Poetry

Under the Dome Down the street from Lincoln TowerUnder the dome in the seat of powerHeavy are the heads that wear the crownsBecause five billion dollars must be found. Bipartisan effort come on let’s thinkAs we face a budget deficit on the brinkNot higher taxes that’s what they are cryin’To clean up this mess left […]

Sonnet for Springfield How we try to rise above the prairie, Minds in constant flux, reach stars from heaven, Pull beautiful dreams from far and airy Realms overruled by good old Orion. Yet we live to flows of rivers, seasons, And the fits and starts of constant commerce In the heartland of the rich in […]

“Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight” is Vachel Lindsay’s most famous poem. Written at the beginning of World War I, it portrays Lincoln walking the streets of Springfield sharing Lindsay’s concern at the coming of war. Here is a poem with a less elevated tone that celebrates a Springfield landmark only slightly less well known than […]

Snow Geese on Lake Springfield Thousands of wings in flight Hover, flutter, clutter Witness to an unprecedented sight Going north for summer —Linda S. Anderson Local poets were writing about contemporary events in the Sangamo Journal as early as the 1830s. People’s Poetry wants you to share your thoughts on what’s happening in Springfield todayÑin […]

Collected Stones And so it’s the end; it was all Or nothing and now It’s the end. Every good thing Dies, so it may live again and Now it’s the end of my Passionate friend—collected stones From the ancient river hold Secrets of time forgotten On their journey to the sea. Time to move—to stay […]

Choices abound in American daily life As a matter of not only our legacy But as a sacrament of our freedom worship Ill winds are swirling in the country Because such worship liturgy Lacks sufficient humility There is wreckage in the country Strewn from the ill winds of hubris Surely our gods must often rue […]

To the Persian Cat . . . Make Much of Time Caught in the August moonlight spangling the porch My elder feline brings to mind that line Of Byron’s: walk like the night or choose to perch In imitation of the jays you find Fearing you from afar, though absent cause No claws, few teeth […]

Looking at an Open Closet Door Sitting in her sweater, in a purple crochet coin purse, my grandmother’s rosary rests. Inside the pocket, tiny pearl blessings, counted on, worn by years of faithful fingers. –Nicole Mackey   Local poets were writing about contemporary events in the Sangamo Journal as early as the 1830s. People’s Poetry […]

New Governor The new Governor seems a stumble. Even his own grumble. Few words are forthcoming Things not exactly humming. What can he do Before there’s a big taa-do? Look South! Look South! Says a local mouth. I do agree. This advice we give for free. Two men, choose one, both very fine Down amongst […]

Opening Day, A.D. 2003 Cold today; Reckon that’s a blessing My numb thumb failed to feel the fish-hook stuck through it; So much blood! Mine–or the trout’s? –John Craig Carpenter   Local poets were writing about contemporary events in the Sangamo Journal as early as the 1830s. People’s Poetry wants you to share your thoughts […]