by phillipw | May 1, 2025 | BR, DA, WA
A.T.F. Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The Sabbath boredom, almost drowsiness, Imposed by Jews’ Jehovah falters, yawn In afternoons. The mind in frowziness Attempts to think but...
by phillipw | May 1, 2025 | BR, FL, SE
The Concrete Block Box This box is painted white and stands Against the colored world that wants to stain. A doctrine bundle tied with texts withstands The onslaught. Pure, the walls reject the strain Of U. S. Highway Number One so crude In stretch from Maine to...
by phillipw | May 1, 2025 | LU, SA
At an Exhibition in the WhitneyModern poetry modern verse c Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem When Samaras’s mirrored cube and room Become the entry to satori, light Becomes reflected endlessness, a...
by phillipw | May 1, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Mount of Transfiguration and the New Jerusalem in a Romantic Symphony We make a mirror lacking silver for The one we love. We make the backing gold Instead and see the image made. The score That we compose behind the glass is old As any love that men conceive. ...
by phillipw | Apr 30, 2025 | Uncategorized
A Sonnet is a Breath that Tries to Immortalize a Sigh If I could tie a knot in time, that knot Would bind up you and me, a red star bow Around us for eternity; if not That long, since even goddesses all know That nothing lasts forever, then for time Times time, or...
by phillipw | Apr 30, 2025 | CH, SE, Uncategorized
A Resurrected Apollo in the Afternoon in Brevard County, Florida Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem No mist defied his eyesight but a haze Surrounded everywhere he walked. The grove Behind his boyhood...
by phillipw | Apr 29, 2025 | Uncategorized
When the Tain behind the Glass of a Mirror, and the Glass Itself, and the Mirror Itself Are All One with the Universal One, Then We …Know When mirrors are not mirrors but are true Instead, at once are both, but only one Together, two; when moths are emerald blue...
by phillipw | Apr 29, 2025 | DE, VA
Entropy’s Final Nothing Millennia before I died, the time Before me stretched far backward . . . backward — far The eons lay in lifeless silence. Slime Began to grow as if with plans. A star Looked down and saw no life. Some cells appeared Inside some mud,...
by phillipw | Apr 29, 2025 | RO
Shelley Offers Warning Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “The desire of the moth for the star” He has a love affair with love so close He even fights with it. Well, he’s a man And men love fights. ...
by phillipw | Apr 28, 2025 | CH, HE, ST
Hypnotized by Baptismal Conquering Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Your beauty floats away. It had no soul. You thought it did. We all make wide mistakes. Your partners loved your spirit. Then you...
by phillipw | Apr 28, 2025 | SH
A Previous Century’s Sabbath-day Sect Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “a place just right” Sabbath Day Lake Shaker Village: Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village – New Gloucester,...
by phillipw | Apr 28, 2025 | HE, HU
A Heedlessness in Rhythm The day does not repeat me as scar lights When it comes round. I happen to be there. That’s all. I’m not repeated in star lights Or planet lights in evening. There’s no pair Of Mars and Venus speaking me to sky,...
by phillipw | Apr 27, 2025 | RO
Also on the Tip of My Tongue Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The tiniest of buds you cannot see Sprout out all over. Skin becomes all blooms On every haired and hairless part of me. They do not think...
by phillipw | Apr 27, 2025 | LI
In a Gentle Tennessee Hollow Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The twilight of the fireflies plays a part In memories, not in nightmares, though. Our dreams Include the fireflies. Surrealist art...
by phillipw | Apr 27, 2025 | Uncategorized
Fools Gold Street Lamps Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The orange groves of Florida have been Killed off. Their souls have gone to heaven where They look upon their scars and us. Where...
by phillipw | Apr 26, 2025 | Uncategorized
Pluto’s Shoulder Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Stone carved with symbols tends to make them harsh Or far more beautiful because the soul Of beauty lasts in marble, hard gem harsh As...
by phillipw | Apr 26, 2025 | GO, HA, HE, OM
Omniscience Leading to Agape Love Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem God’s understanding looms so large it seems To be much more, because if He knows all It’s said he knows, his wisdom must be beams Of love...
