked I never dreamed I’d be a drag queen on God’s Grand Canal, a golden-nylon-haired One with the face of Princess Di, a swan That Dalí would be proud of, if he dared. I never dreamed I’d be impregnated By Charles, the Prince of Wales, while riding...
by phillipw | Apr 13, 2020 | CA, PR
Peace Accord He doesn’t, if he understands and knows His master is not angry. He has learned We do not want him through that door. He goes To stare out longingly. Romeo burned Less fervently for Juliet than our Pet, Prospero, desires to use that front Way. Still,...
by phillipw | Apr 13, 2020 | PO, PR
Earliest Poetry The sunlight, bright as gods could ever hope To be, fell down on isthmus, valley, sea, On life and death, and limestone mountain slope Before mere humans. Greece, as it would be, Was meant for poetry but did not know It. Men and women and their...
by phillipw | Feb 17, 2020 | PR
While on a Trip to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Utrecht The heat of Amsterdam’s July damp day Swelled out in all directions like the young Man’s body’s presence. What was on display Was midnight leather. Underneath seemed stung Male muscles...
by phillipw | Feb 9, 2020 | PR
Primeval Productions of I The Prophets were the first to stand out stark As individuals, distinct as freaks From sideshows in a kindergarten park. God made them with their molten streaks In beards. They did not want to be that way But they were branded by Jehovah,...
by phillipw | Feb 2, 2020 | PR
Pro Procrastination Name anything delectable as pro… Crastination. Nope, I thought you couldn’t, Especially when spiced with bravado Because of future dangers. You wouldn’t Enjoy it half so much if there weren’t risk Of getting punished for it later. Your...
by phillipw | Jan 24, 2020 | IS, PR, RA
[This is about one of the guards at the entrance to the Rare Books and Music Reading Room.] Besides, I’m the Foreigner I like him for his gentle, almost sly Smile, nearly shy, but, no, not quite. A smile That’s mostly in the lips but in the eye Is boosted on a face...
by phillipw | Jan 24, 2020 | OE, PR, RI, VE
The Deaths of Mad Queens The heroines in Racine’s tragedies Are monsters, dignities destroyed by heat Of passion harder than a marble frieze, Rock lust for man or boy. Queens’ hearts replete With rage and love, this royalty is blind As Oedipus’s eyes with jelly...
by phillipw | Dec 30, 2019 | DE, JO, PR
Josquin des Prez Polyphony of beauty and of voice Without obscuring instrumental sound Made churches of the Renaissance rejoice And made Josquin des Prez’s chansons bound From palaces to houses of the whores. But where is Josquin now? He carved his name...
by phillipw | Dec 22, 2019 | NU, PR
Short-term and Long-term Fulfilment Wikipedia Those women who collaborated (fucked) With Nazi males (and females?) there in Gay Paree, who opened German trousers, sucked Out furs, foie gras, and francs along with spray From Korporals’ balls, were dragged into the...
by phillipw | Dec 16, 2019 | CA, PR
Prospero’s Priorities: He Goes Straight Out the Door My cat believes that he should be a cat. He knows that he’s conflicted in this thing: He thinks he’s tip top, an aristocrat, And so deserves each comfort I can bring Such as a heated mat and that his man Should...
by phillipw | Dec 12, 2019 | PR
Chapel Royal, St. George’s, Windsor Castle Exodus 34:7 Numbers 14:18 Deuteronomy 5:9 Psalm 79:8 Psalm 109:14 “The night that is gone, to following night” We all are simulacrams of the past. Our pasts and ancestors are forever Gone; no, they...
by phillipw | Dec 12, 2019 | CH, DE, FA, LU, PR
Your Death Will Not Be Love Your death will not be in the order of The alphabet. Destruction comes as planned By God (predestination) from his love, From luck (though thinkers cannot understand That concept), or from nothing more than chance. Extinction doesn’t...
by phillipw | Dec 10, 2019 | PR
Christ! Too! Late! Before that sandbar, Florida, arose, Before cold water filled Lake Erie’s deeps, Before the last two northern glacier flows Crawled down the top of Europe and left heaps Of house-sized bounders stranded in peat bogs, Before the...
by phillipw | Dec 2, 2019 | AE, ES, PR
A Hoodie in the Rare Books and Music Reading Room? A cruel face. Who’d think a blond moustache Could looks so fierce? A snub or pug nose that Would look cute somewhere else cuts a gash There, sticking out like the snout of a bat Surrealistically hung, suspended...
by phillipw | Dec 1, 2019 | PR
Studying the Church Fathers His hair and whiskers, eyebrows tend towards black, Those bristles near his mouth and then along His forearms close. He scratches at his back, Perhaps a pimple. No sonnet or song Will ever praise his manly beauty. Lo! Just some...
by phillipw | Sep 26, 2019 | AE, BE, CO, ES, PR
The Presentation in the Temple by Giovanni Bellini, Fondazione Querini Stampalia The Presentation in the Temple, Giovanni Bellini, Wikipedia Formality presents itself in lines, And shapes and curves, in balance, dark and light, In glowing surfaces while...
by phillipw | Aug 4, 2019 | AN, PR
The Creator and Destroyer God He came at last from nowhere, almost, dark His absence and his motives, like a djinn Who hid away inside a rudeness, stark With silence made of sulk or worse. Like sin He perpetrated punishment, a dumb Revenge for something that was...