Resilience Poems
Philadelphia, 6/25/25
by Michael Banning
This morning, a cardinal
lands on my back fence,
opens its beak.
Nothing.
Even the birds
save their songs
for weather worth singing about.
The papi store thermometer
......
Mr. Tree
by Rohan Dhulipalla
the sakura tree
in the dusty ol’ dark corner of the failing shop,
(although the owner would beg to disagree)
priced at $7.95
with a cardboard sign fastened with white cable ties
reading “UNLIKELY TO STAY ALIVE”
it appears that it was trying to expand,
to spread its branches,
but expansions weren’t in demand
......
I KNOW MY PEOPLE
by Eric Washington
I know my people.
I've seen their suffering and their tears,
Their anger and their fears.
I've seen them work amongst the mills,
In cotton and sugar fields.
Working with bleeding hands,
And refusing to give up then.
While tortured with whips and ropes,
And they still believe in hope.
I know my people.
......
Unforgotten
by Fiona Gillman
Blown about as leaves from some forgotten plant;
Lives lived between gusts.
Cast as seeds beneath shadows of finely-tended orchids
From whose chiffon petals dewdrops slip.
At times such seeds burst into stunning, sturdy green things;
Tendrils winding, tender offshoots issuing forth thorns of portent;
Where spires of amsonia, petunia, and strelitzia there burgeoned,
It yielded a final bouquet.
For Shylah G. Anderson and Fred Bax
......
How Will You Stop My Madness To Search Moon In Dark Moonless Night?
by ashutosh kumar upadhyay
**English translation of the Hindi poem (given at end) : **
**Close.... all..... the.... doors, ..... close..... all...... the....... windows.**
**But......... how....... will......... you.......... stop.......... my....... m..a..d..n..e..s..s, O world, O trouble? **
**When the obstacles were small, **
**I made small hopes.**
**This habit has become such now, **
**I see hope in every despair.**
......
Philadelphia, 6/25/25
by Michael Banning
This morning, a cardinal
lands on my back fence,
opens its beak.
Nothing.
Even the birds
save their songs
for weather worth singing about.
The papi store thermometer
......
I KNOW MY PEOPLE
by Eric Washington
I know my people.
I've seen their suffering and their tears,
Their anger and their fears.
I've seen them work amongst the mills,
In cotton and sugar fields.
Working with bleeding hands,
And refusing to give up then.
While tortured with whips and ropes,
And they still believe in hope.
I know my people.
......
Stranger to Belonging
by Nai'a Safir
I am most at peace when others would break,
Floating above my body after the fall,
Calm in the car that became our home,
Finding stillness in what should destroy.
They ask who I am-as if I should know,
......
Autumn
by Lady Stardust
As autumn whispers through the trees
A chill wraps me up in my memories
Muffled cries, shadows cast
Echoes f a close past.
The fallen leaves dance in twirling hues
Filling my heart with bittersweet blues
Each shuffling sound, a haunting call
A reminder of the rise and fall.
......
Rubberband Man
by Stewart Watkins
There he is...
On his biz
Unbothered and untethered
After many pernicious pulls and tainty tugs
And so many ghastly grabs and sheisty shrugs
After huge stretches with hopes of breaking
And so much tension, pressure and shaking
Every time!
......
