Green Flame by Pamela Uschuk Slender as my ring finger, the female hummingbird crashed into plate glass separating her and me before we could ask each other’s name. Green flame, she launched from a dead eucalyptus limb. Almost on impact, she was gone, her needle beak opening twice to speak the abrupt language of her going, taking in the day’s rising heat as I took one more scalding breath, horrified by death’s velocity. Too weak from chemo not to cry for the passage of her

Proof by Cornelius Eady Written for the inauguration of Zohran Mamdani, Jan 1, 2026, NYC. You have to imagine it: Who said you were too dark/too Large? Too queer/too loud? Who said you were too poor/ Too strange? Too fat? You have to imagine it: Who said you must keep quiet? Who heard your story, then Rolled their eyes? Who tried to change your name To invisible? You’ve got to imagine: Who heard your name And refused to pronounce it? Who checked their watch And said “not n

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught

This Morning I Pray for My Enemies by Joy Harjo And whom do I call my enemy? An enemy must be worthy of engagement. I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking. It’s the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind. The heart is the smaller cousin of the sun. It sees and knows everything. It hears the gnashing even as it hears the blessing. The door to the mind should only open from the heart. An enemy who gets in, risks the danger of becoming a friend. This poe

Senryū is the term for short haiku that are humorous. I was lucky enough to attend a reading recently in which John Brehm read from his latest book, Just This: New and Selected Poems. The book was published this year by Wisdom Publications; you can buy it here. The following is a selection of some of the very funny senryū from John's book. As with traditional haiku, senryū are not titled. Enjoy the following, this bit of something different from the norm, and buy John's book!