Poetry Corner

This section was inspired by prolific poet and retired educator Mare Leonard. She is a longtime mentor and friend of our executive editor, Myrna Haskell. Mare published several chapbooks and was a finalist in the Hill-Stead Museum's Poetry Contest. She also won first prize in the Lucy Cady Lamphier Contest.

Mare Leonard

​"When was the last time you selected a book of poems to read or ordered one from the library? Poetry is often dismissed in our culture. With Poetry Corner, we are hoping to share a taste of poems that will make you think, laugh or wonder."
~ Mare Leonard

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Find virtual open mics poetry in your local area ​in the U.S. and Canada.

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December 2025: Selected Poetry
Poem this month by Fay L. Loomis and peek into her new, poetry chapbook.

Tending Garden
By Fay L. Loomis

my garden is shifting
I’m unsure what will thrive
 
well watered, over watered
too much light, not enough
 
I must select mindset well
not too picky, not too flaccid
 
consciously cultivate
live the verb 

The above poem is included in Fay's poetry chapbook, Living the Verb, and was previously published in Feeding the Holy (June 2025)

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Fay L. Loomis lives in the woods in Kerhonkson, New York. She moved from California to the area after the death of her husband Evarts G. Loomis, M.D., the Father of Holistic Medicine. Slowed down by a stroke and the COVID-19 pandemic, Fay spent the winter glued to her computer. Payoff: acceptance of nearly a dozen pieces of poetry and prose in the first three months of 2021. A member of the Stone Ridge Library Writers and Rat’s Ass Review Workshop, Fay’s pieces appear in Peacock Journal, Postcard Poems and Prose, Watershed Review, River Poets Journal, Breath and Shadow, The Closed Eye Open, Rat’s Ass Review, Amethyst Review, and others.

Living The Verb is included in Sanctuary's 10th Annual Book Giveaway!

"The poems are composed in an attractive lucid and spontaneous style. The poet has fully discarded affected, tawdry and wearisome expressions in these poems. The climax of the poet’s triumph in this poetry collection is reached in moments of such intensity that the reader is completely carried away." ~ Cyberwit.net, Publisher

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July 2025: Selected Poetry
Poems this month by Roberta Curley

Sky
by Roberta Curley

The sky is filled with signs.
We cannot read the stars.
So we make up stories.
Happy stories, sad stories.
Soul-searching angry stories.
The sky does not understand.
It revels in rainbows and peace.
Except when it catapults hail.
The sky can be tempestuous.
It aids in superstorms, floods.
Why do we follow its lead?
Where is humankind’s creaPvity?
The sky can inflict damage.
Instead of arcing us rainbows.
We can’t control the firmament.
So we pick on fellow beings.
It’s a ring of decepPon.
Humankind is hapless, helpless.
Needy, we snap. The sky cares less.
It busies itself with wonder.
We fight over borders.
Ambiguity riddles the sky.
It drizzles to feed the flowers.
We are peeved.
Traffic grinds to a standsPll.
And we need to tote umbrellas.

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Roberta Curley has lived in Greenwich Village, New York City, for forty-five years. She started writing poetry when a rhyming poem popped out while journaling. Her work has been published in West View News, The New York Times Metropolitan Diary, Thrive Global, Q Review Anthologies, Tamarind, and Jefferson Market Library Poetry Workshop Anthologies. Her poem “Palm Fronds” appeared in the spring 2019 issue of Penn Review. She has written hundreds of poems - subjects ranging from pineapples to the pandemic. Contact: [email protected]

Hot-Diggity Dignity
by Roberta Curley

​Dignity flies
It is grace personified
Dignity pops
It scoffs at shame
It concocts joy
It shouts in whispers
Dignity spins
It forever wins
It shoots chills up your skin
Dignity mega-excites
Like a love-bite
Cleansing like Clorox
It wipes out bacteria
It enlivens like jazz
Dignity exhilarates -
An intergalactic prober
It follows -
Like Capistrano swallows
Dignity is fearless
It’s funky and free
It’s super-charged
Like an LCD
Dignity is gloriously new
Yet ancient
It is clothed in confidence
And soaked in sweets
Dignity invites Nirvana in
Dignity is expression
It sparks freedom
Dignity is care
When it disrobes
Its layers are glittery, bold
Dignity cradles
It bestirs young and old
Dignity belongs
It possesses leeway
It hits the mark
It repairs cracks
Like Gorilla Glue does -
Dignity is mannerly
It is mandatory
It’s highly accessible
Dignity is, after all,
Quintessential!

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May 2025: Selected Poetry
Poems this month by Wendy Slater (includes link to book)

202
by Wendy E. Slater

I water the flowers,
I tend to the garden
With roots so deep they reach into your country,
Your heart, which is the color
Pink, pink cosmos--
         My favorite.
  
The blooms are new,
These vigorous annuals
Not only withstand the erratic
Weather swings of Vermont,
But the flowering magenta thrives against the verdant hayfields
Which long to be cut and boxed.
 
In the meadow, Bobolinks search
For the tallest fescue stalks,
Swaying with the wind and singing a vivid melody
In your native tongue: love, joy, and tenderness.
      
