When the River Speaks

19/12/2025

TODAY'S ARTWORK is by Carmen Rumbaut

TODAY'S POEM -

In today’s news by Fernando Esteban Flores

Undaunted in no hurry grey spotted hawk
Hunkers on a black SUV’s luggage rack
As if it were part gimcrack
Midafternoon bulldozing traffic frenzy
This urban struggle for survival
Wayward dove caught on the city streets
Ducks beneath a truck
Flapping its feathers for its life
Predator & prey
No one seems to notice
Oblivious to the fuss
An almost perfect metaphor
For today’s contentions Gazan
Middle eastern feast
Awaiting light to go or no
Killing never stops
Death keeps a more accurate count
Only the heart pauses between
Here & there

18/12/2025

DON'T MISS TOMORROW'S DEADLINE - send in your original poetry, artwork and photography for consideration for the January 2026 issue of When the River Speaks
[email protected]
ALL THEMES, ALL AGES WELCOME

17/12/2025

WINTER HAIKU

Black jackdaw, black tree
Grey clouds and pale yellow sun
Catch white snow, red tongue!
by David Almond

Snow silently sobs
Not in sorrow but relief
The earth at rest, sleeps
by Malorie Blackman

Tulips lie quiet
in winter, under cold earth,
growing long, green stems.
by Adèle Geras

16/12/2025

16/12/2025

TODAY'S POEM - A Song of Enchantment by Walter de la Mare

ABOUT THE POEM - “A Song of Enchantment” appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes (Constable & Company, 1913) as part of a collection of eight songs. About de la Mare’s poetic relationship with the fantastic, literary critic Henry Charles Duffin writes in his book Walter de la Mare: A Study of His Poetry (Haskell House, 1919), “In very many of his poems, constituting probably more than half of his total output, de la Mare makes us aware of a life, a world, an experience, which are instantly recognized as not only different from anything the common day has to offer, but more real, partaking more of the eternal, in the same way as the mystic’s knowledge of God. And it is especially to be noted that de la Mare not only communicates to us the fact that he has had this mystical (or, if you like, quasi-mystical) experience, but enables us to enter upon it (or something parallel to it) ourselves: this he does through his supreme gift of poetic form, which promotes in the mind an awareness by which it participates in the poet’s comprehension of the utmost nature of things.”

15/12/2025

XX [A white curtain turning in an open window]
by Charles Reznikoff

A white curtain turning in an open window.

A swan, dipping a white neck in the trees’ shadow,
Hardly beating the water with golden feet.

Sorrow before her
Was gone like noise from a street,
Snow falling.

14/12/2025

Today's post is a series of photos from our open mic/publication parties over the last several years. Join us Saturday January 17th at The Price Center for our next celebration of poetry and community :)

13/12/2025

The significance of poetry in the study of human history:

"Alice Walker, an American novelist and short story writer, wrote “Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of consciousness.”

Poetry, and many other art forms of the written word, relay insights and further prove the diversity of human existence. These works convey livelihoods and stories across traditional and nontraditional diasporas. In line with Walker’s quote, to be human is to investigate anything and everything — and poetry forces us to do so.

The genre of poetry also amplifies voices that shed light on sensitive and underrepresented topics that expose, acknowledge and elevate complicated matters, pain and emotions. Writers and poets who discuss topics of race, gender and international experiences can share their stories and connect with others, increasing community empathy.

For centuries, poetry has been a tool to challenge ideals and invoke change; poems have been used to comment on and critique history with the hopes of pitching a better future."
to read the entire article, visit
https://sbstatesman.com/125422/news/the-importance-of-poetic-art-in-history/

12/12/2025

TODAY'S POEM - The Night of the Snowfall By Mo H. Saidi

ABOUT THE POET - "In his poetry, Saidi engages themes of love, faith, and the cyclical nature of history. His debut collection, Art in the City (2008), won the Poetry Society of Texas’s Eakin Memorial Book Publication Award. He is the author of the poetry collections The Color of Faith (2010) and Between A and Z (2014) and the short story collection The Garden of Milk and Wine (2012). His poetry has been featured in former US Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s “American Life in Poetry,” a nationally syndicated newspaper column. Saidi also cofounded the literary journal Voices de la Luna: A Quarterly Poetry & Arts Magazine."
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mo-h-saidi

11/12/2025

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday January 17th is the open mic & publication party for the new issue of When the River Speaks. We will be celebrating at The Price Center located at 222 W San Antonio St. See you then!

10/12/2025

10/12/2025

DON'T FORGET - the deadline for submissions for consideration for the January 2026 issue of WTRS is FRIDAY DECEMBER 19th. Send original poetry, art & photography to:
[email protected]