by phillipw | Oct 21, 2026 | CH, EA, IS, LO, PE, SH
Preacher Paradox To the white candle The white peony is death, Moving still as death. ~Kyoroku [Englished by Phillip Whidden*] ~ Ecclesiastes 1:2 The peony and candle both seem still, But “seeming” never/always still contains Un(numb)ered movements. Particles feel...
by phillipw | Oct 21, 2026 | AM, BI, CH
In Vain Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full” ~ Ecclesiastes 1:7 His heart was not quite written on the lake Of loss, lost memory, or upon the sea Of...
by phillipw | Oct 20, 2026 | AL, AR, DE, HA, TE
Permeable Realities, No Distinction, not Actually “And after that the dark!” ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson “Has crush’d thee here” ~ Charles Tennyson Turner, “On Finding a Small Fly Crushed in a Book” It seems sometimes that life and death break through Each other,...
by phillipw | Oct 20, 2026 | FL, OR, PN
Rollins Street, Orlando, after the Hunger Strike Against Poor Food in the Academy Cafeteria Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “And deep-asleep he seem’d, yet all awake, And music in his ears . . . . “There...
by phillipw | Oct 19, 2026 | Sonnet
You Know the Split-tongued Pike Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The older, ugly one has found a way To corner him beside him on the seat Inside his car. He wants this boy to say A thing to the man can...
by phillipw | Oct 19, 2026 | BO, Sonnet
Purified Federico García Lorca Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem She thinks that Shakespeares shouldn’t have to shit. She thinks Keats’ poop should evanesce away As French perfume, or odes should be...
by phillipw | Oct 19, 2026 | Sonnet
Mystic Muddle Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Rice paper walls and peonies of white Are sacred in the alcove. They are pure As purity can be in any night. They imply that nothing needs a cure Or, if it...
by phillipw | Oct 18, 2026 | FO
Buddha vs. Micah 7:19 “wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” Both peony and quietness fulfill The night. The quietness seems larger of The two, though. Since the peony spreads frill On frill, the competition turns to love Inside the darkness like a...