by phillipw | Apr 25, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Only Always Present Emotion Some breezes in his life were shrouds and turned To long-term winds. His wedding was the one Most crippling, both to him and her. It spurned Their cores. The long-term garment had been spun By culture over centuries. The warp...
by phillipw | Apr 25, 2025 | Uncategorized
Wayne and Terry Now both are gone, gone, so . . . so what? One wrote A lie and sent it to the other. Then A mother snooped and read. She made the bloat Of scandal and then other, loveless men Stepped in with social cudgels. Bragging weighed As...
by phillipw | Apr 25, 2025 | Uncategorized
Physics and Gravestones in the Old Settlers’ Burying Ground in Lancaster Massachusetts Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem photo By Magicpiano – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,...
by phillipw | Apr 25, 2025 | BR, FL, ME, OR, TI
Florida’s Holy Ghosts Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The orange groves have left us but we hold Them in our veins. Reflection on them heaves Them into beauty once again. Though sold To...
by phillipw | Apr 23, 2025 | RO
Color Possibilities in Love Jeremiah 17:9 Love’s color is the color only God Knows. Maybe it is like a red unseen By human eyes. If they could see its odd Refraction through a prism, sexed or clean, The tint would wither from discovery. The human heart is...
by phillipw | Apr 23, 2025 | BR, DE, FL, TI
Twilight, No Morning Star Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The sunset croons a lullaby to trees In rows of dark . . . then darker green. The sun Goes down on orange blossoms in a breeze As warm as...
by phillipw | Apr 22, 2025 | TW
Incestuous Tantalizing A planet has two moons. The moons are twins, Two brothers. Moons are never perfect so these two Are not identical. The one has fins, The other scales. Each leaves a residue Upon the planet’s sky, two different tints, One...
by phillipw | Apr 22, 2025 | NE
Entropy The only space in which unending light Occurs, spreads out, ideal, towards everywhere Is in Jerusalem in Saint John’s sight On Patmos. Love of God has driven him spare, Poor thing, a non-existent God (like all Divinities), so madness makes much...
by phillipw | Apr 21, 2025 | AB, UN, YA
Hollow Love Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem I tried to send to you a prophet’s note, “My soul is far away.” Your heart is far More distant from my love; in fact afloat...
by phillipw | Apr 21, 2025 | IN, MI
Karen If I could burn a voodoo herb inside Your bedroom, what result might I expect? The smell of lusting would be amplified. The smell of darker men, their thrills erect And thrusting toward your heart, would reappear Among the fumes of...
by phillipw | Apr 20, 2025 | FA, MA, MI, RE, SE
Masculine Modalities A young man loitering is seen by guys Who pass nearby. A single one pulls close Inside his Mustang . . . loitering one sees eyes Consuming him. The younger one feels gross And turns his face away. Four other men In uniforms approach...
by phillipw | Apr 20, 2025 | BU
Perspectives in the Plaza de Toros Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Slim, slim the waist of matadors, as slim As trickle of the blood from bull; thin, thin The satin silk of jacket; bulge of him In...
by phillipw | Apr 19, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Dior of Desperation If I could wear the sadness that you cause Me, cloth of nails with tears would make the suit. The Iron Maiden or the pharaoh’s gauze Around the mummy would make pain transmute To Galliano flair. The toque above my face Would mean...
by phillipw | Apr 19, 2025 | DE, Uncategorized
Death versus Poetry’s Continuing Life Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Death looks for me among the orange groves where I lived my childhood nights and days. I left Them long ago, their seaweed...
by phillipw | Apr 19, 2025 | Uncategorized
His Father Called the Indian River’s Cumulus Clouds the Mountains of the Sunshine State Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem He never rode on horseback through the trees Around his childhood...
by phillipw | Apr 18, 2025 | AB, AD, CA, EV, FE, MA
The Prime Man after Woman’s Sin Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem This multi-colored parasol lets light Through. Underneath that light the shades show you In different hues. The shining beams...
by phillipw | Apr 18, 2025 | BR, HE, MA, WE
Till B-r-e-a-d-t-h Do Us Part A tinsel throne is what the world provides For women on each wedding day. While they Are dressed for it in satin silk, the brides Are treated like a princess’s bouquet Held up for admiration. But then life Takes over. Mother of...
