“Prayer to the Invisible” is poet Diane Frank’s tribute to a friend she lost in a synagogue shooting. But both she and we felt that this poem speaks to everyone who has lost a loved one, and, in fact, to all of us, during this perilous time. Frank is a prominent San Fransisco-based poet and a cellist with the Golden …

The author of today’s poem, Edward Vidaurre, is the author of seven poetry collections and the McAllen poet laureate 2018-2019. Pandemic PhlegmBy Edward Vidaurre A year in gridlockStuck, like trying to run in a dreamParalyzed, a year-long congestion of the soul I dreamed I kept punching a 45-year-old manAnd his face was bloody and my fists were rawBut my knuckles …

Today’s poem is by Austin-area poet, Shelly Barber, who is also an advocate for people with mental illness. The included image comes from “The Anatomy of Fear,” published by The WEEK magazine, Dec. 14, 2019. Developing Agoraphobia By Shelly Barber Crazy stalks me as a rabid fanIn love with how well I portray its likenessI cringe deeper in the shadowsBut it …

This lyrical poem, “Milkweed” is by Denver-based poet and Presbyterian pastor Dana Hughes. “Next year, hope shall grow,” she says, and we share that feeling, we all do. MilkweedBy Dana Hughes Along the dry creek bedwhere the cottonwoodshave purged their branchesdown to the last tremblingcertitude of spring withits lush belief thatnormal would return,where October’s windhas heaped the litterinto rattling mounds,then …

Today’s poem is by Austin-area writer and poet Milton Jordan, who, with his wife Anne Jordan, runs the Cypress Book Co. in Georgetown. A Grammar of Good TroubleBy Milton Jordan Have we grown comfortable with the languageof despair and the vocabulary of hopelessness we have now learned to use?Is the renewed grammar of what’s possibleoffering us a familiar structurewe’re no longer …

Today’s poem is by Austin poet, Kimbol Soques, who is currently finishing a Master of Divinity degree. Aren’t we all waiting for the experts to say: Come forth!? Bell JarBy Kimbol Soques Victorian windowsare narrow, darkwith screens tight-woven 100 years in, it’s hardto remember their gift of skyuntil I stand, nose-pressed,and look up too, spring’s greenleaves are just at eyes’ …

Today’s poem, “Resurgence” by Chris Billings touches upon our current situation. Chris is a member and co-chair/co-host of the Sun Poet’s Society. ResurgenceBy Chris Billings They watched in wonderin disbeliefas the second waveapproached the shorebiggerfastermore violent than the firstfrom which they managed to escapewhile others weren’t so luckybut they were safethey said they were safethe officials said they were safebecause …

Historically, a yellow flag was displayed on ships to indicate the presence of contagious disease on board. Austin poet, Paul Hooker, borrows it for his poem “Yellow Flag” in a most poignant way. When he is not writing poetry, Paul is the Associate Dean of Ministerial Formation and Advanced Studies at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Yellow FlagBy Paul Hooker …

Today’s poem, “Plasma” is by Eugene “Gene” Novogrodsky, a Brownsville-based poet who writes “slices of the Texas-Mexico border” area, where he has lived for 32-plus years. PlasmaBy Eugene “Gene” Novogrodsky Shock! 5:36 a.m., hot, muggy, dark, and there they are:More than 50 people standing in front of the plasma ($40 an hour drawing) facility,And, some sitting on the sidewalk, some …

The insightful poem we are bringing to you today is by Glover Davis, professor emeritus of creative writing at the San Diego State University and the author of six poetry collections. The roaming wolf image was created by Heinz Stiefel for Getty Images. But I have Bad DreamsBy Glover Davis Fear of the virus makes us stayinside or pull on …