These poems are great, each in a different way. And they’re all specific, all great voices. I also met a couple of new journals to spice my reading. Took up more time than I wanted but that relieved me from grading a little while. (Students, not roads.)
The hardwired fanatics are a curse, To any nation's peace and progress, Our freedom is an offence to them, Our modest hair a punishable crime, A punishment of torture until death, Our identity, our peace is shattered. We take our peace march of protest, But they have chosen to crack down, A path of destruction is their choice, Of our country in the name of God! They boast to be a true democracy, This autocratic and fanatic bunch! They leverage God for their agenda, Causing havoc to all in their nation, If a Pharaoh arises, a Moses too will! Their doomsday is well in the offing, Darkness cannot hold on to the light, The light looming across the nation.
The desire for freedom has become, A commitment that leads to action. The brave shall prevail, that's history. We stand in solidarity to encourage, To support the women and rebuke, The on slaughters of human dignity. May their god have mercy on them! May wisdom guide the way they act!
May they interpret their oracles well! May a real life transformation come! May the nation be free of paganism! May the shed blood bring freedom!
What a gift this newsletter is! Thank you for sharing. As a lay but enthusiastic reader of poetry I often don't know what makes a poem 'good' beyond the fact that it resonates with me. Here are some that did just this lately.
Lifeboat (A Love Letter to Friendship)
By Lydia Pearson (20)
An arm, stretching across the back of a body,
a rope tossed to a person falling off a cliff.
A head, in the crook of a shoulder. Slotting
together like an old puzzle. Two perfect boulders.
A hand, raking through hair akin to touching grass,
an act intimately public-it sways the trees with force.
Lips, placed softly to allow for flowers to bloom.
Odd words follow fast-a torrent of tumbleweed.
Eyes, meeting. Two ends of the same bridge.
The foundations stronger with each passing day.
A nose, pressed against another like two palms.
A promise of pilgrimage. A silent, jumbled prayer.
An orange blanket, wrapped around the passengers.
This solid stone structure is a lifeboat in a tempest.
This is beautiful — thank you Lydia!
These poems are great, each in a different way. And they’re all specific, all great voices. I also met a couple of new journals to spice my reading. Took up more time than I wanted but that relieved me from grading a little while. (Students, not roads.)
Haha, love this comment Richard. I love how you say “to spice my reading.”
A Nation's Curse
By Varghese Kuncheria
The hardwired fanatics are a curse, To any nation's peace and progress, Our freedom is an offence to them, Our modest hair a punishable crime, A punishment of torture until death, Our identity, our peace is shattered. We take our peace march of protest, But they have chosen to crack down, A path of destruction is their choice, Of our country in the name of God! They boast to be a true democracy, This autocratic and fanatic bunch! They leverage God for their agenda, Causing havoc to all in their nation, If a Pharaoh arises, a Moses too will! Their doomsday is well in the offing, Darkness cannot hold on to the light, The light looming across the nation.
The desire for freedom has become, A commitment that leads to action. The brave shall prevail, that's history. We stand in solidarity to encourage, To support the women and rebuke, The on slaughters of human dignity. May their god have mercy on them! May wisdom guide the way they act!
May they interpret their oracles well! May a real life transformation come! May the nation be free of paganism! May the shed blood bring freedom!
*******
Thank you for sharing Varghese!
That 'Happiness' poem is so up my alley. Definitely saving this for inspiration later. So cool. Thank you for sharing!
Yay! This is one of the intentions with this column. Love that you found it inspiring, Daniel. :)
What a gift this newsletter is! Thank you for sharing. As a lay but enthusiastic reader of poetry I often don't know what makes a poem 'good' beyond the fact that it resonates with me. Here are some that did just this lately.
1) https://imagejournal.org/article/the-patron-saint-of-capsaicin/
2) https://www.rattle.com/married-to-amazement-by-james-crews/
3) https://rustandmoth.com/work/still-love/
4) https://heroinchic.weebly.com/blog/poetry-by-sylvia-santiago
Lauren, thank you so much, firstly, for the kind comment. Made our hearts happy.
That Sylvia Santiago prose poem is so so amazing. Thank you so much for sharing it here. I love the other 3 also!
Love the rust and moth one especially
Yes that was my second favorite!
Issam Zineh's "Ars Poetica" has echos of Wendell Berry's "Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front."
Great selection!
Thank you so much for introducing me to that poem! I did not know it and now am glad to have read it.
this one!
https://okaydonkeymag.com/2024/02/16/a-poem-buried-under-the-floorboards-by-amanda-roth/
Even the form just strikes me so much visually. And then, reading the poem — wow!
it took me a couple reads before I realized that the poem looks like floorboards :) I was so mesmerized
that I wasn’t paying attention.
Yes! Love this one!
From the online poetry forum Poetry Soup where poets can post their work for commenting from other poets/members.
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/no_happy_endings_1624644
Thank you for sharing this Deborah!
These are my favourites fresh published today https://oneartpoetry.com/2024/02/21/two-poems-by-callie-little/
Especially loved the second one but both are awesome — thank you for sharing these, Maja!
This is my favorite poem to be published in the past year.
https://bluevilla.org/hunger-dawn-levitt/
Thank you for sharing this Dawn!