by phillipw | Apr 18, 2025 | OR
Daybreak Without Caresses Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem I have to say that I was never up In time to walk around the grove behind My childhood home and then to cup The orange blossoms where...
by phillipw | Apr 17, 2025 | RO
Romance Full Blown and Ripened Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Yes, even if a Giant Redwood held A song in every needle lifted high Towards heaven, even if these ballads swelled Forever upward and...
by phillipw | Apr 16, 2025 | GA, LO, RO
Your Mouth Deserves a Tropical Seashore of Kisses Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The palm tree is an echo of our time Together in our love, reverberates It curving parts much more than echoes. Rhyme...
by phillipw | Apr 16, 2025 | CA, DE, Uncategorized
Malagueñas The music of the tavern comes on black Flamenco stallions. Horseshoes cause the banged Out rhythm. Death is seldom Spanish slack Though always sweatless. Drinkers are harrangued With songs that rise from olive groves too old To...
by phillipw | Apr 16, 2025 | CH, Ho, RE, RO, SE
Semana Santa in Sevilla Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Flamenco singing calls for death to come. Death lives forever, stubborn, in Seville. In Holy Week the living, nearly numb From saints and...
by phillipw | Apr 16, 2025 | LO, MA, TR
Carnival Hall of Distorting Mirrors Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem If mirrors of themselves are green and not Their frames, Rococo onyx framings, will The looking glasses sprout pale orchids hot As...
by phillipw | Apr 15, 2025 | FR, GI, KA
The Lavender Lover in Her Throat Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem My Karen had a voice of purple parts, Or violet, when singing in her sly Range alto. Velvet changed to gorgeous darts When Karen sang...
by phillipw | Apr 15, 2025 | Uncategorized
Black The hundred riders dressed in black bemuse The orange groves, arthritic olive trees And Andalusia. Horsemen give no clues Except that black and so the peasants’ freeze. At least the bones in chests near hot air hearts Congeal until the entourage is...
by phillipw | Apr 14, 2025 | CH, Ho, RO, SE, SP
Hard and Soft The virgin wearing her mantilla for Her crinoline bewitches men along The street. They feel their semen soar Among their ribs. They hear her silent song Commencing from her masklike face that turns To left and right but looks at none of...
by phillipw | Apr 14, 2025 | DY
Chatoyant Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem In life too often purples cover red The way an octopus engulfs its prey. The octopus imbibes the victim, head First. Shockingly this turns...
by phillipw | Apr 14, 2025 | CA, PR, SE
The Freeze-dried Tale His heart is like a freeze-dried cherry in A box of cereal for lovers to Devour, as accidentally in sin Between the sheets, as casually they chew Him, breakfast in his bed. He nourishes Their greediness for cherry-ness in flesh. For him their...
by phillipw | Apr 13, 2025 | DE, GR, MO
Inappropriate Poison The oleanders blossom pinks and whites. Though grief does not have colors in its soul, It never turns to pink in satin rites Of death. The coffin wears a floral stole Of lavender , perhaps, though hardly pink, More priestly lavender. ...
by phillipw | Apr 13, 2025 | GO
God as Ghoulish Giggles Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem God has a heart of hollow silver that Denies all tarnish. Maybe it is gold, Though I cannot apply the test. Combat This theory coolly and you...
by phillipw | Apr 13, 2025 | GO
“How Blest the Paradise to Come” Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem He offers us a rhythm that does not Arrive, not ever. Patterned beats hide far Away beyond the farthest black — though hot As...
by phillipw | Apr 12, 2025 | CH, ST
Lucifer Wearing Sexy Mist in Heaven Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem It was as if he wore a serpent made Of haar from hell, but well disguised by guile. He won them over, all. The snake, like braid,...
by phillipw | Apr 12, 2025 | BU, CH, MA, SE, TO, Uncategorized
El Guapo with Melanistic Monarchs Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem El guapo swaggers through black butterflies, As black as hair on him, on body, head And upper lip, as black as pupils, eyes That stab his...
