Category: poetry

My Fifth Blogoversary: A Simple Acrostic

B logging has become theL oveliest, previously unimaginedO pening to a world ofG enerous, creative, thoughtfullyO pinionated and oh-so-V erbal colleagues, friends,E ducators. I find thisR obust blogosphereS cintillating in ways I'd neverA nticipated, and I offer myR esounding gratitude toY ou who are journeying with me. Warmest thanks to my blogging and non-blogging readers … Continue reading My Fifth Blogoversary: A Simple Acrostic →

The Things That Matter

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com She was my mentor in my freelance days:Shepherding me through membership in aPrestigious writers’ organization; Critiquing my queries to magazine editors withSuggestions gained from success and precision;Offering much-needed encouragementTo my fledgling spirit. She was a prolific, sought-after author,Gaining attention as a speakerTil that career abruptlyDissolved at its peak with a … Continue reading The Things That Matter →

“This Spot Is Reserved for You”

Photo by Jonathan Cooper on Pexels.com Chubby the Barber confirms online.“Your appointment is at 11 am,” notes the email.“This spot is reserved for you.”“Please be prompt.” Chubby the Barber is no longer there.Retired, deceased, snipping and shavingIn Maui?The new Chubby is Ariana.She is not chubby, my spouse reports. He has brought her a half-wreathOf lengthy, … Continue reading “This Spot Is Reserved for You” →

“Greed Is Good” Revisited: An Irate Acrostic on Our National Life

G ood grief! Gordon Gecko’s stark 1987 credo,*R everberating through Murdoch’s venalE mpire, has successfully, seriouslyE ndangered our democracy via grifterD Trump, backed by merry Fox Malevolents. I t’s hard to fathom the destruction wrought byS uch simple evil: deliberate lies delivered as “news”— G enerated by fear of falling stock prices and/O r viewers … Continue reading “Greed Is Good” Revisited: An Irate Acrostic on Our National Life →

HE MADE IT ALL HAPPEN! A Post-(Eighth)January 6th Hearing Acrostic

H ere, for the world to see, is theE vidence that removes all doubt: The M AGA-LOW-man-baby satA nd watched his worst-laid plan againstD emocracy sputter and wither while heE njoyed chaos by the cruel/clueless. I t’s not enough to say “He did nothingT o stop them”—he did A ll he could to pump them … Continue reading HE MADE IT ALL HAPPEN! A Post-(Eighth)January 6th Hearing Acrostic →

A Couple of Garden Haikus

One feathery… Resplendent CardinalStraddles bough with familyFeeds babe, Mom looks on. Photo by Chris F on Pexels.com (I wish you could have seen Mom; she looked around as if to say, "As soon as this is done, I'm outta here.") The other furry… Brown rabbit pausesWhite-footed gray cat snoozesShared spot, different days. Photo by Steffi … Continue reading A Couple of Garden Haikus →

We’ve All Just Gotta Hang In There…

In my severely dog-deprived state,First thoughts of that photo, I’ll relate,Were that I’d dognap her right away--And also double her doggie pay! But broadly thinking about these timesThat try our souls, I reach for rhymes.The furry gymnast now says, with care,“We’ve all just gotta hang in there!” Please let your imagination roamIn responding to this … Continue reading We’ve All Just Gotta Hang In There… →

A Slice of Wonder in a Trembling World

Sunlight sweeps across our yard in a glistening arc. Adolescent trees sway rhythmically in a Wind so tamed from the wrath I feared in March that I smile with relief at the trees’ gentle dance. But wait; there’s more: The goldfinches visit en masse, Their feathers startlingly brighter, richer— Another paean to the lengthening stretch … Continue reading A Slice of Wonder in a Trembling World →

Bill-Barr One Mo’ Time…I Seek Refuge in Rhyme

Bill Barr Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org We’ve all had a lovely reprieveFrom Bill-Barr’s penchant to deceiveBut he’s back with a hook:It’s his new “tell-all” bookWith li(n)es he assumes we’ll believe. Let me state that I will not payOne cent for this Bill-Barr display;I can learn what I needFrom reviews that I readOf the Truth he’ll … Continue reading Bill-Barr One Mo’ Time…I Seek Refuge in Rhyme →

The Wind and March, 2022 (With Apologies to the Literary Giants)

Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com To Shelley, the West Wind brought to mind:Seasons change; Spring can’t be far behind. Zephyrus, Chaucer’s Wind-gazing god,Sweetly exhaled with a Springlike nod To me, the Wind assaults the senses—So fiercely loud, coldly relentless. Its fury caused the Oaks’ surrender,Upending blocks of florae splendor In other acts of carefree … Continue reading The Wind and March, 2022 (With Apologies to the Literary Giants) →

An Acrostic for Love and Luck, Plus World Children’s Day

Photo by Steve Johnson on Pexels.com B ought at a Dollar Store’s adieu sale A leafy stalked duo graced our table for M ore than two years; then decay crept in. B argaining for lengthened time with us, to O utwit apoptosis, I severed leaves from stalks. O ver time, new roots promise love and … Continue reading An Acrostic for Love and Luck, Plus World Children’s Day →

“The Enemy Is Within” (An Acrostic for Nancy Pelosi)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, reacting to elected members who are threatening their fellow Representatives, said that "The Enemy Is Within." This acrostic is an homage to Pelosi, her colleagues and staffers--some across the aisle--who are laboring under the terrible circumstances her comment laments.

CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS RELIEF PACKAGE(S): A Questioning Acrostic

Catastrophic delays
Of equipment for patients and carers
Reveal huge flaws in America’s design.
One thing I do
Not hear discussed
Applies to the “have nots’”
Vying for their tiny share of
Income from the supposed stimulus:
Registering their presence without
Use of computers and Internet?
Shadowy reminders of those we forget.

Chaos in America…BUT… We Can End It! (A Near- Acrostic Poem for Our Times)

Candidates flailing arms in the air, bent on talking, one over another
Hapless moderators—too many, too weak to control the mayhem
Another Democratic debate,
Offering less light than heat
Seemingly not laser-focused on the context: our closeness to the abyss.
...
BUT…

When an aroused people stands together
Elevating our shared goal beyond our individual predilections,

OBFUS-GATE: An Exploration of Our National Crisis (Even Worse: It’s In Verse!)

In April I cited Barr’s antics
The AG was quietly frantic
The Mueller Report 
Was a strong retort
To the “Trump did no wrong” semantics.

But Bill-Barr knew why he’d been hired
And sensing the public was tired:
“There’s nothing,” said he—
“No conspiracy”
So the Truth into muck became mired.

Quarks ‘n’ Genes (Some Subatomic, Electronic, and Molecular Musings)

[Note: As this is Labor Day Weekend, my brain is taking a holiday from blogging, and I am reaching back to my personal archives for a poem I wrote nearly two decades ago.]

I’m trying to fathom this wondrous new world
Of black holes revealed and of wormholes uncurled,
Of hyperspace, cyberspace, space here and there,
Of DNA fingerprints gleaned from a hair....

Thoughts Engendered by Pajamas With Feet

NOTE: Gazing at a lovely picture of a friend’s daughter with her two kids--a newborn and a toddler--I found myself advising her, in full cliche: “Enjoy every minute of this time; it goes so fast!” That made me wistful about my own daughters’ younger years. Even though I realized then the flight of time, it still slipped past me far too quickly. So I dug out a poem I wrote decades ago, which was published in a local anthology. Here ’tis: