p1Fourth Wall ArpeggioBy A. Van JordanLately, my friends ask me, out of love, have I written about my mother, who suffers under the storm ...LivingGrowing OldHealth & IllnessMidlifeThe MindRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsVerse FormsSestinaStanza FormsMixedTechniquesImageryMetaphor + 7 more
p1Mixed-Up SestinaBy Jordan PérezWe have been shitting and pissing in the sealed buses through the night, then out, and stadium lights...Verse FormsSestina
InterludeBy Denise LetoWrite of water in each of its motions, of matters worn away by water, to give her what can't remain ...LivingThe BodyVerse FormsSestina
p1OutbreaksBy Kitchen McKeowni search for god but the sun is a penny. looper moths form halos beneath the streetlamps. summer’s ghostly...NatureReligionGod & the DivineThe SpiritualLivingLife ChoicesVerse FormsSestina
p1A sestina for a black girl who does not know how to braid hairBy Raych JacksonYour hands have no more worth than tree stumps at harvest. Don’t sit on my porch while I make myself...Social CommentariesRace & EthnicityLivingLife ChoicesThe BodyRelationshipsFamily & AncestorsVerse FormsSestinaAnxiety & InsecurityDisappointment + 4 more
p1Strikes and GuttersBy Clark MooreAs Walter settled in to finish his coffee, he was struck by a phantom, peripheral visage, white as pins...LoveDesire & PassionRelationshipsMen & WomenActivitiesTravels & JourneysVerse FormsSestinaHumor + 2 more
p1The PainterBy John AshberySitting between the sea and the buildings He enjoyed painting the sea’s portrait. But just as children...NatureSeas, Rivers, & StreamsArts & SciencesPainting & SculptureVerse FormsSestinaBlameDisappointment
Farm Implements and Rutabagas in a LandscapeBy John AshberyThe first of the undecoded messages read: “Popeye sits in thunder, Unthought of. From that shoebox of...NatureLandscapes & PastoralsSocial CommentariesPopular CultureArts & SciencesLanguage & LinguisticsVerse FormsSestinaAnxiety & InsecurityHumorJoy & Contentment + 4 more
p1The Mad Man from MaconBy Maceo J. WhitakerSestina Jackson met Text-Deft James on 09/09/09.A Red Hook, BK dock party celebrated Otis Redding’sBirthday...Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeArts & SciencesMusicPoetry & PoetsVerse FormsSestinaTypes/ModesProse PoemHumorJoy & Contentment + 4 more
p1Sestina: LikeBy A.E. StallingsNow we’re all “friends,” there is no love but Like, A semi-demi goddess, something like A reality-TV...Social CommentariesPopular CultureArts & SciencesLanguage & LinguisticsVerse FormsSestinaBlameDisappointment
Beautiful PoetryBy Camille GuthrieI was too shy to say anything but Your poems are so beautiful. What kinds of things, feelings, or ideas...LoveRealistic & ComplicatedLivingLife ChoicesArts & SciencesPoetry & PoetsVerse FormsSestina
The Mortician in San FranciscoBy Randall MannThis may sound queer, but in 1985 I held the delicate hands of Dan White: I prepared him for burial;...Social CommentariesCrime & PunishmentGender & SexualityPopular CultureHistory & PoliticsLivingDeathLife ChoicesThe MindMemory & NostalgiaRelationshipsLGBTQ+Verse FormsSestinaAngerBlameDisappointmentGrief + 11 more
p1The Guest Ellen at the Supper for Street PeopleBy David FerryThe unclean spirits cry out in the body Or mind of the guest Ellen in a loud voice Torment me not, and...Social CommentariesCities & Urban LifeClassLivingHealth & IllnessThe BodyThe MindVerse FormsSestinaAngerBlameDisappointmentGrief + 6 more
The Complaint of LisaBy Algernon Charles SwinburneThere is no woman living that draws breath So sad as I, though all things sadden her. There is not one...LoveHeartache & LossRealistic & ComplicatedLivingSorrow & GrievingRelationshipsVerse FormsSestinaStanza FormsRhymed StanzaAnxiety & InsecurityBlameDisappointmentGrief + 7 more
Sestina of the Tramp-RoyalBy Rudyard KiplingSpeakin’ in general, I ’ave tried ’em all— The ’appy roads that take you o’er the world. Speakin’ in...LivingTime & BrevityActivitiesJobs & WorkingTravels & JourneysVerse FormsSestinaTypes/ModesDramatic MonologueBoredomDisappointmentGratitudeJoy & Contentment + 6 more
Sestina: AltaforteBy Ezra Pound LOQUITUR: En Betrans de Born. Dante Alighieri put this man in hell for that he was a stirrer-up of strife. Eccovi...Social CommentariesWar & ConflictHistory & PoliticsVerse FormsSestina
SestinaBy Algernon Charles SwinburneI saw my soul at rest upon a day As a bird sleeping in the nest of night, Among soft leaves that give...Verse FormsSestina
p1If See No End In IsBy Frank BidartWhat none knows is when, not if. Now that your life nears its end when you turn back what you see is...LoveRealistic & ComplicatedReligionFaith & DoubtLivingComing of AgeDeathGrowing OldRelationshipsVerse FormsSestina + 4 more
The Guest Ellen at the Supper for Street PeopleBy David FerryThe unclean spirits cry out in the body Or mind of the guest Ellen in a loud voice Torment me not, and...NatureLivingHealth & IllnessThe BodyVerse FormsSestina
p1Let Me Count the WavesBy Sandra BeasleyYou must not skirt the issue wearing skirts.You must not duck the bullet using ducks. You must not face...Social CommentariesGender & SexualityPopular CultureArts & SciencesHumor & SatirePoetry & PoetsVerse FormsSestina