Michael Simms: Trigger Warning | Old White Guy Talks About Racism
White people don’t spend a lot of time talking about racism. Right-wingers dismiss racism as a talking point that black people use to get special treatment while left-leaning white people simply state that racism is an evil tendency among other white people, but not themselves.
The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant (Egyptian Middle Kingdom 2000 BCE)
A poor peasant, Khun-Anup, is traveling to market with his donkeys heavily laden with goods to exchange for supplies for his family when Nemtynakht, a vassal of the high steward Rensi, notices the peasant approaching his lands and devises a scheme to steal Khun-Anup’s donkeys and supplies.
Erasmus: Adagia
Adagia is the title of an annotated collection of Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus’ collection of proverbs is believed to be one of the most monumental ever assembled.
Michael Simms: Brotherly Love
we’re afraid to look deprivation
in the eye, resent admitting our own dumb luck
Michael Simms: No
No is not nothing. When everything has been taken from you, no is all you have left.
Michael Simms: Rumor of War | February 24, 2022 
I’ll say it again and say it differently
because the horror of war must never be forgotten.
The boy hid beneath the stairs
when the Good Guys came to kill him.
Meleager: A Garland of Love Poems
Ah, little archer, so you thought
to hide from me there
in Zenophila’s eyes!
Michael Simms: Nightjar
a nightjar flies over the ruined houses
carrying a soul, passing it
from one bird to the next,
never content with its song
Dear Vox Populi subscribers
Whoops and yay! Because of a technical glitch, instead of one poem, six were sent out to our subscribers this morning, but as it turns out, the glitch resulted in … Continue reading
Most Popular Vox Populi Posts for 2021
At the end of each year, I enjoy compiling a list of the Vox Vopuli posts which attracted the most viewers. This year, for the first time, I’m also noting the single most popular post in each category since VP was founded in April, 2014. If you see an author or title that looks interesting, I hope you’ll visit (or re-visit) the post. Thank you for being part of our community! — Michael Simms, editor
Michael Simms: Jesus
Sixteen and running
From my father’s fists
I once tried to jump on a moving train
Michael Simms: Satan and the Snowman
I don’t have relationships,
the old drunk explained
with surprising wisdom,
I take hostages.
Michael Simms: Dear Vox Populi subscribers
The next VP posts will go live on Tuesday, December 14, with a meditative poem about light and dark by Baron Wormser and a passionate essay about violence against women by Sarah Lahm. You don’t want to miss the work of these two gifted writers.
Michael Simms: What it wasn’t
It wasn’t bigger than a breadbox.
It wasn’t smooth as glass.
It didn’t smell good or bad
Or have any taste whatsoever.
Vox Populi 