New Poetry by Henry Stimpson

Memory Murder Mystery

I know the Cream of Wheat jingle,

the first four lines of “To Autumn,”

Mickey Mantle’s batting average,

Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns,

artiodactyls versus perissodactyls,

sushi versus sashimi,

my dead alcoholic grandmother’s

favorite brand of sherry,

and the square mileage of Delaware,

but among that vast detritus

I can never ever dredge up

those three pap-bland names

the singer had to rub out

to be reborn

as Nina Simone.

The Loneliest Monk

“And who is The Loneliest Monk?”

–MTV reporter to Bill Clinton, who said Thelonious Monk was his favorite jazz artist

The acolyte of solitude speaks sparingly,

each word a pearl cultured in his mind

with opalescent layers of meaning.

World leaders: pay attention.

His aura trembles to the music

of the spheres like candlelight.

- © Henry Stimpson 2021

Henry Stimpson’s poems, articles and essays have appeared in Poet Lore, Cream City Review, Lighten Up Online, Rolling Stone, Muddy River Poetry Review, Mad River Review, Aethlon, Bluepepper, The MacGuffin, The Aurorean, Common Ground Review, Vol1Brooklyn, Poets & Writers, The Boston Globe and other publications.  He’s been a public relations consultant and writer for decades. Once upon a time, he was a reference librarian, a prison librarian and a cabdriver. He lives in Massachusetts.