Category Archives: Anthology

My collected writings and those of family members.

Keening in the Key of Claws (‘We’re Out of Things to Say’)

Posted on November 2, 2023 by JMN

“The guns are available and the targets are soft.” (Stephen King) Been to the broke-heart mountain.Been to the Jesus well.Thoughts and prayersfor the Shepherd’s cause,the Founders’ flaws,the House of Laws,from We the People’s hell. (c) 2023 JMN — EthicalDative. All … Continue reading →

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Otiose Odium Yodel

Posted on October 29, 2023 by JMN

“Trashing his opponents and setting his huge fan base on them is a tactic Trump has used for years.” (The Guardian) The person who commits lèse majestéon the pugnacious lord of Magalagoincurs a stiff barrage of coo-coo ack-ackfrom keyboard hoplites … Continue reading →

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Decasílabos Sigilosos

Posted on October 26, 2023 by JMN

My favorite Spanish word is sigiloso.It comes to me unbidden of a suddenfrom that place frondoso in my noggin,the quarter that is menos lugareño,con tan poco apego to the localthat I can be exotically vocal. Resulta que me_evoca English “sigil,”a … Continue reading →

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The Heron and the Hoopoe

Posted on October 24, 2023 by JMN

Never a bird had fairer scientific name than Upupa epops, the jaunty hoopoe, for which the Arabic is hudhud. “Heron” is balaSHUN. I experience this delicate lyric written in Arabic as all signal with no noise. If it alludes to … Continue reading →

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‘2013-8-15’

Posted on October 15, 2023 by JMN

This is the second of 3 poems by Zakaria Mohammed published in the September 2023 edition of Poetry magazine. They date from 2013. (I noted the first one here). English translations by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha are in the Poetry issue … Continue reading →

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Make England Grow Again

Posted on October 5, 2023 by JMN

At the MEGA confab in Manchesterthe conurbation’s thrumming with humbug.Bannon cannons bombast from his basement.Farage megaphones it, cuts a rug with Priti. Hardening arteries of reaction course with candlefire.Queues for Dutch rubs bend round every corner.Conning spoilers croon sweet nothings … Continue reading →

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Does ‘Maieutic’ Rhyme With ‘Epizootic’?

Posted on October 3, 2023 by JMN

“Rhyme is a bit like metaphor, a way of asserting a resemblance between otherwise distant terms.” (Kamran Javadizadeh) There’s the rhyming of abducted words pressed into sonic servitude on a lick and a whim, screaming at the end of their … Continue reading →

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Zakaria Mohammed’s Poem ‘2013-1-2’

Posted on September 30, 2023 by JMN

The September edition of Poetry magazine publishes 3 poems by Palestinian poet Zakaria Mohammed. English translations by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha accompany the Arabic texts. She publishes a translator’s note as well. The poet’s death on August 2, 2023, is noted … Continue reading →

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‘So Pure and Unobstructed by Metaphor’

Posted on September 17, 2023 by JMN

It’s so pure and so unobstructed by metaphor in a way that I find disarming and really courageous. (Fred Gibson) Fred Gibson’s phrase “unobstructed by metaphor” riveted me on first hearing (NYT Audio, “The xx Singer’s Solo Album Is Its … Continue reading →

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‘In the Still of the Clan…’

Posted on September 15, 2023 by JMN

The pattern of the nonsequi-ku first broached here is rendered more ticklish per the suggestion of OutsideAuthority: If anything, wondering if it’s a little too easy. Can you make the rules more complex?! The title now is vaguely anapestic. The … Continue reading →

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