Zumwalt Poems Online

Archive for the ‘Free Verse’ Category

In This Corner

In This Corner

Weighing in at 140 pounds and dwindling,
barely five-foot-something,
known for their work ethic,
is 92% of the American population,
some angry, some brainwashed,
some apathetic, some simply perplexed:
Let’s hear it for the Plebs!!!

Weighing in at —
excuse me, ladies and gentlemen,
I’ve just been informed
that weight is not public information —
weighing in at undisclosed,
holding 80% of wealth in the stock market,
ever increasing in size and influence,
are America’s billionaires,
hungry for any additional victory they can achieve:
Let’s hear it for the Modern Monarchs!

The bell rings!

Before a single Pleb can protest,
the Modern Monarchs surgically start to remove
sensible regulations protecting the Plebs.
The jab lands clean
before the Plebs can parry.

The Monarchs taunt,
and rapidly shift to
Public Policy Tilting,
cutting funds for infrastructure,
environmental protection,
healthcare and education,
world health and food programs,
dissolving USAID.

What a show from the Monarchs:
They duck, pivot, bob and wave
with their effective cross-arm defense
and their backsteps against fair taxation,
leaving the confused Plebs bewildered,
exhausted, holding the proverbial bag,
sinking to the canvas from its weight.

The Plebs are tough and get to their feet!

The Plebs square off again
with the start of a one-two combination,
but the Monarchs slip and roll
defending with legal leverage,
using lawfare to swamp the Plebs,
brandishing immunity regulations,
delaying accountability,
countering and elbow blocking
the IRS from pursuing audits,
withholding money rightfully owed to the Plebs!

The Plebs are stunned,
groggy, wobbling, staggering,
but hanging in there
dishing out a $5 million penalty for fraud!

The Monarchs pull and counter
with identical twins
turning that 2022 lawsuit
from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
into an apology,
and a stunning reversal
in favor of this Trump 2024 Campaign donor twosome!

The Monarchs are dominating this contest.
Let’s be honest, folks: the Plebs have no chance!

The Monarchs, trained by the most expensive personal trainers,
are 4000 times more likely to hold political office than the Plebs,
and have the means to influence what they don’t hold,
putting these Plebs at an insurmountable disadvantage!

The Monarchs trade in favors:
a bill for a check,
another seat in their pocket.

The bell rings to end round one.

The Plebs glance at their corner,
but there is no stool,
no medical attention,
all of their allocated funds
invested in gold stools
for the Modern Monarchs.

The bell for round two rings.

The Plebs valiantly face the Monarchs again!

The Monarchs cuff, clip, smash,
throwing haymakers at will!!!

How can the Plebs remain standing?

The Monarchs brazenly pound contributions
at Congressmen, Senators,
at local representatives:
for every cent landed
dollars are reaped!

The Plebs attempt to counter with a $47 donation.
The swing is wild, but they keep swinging:
Monarchs laughing off the few weak punches that land.

The Plebs remind the Monarchs
that the Plebs paid for the arena,
for the seats,
for the ring!

The Monarchs remind the Plebs
who paid for the referee!!!

The Plebs continue to sway,
left to right,
right to left,
with no apparent sense of direction.

The ref takes a well-deserved nap.

The Monarchs brandish weapons:
inflating slabs of beef,
gas pump handles,
coffee cans, medical bills,
overdue rent, credit reports.

Pugilistically, the Plebs are in a deep deficit,
unable to fight back the endless inflation.

The Monarchs land another uppercut and another!
An endless flurry of complaints
rains down on the Plebs’ credit profiles!

The Plebs are buckling at the knees
but still keep to their feet!

A brutal combination from the Monarchs!
Stop-work orders straight to the jaw!
Supervisory exams — closed!
Twenty-two pending actions against the banks — dropped!
And a solar plexus punch to finish the round:
fifteen hundred regulators dismissed in a single afternoon!

Ladies and Gentlemen,
this is absolutely astonishing:
The Plebs have lost billions and billions
since the match has begun—
and yet—
are miraculously holding on!

Folks, it’s clear:
the Monarchs look to end this match—
but—
the Plebs refuse to go down for the count.

On cue,
the referee
comes between
the Plebs and the Monarchs,
halts the match,
holds up two fingers
in front of the Plebs—
and lands a three-punch combo,
followed by a kidney punch,
sending the Plebs to the floor!

The count begins.

Half the arena,
Plebs themselves,
join the count,
cheering wildly!

The crowd certainly looks pleased!
Their pockets may be empty
but this once-in-a-lifetime entertainment
allowed them to root for a real winner!

— zumwalt (05 2026)

When You’re Out of Schlitz


When You’re Out of Schlitz

They have officially placed the yeast on hiatus,
a term previously reserved for exhausted child stars
and caught-on-mic morning show hosts.

Now, it is gracefully applied to a twelve-ounce can
that tastes predominantly of 1974 and bowling shoe rentals.

The pivot was, naturally, data-driven:
a team of strategists, hydrating from metric-tracked canisters,
determined the legacy yield
could no longer justify the literal cost of moving heavy water.
It is nearly impossible to argue with a spreadsheet
that has been industrially brewed for optimal uptake.

So the fermentation tanks are quietly drained,
the hops offered a highly competitive severance package.
It isn’t an execution, the press release insists,
just a strategic realignment.

Perhaps in a decade, it will be exhumed
in a slim, matte-finish can
and rebranded as a premium heritage artifact
for zip codes that treat mechanized exhaustion
as a high-end aesthetic.

Until then, we must manage the quiet loss
of this reliably unglamorous volume.
We will simply have to find another way
to anchor our generational thirst
in an increasingly incorporated evening of leisure.

