Author Archives: JMN

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About JMN

I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.

Hail to Thee, Mouse-Like Bird! Wren nor Tit Thou Never Wert!

Posted on May 25, 2026 by JMN

Adam goofed. The bird called wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) is neither a wren nor a tit. A wrentit… is a secretive, sedentary, mouse-like bird endemic to North America, primarily found in western coastal regions of the U.S. and Baja California. It’s … Continue reading →

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Democracy, We Hardly Knew Ye

Posted on May 23, 2026 by JMN

The [2026 U.S. Supreme Court] case that felled the Voting Rights Act was Louisiana v. Callais… The day after the Callais ruling, Gov. Jeff Landry took the unprecedented action of suspending the state’s U.S. House primary — in which tens … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Rae Armantrout Appeals to My Inner Toddler

Posted on May 21, 2026 by JMN

I want to say Rae Armantrout springs a cavalcade of huggable schwas on me, but rumpled or purple or bubbly would describe them, too. As long as they’re duple bumpy words. Joints grind likeshot brakes. Food ignitesin our stomachs. But … Continue reading →

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A-B-C-D-D-C-B-A

Posted on May 16, 2026 by JMN

every need fights to makeits voice heard, to befulfilled with a gentle touch (from K. LINES THAT AIM TO BE) K’s lines, encountered after I had spewed the below caustic grump at the demons of my own distractedness, furnished an … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthology | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Mid-May on the Littoral

Posted on May 14, 2026 by JMN

It stupefies, it sickens, it infuriates.(Philip Roth on American life in the 1960s) I fear I’ve morphed into a carping nag.Crafting invective merely fêtes the boor,vomitous bilge the thing that feeds his root.It’s to priss froufrou-like at the galaof distress, … Continue reading →

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Messy Antic Bomb Bard

Posted on May 10, 2026 by JMN

I compel you in the name of my HIMARS!I compel you in the name of my ATACMS!I compel you in the name of my GENERALS,By the lashings of my terrible swift tongue! You want a red sea? I will give … Continue reading →

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Let Fly, Let Sing

Posted on May 4, 2026 by JMN

As a grammar nerd I have to comment: The hortatory “let” allows you and me to influence the behavior of a third person (Let him go fly a kite!), or a third person that of a fourth (Mary Ann said, … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Trigger Mortis

Posted on May 1, 2026 by JMN

… Not long after the end of the Vietnam War [1975], Army Col. Harry Summers, who’d won Bronze and Silver stars in that war as an operations officer, flew to Hanoi as chief of the U.S. delegation to resolve the … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 2 Comments

Wampeters Are Catnip for Goon Balloons

Posted on April 26, 2026 by JMN

Wampeters are catnip for goon balloons,Slippery as deer guts on a doorknob,Dark Davos in an amniotic greatcoat,Wampum coined from oligarchs’ spittoons.Treacly curls, puffed labia, eyeball moons —A lecherous lapsarian’s heartthrob!Wampeters are catnip for goon balloons,Triggery as the fingers of an … Continue reading →

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Photo Worth Several Words

Posted on April 24, 2026 by JMN

Who’s being “honored” in this picture? (Hint: They’re female.) Peekaboo! The University of Georgia women’s tennis team posing with Donald Trump and administration officials. Photograph: Margo Martin on X/Margo Martin on X (@MargoMartin47). [Guardian caption and illustration] (c) 2026 JMN … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary | Tagged | 6 Comments