These birds bring your song right into
My heart to become a symphony
With you as the conductor, creating a tapestry
Of sight, sound, and inspiration
To land in the garden of my soul.
 
This heart song soaks down into my roots,
Into my soil,
My summer
Sundrenched and dripping
With laughter in the
Storm.
 
These plants will arch and grow
With me these summer months.
Alone and fully wedded
To the beloved. 
 
© 2024 Wendy E. Slater

252
by Wendy E. Slater

​I come to the sea
    To wash away
         My grief
     And to rebuild my heart
            From placing one
           Grain upon the next
                 Until I have
                 The grandest
                 Of castles
                   To hold
                   My love
            Which will remain constant
     While I rebuild again and again
             And watch
           The shifting
   Tides bring it in and out
                  Again. 
 
© 2024 Wendy E. Slater

226
by Wendy E. Slater

If it is love like the Scottish Sea
    Rolling out with its secret colors,
       It will cleanse and revive
         Even if the body is
             Tired from
            Swimming alone
              So long. 
 
© 2024 Wendy E. Slater 

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Note: All the poems in Wendy's poetry books are titled with numbers only. For example, Poem 202 would mean: volume 2 (Two Full Circles Undivided) and the second poem in the book. She chose to number the poems as a means to enable the reader to be guided without the frame of a specific title. 

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The TRADUKA WISDOM POETRY SERIES® is a modern mystical poetry series written by Wendy E. Slater. The poetry is a healing journey for the body, mind, heart, & soul as her poems guide the reader from the shadows of the Self into self-realization, transformation and self-discovery.
 
Wendy’s poetry leads the reader into the transformation of Universal and individual wounds so that the wisdom of forgiveness and self-compassion awakens. As of 2025, there are six published volumes in her poetry series.

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Wendy E. Slater is a modern mystical poet and integrative metaphysical healer who presently lives in Vermont. Slater is the founder & creator of the TRADUKA method of healing and The TRADUKA WISDOM POETRY SERIES®. Wendy offers virtual and in-person healing consultations and sessions for people, pets, locales and businesses.

Click Cover to Learn More or to Purchase

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April 2025: Selected Poetry
Poem this month by Roberta Curley

Springtime in New York
by Roberta Curley

Shuffle along with my allergized brain
Where nonstop pollen spews like rain
Where blooming trees spitefully strike
Coating my cerebrum, guilty-like
I fend off sniffles betwixt ample sneezes
Give me igloo-life and glacial freezes
New York pollen pounds orifice and crack
Coloring my eyes pink in bold attack
Maple, London Planetree, and sinister Oak
Catapult me into mega-tissue soak
Spring’s pollen count chokingly hairy
Opening my window exceedingly scary
I dream — to capture each irritating fleck
Shove it in a box, every nuisance speck…
I’d mandate all to a journey of no return
The box ignites — flakes dance and burn~
Like being tossed by wild waves in a quay
Pollen debilitates with its lingering stay

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Roberta Curley has lived in Greenwich Village, New York City, for forty-five years. She started writing poetry sixteen years ago when a rhyming poem popped out while journaling. Her work has been published in West View News, The New York Times Metropolitan Diary, Thrive Global, Q Review Anthologies, Tamarind, and Jefferson Market Library Poetry Workshop Anthologies. Her poem “Palm Fronds” appeared in the spring 2019 issue of Penn Review. She has written approximately 150 poems - subjects ranging from pineapples to the pandemic. Contact: [email protected]

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March 2025: Selected Poetry
Poems and corresponding illustrations this month by Kathleen Zimmerman

Magic Forest - Bear, Porcupine, and Me
by Kathleen Zimmerman

When I met Bear and Porcupine I could not help but compare,
seeing these two creatures made Me think, what an unlikely pair.
 
They both lived in the Forest so they must have similar likes,
but Bear was big with soft fur while Piney was small with sharp spikes.
 
They made it easy to spy on them 'cause they lived in plain sight,
I saw Bear foraged by day while Porcupine foraged at night.
 
I knew Bear was a carnivore who preferred meat, fish, and grubs,
while Porcupine was an herbivore who ate plants, bark, and scrubs.
 
As I continued to compare the traits of the big and small,
I began to wonder if they had some common likes at all.
 
But this all changed when I saw them eating raspberries in the fall,
and I caught Bear eating Porcupine's roots and that was not all.
 
I saw both of them climbing trees every now and again. Bear,
was quite skilled but Porcupine made Me cry out, hold on my dear!
 
As time passed by I saw more things that Bear and Porcupine shared,
from digging in the moist dirt to acting mean when they were scared.
 
I was not stunned when I found their dens side by side in the dark,
after all they both liked underground homes quite near to the park.
 
I even confused them due to their low-to-the-ground designs,
their cupped little ears, low growls, and short tails stuck on their behinds.
 
Watching the big and the small I began to finally see,
they were quite similar and certainly more alike than Me.
 
Both lumbered along pawing the ground in an endearing way,
living in a changing climate without clothes, car, or driveway.
 
When it came time for Me to leave their home the very next fall,
I concluded these creatures were not so unlikely at all.

