zumpoems

I am pleased to announce that Zumwalt has had two poems published today in two fine journals.

It is an honor to be featured in these two journals. Please follow the links below to view the online presentations of these poems.

Deepwater Portfolio at New Verse News: https://newversenews.blogspot.com/2026/04/deepwater-portfolio.html

Ogun’s Toolboth at Bewildering Stories: https://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue1133/oguns_tollbooth.html

Here is the original text for Deepwater Portfolio before Zumwalt edited it for publication in New Verse News. Zumwalt indicated that he prefers this original version.

Benthic Portfolio

The bathymetric map is neatly partitioned
into optimized lease zones;
seismic airguns fracture the water column
with monetized concussions.

Audit sediment for trapped hydrocarbons;
seamlessly filter out the pathetic,
low-frequency protests of a dwindling pod:
fifty surviving Rice’s whales, biological oddities,
drowning in our modern energy paradigm.

Stupidly stubborn, incredibly spoiled,
they insist on quiet currents
and fatty silver-rag driftfish delicacies,
never exerting effort to adapt
to the tides of quarterly dividends.

Let the regulatory committees squawk about their grievances:
the diamond-tipped drill bit demands results.

Flood pelagic corridors with commercial logistics:
it’s an obvious course of action.

Trade the flawed architecture of God’s creations
for the unquestionable superiority of the combustion engine,
the freedom to wage war against any nation,
and the right to consume without restraint.