Rumpelstiltskin
A poem invoking the fairy tale character of Rumpelstiltskin to describe the modern Christmas season and analyze what, if anything, has been lost.
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Who Owns My Vote?
This Election Day 2022 poem attempts to determine ownership of a very valuable commodity: a person's vote.
Haint Blue
This poem mixes the images of a mysteriously opening door and a found baby shoe to produce a Halloween romance.
The Swindler
A would-be sea shanty set in seafaring times, about a timeless pursuit--that of a swindler--and the swindler's inevitable come-uppance.
Unpalatable
This poem sets forth the dismay of a poet who writes in rhyme, in an age when few appreciate it.
Teacher’s Pet
This poem describes the storm created by the confluence of two personalities at cross purposes
Historic
This poem recounts sights and sounds on an early morning walk through an historic neighborhood on the St John's River in Jacksonville, Florida.
Free Speech
This schizophrenic poem urges writers to be bold, praises free speech, calls on us to be more circumspect in what we say, and demands we drown out those we disagree with.
Black Diamond
In this poem an enthusiastic conductor encourages a passenger on his funicular as it groans up the mountain to a most challenging ski run.
Until Dawn
This poem is both a devotion to my mother and a lament as to the fate of the countless undiscovered or passed over, but worthy writers like her. By Andrea LeDew.
Latter Day Victorians
This poem lists the ways in which we emulate our predecessors, who marveled at the new speedy technology of trains, yet clung tight to uniforms and codes of etiquette.
Surroundings
This poem begins ominously, but overall has a positive message. In it, I chart the path of the survivor, from grief to acceptance to rejoicing.
Container Garden
This poem is voiced by a proud recycler of my generation, who does his or her duty and yet vaguely realizes, that while collecting recyclables may be enough to assuage his or her guilt, it is not nearly enough, to make a dent in the underlying problem.
Chalk Dust
This is an airport poem. We spent some time enjoying the delights of the Newark, NJ airport this past week, after a lovely sojourn with my relatives in the Philly area. This is an airport poem in the sense that it was composed in an airport, mask on, surrounded by a sea of humanity. Weather …
Resurrection Fern
This poem describes the life cycle of the resurrection fern in midsummer in North Florida.
Lapsed
A poem about the agonies of leaving the faith of your youth when reality renders that faith implausible.
Remarkably Indecent
This poem takes inspiration from the portrayal of character in the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson before the January 6th Committee, and asks the electorate to examine their own character or lack of it.
A Losing Battle
This poem describes the losing battle against disorder that we all fight when trying to keep a home.
Dystopia Today
This poem is an initial response to the decision of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade.
Wishful Thinking
This Pride Month poem contrasts the degree of tolerance and recognition of equality in the world of our wishful thinking versus that, in the world we live in.
Shares
This poem treats our shares online as if they were shares in the stock market and contemplates what bad people might do with them.
Noise
This poem records the conflicted emotions of anyone who attempts to work at home in the midst of family and noise. By Andrea LeDew.