Guidelines



Submission Guidelines: Send 1-3 unpublished poems in the body of an email (NO ATTACHMENTS) to nvneditor[at]gmail.com. No simultaneous submissions. Use "Verse News Submission" as the subject line. Send a brief bio. No payment. Authors retain all rights after 1st-time appearance here. Scroll down the right sidebar for the fine print.

Monday, February 09, 2026

3 VERY GOOD YOUNG POOR

by Mickey J. Corrigan




Justice Department under scrutiny for revealing victim info and concealing possible enablers in Epstein files...
     In a 2018 email to Epstein, another redacted individual wrote: “I found at least 3 very good young poor.” 
     “Meet this one,” the person continued. “Not the beauty queen but we both likes her a lot.” 
     —CNN, February 5, 2026


The redacted
they culled
they hawked
they bartered
girls not women
sucked in a nightmare
too young to grasp
escape, recover
now women not girls
faces splashed online
names and nudes
abusers hidden
blacked out shame
very good young poor
splashed in full
nothing on, nothing
protecting them 
from bad old rich
powerful driven
to use, abuse, lie 
in other countries
powerful men
lose positions 
power, face
while in the US
very good girls
young poor
sucked in
spit out
while the machine 
of money, power, abuse
drives on, on
the system as is
only winners winning


Originally from Boston, Mickey J. Corrigan hides out in the lush ruins of South Florida. Salt Publishing in the UK released Project XX, a satirical novel about a school shooting. Bloodhound Books UK published What I Did For Love, a spoof of the classic Lolita. Poetry has been published in literary journals, chapbooks, and collections.