by Richard Subber | Aug 9, 2026 | Language, Poetry, Reviews of other poets, Tidbits
…words can be pictures…
“The world is never the same
once a good poem has been added to it.”
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)
Welsh poet and writer
Dylan could have said “A poet is never the same after writing a good poem,” or “A person is never the same after reading or hearing a good poem.”
I’m in love with words, and I love to use the best words to create poems that have clarity and character.
Sometimes I think of my work as “literal poetry.” I don’t put my pen down until I’ve said exactly what I feel, exactly what I mean to say, so that you, as the reader or listener, will have no doubt about it. I want to write poems that don’t need to be explained—what you see is what it is. I want to write poems that express deep human emotions, and thoughtful observations, and precise meanings.
I am a poet, a writer, a teacher, a moralist, a historian, and an unflinching student of human nature. I think a lot. I strive to express truth and give context—both rational and emotional—to reality.
I think words can be pictures, and lovely songs, and bodacious scents, and private flavors, and early morning caresses that wake each part of me, one at a time. I know some of those words, and, from time to time, I write some of them.
I read a lot of poetry, including the classic poets like Homer and poets in America and poets around the world who have written since ancient times to modern times. Occasionally I find a poem, or a phrase, or an image that is intensely intuitive, or wonderfully imaginative, or just plain beautiful. I offer those words from other poets for your enjoyment.
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Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
“Fishering,” by Brian Doyle
…what meets the eye…
–
In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Aug 6, 2026 | Book reviews, Books, Poetry
we could’ve sent a poet into space…
Book review:
The Universe in Verse:
15 Portals to Wonder Through Science & Poetry
by Maria Popova, North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing, 2024
95 pages
Poetry can be everywhere.
Poets can talk about anything.
Poets can experience everything,
and imagine everything.
For science, the same is true.
For scientists, the same is true.
Maria Popova offers one way of manifesting and combining these truths in The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder Through Science & Poetry.
Wanna know what a poet thinks about pi?
Wanna know what Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote about Euclid?
Wanna know why Carl Sagan successfully sought a Voyager picture of Earth, the “pale blue dot” in our solar system?
Wanna know why an astronomer wrote a poem about “dark matter”?
Read The Universe in Verse. Then read it again.
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Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Movie review: A Doll’s House
Henrik Ibsen’s classic on abuse…
–
Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Aug 1, 2026 | Poetry
The Book of Days
The dawn’s early light can be pleasure enough for the whole day.
There are words enough to tell the story of “the temptation of day to come.”
It is my delight to write some of them for your delectation.
ciel blanc
White raiment was the angel’s garb,
she rent the dark to kiss the night,
the night awoke,
it quivered,
blushed,
and brutish men beheld a dawn.
March 1, 2026
Inspired by “Dawn” (1924) by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1879-1925):
An angel, robed in spotless white,
Bent down and kissed the sleeping Night.
Night woke to blush; the sprite was gone.
Men saw the blush and called it Dawn.
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: Forced Founders
by Woody Holton
The so-called “Founding Fathers”
weren’t the only ones
who helped to shape our independence…
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many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Jul 28, 2026 | My poetry, Poetry
a feast indeed!
Casserole
A plump expanse,
delicious reds,
maybe good enough to eat,
the vault is filled,
it lures the eye,
it makes a feast.
May 13, 2026
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
The Reader (Der Vorleser)
Not just a rehash of WWII…
by Bernhard Schlink
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Empyrean: new poems with 57 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Jul 23, 2026 | My poetry, Poetry
a kind of music of the spheres…
Overture
I stood awhile in prescient dark,
faint sounds of night
were near and far,
a rustling song,
a sylvan chord,
a tiny thrum,
and more—
a downbeat for the dawn to come,
scant chorus rising,
I whispered hallowed words
to make a coda,
and waited for the star of day.
January 21, 2023
Inspired by “Behind Stowe” (1927) by Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)
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My poem “Overture” was published in my sixth collection of 74 poems, Above all: Poems of
dawn and more.
You can buy it on Amazon (paperback and Kindle),
or get it free in Kindle Unlimited, search for “Richard Carl Subber”
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
Book review: The Scarlet Letter
the beating hearts…by Nathaniel Hawthorne
In other words: Poems for your eyes and ears with 64 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Jul 18, 2026 | Language, My poetry, Poetry
no calories added
Sweet thing
The dawn delays the day,
with layered hues
that do not fade,
the vault is cake,
with icing smears
that will not bake,
the sweet spot filled,
an overflow
of cream and gold,
the lavish spread
betokens gild.
February 10, 2026
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2026 All rights reserved.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie…movie review
it’s all Maggie Smith
–
many waters: more poems with 53 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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