HALF-STAFF

by W. Luther Jett

W. Luther Jett's  poetry has been published in numerous journals, as well as several anthologies. Luther is the author of six poetry chapbooks — his most recent is  The Colour Wars, (Kelsay Books, 2024). His full-length collection, Flying to America was released by Broadstone Books in 2024. Luther is also a singer-songwriter who performs sporadically in wine-bars and cafes. He has released two singles and is in the process of recording an album of original material.

INDEPENDENCE DAY 250

by W. Luther Jett

Let there be no

celebration this time.

I will drape our Declaration

with sombre crepe—No flags

will line my avenues.

My music will not be beaten brass,

but the song of steel wheel

on steel rail—a wail high

as snow-locked peaks

in that place where the sun

lies down at last to rest.

Give me fireflies over fireworks.

Give me stars that refuse to fall.

Do not pray for me for I

am not your prey.

W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals, as well as several anthologies. Luther is the author of six poetry chapbooks— his most recent is  The Colour Wars, (Kelsay Books, 2024). His full-length collection, Flying to America was released by Broadstone Books in 2024. Luther is the facilitator of a monthly virtual open mike sponsored by the Hyattstown Mill Arts Project in Hyattstown, Maryland. He also coordinates two monthly on-line poetry critique workshops. Luther is also a singer-songwriter who performs sporadically in wine-bars and cafes. He has released two singles and is in the process of recording an album of original material.

FIVE THINGS I DID LAST WEEK

by W. Luther Jett

• I wrote three poems: The first compared you to a destructive gale; the second was a lament; the third was a curse.

• I met a friend for lunch. We spoke of you. Our words were not kind.

• I watched a bluebird fall in love. His love was hopeless, still it gave me hope.

• I called a friend in recovery from surgery. This was not the same friend I met for lunch, and we did not speak of you at all.

• I led a poetry workshop and hosted an open mike. I know that poetry alone cannot defeat you, but poetry is one way to say you will not defeat us. Our poems will out live your demands. You cannot fire us. We are the fire.

W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of six poetry chapbooks: “Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My Father”, (Finishing Line Press, 2015), and “Our Situation”, (Prolific Press, 2018), “Everyone Disappears” (Finishing Line Press, 2020), “Little Wars” (Kelsay Books, 2021), “Watchman, What of the Night?” (CW Books, 2022), and  “The Colour War”,  which has just been released by Kelsay Books. His full-length collection, “Flying to America” was published by Broadstone Press in 2024.

MIDNIGHT UPDATE

by W. Luther Jett

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

Disney has pulled a transgender storyline from the Pixar original animated series Win or Lose, citing the needs of parents. —Newsweek, December 18, 2024

Trump's long-running battle with Disney saw an unprecedented win for the president-elect this month, when the corporation's ABC News agreed to a $15 million settlement over a defamation lawsuit. —Newsweek, December 19, 2024

A man gives away

bridges. Another

has written a song

without words.

You can hum along.

From now on

We will bring only

good news—

kittens and bunnies,

no troubles, no

bad weather reports.

All our news will be

nice. Nothing

to make you cry,

keep you up at night.

Nice news will take

your mind

off the dark,

off your chains.

W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of six poetry chapbooks. His full-length collection Flying to America was released by Broadstone Books in 2024, while his most recent chapbook The Colour Wars has just been released by Kelsay Books.

LINES WRITTEN IN A SUBWAY CAR

by W. Luther Jett

“Pity” (1795) by William Blake - Tate Britain, Public Domain

And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, hors'd
Upon the sightless couriers of the air.
- Macbeth (1.7.21–23)

To the world:

If you can watch this
and have nothing to say
at least have pity.

If you can watch this 
and have no pity,
or have pity for one
and not for the other—

It is you I must pity.

And if you will not watch—
for you I have nothing,
nothing to say.

W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of five poetry chapbooks: Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My Father  (Finishing Line Press, 2015), Our Situation (Prolific Press, 2018), Everyone Disappears (Finishing Line Press, 2020), Little Wars (Kelsay Books, 2021), and Watchman, What of the Night? (CW Books, 2022). A full-length collection Flying to America is scheduled for release in the spring of 2024, from Broadstone Press. 

THE SUMMIT

by W. Luther Jett

Kim pledges to back Putin’s ‘sacred struggle’ during rare summit —The Washington Post, September 13, 2023

See the two men smile

as they shake hands—

clean-shaven, well-dressed,

and well-fed. Comfortable

in their suits under a round

sun, blue sky. Together

they make history, sing,

ride a train. The platform

is so clean. Their shoes

gleam. Never mind that one

red spot the polisher missed,

there by the heel. It is

nothing. It can’t be blood.

W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of five poetry chapbooks: “Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My Father” (Finishing Line Press, 2015), Our Situation” Prolific Press, 2018), “Everyone Disappears” (Finishing Line Press, 2020), “Little Wars” (Kelsay Books, 2021), and “Watchman, What of the Night?” (CW Books, 2022). A full-length collection, “Flying to America” is scheduled for release in the spring of 2024, from Broadstone Press. 

CROSSING THE DNIEPER

by W. Luther Jett

The small motor boat carrying Tetiana Svitlova and her husband, Vladyslav Svitlov, was hit by gunfire as the couple crossed the Dnieper River on Sunday. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post, December 6, 2022)

For Tetiana Svitlova, 75, who was shot by a sniper while crossing the Dnieper from Russian-occupied territory to liberated Kherson.

There is snow on the boat now

where the woman fell

while crossing the river two hours

ago—where the woman

in that moment reached out for

her husband—two

hours ago mid-river the woman

fell—snow covers

the boat—the place where she fell

crossing the grey river—

she was shot—have we mentioned?—

that is why she fell—

crossing the river now is dangerous—

there is snow now

to cover the place she—the woman—

bled out crossing

the river—on her way to safety

W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of five poetry chapbooks: Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My Father (Finishing Line Press, 2015), Our Situation (Prolific Press, 2018), Everyone Disappears (Finishing Line Press, 2020), Little Wars (Kelsay Books, 2021), and Watchman, What of the Night? (CW Books, 2022).

HEAT WAVE

by W. Luther Jett

Muffled staccato—
summer voices
too distant to be
understood—I try
not to stress the
circuitry mid-day—
douse the lights,
draw the shades.
A song from fifty
years ago plays on
my radio of memory

at 103 on the dial.


W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of five poetry chapbooks: Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My Father (Finishing Line Press, 2015), Our Situation (Prolific Press, 2018), Everyone Disappears (Finishing Line Press, 2020), Little Wars (Kelsay Books, 2021), and Watchman, What of the Night? (CW Books, 2022).

FAIRY TALES

by W. Luther Jett

Satellite images show bodies lay in Bucha for weeks, despite Russian claims. —The New York Times, April 4, 2022

Let’s pretend the moon

is made from cheese, and bees

go there when they die,

and the river runs backward

on alternate weeks, and, oh,

the tallest peaks

are covered in ice cream—

you could climb them in just

ten giant steps—or fly.

Yes, let’s pretend that we

can fly. Also, let’s pretend

that summer will have no end.

The rifle isn’t loaded. Those

are not dead bodies there,

bloating in the city square.

W. Luther Jett is a native of Montgomery County, Maryland and a retired special educator. His poetry has been published in numerous journals as well as several anthologies. He is the author of four poetry chapbooks: Not Quite: Poems Written in Search of My Father (Finishing Line Press 2015), Our Situation (Prolific Press 2018), Everyone Disappears (Finishing Line Press 2020), and Little Wars (Kelsay Books 2021).