Scores
A poem inspired by President Biden's speech in response to the school shooting in Uvalde TX, in which he decried the scores of child victims to mass shootings in the US.
Porch Swing
This poem recounts a life-long love while swinging on a porch swing.
Lovely: A Mother’s Blessing
This poem is a mother's blessing as her child embarks upon a journey into the wider world to seek self-fulfillment, work, and happiness.
Litmus Test
This poem questions the wisdom of allowing a single test to divide us into opposing camps of red and blue.
Transplant
This is a poem about change when change is needed and one of the best changes is a change in location, or transplant.
Sovereign
A poem about the intrusion of one sovereign state upon the territory of another, and about how the peace of our world is built upon this fragile concept of sovereignty. By Andrea LeDew.
Control
This poem deals with China's recent efforts to control the slippery coronavirus in its latest iteration, through lockdowns and quarantines.
Summer Playground
This poem laments the destruction of Mariupol, in Ukraine, and fears the worst for the rest of the country.
Grateful
In this poem about Ukraine's predicament, a leader challenges the insinuations of well-meaning do-gooders that he should be grateful, even though the help rendered has not lessened his country's peril.
Birdsong
This poem describes the phenomenon of sleeplessness and worry in the dark hours before the birds begin to sing.
In Kind
This is a circle of life poem, in which a baby plays the usher at a funeral, and takes the dearly departed's place among the living.
Remember
This poem derives from the virtual speech given today, March 16, 2022, before the US Congress, by Ukraine’s President Zalenskyy. As of the time of this poem, Russia under Putin was persisting in its brutal attempt to take over the Ukraine by force. Ukraine’s leader eloquently and forcefully put the case, that it is time …
Our Selves
This poem considers the dichotomy of mind and body and how essential each is to our connection with others.
Conceivably
This poem describes the all-too-human urge to leave it all behind, even when we know that what we've got is pretty special.
Worthy
This poem is about sudden changes in fortune or status, and how people react to them, in an attempt to prove themselves worthy.
Choice
A poem containing images from the reporting about the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which all feel a little too close to home.
The World Police
This patriotic poem urges us to act in the best traditions of the US, in times of need.
Collards
This poem is an attempt to make from the humble collard not merely a tasty dish, but also a metaphor for interdependence.
Crazy Quilt
This rather gloomy poem laments the passage of time and the sourness that we sometimes feel when confronted with what we have, versus what we expected.
False Equivalencies
This poem lists pairs of things that seem alike but could not be more different. And it begs us not to conflate them.
Mother
A poem about the brave and noble and life-affirming qualities of some mothers, and how we honor their memory best through imitation.
Economics 101
This poem relays the harsh view of a person who is profiting from the monetary system, to one who is losing by it.
Deja Vu
This poem compares the aftermath of the US 2020 election and the election in 2000, and wonders whether this is really a case of deja vu.