Best Lively Poems

In the intimate interlace of chance and fate, in the ultimate interplay of time and place, and with the consummate checkmate of my human dignity,...

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       CLOSING TIME AT THE PUB


The joy, the camaraderie, the smoke.
The great ale, my great friends in Chicago.
Old Town,...

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Wintry days were turning mild.
After the harsh stormy days.
     Still not a sound could be heard
     Except...

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It was late in gorgeous springtime, and I was teaching my class,
A lesson in African history, and the events of time's hourglass.

My fourth graders were...

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Sarah’s Story - Mental Illness

Sarah, the “Crazy Lady,” was a familiar sight,
roaming the streets any time of day or night.
Her foul body odor announced her...

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Poem 1: A Boy And His Painted Piano

he used lively greens
tender blues,
touches of plain mauve 
and rainbow trout splatters
to paint music
on the gas fumes 
that...

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What color are you?
You! You! You! You! You! You! I could do this all day. Smirk.
I am not talking about hair color, eye color, or...

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A gypsy dance enthralls the stars
into a twirl of rustling hems 
as women tap bare feet, guitars
lift twiddling notes of lore’s anthems
along a woodland’s lively...

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Bereft..
tingles and sway
deserted
heartstrings bestilled..
I yearn
for the thrill of the dance
and for ravishing trills of arpeggio moments..

widowed..
the capriccio
has died;
lifeless in swoon-less inertia  
I pine
for zealous...

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My favorite word. . . now what could that be?
To choose it, I have to think so carefully.
If I choose by its meaning, I simply...

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There was a time when she lit up 
in the firmness of youth-- like a rose on an April
morn greeting daylight with a petal-soft kiss.
And...

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There once was a fox, as wise as can be,
 He lived in the hollow of an old oak tree.
 Not so very far from...

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It was Christmas Eve, not a soul made a sound,
And not so much as a mouse could be found,
The children had hung their stockings on...

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A blythe young girl with lively feet,
Said she would rather dance than eat;
So she shook off all the worldly blues,
And put on her dancing shoes.
She...

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As I watched my daughter playing with her son, I couldn't help but see myself in her. I still think of her as a child,...

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