TOTALLY ALLOWED

by Mickey J. Corrigan

ProPublica

He says of the son's 
garish wedding parties
bankrolled
by a Russian oligarch
three days of celebrating
on a private island
a no-strings gift
from the corrupt to the corrupt
from the superrich to the superrich
is totally allowed

like threats and trolling
other NATO countries
border towns, blue states
whistleblowers, journalists
judges and civil servants
and voters everywhere
anyone left standing
or speaking or writing
anything he doesn't like
is totally allowed

like his lies, lies, lies
and public fits of pique
misogyny and bigotry
hatred and rage
let the whole world see
what we've let lead us
into corruption and destruction
war crimes and home crimes
and crimes against humanity
into autocracy, kleptocurrency
meme coins and data monsters
right smack into end times
is totally allowed.

Mickey J. Corrigan writes pulp fiction, literary crime, and psychological thrillers. Poems have appeared in literary journals, chapbooks, and collections. Her most recent novel is Lazy Palms, a controversial look at life inside an experimental euthanasia trailer park.

DESPITE THE WRECKING BALL (ROOM)

by Indran Amirthanayagam

Cartoon by Dave Whamond

I celebrate you, reader, and me

despite the chaos, despite 

the willful neglect

of the public purse, 

despite the murder

without trial,

the rounding up 

like cattle, 

the callous disregard

for public health,

the spreading

of snake oil beliefs,

United States

in loathing, lurching

towards ruin

but somehow

surviving 

still despite 

jabbering

and chipping

away at 

all due process

by this monster

who came in 

elected

to the erstwhile

People’s 

House

to make

room

for a

wrecking ball.

Indran Amirthanayagam writes a Substack. He has just published Isla itinerante ( Editorial Apogeo, Peru, 2025) and White Space Sonnets ( Sarasavi publishers, Sri Lanka, 2025). His other publications include El bosque de deleites fratricidas ( RIL Editores), Seer (Hanging Loose Press),The Runner's Almanac (Spuyten Duyvil), Powèt Nan Pò A: Poet of the Port (Mad Hat), and Ten Thousand Steps Against the Tyrant (Broadstone Books). He is the translator of Kenia Cano’s Animal For The Eyes (Dialogos Books) and Origami: Selected Poems of Manuel Ulacia (Dialogos Books). He edits The Beltway Poetry Quarterly, hosts the Poetry Channel on YouTube, and publishes poetry books with Sara Cahill Marron at Beltway Editions.

MEAL FROM HELL

by Kay White Drew

AI-generated graphic from Shutterstock for The New Verse News

Mash together lies and conspiracy theories,
minced fine. Knead graft and greed
until soft and pliant. Chop bodily autonomy
with the knife of corrupt judgment
on the devil’s cutting board. Peel
rights and freedoms inexorably,
till only slivers remain,
then boil what’s left in oil.

Serve on a platter made of microplastics,
fossil fuels, and radioactive waste,
to all those white supremacists who dare
to call themselves Christians.

Pour the dish, still piping hot,
over their heads.

Kay White Drew, a.k.a. Katherine White, M.D., is a retired neonatal physician. Her essays, poems, and short stories appear in several anthologies and online journals; an essay in the Loch Raven Review was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her memoir Stress Test came out on 6/4/24. She lives in Rockville, MD, with her husband.