(poem is based on today’s announcement by Pabst Brewing Company that it is discontinuing the beer that made Milwaukee famous.) (https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/one-americas-oldest-beer-brands-discontinued-after-177-years-us)

Elegy For A Close Attachment

Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com

Very pleased to announce Zumwalt’s poem, “Elegy for a close attachment,” has been published at Masticadores USA: https://masticadoresusa.wordpress.com/2026/05/09/elegy-for-a-close-attachment-by-zumwalt/

Please visit. If you wish to like, please do me the favor of liking at their website in place of this post 🙂

Reflection

Zumwalt based the following poem on these headlines:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/05/02/bizarre-string-of-trump-posts-includes-photo-swimming-shirtless-in-dc-reflecting-pool
https://www.salon.com/2026/05/03/an-arch-bigger-than-the-arc-de-triomphe-hitler-wanted-that-too/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fact-check-trump-did-post-175725413.html

Reflection

Our President, the best ever,
holds a hand of infinite possibilities,  
smiling over six Uno wild cards
long after I have gone to sleep.

Our leader, shirtless, in the reflecting pool
on a gold inflatable throne
with his buddies, but he looks the best:
youthful, trim, with a charming smile.
He knows how to use AI to glorify!
Such a cool communicator!

Maybe he can post an AI photo
of a reopened Strait of Hormuz—
that should scare the Revolutionary Guard.

Ramesses built a palace with
four stone Ramesses,
towering sixty-five feet
facing the Nile.

Nero built 
a rotating dining room
and a lake
where a city used to be.

Kim Jong-il erected himself
in each and every airport lobby,
every schoolroom wall:
watching,
always watching,
magnificent,
thin.

And now we are finally catching up:
The 250-foot Donald J. Trump Triumphal Arch,
The Donald J. Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
Trump-class battleships,
Trump Visas for the wealthy,
Trump Coins, Trump Bills, Trump Passports,
The Trump Presidential Library,
which will be the greatest library
anyone has ever seen.  

The reflecting pool
will be American flag blue,
industrial grade.
Not granite. Not ugly grey.
True Blue!

He posts a picture of his own face
beside Mount Rushmore,
so even Hakeem Jeffries could understand.

Germany says the Americans have no strategy.
But our President holds all the cards.
The pool will be blue.
He removes troops from Germany
teaching Europe, Africa
who is really the boss.

Brent crude is $129 a barrel.
Just like the stock market,
it keeps going up!
JD Vance is shirtless.
Marco Rubio is shirtless, grinning.
They are all in the water.
The greatest deal ever.
So much better than the worst deal ever—
the Obama deal he walked away from
with its costly inspectors
and wheelbarrows of money carted in.

Some moan and bitch,
like my neighbor John,
complaining about the price of gas.
I wrote a letter to the FCC
to kindly ask them
to take care of John  
after they shut up Jimmy Kimmel.

My leader posts himself holding a gun,
dominates Mount Rushmore,
sits in his gold inflatable chair
while the others,
all shirtless, all grinning,
know best how to tread water.

The pool is six feet deep at the center.
The pool will be American flag blue.
The administration is in the water.
Not underwater.
Not sunk.
But if they do sink, I’ll gladly follow
down deep, deep, and deeper,
proudly breathless blue,
with water in my ears, mouth and lungs.

— zumwalt (5/5/2026)

Two poems published in Euphemism: Sermon from the Central Datacenter and Rite of Greed

I am pleased to announce that Zumwalt has had two poems published in Illinois State University’s literary magazine, Euphemism. Please click on the links below visit their site to read each poem:

Sermon from the Central Datacenter

Rite of Greed

Algos for the Soul

It is with great pleasure that I announce Zumwalt’s Algos for the Soul has been published today in Bewildering Stories. Please visit here: https://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue1135/algos_souls.html

Please note that Zumwalt has indicated that the comment at the bottom of the poem was the editor’s wish to clarify that “algos” not only was short for algorithms but also Greek for “pain” so the reader could better understand the poem’s message.

Travel Advisory: Sector 4, May 15, 2058


Well, as this site’s administrator, it looks like I didn’t do my job very well. A Zumwalt poem was published back in January of this year and I missed it entirely. Below is the URL embedded in the title. Please visit the site.

Travel Advisory: Sector 4, May 15, 2058
by Zumwalt (Nov. 24, 2025)


Decked Out

Decked out

Your regalia creaks and groans
A panoply of rust and whining joints
Moira’s chess game begins
And already you’ve been rooked

Charge full-tilt at windmills
Or
Settle for an electric fan
Just keep moving
Or God’s heating element
Will fry your soul
And scorch rationality
Maintain that effervescent personality
And disco on the Teflon of life

As the sun browns out
And your Zippo’s flint disintegrates
Grope along the nitred steps
And nestle in your excelsior storage crate

Relax and let the Sony vomit
Search for a bebop sax
(The opiate of the cool)
Kicked back, you realize
You might just slit your
Jugular while shaving tomorrow
Fate won’t have you to kick around anymore.

— Zumwalt (Oct. 1978)

Two Poems Published Today: Deepwater Portfolio and Ogun’s Tollbooth

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.

jet

jet

rose colored optimist in your bright and breezy spirits
playing ardent admirations in the joyful penny chorus
holding on endearingly to the steering wheel of our honda
with the wings of love,
with the science of comfort:
skyrocket dreamer who has made this life mean more.

the sincerity sinner is rushed to his dinner and we overlook
a life long since abandoned,
left to the birds of
pretext,
pretentiousness,
and petty prevarication plunder.

we are safe,
thanks to you,
and your large
inheritance from Aunt Ruthie.

— zumwalt (circa 1975-1983?)