Penny Wagers

They're still out there. Still waiting. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

We may not recognize monsters anymore, but that doesn't mean they've ever left us. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

A short poem about a place most of us visit regularly. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Magic and enchantment are alive and well, but they were never ours to inhabit. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Another way to do end-of-year recaps. What I read, did, abandoned and experienced in 2024. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Winter melancholia is sometimes directly proportional to age. But I sometimes wonder if it has to be so. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Everything changes—not just our families, but also our perceptions of them. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

A holiday poem and greeting to all of you. Thanks for hanging out this year. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

A short poem on the nature of the elements—and our own relationships. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

A tribute to what was arguably the most incredible encounter in the history of Middle-Earth. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

If your family can’t be counted on to be there for you, then it can sometimes help to be there for total strangers. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Inspiration doesn't always work on our time—and it's not even really our work. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Careful where you venture on All Hallows. And be very cautious of whom you meet. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Dream poetry may have fallen out of favor, but it predates novels by centuries. Maybe it's time to bring it back. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

There are still some for whom time does not constrain. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Calvin & Hobbes was an important part of my growing up. In fact I still have the very last comic published by the Washington Post framed in my house—I've kept it since I received the paper on my doorstep. (Remember when that still happened?) I loved his artwork and the zany adventures, but I also took notice of Watterson's themes: lean into curiosity, choose imagination over reality, and remain al...

We've a lot to catch you up on since you gave your poem to us. I'll do my best. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

An alliterative verse poem about where we've been, where we think we are, and where we're actually going. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

The Lay of the Last Light It started when the raven came—I know that much is true. I woke and soon became awareUpon the fog and moonlit glareThat mote of midnight standing thereThen toward the trees he flew. Through wild forests and the moorsHe beckoned me beyond. Past every road and forest trailObscured in Nyx’s gloomy veilUntil we found, across the daleA cottage by a pond. The raven turned to sp...

A villanelle about present risks and reckless possibilities. Get full access to Penny Wagers at pennywagers.substack.com/subscribe

Awhile back, I gave myself the task of writing one long, continuous blackout poem from Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland . This is the result of that challenge, which was roughly four months in the making. The result is far stranger than I thought it might turn out to be, and took directions I never intended. A small note about the physicality of the project: You will notice that the use of a Sha...

Meet me at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, That shabby nightclub on its foggy pier. Let’s aim for the summer of ’71, When all our friends were young and immortal. —“ Meet Me at the Lighthouse ,” Dana Gioia It was Gary’s fault, really. That and my depression. I had a rare day to myself in the house. It was the first time I was able to come up for air after a brutal month-long work schedule that th...

Riddle-Weaver said:“Who is this man who stands in my hall? Who is this I’m speaking to? You won’t leave my hall unless you prove yourself to be even wiser than I am.”Odin said:“My name is Good Advisor, and I come to your hall thirsty from a long journey.” —Vafthruthnismal King Hjalprek outfitted Sigurth with ships and men for his mission of avenging his father. They were caught in a bad storm and...

I bid you gather around, friends, for it is the month of First Harvest, and in the spirit of its occasion I wish to share a tale as wondrous as it is genuine. I have upended my hat , as is my custom, and if generosity compels you, I would be grateful for any gratuity you may find appropriate. But for the sake of yourself and your company, I would ask you to wait until our tale concludes before off...

"There are a good many roads here," observed the shaggy man, turning slowly around, like a human windmill. "Seems to me a person could go 'most anywhere, from this place." Dorothy turned around too, and gazed in surprise. There were a good many roads; more than she had ever seen before. She tried to count them, knowing there ought to be five; but when she had counted seventeen she grew bewildered...