Sampling of poems
IF ONLY I COULD DRAW
I would release all the words
stored up in my language house
to be snagged by another poet or songwriter.
Please, have at them.
I’d much prefer to show than tell you,
but pictures turn to verse
before my clumsy hands
can guide them onto canvas.
So I am left with words —
nocturnal, feral. They paw
through sleep’s deep layers,
clamor for attention, then
bunch up silent in a sunlit corner.
When I poke at them, they scamper off,
taunt me into a game of hide-and-seek.
Long after I’ve lost interest, they turn up
again with those sad eyes, looking
to be welcomed home.
Published in Bards Annual (2021 )
SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY
we stood at our desks
every morning
hands over hearts
pledging allegiance
to stars & stripes
a symbol of freedom
and justice for all
It’s the all I love
the yin & the yang
the old & the new
mixing colors on canvas
digging deep to comprehend
so many ways to celebrate or grieve
it’s a free country
didn’t we grow up with those words
ringing in our ears even when we disagreed
we’d take a vote to settle scores
we sang of our sweet land of liberty
free to gather free to protest
journalists free to ferret out facts
we learned to yield on highways
trust the silent centerpiece of civility
why wouldn’t we shine a light
share harvests care for strays
find ways to stop those
who would rather burn it all down
than look difference in the eye
and agree to disagree
Published in What Unites Us — Prose, Poetry and The Constitution, Democracy, Rule of Law (2025)
the work to be done
so many things to save
the planet
the Republic
plant life animal life
all lives threatened by a virus
the sun the moon the stars
bear witness to dreams
left simmering on the stove
too long ago to be remembered
but not quite forgotten
in the rushing river of distraction
deflection and insurrection
charred remains of promises
tossed out the back door
where smoke dissipates
along with the intention
to map an escape route ...
—Emily-Sue Sloane, excerpt from "the work to be done," published in Mobius: The Journal of Social Change (Winter 2021, volume 32, number 4)
(All poems © by Emily-Sue Sloane)