by phillipw | Apr 12, 2025 | PR
Japanese Devotion and Pre-Columbian Grotesqueries Combine to Slaughter Mockingbirds Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The birds ram-smashed themselves against the glass Of windows in the Pre-Columbian Art...
by phillipw | Apr 11, 2025 | AR, AU, LA, LO, MI, Uncategorized, WI
Notes on a Forgotten Burial Ground Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The cemetery where his aunts lie deep Beneath the sand of Florida hulks deaf To poetry. This trio lies in sleep Far lower than a...
by phillipw | Apr 10, 2025 | PR
Salt Water’s Wraiths The snow that hits Alantic waves is lost. The flakes give up their six-point shapes and souls. They lose their lives. A frosty Pentecost Does not redeem with icy tongues. The poles, Both north and south, condemn the frozen...
by phillipw | Apr 8, 2025 | BR, FL, OR
His Childhood as Sunrise Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem c ont emporary poem The glass of morning at the daybreak hour Is held above the barely waking state. The few who rise to drink from dawn know power Of...
by phillipw | Apr 8, 2025 | BR, CA, FL, IN, OR, TI
Sebastian Florida Essences Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Lift up the orange blossoms in your mind, The orange petals in their dark green grove. Lift up the fragance of the flowers behind His childhood...
by phillipw | Apr 7, 2025 | DE, DR
Glistening from His Lips Soft specters slip among the sliding spills Of water sent along the stream. We hear No screams from ghosts but each one causes chills For unsuspecting swimmers. Whispers clear The movement of the flowing so we do Not feel the threat...
by phillipw | Apr 7, 2025 | BO, CH, FL, SW
Rock Springs near Apopka Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Revelation 21:19 Fresh water gushes up and out. The springs Rush out of rock. The cleanliness is pure, As pure as Heaven wants to be with...
by phillipw | Apr 6, 2025 | MO, SE, UN
The Tenor Finds His Love Dead in His Embrace Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The Venice he has known gives only sighs, Sighs. Never mind the Bridge of Sighs, not quite Tears — they would be...
by phillipw | Apr 6, 2025 | BO, CH, SC
Loch nan Uamh and Glenfinnan Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The heathered shapes of Scottish hills loom not As threatening as the nation’s history, blades That stab the monarch’s...
by phillipw | Apr 5, 2025 | BI, CA
Perfect Pearls and Baroque Pearls Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The rivers of Granada and of Spain Above it, like the Guadalquivir, feed Naranjas and olives, leave a stain Of beauty in the hearts...
by phillipw | Apr 5, 2025 | CH, DE, FL, ST
Pyrostegia venusta Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem He sometimes thinks he has a flame vine heart But maybe that is just hyperbole. His heart is only overgrown, each part Of its outside,...
by phillipw | Apr 3, 2025 | EX, PL
Pitiful Pluto We used to think that Pluto was the far, Far, farthest planet of them all. Today We know from telescopes that distant star And distant star have planets as their prey That cannot ever find escape. These spheres, These exoplanets might...
by phillipw | Apr 2, 2025 | bj, CO, FE, OR
Ambiflexual S/he licked the black hot dew from Jorge’s pits. He winced with warlock thrill inside his shaft, Especially its head. S/he pinched his tits, First right, then left. S/he felt the pulsing of the haft That held that head...
by phillipw | Apr 2, 2025 | AS
James Webb and Hubble Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The far-sight telescopes, like Allah’s eye, Search out the cosmos. Distant, distant things Come into focus. They then falsify The ancient...
by phillipw | Mar 30, 2025 | DR, OE, SU, UN
Inside Our Brains and Otherwise Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem We lie in darkness with our souls agog, The midnight hours and those beyond, until We wake to ho hum stuff. We rise as mog And not as...
by phillipw | Mar 30, 2025 | CA, ME, TR
A Life As Though on Vellum Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem His life was filled with little monsters, not Much more, not cancer and no earthquake, no War. Monsters for this man were no more fraught With...
by phillipw | Mar 28, 2025 | TR
Those Who Speak Correctly Are Excommunicated Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The editors bring out the silence since They blow off beauty. And, yet, even worse They publish anti-beauty more like mince...
