Over the last few weeks, I’ve written a bunch of shadormas. A Shadorma is a poetic form that originated in Spain and is like a haiku, in a way. The scansion over six lines is 3-5-3-3-7-5. I’ve found it a fun form to play around with. I mean, I have written about 30 of the things in a two-week period, so clearly, I enjoy them.
I like short form poetry. I like the math-y-ness of the various forms I’ve tried, like American Sentences. I’m sure my enjoyment of and facility for them is related to my former avocation of songwriting.
The larger group of poems had a lot of what we all seem to be thinking about these last few months – the creeping fascism, the danger and distress of these times – but 30 poems is a lot, so after some high-grading, I found that only 2 of the 9 pieces I have for you today refer to the Trump regime directly enough so that it’s clear what I’m talking about. After practicing reading these poems a number of times, I’ve come to realize that the shadow of fascism and the stupid cruelty of the regime hovers over all of them.
So… uh… enjoy?
8/1/25
Broadcast From the Brain Radio 