THE NEW WHITE HOUSE COOKBOOK

by Virginia Aronson

AI-generated graphic by NightCafé for The New Verse News.

The White House chef
must put together a menu
of special recipes
to suit the diners
of various tastes
from heads of state
to cabinet members
to kids and grandkids
sports stars and celebrities
donors, bankers, billionaires.

 

The most popular dishes
for this Administration
will not surprise you
like Tacos on Tuesdays
(sometimes daily)

or Chicken à la King
(or anything à la King)
Deep Fried Chicken
with Golden Crust
(anything gold, really)

and Orange Chicken
(big fans of chicken 
in the White House)
dishes always served
with a side of fries
with mayo or white sauce
(white the top choice).

The Chicken Liver Pâté
is eaten with a silver spoon
Deported Burritos Grandes
always full of beans
Mafia-inspired Meatballs
comes on a bed of pasta
a bed you make yourself
and lie, lie, lie 
in it if you like
secret recipes try
Catering Truck Popovers
(might leave a bad taste

in your mouth)
or enjoy a gilded platter
of Oysters on the Shell Company
washed down with Diet Coke
or all the hot Bullion
in the entire world
stored by the ton
down in the bunker
where the President sleeps.

Virginia Aronson is the author of many published books including The White House Family Cookbook, re-released recently by the White House Historical Association. New poetry collections include Collateral Damage (Clare Songbirds Publishing), Whiskey Islandand Whiskey Straight Women (Cyberwit Press).

QUID NO PRO

by Virginia Aronson

AI-generated graphic by NightCafé for The New Verse News.

The art of his deal
pay for play global
he gets the jet
he lets them get
bombed he shrugs
signs the agreement
changes and cancels
unceasing ceases
after public hoopla
after the rule of law
after the highest courts
more shaky trades, fines
brazen gifts and lawsuits
thrown out, mocked
taxes and wars forever
never true to his word
on anything deals
wives children sex lies
while the world suffers
the land in flames
the seas raging
the children dying
and he grins, shrugs
he's got his quid
and folks, look
there ain't no pro.

Virginia Aronson is the author of many published books. New poetry collections include Collateral Damage (Clare Songbirds Publishing), Whiskey Islandand Whiskey Straight Women (Cyberwit Press).

WHAT LIES ARE UP TO

by Virginia Aronson

Cartoon by Gary Huck

Trump claimed a saboteur with a box cutter damaged the Washington Reflecting Pool [with a 350-foot gash]. Coating manufacturer Rhino Linings described the issue as finish coat separation. The company’s statement did not mention vandalism or criminal activity related to the damage. —MeidasNews, June 26, 2026

Lies are bold, and so loud we think they must be facts.
They appeal to your vanity and assuage your fears. That's how they hook you.
Lies will lure you in with promises and sweet talk. 
They'll jump out at you shrieking wildly to drown out facts.
Lies lie around and snack on junk, they binge and swell, taking up all the room.
They sometimes cut one and stink up the room while you have to pretend not to notice.
Lies bulk up, bullying and sitting on facts to keep them quiet.
Lies act like they are super heroes—until facts challenge them to prove it.
Lies will backstab facts then look innocent after. There's rarely an investigation when lies are in charge.
Lies will drink and drive, then crash. They survive, often thriving while the damage to everything else is catastrophic.
Lies rise to the top like air bubbles or scum; only facts can get rid of them.
They will grab your savings, your home, your job, your spouse, your life—but only if you let them.
Lies will try to make you change your beliefs, your morals, your humanity. 
Lies will empty your bones and eat you alive, that's what lies are up to.

Virginia Aronson is a poet, novelist, and journalist who lives in the lush, lurid tropics. Her poetry collections include Collateral Damage, literary biographies of some of the troubled writers of the 20^th century (Clare Songbirds Publishing, 2025), as well as the chapbooks Hikikomori, Itako, and Tropical Diagnoses. Her most recent novel is Lazy Palms (Cyberwit, 2026) about a program for voluntary euthanasia in a Florida trailer park. 

INTERLOCHEN

by Virginia Aronson

 

Years before they were convicted sex offenders, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell used his wealth to gain access to a prestigious boarding school for young artists in Michigan, using a rental lodge Epstein donated to the school as a base from which to recruit some of their earliest victims, according to Department of Justice records and former campus administrators. —NPR, February 19, 2026

You sit on a bench
licking your ice cream
vanilla, maybe mocha
surrounded by summer
friends 13, 14 you are
such lucky talented girls
at the famous incubator
for budding artists
young friends giggling
singing in the sunshine
when she walks by
with a small cute dog
on a leash

and the bench empties
you're all squealing
you all love Yorkies!
you all bend to pet her
your future before you
like a field of daisies
and romping puppies
your friends drift off
to play piano, dance, paint
and the woman turns
her intense gaze
on you, she wants you
to meet her friend
this man can help you
he gives scholarships
he loves young artists
he is very wealthy
fellow Interlochen grad
school and camp benefactor
and your bright eyes brighten
your dreams coming true

and this man, he pays
for your education
while he takes
everything else
your childhood
your dreams
your sweet future
as he pets you
for years
and keeps you
on his tight leash.

Virginia Aronson is the director of Food and Nutrition Resources Foundation and the author of many published books. New poetry collections include Collateral Damage (Clare Songbirds Publishing), Whiskey Island and Whiskey Straight Women (Cyberwit Press).

TAX THE RICH

by Virginia Aronson

Legislators and governors in many blue states are preparing a range of new taxes on the wealthy. At the same time, many red states continue to cut or eliminate income taxes. —CNBC, January 30, 2026

Why is the sky
the limit for them
the gold bars
the shiny cars
the luxury this
exclusive that

starts with a penny
turns into a pound
of toys 
of gold 
of flesh
accumulation
without constraint
changing character
dirtying hands
using up resources
polluting our cities
changing our climate
socializing risks
privatizing rewards
paying for leadership
to hoard their gains:
it's socialism 
for the rich
and capitalism 
for the poor
it's golden visas 
for the rich
and deportations 
for the poor
it's cold streets 
for the homeless
shivering in misery
while the rich sleep well
on their beds of money
while the world burns down
under a blackened sky.

Virginia Aronson is the director of Food and Nutrition Resources Foundation and the author of many published books. New poetry collections include Collateral Damage(Clare Songbirds Publishing), Whiskey Island and Whiskey Straight Women (Cyberwit Press).

MICRO-PLASTIC CURRENTS

by Virginia Aronson

Autumn sky unfurls a white cloud balm

between the splash of forget-me-not blues;

the sea's hand welcomes us to calm,

her salt tang warming as it soothes.

Fish chew our feet, nibbling dead skin,

crabs' little pincers that make us laugh;

we wade out, sink, rise up deeper in

the lap of our mother, her womb a bath.

Wide-winged osprey dive down to warn us

over and over their sharp, bitter cry:

destruction from that which will soon engulf us—

ill nature, yes; and we too shall die.

What is so small we know not its weight

building up, amassing—until it's too late?

 

Virginia Aronson is the Director of Food and Nutrition Resources Foundation. Her novel about food and climate change, A Garden on Top of the World, was published by activist press Dixi Books in 2019. Dixi also published Mottainai: A Journey in Search of the Zero Waste Life.