poetrywatch

Boris Schleinkofer, poetrywatch editor

“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” — John F. Kennedy

Do You Enjoy poetrywatch?

Artwork by Hilary Cole

Want to see it continue? Then please, send your poems to us and let the Whatcom Watch share them with our readership! Seriously, we really do want your roughly 25-line poems though length is by no means a deal-breaker; it’s how you use those lines. Featuring or specific to Whatcom County and issues addressed by Whatcom Watch such as government, the environment and media. Send your poems to: poetry@whatcomwatch.org and let’s make magic happen.

Subject matter is unlimited, but poetry featuring or specific to Whatcom County and issues addressed by Whatcom Watch (government, the environment and media) will likely get first preference. Please keep it to around 25 lines; otherwise, we might have to edit your work to fit. Don’t make yourself unprintable. Send poems and your short, two- or three-sentence bios as a word document attachment to poetry@whatcomwatch.org. The deadline is the first day of the month. Please understand that acceptance and final appearance of pieces are subject to space constraints and editorial requirements. By submitting, authors give Whatcom Watch permission for one-time publication rights in the paper and electronic editions.

No More Argument

by Timothy Pilgrim

He surges at me
with a boatload of reasons
to reject climate change,
defends cars, trucks, factories,
planes — argues liberals
despise success, live to hate,
drown with a no every yes.
Loud knock at the door, then two.
I open it a bit, have time to say,
the ocean’s here to see you.

“No More Argument” was initially published in Sleetmagazine.com.
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Timothy Pilgrim, emeritus associate professor of journalism at Western Washington University, has published hundreds of poems. He is author of “Mapping Water” (Flying Trout Press, 2016). His work can be found at timothypilgrim.org.

 

Salish Sea Conspectus

by Clayton Medeiros

late afternoon,
early evening
neighborhood crows
hoarse cries
warn one another
perhaps us too of
earth’s fragile ways
hidden day to day
ever present yet
unnoticed in small
destructions
disappearances
silver sided herring
harder to find
for chinook and
sockeye salmon
harder to find for
black and white orcas
already we’ve seen the
last star fish
among crumbling
oyster shells in
our ever more
tepid Salish Sea

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Clayton Medeiros is the editor of No Regrets Journal published in Bellingham. Prior to retiring to Bellingham, he was involved in state and federal health policy and worked for think tanks, hospitals and medical schools.

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