POEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: Irish Moon, Vow, Amy and more
Irish Moon Woundedamong her trees, it’s 3:20 a.m. I ponder heras a long pour of Guinnesson a slow night. Vow heal with herbend with her have faith in hernext breath land with herimagine her be in love...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: You Call Me Animal, Father’s Breakfast and more
You Call Me Animal but I am not your predatoryou bear your fangs to mebut I cannot see past that grin, I gave birth to you but I was already dead. You called that a sin, but I was already wed, a mere...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: Dad, Birds of Prey, Proof and more
Dad He ate plain oatmeal every morning in the same leather chair that Mom got him for Father’s Dayin ’88. One breakfast after finishing an orange grapefruit, I told him how I loved him, loud enough...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: I Have Something You Want to Hear, Your Hair Glowed...
I Have Something You Want to Hear I have been ripped apartI have been torn apartI am a good poetI have been embarrassed and shunnedI have been treated like a jokeand turned down more timesthen I can...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: A New Moon Intention, How Death Lingers and more
A New Moon Intention The way soft white wheat burnsto death in the sun, orhow dried cherry skins unfurlwhen sucked by the coolmint of spring rain, I wish for youto bloom and let go, a faint whiffof sea...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: The Watchful, A Matter of Custody and more
The Watchful from my eyemy hiding placeI watched the Earth on every sidea refulgent glowgold and cattle and elephants abiding in the midstlife shines, truth above alla truth unborn in the subtle...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: Fire Sacrifice, Four of Pentacles and more
Fire Sacrifice The way some fireflies……hide within the grassfaking the fluorescent signs……of cold heat, I waitedto possess you, to consume you……entirely, absolutely, as gravitybends starlight, or vines...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: Atammayata, Sunken Garden and more
Atammayata Birth and death, love and hate, the burnt scentof cloves on fingers and campfire on jeans,…..nothing is attached for long.In the butter-soft leather light of purple fog,a royal procession of...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE CASSIDY PAYNE: Falliscent, Seneca Nation and more
Falliscent Green herons bathingin the marsh, their jewelledfeathers wet with the crisptaste of apple breeze; a core of the Earth holds us all,this light, delicate, clean earthfloating in the floraglow....
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: Coltrane, Where the Sky Touches the Earth and more
Coltrane You enhance the shoppingexperience of my life. You aremy essential oil, a delicate glazeon my ribs, that secret blendof spices that strokes on myguitar strings that sound so right; you linger...
View ArticlePOEMS BY GEORGE PAYNE: The Nomad, Abstractions, Support Group and more
Minks The signs left behind remind methat you are here: the ripplesgenerating from underthe riverbank, webbed prints in the damp sand and wet snow, pilesof crayfish remains. But youwatch me the entire...
View ArticleTHE STORY OF AMERICA: Migration, identity and the politics of liberty
As we approach the 2024 election, it’s crucial to recognize a fundamental truth about our identity as Americans: any discussion about “American” nationalism must begin with the story of human...
View ArticleA FATHER’S PERSPECTIVE: I can’t back Trump with a clear conscience
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower To put it mildly, I find Trump’s return to office unsettling. But I...
View ArticleMY MALCOLM: How Malcolm X helped me understand the world
In 1992, when I was 12 years old and in the sixth grade, the United States was swept up in a wave of interest surrounding Spike Lee’s film Malcolm X. Released that November, the movie catapulted...
View ArticlePOWER REIMAGINED: A journey of nonviolence, ecology and collective healing
Not all academic conferences leave a lasting impression, but one in May 2014 changed my life forever. I travelled from Rochester, New York, to Ottawa, Canada, to attend Nonviolence: A Weapon of the...
View ArticlePROGRESSIVISM: A legacy of hope and action
In a world often divided by injustice and inequality, I proudly stand as a Progressive. To be a Progressive isn’t merely to seek change, but to believe in humanity’s boundless potential to improve,...
View ArticleBEYOND THE DREAM: Continuing Dr. King’s vision for global justice and compassion
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision was revolutionary, transcending the social and political realities of his time. His unwavering commitment to justice and equality wasn’t just about dismantling...
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