for original writing of self and others
The Merchant of Venice (excerpt) Act 4, Scene 1 by William Shakespeare Portia: The quality of mercy is not strain’d, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest; It blesseth him that gives and him that takes: ‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes The throned monarch…
Happiness by Jane Kenyon There’s just no accounting for happiness, or the way it turns up like a prodigal who comes back to the dust at your feet having squandered a fortune far away. And how can you not forgive? You make a feast in honor of what was lost, and take from its place…
Jennifer Perrine, of Des Moines, Iowa, won the Taste Test contest. Her poem “If Life Gives You Lemons, Make” was made into a limited-edition letterpress broadside by Virginia Artists for the Book. Every year there is a contest on a different theme that can be interpreted visually in a high quality book. If Life Gives…
Finding a Bible in an Abandoned Cabin Poem reprinted from “The Hudson Review,” Vol. LIX, no. 4, Winter, 2007, by permission of Robert Wrigley Under dust plush as a moth’s wing, the book’s leather cover still darkly shown, and everywhere else but this spot was sodden beneath the roof’s unraveling shingles. There was that back-of-the-neck…
—from “Insect Life of Florida” by Lynda Hull In those days I thought their endless thrum was the great wheel that turned the days, the nights. In the throats of hibiscus and oleander…
Last July I received both the ultimate compliment and the ultimate joy. A very fine poet, Stephen Kuusisto wrote a poem especially for Riehlife. His email that day was the jewel in my inbox. Strangely the day I received his email, I was in Northern California in an internet cafe…back in my old stomping grounds…
Poem Against the First Grade by George Venn Marking the Magic Circle: Poetry, Fiction, and Essays Alex, my son, with backberry jam smeared ear to ear and laughing, rides his unbroken joy with words so fast we let him get away on the jamjar without clean cheeks first. He spills frasasass tea with milk and…
Pesto in August by Katrina Vandenberg from Atlas How many times does this ritual repeat itself, preparation that begins with sweetness unlocked by the parting of leaves? How many women have unpetaled garlic cloves, dripped oil cold-pressed from olives down a bowl’s curve, ground the edible seeds of pine with mortar and pestle until the…
Oh, frabjous day. Callo! Callay! It’s National Poetry Month! And once again we have trusted friend, poetry lover, and marvelous poet Stephanie Farrow as our Riehlife Poem of the Day editor. Thanks, dear friend.–Janet Stephanie says: Unfortunately, April has only 30 days, which means only 30 poems-a-day, and there are so many more that deserve…
The sensuousness of a senior mocks the confidence of a 20 year old body When you believe the skin your are in Is the skin that brought you here And your mind gives you confidence of who you are You know that wisdom gives real pleasure The wisdom that knows chocolate dipped strawberries Are way…