Joe Kleponis Poetry
Writer, Poet
About me
My poetry has appeared in journals in print and online, including Aurorean, Boston Literary Magazine, Eucalypt, Leaflet: the Journal of the New England Teachers of English, Methuen Life, Muddy River Poetry Review, Penman Review of Southern New Hampshire University, Pendemics Journal, paperwasp, and Wilderness House Literary Review.https://kelsaybooks.com/products/truth-s-truth
Contact
- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Contact me for signed copy of my book Truth’s Truth. https://kelsaybooks.com/products/truth-s-truth Also, I am available for readings or lectures.
Poems
Balancing Act
(after Balance Rock, Bar Harbor, Maine)
Away from the shore,
raised on edge,
one rock balances
upon another.
Tides sweep over it;
storms batter it;
yet it remains, poised,
in mid-stance steady,
unmoving, like a tai chi masteron one leg,
lost in contemplation before striking.
We wonder what magic
keeps the rock in its place.
We are awed,
knowing that under a mere drizzle of words
we can weaken and list,
sometimes, far from our core.
The sight of the rock
resting on its edge,
weathering the weather,leads us to speculate:
Where is the center?
Is the fulcrum upon which we rest
solid? How shall we set our weight
in just the right proportion –
not too far to the right,
nor too much to the left?
What is the sweet spot,
so, we, like a rock on edge in the ocean,
can stand fast, never tipping
as the waves of these times wash over us?
- Wilderness House Literary Review, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2021.
Publications
Books
Truth’s Truth: Poetic Portraits, Kelsay Books, 2021.
Publications in Literary Journals
Amethyst Review: "A Springtime Meditation," "Contrapuntal Progression," "Skipping Stone
the Aurorean: “Epiphany for Period 2,” “Epiphany for Period 2,” “Portrait of Improvisation,” “Season of Dissolution,” “What Relief”
Boston Literary Magazine:\ “Autumn Still Life,” Heat Wave,” “Men I Did Not Know”
the Ekphrastic Review: “Piano Notes and Dance,” “The Peasant’s Dance (Suktinis)”
Eucalypt, A Tanka Journal:“old men on benches,” “on this autumn night,” “must there be meaning,” “snow lingers”
First Literary Review East: “Winter Still Life: Hampton, NH,” “Your Music,” “Vernal Equinox”
Indiana Voice Journal:“Leaving,” “Love’s Call,” “Love’s Odyssey”
Lawrence Eagle Tribune: “Spring Vision”
Magnapoets: “Crossing Fiedler Footbridge,” “To My Friends”
Methuen Life: “Social Distancing”
Modern English Tanka: “Your Presence,” and other Tanka
Muddy River Poetry Review: “Daily Games,” “Louie’s,” “The Quarries,” “Vinny Criss’s Teeth”
Ribbons: Journal of Tanka Society of America: “The Juggler,” and other tanka
Street Light Magazine: "Old News"
The Leaflet: Journal of the New England Association of Teachers of English: A Still Life: Frozen Afternoon,” “Portrait in Blues”
Pendemics Journal:“Still Life in the Time of the Virus,” “The Space Between Us”
The Penmen Review of Southern New Hampshire University: “Duets of Violence in the Park,”“Ode to the Merrimack River,” “The Big Dig”
Wilderness House Literary Review: “Balancing Act,” “Celebration,” “Forest Bathing,” “Light in the Morning,” “Matins”
Example Text
Poetry Art Collaboration
ExampleThis stunning artwork “How Do You Feel About Red?” Was created by Kristen DeLillo in response to my tanka “morning red sky.” It was presented at Poetry Art Collaboration at Nevins Library. the tanka on which the artwork is based is… a morning red sky portending a stormy day reminds me of you wrapped in your colorful scarves - alluring yet dangerous -J. Kleponis, Modern English Tanka, Vol. 2, No. 3, Spring 2008. Art: “How Do You Feel About Red?” ©️ Kristen DeLillo
