The New Verse News presents politically progressive poetry on current events and topical issues.
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Submission Guidelines: Send 1-3 unpublished poems in the body of an email (NO ATTACHMENTS) to nvneditor[at]gmail.com.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.
abandoned no longer important a lone fence facing south bars nothing a symbol of folly a symbol of power turned powerless barriers can’t staunch the tide of humanity that oozes around them like water the migrants find their way around the man made obstacles in their search, in their dream of a better life
Mary Janicke is a gardener, poet, and writer. Her work has appeared in numerous journals.
There were emotional scenes in the eastern Siberian republic Buryatia as drafted men said goodbye to their families. Credit: Ayuna Shagdurova, The Guardian, September 23, 2022
Earl Wilcox is a Korean War vet, a retired university professor, and contributor to The New Verse News since 2005.
Originally from Boston, Mickey J. Corrigan writes Florida noir with a dark humor. Novels include Project XXabout a school shooting (Salt Publishing, UK, 2017) and What I Did for Lovea spoof of Lolita (Bloodhound Books, 2019). Kelsay Books recently published the poetry chapbook the disappearing self. Grandma Moses Press will publish the poetry chapbook Florida Man later this year.
as his gavel cudgels China, the blue-faced, the blue-lunged
The pen of law
holds the ink for healthcare blueprints.
The dough in his fist
for swab tests; for the people.
February denial
Nailed wrists, or tied hands?
Our savior, or an excuse?
Americans,
repent!
Beware of
fake news
sham gold
idols—
Nothing to worry about! Nothing at all!
Come to the altar, worship whoever’s crowned
The winged choir guard the American garden
from Wuhan fiends
And so, nib unscathed
Pockets heavy
The Gospel
Good thing he cares for his shares
The yeast forHis bread
unrisen, decayed
So, HeMarches forward
And trumpets that “the numbers are good” as is
apparently
contrarily
But April showersmake faith dour.
Just in case,behind Jericho bricks
He breaks bread
for swab tests; for His people
crumbs
Oh, you sinner
Cast doubt from your mind!
May you rejoice!
The Savior saves His people!
Good thing he cares for his shares.
Revelation
Though idols dinein violet silk, one day
the synthetic dye will blanch
Dress in your Sunday best, filter masks
Earth will soon steal the recipe for
manna
Sacrifice pedestrian beer
for communion wine, Purell
June bugs, heathens,see the sunup
The world ends not with a virus!
(But by the folly of man.)
Avalon Felice Lee is an Asian-American Californian. She has been writing poetry and prose since the age of eleven. Her works have been published in The Heritage Review, Kalopsia Literary Journal, and elsewhere.
Banal attempts at re-creation fail.
What minds would mold me, plastic, sweet and frail?
I’ve eclipsed your constructs, circumvented your ideal;
My likeness etched in psyches, read like braille.
Though capitalistic plots may garner some appeal—
I muse at this pale folly; truth lies in detail.
Tracey Gratch lives just south of Boston with her husband and their four children. Her poems have appeared or are scheduled to appear in publications including Post Road, Mezzo Cammin, The Literary Bohemian, Annals of Internal Medicine, Boston Literary Magazine, TheNewVerse.News, and The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine. Her poem "Strong Woman" is included in On Being A Doctor, Volume 4, from the American College of Physicians.
