On This Day, 1979
Sean MurphyChicago police disperse crowd in center field of Chicago's White Sox Park after hundreds of disco records were blown up between games of a double-header between the White Sox and…
Introducing “Kinds of Blue”
I am delighted to share that my third poetry collection, Kinds of Blue, is now available! Why Did I Write This Book?My work is as political as ever, but I seldom write…
Original Poem: Contraband
I think after almost 40 years the statute of limitations expires for petit larceny (petty, too). I'm not proud of "liberating" that dessert, but it inspired this poem that imagines…
Original Poem: Our Mothers, Whose Art is Heaven
This cycle of poems deals with “mommy issues” in, hopefully, all the right ways and for all the right reasons! The first of this three-poem cycle is below. Huge gratitude,…
Original Poem: Impermanence
I’ve written about my mother often, for all the right reasons (I love her, I cherish her memory, she’s a vital part of my ongoing existence, etc.), and I find…
Original Poem: A Middle-Aged Boy Mourns His Mother
I've written about my mother often, for all the right reasons (I love her, I cherish her memory, she's a vital part of my ongoing existence, etc.), and I find…
3 from Dumbo Press: Number Three: Elon Musk’s Money
image courtesy of The New Yorker For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? --Mark 8:36 Did that ever…
3 from Dumbo Press: Number Two: Economies of Scale
Sending this one out to anyone who has spent more time than is healthy in hospitals, as well as everyone who teaches (or recognizes that teachers and nurses are the…
3 from Dumbo Press: Number One: Does it Mean I’m Woke
The only cliche more irritating than "make lemonade out of lemons" is "write what you know" even if both bromides are, on balance, worthy pieces of wisdom handed down from…
Two More Poems via The Good Men Project: Pops Edition
Anyone who knew me back in the day will recall that the scent of tobacco smoke was part of the Murphy household; Pops grew up a smoker, as was expected…