Magic Jungle - Monkeys, Boa, and Crocodile
by Kathleen Zimmerman

Monkeys are quite the characters and embody the essence of youth,
when people say they're smart but ornery it is not far from the truth.
 
Monkeys are indeed clever able to live off the fruit of the trees,
satisfying their basic needs easily saying this is a breeze!
 
This is nice for them, but it gives them way too much time to rumble,
some say it's their main occupation and their name is really Trouble.
 
I say they are not that bad they are just being who they are, it's them,
they do try to stay out of trouble but then they happen upon Slim.
 
Slim is an old Boa Constrictor that Monkeys call by this nickname,
they cannot help but find him amusing because Monkeys have no shame.
 
Slim is quite the character but embodies the essence of old age,
if someone says he has become grumpy they are not being a sage.
 
Age has made him a bit obtuse so chimps like to mess with him the best,
besides Slim takes his nap where Monkeys play always in need of a rest.
 
This makes him a prime target as the Monkeys come upon his long 'tail',
they 'accidentally' grab it as they swing along their lush treetop trail.
 
Monkeys being so smart they know to let go of him before he wakes,
so, he is quite unaware of what they have done being a 'slow' snake.
 
All Slim know is he wakes mid-air or crashing in a new location,
understandably mad blaming whoever's there for his condition.
 
One night the Monkeys dropped Slim nearby a prickly ancient Crocodile,
and just when he was ready to lash out Slim found a big toothy smile.
 
As Slim said a quick prayer that Crocodile had just had her dinner break,
Monkeys heard their Slim so came by 'accidentally' grabbing the slow snake.
 
Both the Monkeys and Boa learned a lesson this almost tragic night,
take care of each other by making sure your fun and actions are right.

Magic Savanna - Elephant, Hyenas, and Birds
by Kathleen Zimmerman​

Dear Elephant was foraging at daybreak,
leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.
 
The trees in his path were mangled and torn down,
even the grass was uprooted from the ground.
 
He left quite a mess behind him as all knew,
but nothing about this was anything new.
 
He was not aware of the mess left behind,
but the Birds and Hyenas noticed in kind.
 
The Birds always followed the gray bulldozer,
it made feeding easy with soil turned over.
 
But the Hyenas thought El was an ogre,
for leaving debris for them to trip over!
 
When Hyenas gave El the 'old evil eye',
it made him glad  he was no slim little guy.
 
Then the Hyenas laughed making him wary,
what do they want I am too big to bury?
 
The head of the pack moved in closer at last,
barking at Elephant while she ran on past,
 
"Why must you always leave the trees knocked over,
destroy the lush turf and leave it turned over?
 
You should be ashamed of the mess that you make,
why are you not more careful, for heaven sake?"
 
Elephant could not believe her rude question,
who made her queen of this place is my question?
 
Then El blasted, "Now please, you sorry old dame,
mind your own business and I will do the same!"
 
Hyena was determined to have her say,
she had all she could stand of his clumsy way,
 
"I know you are big and powerful and tall,
but have consideration for one and all!"
 
"This coming from you is quite hard to believe,
you who ate old Fred," Elephant said, "Please leave!"
 
Hyena could not help but grow mad and bark,
she thought what he had said was way off the mark,
 
"I will admit that we eat all kinds of things,
we do our part to help herds get rid of kings.
 
We do a fine service to keep the herds strong,
I can hardly believe that you think that's wrong.
 
Besides, we never leave carcasses about,
we eat every last bite from tail to snout.
 
Ask anyone who know us or lives round here,
we do not leave one speck not even an ear!"
 
Elephant had to concede this was all true,
which made him now see Hyenas point of view.
 
Elephant then looked back at the mess he'd made,
this caused his good mood to turn a dark blue shade.
 
His sudden sadness made Birds fly down to say,
"Why must you make Elephant sad this fine day?"
 
Hyena said, "Sorry I made El's mood fall,
but it was his fault for making the trees fall."
 
"El was just doing his job clearing the scene,
so new plants can grow all healthy and bright green.
 
Now just go your own way and do your own thing,
and let Elephant do his," Birds they did sing.
 
Hyena now knew El was not 'evil guy',
he was doing his job so why make him cry?
 
So, live and let live was the lesson she learned,
and back to the pack the Hyena returned.
 
El felt much better and quit crying by then,
listening to Birds made him content once again.

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Kathleen Zimmerman was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, which is nestled along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. 

As far back as she can remember, Kathleen wanted to make things. Her passion for creativity and expression was noticed in school and eventually earned her artistic merit scholarships from the University of Hartford's Art School, Connecticut, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her love for the drawn image and the beauty of organic forms led her to specialize in printmaking and sculpture. 
 
Kathleen has exhibited her artwork widely has won numerous awards. She is a signature member of the National Association of Women Artists. 

Kathleen started writing books on her art practice as part of an art business class in 2019. Her books include: Look to Nature, China through an Artist's Eyes, and ABC...The Art of Contemporary Artist Kathleen Zimmerman. Magic Circles is her latest book.

Readers can find out more about Kathleen's artwork from her spotlight in our Fine Arts section.

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Kathleen's Website

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