My daughter recently pointed me to an article by an MIT professor discussing the possibility of actually finding life on a different planet. That article triggered a poem set forth below; I did forward the poem to Professor Lightman who, it turns out, is himself a published poet. While I have not been favored with…
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Are You Thirsty?
Below is a poem for the thirsty among us. Whenever you are depressed by the news–that is to say, daily I suspect– and need some inspiration as to what you might imbibe, I suggest tequila. I have been getting into the stuff after decades of, basically, wine only. However the real message here is: you…
All About Life Poem
Take a look at the below poem. It was accepted by and published in Ibbetson Street’s June issue. Ibbetson is the leading locally based poetry magazine (this is my fifth inclusion I think in this magazine, published by local poetry guru Doug Holder; if you like poetry you can connect at www.ibbetsonpress.com). Here is an…
Reading Poetry in Paris
Posts during July will be few and far between as I am spending the month in Paris and am frantically trying to get all of it into four short weeks; I know it sounds like a long vacation, but there are so many smaller great museums and restaurants, and am also planning a drive North…
One Solution to the Problem of “The Lost Hour”
In mid-March, I challenged all of you to suggest a conclusion to a short story, the plot line of which was posted: see “Help Wanted–Short Story Department” from March 14. BELOW is the full story as I have completed it. After the stabbing, the time warp occurs. Read carefully onward from there–does the ending work? …
The Will-A Poem
Loyal followers of my blogs have discovered a translation of a will signed in 1745 on Olde Cape Codd. (If you missed it, please take a look in the list of Blogs for “Where There’s a Will There’s a Way”). The below poem was inspired by my image of the testator (for non-lawyers, that is…
Where There’s a Will There’s a Way
A few years ago, I bought an old will in an antique store and recently battled through the handwriting and old English to translate it. It was so interesting that it forced me to write a poem about it. More about the poem later; for now, I set forth below a will written by an…
A Couple of Great Lines of Poetry
The New England Poetry Club has an open mic once a month. After three readings by selected poets, the mic is thrown open for about 10 callers each of whom can present one poem. If you are interested in listening in, or in having a chance to read, let me know at smh@smhonigauthor.com. But in…
Help Wanted: Short Story Department
We just went through a time change which reminded me that around the time of the last change (“fall back”) I got bogged down in a short story. The story is called The Lost Hour and the premise is simple: the hour that you lose when you fall back gets set aside for future use,…
A Poem about Ukraine
Fires/March 2022 I piled the wood carefully over paper and kindling,cross-hatched and balanced, with proper space between logs,made sure the flue was open,gently touched the edge of my match at bottomwatched dark smoke and burning shards of newsprint flutter upwardthen catch of the wood and sudden flash of yellow flameslightened smokepush of warmth behind the…
About Ukraine
We all know what the news tells us about Ukraine. I await an outpouring of poetry and prose about what is happening there. Focus on this was sharpened for me when someone in my office, born in Russia, came to me and apologized (as if she had invaded herself). If you come across prose or…
Folks Like Me
Recently I was honored by election to the board of the New England Poetry Club, a century-old institution founded by the likes of Amy Lowell and Robert Frost which clearly lowered its standards markedly based on my elevation to directorship. The Club is full of people far more accomplished than I, and thus I am…
Imagination and Poetry
All imagination is not poetry, but all poetry is imagination. This may not strike you as startling news, but then again we are struck by things which are in our own path, and that includes the same path of thinking. Here is a definition of “imagination” that would not likely occur to you, as it…
American Litanies/December 2021
They came looking for us, unaware of Eric the Red deSoto and da Gama Raleigh and Hudson Drake and de Leon Magellan and Verrazzano Champlain, Cabrillo, Cartier, Cabot and Coronado clueless Columbus his statues now defaced with red paint, broken noses on the ground seeking those who trudged the land bridge looking for a home.…