poemelf
2020 Countdown, day 18: stuck in the dog house
Eighteen more days till the end of 2020 and our stay-at-home life goes on and on and on and on. Here’s a Charles Bukowski poem for the stir-crazy. I taped to a no-parking sign in a quiet suburban neighborhood. wearing the collar by Charles Bukowski I live with a lady and four […]
More2020 countdown, day 21: Safety mask
On Day 21 of the 2020 countdown, a poem about masks in a drugstore where a different kind of mask is sold. We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar We wear the mask that grins and lies, It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,— This debt we pay to human […]
More2020 Countdown, day 22: Can’t shop for this gift
Day 22 of the 2020 countdown finds us on a small pond in a nature center, contemplating contemplation. One of the biggest gifts this year brought us is time and space for contemplation. Priceless Gifts by Anna Swir translated by Czeslaw Milosz and Leonard Nathan An empty day without events. And that […]
More2020 Countdown, Day 23: there’s no place like home but I wish I could leave
According to latest statistics, over half of Americans under thirty now live with their parents. For the 23rd day before the end of 2020, a poem for people who’ve had to move back home. I left “Home is so Sad” on a “Please Slow Down” sign in a pretty suburban neighborhood. Young adults whose lives […]
MoreDay 24 of the Poem Elf 2020 Countdown
To kick off the countdown series, a poem at a coronavirus testing site— Susanna by Anne Porter Nobody in the hospital Could tell the age Of the old woman who Was called Susanna I knew she spoke some English And that she was an immigrant Out of a little country Trampled by […]
MoreMinutes to good riddance
Annus horribilis. Dumpster fire. Shit show. Fuster cluck. If nothing else 2020’s been a good year for swear words and rage. Since at least June we’ve been hearing, I can’t wait for this year to be over. As if with the flip of the calendar page life will suddenly improve. We know that’s just […]
MoreComputer guy to the rescue
Modern television murder mysteries nearly always feature a stock character, the nimble-fingered Computer Guy (because this character is almost always male). After mere seconds of clacking away at his keyboard, Computer Guy can track down addresses, hospital records, relevant CCTV footage, bank statements, and wartime photographs that link the killer to the victim. I’m […]
MoreA horn of plenty, if you just look for it
Thanksgiving is a good and necessary holiday but perhaps more so in times of want than of plenty. What is wanting this Thanksgiving 2020? We want to be together. We want our families, our friends. Most Thanksgiving celebrations are pared down this year with families separated by virus or politics, some permanently so, thanks to […]
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