poetry-magazineRobben IslandBy Pamela SneedThe only antidote I may have to Trump’s electionis in a small ferry to Robben Islandone that shuttles… Related Audio Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityWar & ConflictHistory & Politics
poetry-magazineBone SymphonyBy Michelle Phương HồOn my windowsill, there are insects whose skeletal remainsremain intact. Fruit flies or gnats, I can… Related Audio Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsGrief
Pencil LetterBy Irina RatushinskayaI know it won't be receivedOr sent. The page will beIn shreds as soon as I have scribbled it.Later. …LoveRealistic & ComplicatedSocial CommentariesCrime & PunishmentThe MindMemory & NostalgiaTime & Brevity
poetry-magazineMassBy Othuke UmukoroWhat was I thinking abouton my way here? passingthe small kenkey with rabbit stew joint, passingElmina… Related Audio Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentWar & ConflictGrief
Social Skills TrainingBy Solmaz SharifStudies suggest How may I help you officer? is the single most disarming thing to say and not What's…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsGrief
poetry-magazinePOLICEBy Nicolás GuillénThis animal calls itself police.Whistling plantigrade.Varieties: the English, Sherlock. (Pipe.)Carter…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentHistory & Politics
poetry-magazinePOLICÍABy Nicolás GuillénEste animal se llama policía.Plantígrado soplador.Variedades: la inglesa, sherlock. (Pipa).Carter, la…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentHistory & Politics
poetry-magazineLYNCHBy Nicolás GuillénLynch from Alabama.Tailpiece in the form of a whipand three-pointed hooves.Tends to appearwith a great…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityWar & ConflictHistory & Politics
poetry-magazineLYNCHBy Nicolás Guillén Lynch de Alabama. Rabo en forma de látigo y pezuñas terciarias. Suele manifestarse con una gran cruz…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityWar & ConflictHistory & Politics
poetry-magazineA Coin Is a Map to a BeheadingBy Elizabeth WillisThe vulnerability of the figurehead is at the center of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting of Charles I:…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentWar & ConflictHistory & Politics
Clive SongBy Anne CarsonIf I were an early personI'd look for the limits of human wisdomby going to sacred oak treesor the local…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsLivingLife ChoicesBlameDisappointmentGrief + 2 more
The Part About Fate or CounterpointBy Sylvia ChanI want to begin this poem with two stories:1. In 1984, my mother was pulled over for speeding in a rural…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentGender & SexualityHistory & PoliticsLivingThe Body
The Bug WranglerBy Mike DoughtyHe was jailed for cruelty to insects, and his agent wasn’t answering the phone, so he stayed awake in…NatureAnimalsSocial CommentariesCrime & PunishmentLivingLife ChoicesActivitiesJobs & WorkingArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmTechniquesImageryMetaphorPersonaTypes/ModesProse PoemAnxiety & InsecurityBlame + 11 more
poetry-magazineRoll CallBy Erik TschekunowSix times every day we stand at the thresholds of our cells to be counted, to be matched against the… Related Audio Social CommentariesCrime & Punishment
Meditation on Statistical MethodBy J. V. CunninghamPlato, despair! We prove by norms How numbers bear Empiric forms, How random wrong Will average right…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentStanza FormsRhymed StanzaDisappointment
Into the WeedsBy Kevin PruferThe brutality of those two men who broke into her apartment and murdered her boyfriend, then, as she…Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentLivingComing of AgeDeathSorrow & GrievingThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsFriends & EnemiesActivitiesSchool & LearningArts & SciencesPhotography & FilmMetersFree VerseTechniquesConfessionalImageryMetaphorTypes/ModesElegyGrief + 16 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
America, I AmBy James CagneyI come from the kidnapped, the assaulted— my country’tis of reparations as in-store credit backordered…Social CommentariesClassCrime & PunishmentRace & EthnicityHistory & PoliticsLivingSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsMetersFree VerseTechniquesAnaphoraRefrainAngerDisappointmentGrief + 10 more
To a Wreath of SnowBy Emily BrontëO transient voyager of heaven! O silent sign of winter skies! What adverse wind thy sail has driven…NatureWinterLandscapes & PastoralsWeatherSocial CommentariesCrime & PunishmentReligionThe SpiritualLivingTime & BrevityStanza FormsQuatrainMetersFree VerseTechniquesImageryMetaphorTypes/ModesOdeGratitude + 13 more
It's Too Late To Be CarefulBy CAConradmelting glaciers frighten me when appearing on my street as…Social CommentariesClassCrime & PunishmentMoney & EconomicsWar & ConflictHistory & Politics