Six Years of Poetry on Medium. Thanks for all the visits, the reading and the contributed poetry. As of October 2019, PoetsUnlimited ceases to publish new work. As I close the book on this long-running publication, you can read below for a bit of history on its origin and where…

For two years 5Faves presented a few favourites among poems previously published in PoetsUnlimited. There are many challenges to having a poetry publication on the Medium platform, one of which is that after publishing, the shared pieces get buried in the long-scrolling depths of previous works. The 5Faves selected favourites was shared monthly between December 2016 and November 2018. It brought a few of those pieces back for additional attention, chosen from the works your humble editor flagged as ‘notable’ over the past few years.

A few words before a nap In the heat of the midsummer radiance In the heavy air of a string of rainless days When our lawn with its broad diversity of weeds Sits trimmed and green without our help Before succumbing to the mid-afternoon weight Of eyelids commanding me to put tools down I will select from the firmament A few choice combinations of letters And their concomitant meanings They will say ‘I am alive’ In a landscape of life and death and struggle I am an organism that works to move forward Though some days I’ll move less than others And sometimes I will rest.

Thanks to those who discovered, waited, and then requested to sign up with PoetsUnlimited as a contributor. It’s nice to meet new contributors and read your sample poems. (Even if a few of them were ‘premium’ and I quickly used up my free views :) ) Always happy to see…

PoetsUnlimited is accepting new contributors for a (very) short time. Just click on the ‘Contributor Guidelines’ link and you can read the rules and follow the link therein to the form that gets you on your way. Remember though, PU only publishes ‘free to view’ stuff, so ensure you un-check the premium paywall settings on anything you submit after joining. (Also, don’t submit a pay-to-view poem as a sample, ‘cuz I can’t read it.)

Medium is getting increasingly devious at hiding the status of submitted works from publishers. My goal over many years has been to keep PoetsUnlimited free to view for all readers, but that’s becoming more difficult and readership is suffering. With the advent of the member status on Medium, it seemed…

go join the crowds in the street push with the rhythm of their steps help them make this heavy globe spin stand later on the prow of the concrete median and feel what you’ve done it moves heavy steady and firm under the spinning wheels of the stationary cars (March 2015) See also the previous piece in this series: WfaWW#3

reach up high and grab a branch pull with your arms and scramble against the bark with your feet let it cradle you in its embrace let’s dream we’ve always lived there (Mar 2015) See also WfaWW#2

smile with the approaching punchline and laugh at the end do that for them they need a lift today (March 2015) See the previous WfaWW#1 poem.