Enter the DragonBy John MurilloFor me, the movie starts with a black man Leaping into an orbit of badges, tiny moons Catching the sheen...Social CommentariesPopular CultureRace & EthnicityLivingYouthThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmStanza FormsCoupletMetersFree VerseTechniquesAllusionConfessionalSimileAnxiety & Insecurity + 13 more
Blonde BombshellBy Lynn EmanuelLove is boring and passé, all that old baggage, the bloody bric-a-brac, the bad, the gothic, retrograde...Social CommentariesPopular CultureLivingYouthThe MindMemory & NostalgiaActivitiesIndoor ActivitiesArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmMetersFree VerseTechniquesSimileOptimism + 8 more
I Have Wasted My LifeBy Justin Phillip ReedThere it goes, thin thing, cheshiring between trees whose reaper-robes trail their trains deep underground...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingDeathThe MindMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorSimileGrief + 5 more
At IthacaBy H.D.Over and back, the long waves crawl and track the sand with foam; night darkens and the sea takes on...LoveDesire & PassionSocial CommentariesWar & ConflictMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyTechniquesImagerySimile + 2 more
Can You Describe Your Years in Prison?By Aria AberOver Skype, I try to document my mother’s bald-shaved youth—she has a surplus in truths, and science...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentWar & ConflictRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorSimile + 6 more
p1The Last Hummingbird of SummerBy Beth Ann Fennellyreveals itself in retrospect. Unlike the first, whose March arrival bade you gasp, hands clasped, like...NatureAnimalsSocial CommentariesGender & SexualityLivingMidlifeThe BodyTime & BrevityTechniquesImagerySimileGratitude + 5 more
A Toothless Crackhead Was the MascotBy Reginald Dwayne Betts[An Outline for a Film] A woman leans against a man who leans against a brick wall watching cars stop...NatureSummerSocial CommentariesCities & Urban LifeRace & EthnicityLivingComing of AgeDeathLife ChoicesArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmMetersFree VerseTechniquesImagerySimile + 9 more
p1PositivityBy D. A. Powell“Anyway, it isn’t forever,” Chris said, “eventually you’re dead.” And we laughed Besides, everything...NatureAnimalsLivingDeathLife ChoicesTime & BrevityRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorSimileJoy & Contentment + 10 more
p1My Hair Burned Like BereniceBy Ruth AwadDays of rain. The drey outside my window would keel and the wind would plunder. My heart was valent ...NatureWeatherSocial CommentariesGender & SexualityLivingHealth & IllnessSorrow & GrievingThe BodyMythology & FolkloreGreek & Roman MythologyVerse FormsSonnetMetersFree VerseTechniquesImagerySimile + 10 more
p1MetonymyBy Richard SikenSomeone wheeled me to the curb. A different friend helped me into a car. We got to the condo and managed...LivingHealth & IllnessThe BodyRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesTechniquesSimileTypes/ModesProse Poem + 2 more
p1First of DecemberBy Natalie ShaperoGod come on stop cutting me out of your photos God stop dragging the mouse around my shopworn body like...Social CommentariesReligionGod & the DivineLivingDeathThe MindDoubt & ContemplationVerse FormsSonnetMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorSimileHumorMelancholy & Despair + 10 more
p1Tartarean SunBy Kara KrewerUnder which she pruned the peach trees and a tiny gateway opened in her spine. That pain distilled there...NatureTrees & FlowersLivingDeathHealth & IllnessThe BodyTime & BrevityRelationshipsStanza FormsMixedMetersFree VerseTechniquesMetaphorSimileGrief + 9 more
What is Life?By John ClareAnd what is Life?—An hour-glass on the run, A Mist retreating from the morning sun, A busy, bustling...LivingDeathGrowing OldMidlifeThe MindActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhilosophyTechniquesSimile + 4 more
p1SuretyBy Jane HuffmanI’m sure as wetness follows steam. I’m sure as cold that follows wetness follows steam. I’m sure as ...LivingTechniquesSimileJoy & Contentment
PassengersBy Denis JohnsonThe world will burst like an intestine in the sun, the dark turn to granite and the granite to a name...LivingLife ChoicesTime & BrevityVerse FormsSonnetTechniquesSimile
HeatBy Denis JohnsonHere in the electric dusk your naked lover tips the glass high and the ice cubes fall against her teeth...LoveDesire & PassionLivingVerse FormsSonnetTechniquesSimile
The Book of ThelBy William BlakeI The daughters of Mne Seraphim led round their sunny flocks.All but the youngest; she in paleness sought...NatureAnimalsLandscapes & PastoralsStars, Planets, HeavensTrees & FlowersLivingTime & BrevityActivitiesTravels & JourneysArts & SciencesPhilosophyMythology & FolkloreHeroes & PatriotismTechniquesEpigraphImagerySimileAnxiety & InsecurityGratitudeGrief + 13 more
The House of Life: 19. Silent NoonBy Dante Gabriel RossettiYour hands lie open in the long fresh grass,— The finger-points look through like rosy blooms: Your ...LoveDesire & PassionNatureLandscapes & PastoralsLivingMarriage & CompanionshipRelationshipsHome LifeAnniversaryVerse FormsSonnetTechniquesSimileBoredomJoy & Contentment + 8 more
The Destruction of SennacheribBy Lord Byron (George Gordon)The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold; ...Social CommentariesWar & ConflictReligionGod & the DivineStanza FormsRhymed StanzaTechniquesAlliterationAllusionImagerySimileAngerOptimism + 6 more
The Little Black BoyBy William BlakeMy mother bore me in the southern wild, And I am black, but O! my soul is white; White as an angel is...Social CommentariesClassRace & EthnicityReligionChristianityGod & the DivineLivingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsArts & SciencesPhilosophyStanza FormsRhymed StanzaTechniquesMetaphorSimileCulture + 10 more