Today's News . . . Today's Poem The New Verse News presents politically progressive poetry on current events and topical issues.
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by Dan Overgaard Erupting star, incinerating star: the likes of which has never been observed or measured in our skies—oh yes! we are observing now, obsessively, but maybe not as worshipfully as you might be wishing— if, that is, you ever spent a wish on us. And I’ve been searching, high and rather low, for some device—an image or a metaphor sufficiently sensational for you— but you told us you’re…
by Katy Z. Allen “What the Newest Research on Wildfire Smoke Tells Us.” — The New York Times , August 16, 2026 people are exposed to more toxins…damaging lungs…brains…other organs entering the woods wondering about teshuvah –return, repair, restart, welcomed by a tufted titmouse repeating peter-peter-peter and two great blue herons with 6-foot wing spans taking flight PM2.5…measured by air quality…
by Virginia Aronson AI-generated graphic by NightCafé for The New Verse News . The White House chef must put together a menu of special recipes to suit the diners of various tastes from heads of state to cabinet members to kids and grandkids sports stars and celebrities donors, bankers, billionaires. The most popular dishes for this Administration will not surprise you like Tacos on Tuesdays…
by Ron Riekki Protest #2—Stone School Bridge, Ann Arbor, MI, August 14, 2026 (approximate number of protestors: 20) “Two roads diverged” —Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” When I got home, I realized I was having my first serious headache in a long while. I stood on the bridge, staring at the cars going by on the freeway, a break from the conversations where we were yelling to communicate. I…
Supreme Court: The court for a second time refused a request by Mr. Trump to review a $5 million civil judgment against him after a jury found in 2023 that he had sexually abused and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. — The New York Times , August 17, 2026 Nicholas De Marino is a neurodivergent rhyparographer. .
by June Hall McCash In the cold morning, the invaded city muffles the sound of scuffles in the night. Traffic drowns the echoes carried by the wind, cries of the seized and of the children left behind in empty halls and alleyways. With the early light, night still casts empty shadows left by the unrelenting attack on innocence and guilt alike, by faces marked with terror at the approaching sound…
WHISPERS OF THE NOW by Corey Weinstein We were born on a sigh of relief trembling lips after Nazi butchers’ blade, pasty grins of “don’t mention it please” elders hiding this truth from their brood. Trembling from Babi Yar family’s ruin our adults invoked a solace of silence. Just let us strive, be free range kids. We, fizzy bubbles of sorrows’ cauldron. (now this genocide in Palestine) (children,…
by Cecil Morris On last night’s news, the demonstrations of officers with their newest “tool”: the electric shock glove, a low-voltage stunner that makes their pretend “criminals” drop to their knees, agonized. They promise that, this “tool” will cause no permanent harm, will not leave a mark, and I think about the old beatings—Jim Crow days—that left no marks, about unsworn officers of abuse with…
by Zumwalt AI-generated graphic by NightCafé for The New Verse News . Trump’s CDC Stopped Monitoring Explosive Diarrhea Parasite Before Outbreak — Newsweek , July 10, 2026 It's a big win, a big win, so cue the parade— Inflation is beaten! Our Fed target's made! So how did we do it? Well, funny you ask— We fired all the folks doing food-safety tasks. No agency checking for bugs in your greens. No…
by stella graham-landau From Nest to Deathbed, Jackie the Eagle Entranced California and Beyond. The bald eagle and her mate gained fame during the pandemic, as a livestream tracked their nesting attempts. She died while being treated for anemia. — The New York Times , August 10, 2026 mated for years jackie is larger than shadow her compadre of the skies both hardwired to protect each egg each…
