Poems
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National Poetry Month Day 3: “To Biespiel From United Flight 1037” by David Biespiel
To Biespiel From United Flight 1037 — Greensboro to Atlanta Dear Brother — I used to think of death all the time, And then for a time I didn’t, or didn’t try to, And now I do not expect to…
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National Poetry Month Day 2: “To Mercury, In Retrograde” by Randall Mann
To Mercury, In Retrograde This ointment isn’t helping. This clinic isn’t free. The nurse’s favorite movie is Penitentiary III.
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National Poetry Month Day 1: “To Find Stars In Another Language” by Elizabeth Bradfield
Elizabeth Bradfield wrote the first poem we published here on The Rumpus, so I’m pleased to have her kick off this year’s National Poetry Month project. Elizabeth’s poem is more than just a written piece, however: it’s a collaboration between…
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“I Growed No Potatoes To Write About, Sir”: a Rumpus Original Poem by Erin Belieu
I Growed No Potatoes To Write About, Sir nor bogs, nor fathers, nor special water that was my place alone to make me hard and wise— I did not sow nor bury, nor even try to fudge my nothings in…
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“Feather”: A Rumpus Original Poem by Deborah Ager
Feather Somehow, I thought you’d want to eat alone, A state you’d grown to master—brandy glass, A man behind your chair to fill your plate, A girl to bring you chocolate mousse, then candy. As another poet wrote: What do…
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“The Tornado Collects the Animals”: a Rumpus Original Poem by Catherine Pierce
The Tornado Collects the Animals The tornado likes animals because they pay attention. The tornado sees the dogs howling up from rippling yards, the cows huddled mutely against one another, a sparrow pulsing its wings hard to stay stationary. The…
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“Southern Wind, Clear Sky”: A Rumpus Original Poem by Elisa Gabbert and Kathleen Rooney
Southern Wind, Clear Sky Hokusai says the morning is clear, but it’s never really clear around Mount FujiMount Fuji is an active volcano, so we can never get entirely comfortable People have their theories, but nobody knows for sure what…
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National Poetry Month Day 38: “A Room in Cleopatra’s Palace” by Mary Jo Bang
This brings us to the end of our National Poetry Month project, one poem short of a sestina’s worth. We close out this year with a poem by Mary Jo Bang, whose forthcoming translation of Dante’s Inferno will be our…
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National Poetry Month Day 37: “Two Lyrics from ‘Rondo’” by Janet Holmes
Well I got to keep it going keep it going full steam. Two Lyrics from “Rondo” The boys pawing the ground are horses. They will drag you between them. Come, give them your arms!
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National Poetry Month Day 36: “The Lover’s Field Guide to Lesser Coinage” by Sandra Beasley
Was National Poetry Month over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! The Lover’s Field Guide to Lesser Coinage There are eight stycas in a penny, two pennies in a farthing, three farthings in a nearthing, and eight nearthings…
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National Poetry Month 2012 Lineup
So maybe you’re following our National Poetry Month project and you want to know who else is going to be featured. You’re following, right? I mean, sure you get the tweets from Rumpus Poetry and The Rumpus, and you regularly…