Poetry

poolpoem # 3 the trouble with the Y pool is it isn’t ringed with spruce hemlocks maples birches no blue sky above or clouds or stars or pelting rain so that the water leaps up to meet every drop it doesn’t have carly in her sleek shell sculling three lengths every morning or the long-necked […]

In this short poem by Vermont writer Jean L. Connor, an older speaker challenges the perception that people her age have lost their vitality and purpose. Connor compares the life of such a person to an egret fishing. Though the bird stands completely still, it has learned how to live in the world, how to […]

aroundtownpoem #5 hey here’s an idea to capture more tourist bucks isn’t it generally known the simpsons’ springfield is our own springfield lots of clues why not balance the figures on the old state capitol mall by putting on the other end a modern family group electronically rigged so that visitors walking past will hear […]

Road to Riverton Road to Riverton rainy & rutted Miles spent passing dulled river flow Deep forests denuded In late November grayness Hazy morning shadows touching long ago Up the creek to Riverton Bending ’long the Sangamon circle Plow horse to the wagon Turning back from city lights Bustle in the Capitol Blanded row by […]

lakepoem # 7 doing the final summer laundry the sheets beach towels frayed shorts shirts sweats I grapple with the change machine the woman in charge known as the laundry lady takes the bill strops it against a corner you have to smooth them and pat them and straighten them out she says and that […]

lakepoem # 6 a stiff north wind whips wild waves into a lather under an intense blue sky no easy swim today the eye on the sky morning forecast right after garrison keillor’s daily poem assures us summer will return tomorrow but the incessantly singing red-eyed vireo has given up on the season and an […]

In this fascinating poem by California poet Jane Hirshfield, the speaker discovers that through paying attention to an event she has become part of it; indeed, she has become inseparable from the event and its implications. This is more than an act of empathy. It speaks, in my reading of it, to the perception of […]

The Harbor For Paul Evans A snake of black oil winds it way to the surface Almost a sign of life from this watery grave It blurs the water but does not blend in Misplaced, like its source A single orchid blossom floats silently by A nameless request for peace While coral sways softly, coaxed […]

lakepoem # 3haiku quintet my little john-boat skims this pond like a green leaf with barber-striped oars nearby in the swamp a bullfrog’s raspy gargle drowns the new york jet mating damsel flies struggling in a spider’s web part when I free them the orb of the sun squats like a squashed tomato on top […]

lakepoem # 3 it’s not that I’m reduced to it here at the cottage but where else would you read herodotus for boys and girls © Jacqueline Jackson 2005

Every reader of this column has at one time felt the frightening and paralyzing powerlessness of being a small child, unable to find a way to repair the world. Here the California poet, Dan Gerber, steps into memory to capture such a moment. The Rain Poured Down My mother weeping in the dark hallway, in […]

It’s Time to Repay A town on the prairie thrives amid trash, butts, bottles. Proud of her people an illustrious history; domes dot the skyline. A town on the prairie needs nurturing, beauty, a lifting of spirit, and love. A town on the prairie waits. — Helen E. Rilling Helen Rilling has lived in or […]