Image by ? Mabel Amber, who will one day from Pixabay

Poetry soothes our soul, captivates our imagination, and makes us think. Check out the September poems from our wonderful poets.

Contentment

Contentment is tricky

It keeps me from writing

But mostly it’s good

A new feeling

Never felt before

What could be more joyful

At this time in my life?

Than waking each day

Happy

And satisfied

Looking forward to more of the same

 ~ Stephanie Sloane, author of Dear Me: Poems of Loss, Grief, and Hope in New York’s Darkest Days

Who Am I?

Why is the myth of Wonder Woman so inconceivable?

Isn’t being beautiful, smart and strong

Achievable?

I say yes in today’s world of opportunity,

No matter a girl’s age or born into ethnicity,

I am tired of the old rules on yellowed pages,

That define us with guidelines and expected stages,

Of a life’s path to goals and gauges.

I’m creating a free life of my own choices,

That truly reflect my inner, healthy voices,

That guide the life I’ve always wanted to live,

With friends, family and much love to give.

To hell with what people think of me,

This life is mine, I think you’ll agree?

I totally take full responsibility,

For whom and what I choose to be,

It is the same for you, don’t you see?

Go on, risk, perhaps sing and dance,

If you don’t do it now you’ll regret the chance,

You did not take to fully advance,

This gift of life you were given,

You don’t have to be sleepless and tirelessly driven,

Which is not an excuse to be rough and tough,

Because, we’re fine, absolutely quite enough.

I cannot regret the long gone past,

It has flown away so very, very fast,

Come on Wonder Women, it’s a metaphor,

To be who you are, right down to the core.

I want to say this as a fact and an admission,

You absolutely don’t need anyone’s permission!!!

 
~Carol Ostrow, author of Poems from My Pandemic Pen

Carousel

Finally got that Brass ring
All the other times just wanted to set you free and go galloping
The beautiful artwork and craftmanship from Coney Island to both US coasts always caught my eye
Still ride you wherever I am but enjoy how incredible regal you are
Ridden horses before but nothing compares with the ride I take with you and that music
Amazing organs not the ones that are recorded
Love Carousels
Up down and around

~Madlyn Epstein Steinhart, author of Put Your Boots on and Dance in the Rain 

Exposed

I had a choice

but I had no choice

and chose to attend a wedding.

It was at a casino

of all places,

where the outdoors and the daylight

hide indiscreetly from the felted tables

and shiny black and red greased wheels.

I decided to gamble

and placed my first bet.

I rolled my plastic dice and wore a black

KN-95 to match my tea length floral dress.

We were the only guests

wearing masks as much as possible,

removing them to swallow

a lukewarm pig in a greasy pastry blanket

or chug $5 red wine from a cash bar.

Weddings were always super spreaders

of joy and hope and love,

but now are simply super spreaders.

The summer was starting to feel normal,

with people making up for lost time and engagement.

But then the Delta variant

began to waft through the extra humid air.

She is a ferocious wolflike beast

in invisible sheep’s clothing,

howling at the vaccinated

as well as at the antis.

People in my zip code

took their masks out again

and threw them in their purses,

deep pockets and beach bags.

Like before, indoor dining

was taken off the table.

Now we test up the nose

and we wait for the results

which come in via email

much faster than it takes

for a marriage to unravel.

~ Nicole Freezer Rubens, author of The Long Pause and the Short Breath…Poems & Photos & Reflections on New York City’s Pandemic