by phillipw | Mar 27, 2025 | AN
Hemlock Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The trees refuse to speak. At least they do Not speak our languages. Akkadian And Latin are rejected. As a clue They give us rings. Trees,...
by phillipw | Mar 27, 2025 | AN, OL, TR, YE
Wordlessness Allied with Pontius Pilate Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Fortingall Yew High priests of ancient wisdom keep your tongues In silence always. (Winds may make some sound Among your...
by phillipw | Mar 24, 2025 | HE, KI, MU, RO
Sinagogue of Atonement Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Brandon Jovanovich (2007 Winner) – Winterstürme We all desire a perfect player of Romantic kisses, lips that make the flames Of passion’s...
by phillipw | Mar 23, 2025 | AP, CO, DA, ER, PE
Sturdy Sight Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Apollo failed to make a son inside Nymph Daphne. Godly rape was on his mind. Apollo’s semen had to be applied To leaves instead. ...
by phillipw | Mar 22, 2025 | EX, MO, TR
Those Who Speak Correctly Are Excommunicated Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The editors bring out the silence since They blow off beauty. And, yet, even worse They publish anti-beauty more like mince...
by phillipw | Mar 22, 2025 | LA
Pythian Boredom Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem It happens that the laurel is a bore, Not some divine symbolic thing. Its leaves Are boring, near-sarcastic green, not more Than that all...
by phillipw | Mar 21, 2025 | RE
After Fasting Forty Eons in Religions’ Wilderness Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The time for certain songs is past for most Of us. While having ripened, we have lost The need for certainty. We cannot...
by phillipw | Mar 20, 2025 | NE, TO
They Do Not Dream of Fur or Feathers Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Inside the rattlesnake she holds her nest. Not made of twigs it is instead her scales And then her flesh. She does not have a breast...
by phillipw | Mar 17, 2025 | DE, RO
New England’s Sand-bound Coast Never mind Felicia Dorothea Hemans and Governor DeSantis In Maine the tides of histories are shown In waves and sand, yet strangely upside down. The past is in the foreground, sand waves sewn Along the coast, a grayness almost brown...
by phillipw | Mar 17, 2025 | CH, DA, GU, PE, RE
Waiting for Sentimental Water “The Gospels, along with the rest of the New Testament, have been translated into at least 1,726 languages”. Google AI Overview See also Acts 5:1-11. https://images.app.goo.gl/S3FbtPPAU7X2qkFm6 The church presents...
by phillipw | Mar 16, 2025 | MU, PH, PO, Uncategorized
Gravity Music Poetry Love Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem £Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Though poetry, it seems, cannot resist The...
by phillipw | Mar 15, 2025 | Uncategorized
Performance as Sacred Solitude; Bach’s “God’s Time is Best” on the Sabbath in the Village Church, So. Lancaster, Massachusetts Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Performing music is a private thing. An...
by phillipw | Mar 14, 2025 | MU, SA, SC
Rhythms Remain and Are Broken Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem These hills in Scotland are like movements of A symphony. They rise and form, and rise And form–and rise like lovers form their love....
by phillipw | Mar 13, 2025 | AM, FA, PO, PR
“signifying nothing” Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem We do not want our poetry to reach The moons of Saturn. Reaching Saturn’s clouds Will be success. Those clouds are cousin speech...
by phillipw | Mar 12, 2025 | DO, WH
Donald, the Man Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem For reasons that I do not understand, Society requires that men should show Themselves quite plain in clothes, not seem too grand. I think this...
by phillipw | Mar 12, 2025 | AB, GA, RO, Uncategorized, YA
In Romeo’s Ghost’s Clutch I slept in you without your knowledge. You Were sleeping in my arms and I slept in Your brain and yet because my eyes are blue Your mind did not hold on to me. No sin Arose, at least not in your sleeping soul. I cannot promise...
by phillipw | Mar 11, 2025 | BR, CY, PI, SE, TR, YE
Stoics Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The ancient trees teach manliness, the way It lives and means. Sequoia and yew And cypress show rigidity but sway Enough. They say their roots...
