Tag: poetry

Flashback Friday: Veterans’ Day 2018, Commemoration of the Great War, and Poppies

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It is Veterans Day here in the United States, what was once called Armistice Day, the day the cease-fire went into effect, effectively ending the First World War—the “Great War,” as it was then known.  The men that day never dreamed there’d be a Second World War, but in hindsight, it’s easy to see how the cease-fire and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles of 1919 were, indeed, mere stopgaps.  It was a cease-fire of twenty years, not a lasting peace, and the two great, terrible wars of the twentieth century are, perhaps, best understood as being one larger conflict, a la the Hundred Years’ War between France and England.

But I digress.  Every Veterans Day—which I stylized with a plural possessive apostrophe until finally looking it up this year and realizing my error—I repost this short talk I gave in 2018.  At the time, I was involved actively in the Florence County (South Carolina) Republican Party, and would give a brief Historical Moment talk at the start of each meeting.  This speech—from the 12 November 2018 meeting, one of my last with the organization—is the one of which I am most proud, and the one I feel most privileged to have given.

With that, here is “Veterans’ Day 2018, Commemoration of the Great War, and Poppies“:

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Son of Sonnet: The Ballad of Forgotten Dreams

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Son of Sonnet is back with a mildly post-apocalyptic poem.

The premise is intriguing; Son tells me the request was for “a poem about being a feminist in a world where you’re the only female human left. Every other human is a male.”  That sounds like the premise of a 1970s sci-fi flick!

Naturally, it’s not a great existence, but the feminist seems to realize the error of her ways.  These lines were particularly poignant:  “I learned a lesson through romance/That man may build for woman’s sake.”  How very true—I’ve accomplished a great deal in my life simply because I wanted to impress women.  I think that’s probably true for most men.

With that, here is Son of Sonnet’s “The Ballad of Forgotten Dreams”:

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Poem: The PACs

The Portly Politico6 Comments

My call for submissions continues to yield fruit—KC, a regular contributor to and participant in the Dragon Common Room Telegram chat and its various projects—reached out with this poem, which she says is “a satirical take on Dr. Seuss’s poem ‘The Zax‘….”

When I asked KC if she had any biographical information she’d like to share, she said, “I don’t! Sorry!  I’m literally just a bored housewife who writes for fun.”  Then she sent along something a bit more indicative of her talents:  she “is one of the writers of Rachel Fulton Brown’s Dragon Common Room Books; a contributing author to Centrism Games, Aurora Bearialis, and the upcoming Draco Alchemicus.  But mostly she is a wife and mother who writes for the she[e]r fun of it.”

As we head into the election season, this little poem is a fun reminder of the perils of Uniparty politics.

With that, here is KC’s “The PACs”:

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Son of Sonnet: Change

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I approached the poet Son of Sonnet about writing a little something for the slowly approaching autumnality that I crave, and after demurring initially, he popped out this little gem about the changing of the seasons—of the world, to be sure, but also of our lives.

I’m always eager for fall weather, but Son’s poem is a good reminder that we always forget the lows that come with each season, instead focusing on the highs.

Perhaps that’s not all bad; after all, how else are we to endure the heat and humidity of summer if we don’t forget them briefly and think about the pool parties and barbecues instead?

With that, here is “Change” by Son of Sonnet:

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Son of Sonnet: Summer Nights

The Portly Politico12 Comments

We’re in the waning days of summer—at least, of glorious summer vacation—and I wanted to commemorate these fading, waning days with some poetry.

Ergo, I commissioned Son of Sonnet to twenty-three-skidoo up some summertime poetry.  Of the two themes I requested, the second was “The Hazy Nostalgia of Late Summer” (the first was “Back to School”).

There’s something about intense humidity and sunlight at 9 PM that conjure up heady memories of better times.  Son captured that beautifully in this poem.

With that, here is Son of Sonnet’s “Summer Nights”:

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Son of Sonnet: For the Chads

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Well, it finally happened—Son of Sonnet has composed the ultimate ode to Chads.

For the uninitiated, a “Chad” is basically a cool dude who is secure in his masculinity and faith.  At least, that’s the flattering definition; it started out as a pejorative term to describe super handsome dudes who get a lot of babes (known as “Staceys”).  But just like conservatives embraced the “deplorables” smear as a symbol of defiant glory, so the giga-Chads have taken to their name.

This website should prove of use to my older, less “with it” readers—ya dig, cool cats?

Now that I’ve insulted the majority of my readers, back to the poetry:  Son received a request from artist The Republikid to write a poem “For the Chads.”  She’s a pretty dang good artist in her own right, and Son is a big fan and champion of her work.  He’s commissioned her work, and her material looks great!

With that, here is Son of Sonnet’s “For the Chads”:

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Son of Sonnet: The Mountain

The Portly Politico2 Comments

A couple of weekends ago I visited the mountains of southwestern Virginia to attend a memorial service for my great-aunt, who passed away November 2021 at the age of ninety-three.  She was a feisty, fun-loving lady, and the memorial service was a moving celebration of her life.  We also ate KFC and barbecue, which is the kind of send-off I want.

So the mountains were on my mind last week when Son of Sonnet reached out to me, asking me what theme I’d like a poem about.  Naturally, I asked him to write about the mountains, specifically the sweet smell of clover that serves as a sensory touchstone for my youngest memories.  To this day, whenever I smell clover, it takes me to my Mamaw’s house in Flat Gap, Virginia (outside of Pound, Virginia, in Wise County).  That scent is synonymous with her and her home.

I did not tell Son of Sonnet about that sensory relationship before he wrote the poem.  That makes the eighth and ninth lines all the more poignant and serendipitous.

So I am very pleased to present a very special poem from SoS, “The Mountain”:

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Lazy Sunday CXLVII: Friends, Part X

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It’s the tenth edition of Lazy Sunday posts dedicated to looking back at Supporting Friends Friday features.  I think after this Sunday I’m going to give the SFF retrospectives a break for a bit, as I’ve nearly caught up to the present day with them.

This weekend’s mix is of a more literary and theological bent:

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

Son of Sonnet: Passion

The Portly Politico4 Comments

While scribbling away on some blog posts last week, I had a pleasant surprise:  a new poetry submission care of Son of Sonnet!  It’s a work about the undeniable passion shared between men and women.

Regular readers know that I am an unalloyed fan of Son’s poetry, and I encourage each of my readers to consider a subscription to his Locals page.  It’s the best way to support his work directly, and I know that appreciates every subscriber.  Son is also very responsive to feedback and comments, so it makes for a lively community.

I’ve really been beating this drum lately—we need to support creators on our side of this great culture war.  The Left creates crap culture, but they support it and produce a lot of it; what they lack in quality they make up for with financial support and total media saturation.

But I digress.  Your generous subscriptions to my SubscribeStar page have made it possible to patronize Son’s work.  As a community of artists, readers, and pundits, we should work together as much as possible to cultivate and support one another’s talents.  I can’t pay Son much—yet—but I’m able to offer him something for his talents because of your generosity.

For a sample of Son’s work on this blog, check out The Gemini Sonnets; you can read all six here:  #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6.

You can also read Son of Sonnet’s poetry on his Telegram channel, on Gab, on Minds, and, of course, on Locals.

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