poetry
There are many kinds of poetry, and we want them all. Freeverse, iambic, haiku, sonnets, romantic, humorous, dark, send us your best!
First World Problem
I have the inclination
to shut down my tablet
By Lance Jencks
I have the inclination
to shut down my tablet,
just as I realize
the tablet must be on
to turn off the air
conditioner.
About the author
Lance Jencks has been writing poetry for fifty years. In the 1970s he earned an MFA in Playwriting and a PhD in Contemporary Theatre. In the 1980s he published his verse-based roman á clef, "The Wisdom of Southern California," then toured that region with a one-man show of the same name. Lance has been an advertising copywriter, a stock-and-bond broker, and the guy who hooks your car to the chain at the car wash. He lives today in Newport Beach, California, where he was recently featured in the epic bodysurfing movie "Dirty Old Wedge" on Amazon.
Road to Big Sur
When I ate a croissant in bed,
flakes of brown crust
fell upon my pillow,
fell atop the sheets,
and made the white down comforter
resemble a speckled trout
whacked upside the head,
eyes akimbo,
ready for the pan.
By Lance Jencks
For Lawrence Ferlinghetti
When I ate a croissant in bed,
flakes of brown crust
fell upon my pillow,
fell atop the sheets,
and made the white down comforter
resemble a speckled trout
whacked upside the head,
eyes akimbo,
ready for the pan.
Once it was me awaiting the pan,
grunting and spawning,
never alone.
Now I remember those days as buttered flakes
sprinkled about,
offsetting white:
waiting for hotel staff
to set things right.
About the author
Lance Jencks has been writing poetry for fifty years. In the 1970s he earned an MFA in Playwriting and a PhD in Contemporary Theatre. In the 1980s he published his verse-based roman á clef, "The Wisdom of Southern California," then toured that region with a one-man show of the same name. Lance has been an advertising copywriter, a stock-and-bond broker, and the guy who hooks your car to the chain at the car wash. He lives today in Newport Beach, California, where he was recently featured in the epic bodysurfing movie "Dirty Old Wedge" on Amazon.
Natural Events
Trees
on a high angled ridge,
anchor themselves against clouds.
Foreground contours of hills
disappear. Flying bugs swarm,
folks gather: quiet
rustling creatures
in the dark.
By Lance Jencks
Trees
on a high angled ridge,
anchor themselves against clouds.
Foreground contours of hills
disappear. Flying bugs swarm,
folks gather: quiet
rustling creatures
in the dark.
Mistakes
walk through his brain:
pigeon flown,
client gone.
loss after loss after loss.
Yet these are the finest fresh apricots
he's eaten; this is the rarest
of stones.
About the author
Lance Jencks has been writing poetry for fifty years. In the 1970s he earned an MFA in Playwriting and a PhD in Contemporary Theatre. In the 1980s he published his verse-based roman á clef, "The Wisdom of Southern California," then toured that region with a one-man show of the same name. Lance has been an advertising copywriter, a stock-and-bond broker, and the guy who hooks your car to the chain at the car wash. He lives today in Newport Beach, California, where he was recently featured in the epic bodysurfing movie "Dirty Old Wedge" on Amazon.
My Universe
The universe is not heartless:
millions of hearts reside within.
Not only cold, this universe,
but warmth by a fire.
By Lance Jencks
The universe is not heartless:
millions of hearts reside within.
Not only cold, this universe,
but warmth by a fire.
Tell me the universe does not think,
I point to a brain.
Tell me it doesn't care-
I say, some of us do.
O do not exclude what is part of the All
from its essence.
Don't see the lifeless
and say nothing lives.
You are part of the universe too:
you're one of its features.
About the author
Lance Jencks has been writing poetry for fifty years. In the 1970s he earned an MFA in Playwriting and a PhD in Contemporary Theatre. In the 1980s he published his verse-based roman á clef, "The Wisdom of Southern California," then toured that region with a one-man show of the same name. Lance has been an advertising copywriter, a stock-and-bond broker, and the guy who hooks your car to the chain at the car wash. He lives today in Newport Beach, California, where he was recently featured in the epic bodysurfing movie "Dirty Old Wedge" on Amazon.
Big Green Lizard
Scampers from his post
toward my outdoor coffee table
topped with glass.
By Lance Jencks
Scampers from his post
toward my outdoor coffee table
topped with glass.
I take another toke;
ask why he would do this
unless we had some certain
rapport. Maybe
he's my friend
after all.
Maybe he knows
I'm his.
About the author
Lance Jencks has been writing poetry for fifty years. In the 1970s he earned an MFA in Playwriting and a PhD in Contemporary Theatre. In the 1980s he published his verse-based roman á clef, "The Wisdom of Southern California," then toured that region with a one-man show of the same name. Lance has been an advertising copywriter, a stock-and-bond broker, and the guy who hooks your car to the chain at the car wash. He lives today in Newport Beach, California, where he was recently featured in the epic bodysurfing movie "Dirty Old Wedge" on Amazon.