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A Poem for You: Sea Girls by A. E. Stallings

admin2024-02-28T10:43:58-05:00

Sea Girls A. E. Stallings for Jason "Not gulls, girls." You frown, and you insist— Between two languages, you work at words (R's and L's, it's hard to get them right.) We watch the heavens' flotsam: garbage-white Above the island dump (just out of sight), Dirty, common, greedy—only birds. OK, I acquiesce, too tired to banter. Somehow they're not the same, though. See, they rise As though we glimpsed them through a torn disguise— Spellbound maidens, wild in flight, forsaken— Some metamorphosis that Ovid missed, With their pale breasts, their almost human cries. So maybe it is I who am mistaken; [...]

A Poem for You: Sea Girls by A. E. Stallingsadmin2024-02-28T10:43:58-05:00

Word of the Week: alliaceous (ăl-ē-Ā-shəs)

admin2024-03-28T15:35:01-04:00

alliaceous (ăl-ē-Ā-shəs) Definition (Adjective) Of a smell or taste: resembling that of garlic or onions, garlicky; also having such a smell or taste. In Context "In the Middle Ages in southern Europe, food tended to be alliaceous because garlic helped disguise the fact that warm temperatures had turned some of the ingredients bad." Mark Morton, Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities, Second Edition, 2004.

Word of the Week: alliaceous (ăl-ē-Ā-shəs)admin2024-03-28T15:35:01-04:00

Word of the Week: gargantuan (gahr-GAN-chuh-wuhn)

Stephanie Whetstone2024-03-28T15:33:28-04:00

Definition (adjective) tremendous in size, volume, or degree : gigantic, colossal In Context "In 1920, the town council of Chamonix … decided to change the municipality's name to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, thus forging an official link to the mountain … with a summit that soars 12,000 feet above the town center. The council's goal was to prevent their Swiss neighbors from claiming the mountain's glory, but there was really no need: It's impossible when you're in Chamonix to ignore the gargantuan, icy beauty that looms overhead." Paige McClanahan, The New York Times, 13 Dec. 2018

Word of the Week: gargantuan (gahr-GAN-chuh-wuhn)Stephanie Whetstone2024-03-28T15:33:28-04:00

A Poem for You: Bucolics [LIX] by Maurice Manning

admin2024-02-27T15:08:15-05:00

Bucolics [LIX] Maurice Manning when I see the shadow of the hawk but not the hawk itself do you know what it feels like Boss a stone a stone set on my chest it weighs me down it's stronger than the horse's strain against the plowlines Boss it's like the river after rain I can't hold back the pull the pull that makes me like its heft I even like the shadow's tiny yoke O Boss I feel its curve around my neck I see a flap of wings so black it binds me to the furrows Boss a shadow smarter [...]

A Poem for You: Bucolics [LIX] by Maurice Manningadmin2024-02-27T15:08:15-05:00

Word of the Week: soupçon (sōōp-SÔN)

admin2024-02-27T15:09:44-05:00

soupçon (sōōp-SÔN) Definition (Noun) A suspicion, a suggestion, a very small quantity or slight trace, of something. In Context "And to this he must add more than a soupçon of luck, plus a heavy seasoning of pure nerve." Ernest K. Gann, Fate Is the Hunter, 1961.

Word of the Week: soupçon (sōōp-SÔN)admin2024-02-27T15:09:44-05:00

A Poem for You: Incognito Grief: A Blues by Allison Joseph

admin2024-02-27T10:29:26-05:00

Incognito Grief: A Blues Allison Joseph Who knows the secrets in my gaze? What holds me back when I might choke? Who sees beyond my taut hellos To see the grief etched on my face? Nobody knows what lurks within; Nobody brings me back again. Who needs to disappear for a while? Who sings my name beyond the veil? Who has my memories, my tales? Who’s lurking in my carpet’s dust? Nobody feels this weight beneath my skin. Who knows I’m grieving as I walk? Who has the list of gravity’s costs? Nobody but the man I’ve lost. Copyright © 2024 [...]

A Poem for You: Incognito Grief: A Blues by Allison Josephadmin2024-02-27T10:29:26-05:00

From “The Stuff of Hollywood” by Niki Herd

admin2024-02-27T14:50:18-05:00

From “The Stuff of Hollywood” Niki Herd After ice cream. Somewhere off Clear Creek & 196. Makeshift sign. Uncle Sam white as the lines on the flag in hand mouths love it or leave it. You must admire the gall of white men in carjacked country. Nearby a brief pond. Its skin a stillness. Then up. A bird of prey searches for its— / Goose. On a depthless pond. Deepest tunnel of unbecoming. How does one undrown from the incivility of this world? In the distant. Chimes. A musical score. A willow bends its back toward dirt & some star will [...]

From “The Stuff of Hollywood” by Niki Herdadmin2024-02-27T14:50:18-05:00

A Poem for You: Seven Steps to Heaven by Tony Medina

admin2024-02-22T16:25:15-05:00

Seven Steps to Heaven Tony Medina If every bomb Appeared in the sky a dove Shrapnel into rain If vengeance vanquished From the cursed lips of weak men An idea never taking root If every tank vanished If by chance a miracle Peace reclaims the land If laughter broke out Like wars fought with satire’s Pugilist punning What room would there be For anger what bitter root Not allowed to stretch Its tentacles Through the hearts of men hardened By indifference What will we bequeath Our children if not a world Evermore human Copyright © 2024 by Tony Medina. Originally published [...]

A Poem for You: Seven Steps to Heaven by Tony Medinaadmin2024-02-22T16:25:15-05:00

A Poem for You: Everybody’s Autobiography by Tracy K. Smith

admin2024-02-20T17:14:43-05:00

Everybody’s Autobiography Tracy K. Smith I find myself most alone When I believe I am striving for glory. These times, cool and sharp, A monument of moon-white stone lodges in place near my heart. In a dream, my children Glisten inside raindrops, or teardrops. Like strangers, like seeds of children. I will only be allowed to claim them If I consent to love everyone’s children. If I consent to love everyone’s children, Only then will I be allowed to claim them, My strangers, my seeds of children, Glistening inside raindrops or teardrops In my dream. Children Lodged in place near my [...]

A Poem for You: Everybody’s Autobiography by Tracy K. Smithadmin2024-02-20T17:14:43-05:00

Verbs Add Power!

admin2024-09-25T13:40:39-04:00

Verbs Add Power! by Stephanie Whetstone As writers, we want to sound smart and savvy on the page, to fit into the lofty academic world at places like Princeton, or simply to stand out in our communities. Many writers go about this by adding excessive adverbs and adjectives or obscure language to their prose. The theory might be, "If it's difficult to understand, it must sound intelligent!" I wholeheartedly disagree. The best writing is clear, concise, and logically structured. It conveys ideas in a way that invites thought and collaboration, not exclusivity. It educates, enlivens, and elucidates. It does not rely [...]

Verbs Add Power!admin2024-09-25T13:40:39-04:00

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