Monthly Archives: August 2026

‘The Man Who Discovered Uranus’ by David Kirby

Posted on August 31, 2026 by JMN

What you say doesn’t have to be true. / It only has to be imaginable. (David Kirby, from his poem “Not the Almost-Right Word”) In my pronunciation, from boyhood until fairly recently, the planet Uranus rhymed with “your anus.” Now … Continue reading →

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On ‘Difficulty’

Posted on August 30, 2026 by JMN

This comment by Victoria Moul has jostled my world: It is very difficult indeed to write lyric poetry which is both beautiful and straightforward to understand, and which also has something to say — a clear and specific message or … Continue reading →

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Alligator Alcatrator

Posted on August 25, 2026 by JMN

Numpty majuscles issued from the gladesBy the avenging angel of foul moodsCodify the swampiness that reeksIn the lacustrine gulag’s frothy jakes.Vulpine apologists voice vapid pokesWith knit foreheads and chic tortoise-shell specs.McGeorge Beetlebrow humps insider scoopsWhile Polymarket shills fellate the creeps.Where … Continue reading →

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The Landscapes of the Face

Posted on August 17, 2026 by JMN

The landscapes of the face possessAnd repossess my hand. Even stillIt’s on the move: peak, fissure, defile;Shadow here, just there a vegetation,A blink, a snout, a rumination —Fondest barbarism captured yet!The face solicits pen and ink to nail the stink,Charcoal, … Continue reading →

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Paramecia in a Drop of Pond

Posted on August 15, 2026 by JMN

Paramecia in a drop of pond,Specks milling on the wreckage of dead stars,Motes adrift in several gods’ eyes,We precede our much foretold demise. Unapprised of what there’s to confront,We go on going on until we don’t,You and I, he, she, … Continue reading →

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Straddling Odysseus

Posted on August 12, 2026 by JMN

“Processing Nolan’s “Odyssey” is its own odyssey.” (Frank Bruni) It’s a family-friendly audiovisual spectacle, like an elaborate Fourth of July fireworks display — and with about the same level of narrative and emotional depth… It lacks psychological, emotional, political and … Continue reading →

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Hey, Chesterton!

Posted on August 9, 2026 by JMN

Pious bromides don’t cut the mustard.A stance that dines on meaty homilyPeels potatoes in the feast of sacrifice.Report of rapture scarcely can make feltThat rage of loving kindness that’s broadcastFrom the backside of Beyond and slamsHot piety with undeciphered clout. … Continue reading →

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Suddenly I Understand

Posted on August 8, 2026 by JMN

Her eyes are bleary with sleeplessness. She “watches over” stars all night as if she were a shepherd and they her flock. She hardly bothers to dress herself other than in tatters. Arabian poet Al-Khansā’ (d. 645 AD) starts to … Continue reading →

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Confession

Posted on August 5, 2026 by JMN

I confess to a proclivity (morbid?) for depicting faces in various states of contortion. A face at rest, unless it’s grizzled or reflective of a corrupt soul, has bland contours. States of agitation are what lay bare the deserts, mountains … Continue reading →

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How to Positively Cry

Posted on August 3, 2026 by JMN

No matter where life takes me,I carry this love. I carry my part. This ending to Aaiún Nin’s long-ish discursive poem “McDonald’s Money” made me cry. Not from sadness, but because it crowns a fine writing with the keen point … Continue reading →

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