by phillipw | Mar 11, 2025 | ET, HE, SA
Hypnotic Harmony Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Immortal harmony is promised by The Christian God, the Holy Spirit, Son And Father. But the meaning of this sly Assurance is not grasped by...
by phillipw | Mar 11, 2025 | Uncategorized
Anathemas Are Never Pronounced Against Mount Sinai Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem Those things that cannot bring themselves to move Are what the prophets tend in silence. Stones Are what the prophecies...
by phillipw | Mar 10, 2025 | TR
Against Screwtape’s Missal He knows the tongues of stones and dunes and sand, Those tiny rocks that only mystics know. He knows the languages that wind has fanned Across the deserts till they meet a mesa’s glow And dryness. Tumbleweed, mesquite, the best...
by phillipw | Mar 10, 2025 | Uncategorized
Heavenly Spheres of Orange Groves In my father’s house are many mansions If I could hold your hot heart in my heart, Then heaven would heal. That paradise would be A paradise that God alone might chart If he were everywhere. That God could be Surveyor of the citrus...
by phillipw | Mar 10, 2025 | ME, OR, TH
Worse than Whomptyjawed Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem We try to place a tulip vase to block A voodoo mask. The mask leers through, increased In size, distorted. Like a tomahawk The threat...
by phillipw | Mar 9, 2025 | AE, BE, ES
Reverie and Hypnosis Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem His irises come not from seashore waves In Florida. Their Caribbean blue Smiles, ancient though, more ancient than the caves Where men first...
by phillipw | Mar 9, 2025 | AL, AS
Constellations as Cathedrals Filled with Scientific Light Beside the seashore near my childhood home The stars are nearer, not just starlight; stars Themselves are closer in the heavens’ dome. It used to be that something like high haars Divided us from Alpha Tauri. ...
by phillipw | Mar 8, 2025 | SE, TE
Pulling on the See-through Bell Cord Your heart is made of silk but mine is made Of lycra. When your veins are touched, they make No sound as if they fear an escapade With arteries that always feel an ache For thrills. The warning bells have disappeared And so your...
by phillipw | Mar 8, 2025 | AE, AR, ES
Material Ideals Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The men who made cathedrals, workers, not The architects; the Indian men who built The temples, stone designs completely fraught With...
by phillipw | Mar 7, 2025 | IN, MA, PY, RE
Delphi, Endor and an Empty Tomb Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem His conscience seeks for oriental kings. He hopes their gold and frankincense and myrrh Will give him wisdom and, if not, the wings...
by phillipw | Mar 7, 2025 | IN
Flowers like Leis Lying on an Altar Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem The sculpture of a god whose powers are not Apparent waits for you to pray to him. Can he protect a baby in a cot? If so, what...
by phillipw | Mar 6, 2025 | Uncategorized
Unruly in a Village Cemetery They did not dream it when alive, yet ghosts Are happy when they find a way to cause Disruption as in polar bear cracked coasts, Antarctic shores — or like Antarctic claws From killers, icebergs floating toward the fate Of...
by phillipw | Mar 6, 2025 | BR, CA, MA, WH
Miracle of Modern Medicine and Demonic Itching It crept along inside her like a long- Lost angel Jesus couldn’t cure. The wretch At worst had withered wings and lost its song. Inside her breast the devil couldn’t stretch And couldn’t fledge its arrows. They could...
by phillipw | Mar 5, 2025 | MA
Testosterone Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem https://preview.redd.it/2sabktru2ap91.jpg?auto=webp&s=44f636d4c1403e4c291fe5a6e3e850cdf73c4499 A rose of semen crossed with iron...
by phillipw | Mar 5, 2025 | Uncategorized
My Sonnet Wants to Be on Vellum Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem I know it’s nigh to blasphemy, but still It’s true: my focus on the form I use Is like obsessions of the monkish quill And brush that in...
by phillipw | Mar 5, 2025 | Uncategorized
The Mind’s Rule Says There Is No . . . The rain of yesterday stalks up my soul Though that is quite impossible because I do not harbor one. No, no-one stole It, not a devil or a god whose laws Forbid such theft. I simply never had A soul. I’m not from ectoplasm of...