Twice Curated Poems

3D Pain

3D Pain Recently I endured an infection. Minor. It began as one thing, built, became something else, kept building, and eventually when it became get-this-treated bad, it was clearly an infection. Once known, easily cured.I read about a man in a detention center whose jaw pain became a toothache, which became infected, which went ignored.…
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Victoria

Victoria Standing outside the McNay Museum in San Antonio, Texas, is a stainless-steel sculpture by American artist Philip Grausman (born 1935). She is titled Victoria, a woman’s head elevated on a long slender neck, with a face of mystery. The material reflects the sun and weather. She stands near the museum entrance, but used to…
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SCENT OF A MONSTER

Scent of a Monster: I was a kid when I saw my first monster movie. Not just a horror movie, like Dracula, or Frankenstein, or the Wolfman. This monster was a new class of dread. Gorgo was a child dinosaur that was taken from its home. Gorgo was rescued by his mother, Ogra. Who rose…
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a favorite knife, at least

October 12, 2025 No Comments

A favorite knife, at least, is what I imagine Henry David Thoreau would have traded just to stand in my home office during a storm. To be behind the force fields of double-pane, argon-filled, perfect glass, putting the tempest up against it like a furious face to a microscope slide. Every furrow and twitch now safe under-glass, to lift hand against it, feel muted fury, boxed up power. To see the way the canopies shove each other, to face the boiling clouds and flashing heat rather than turn your back and seek shelter, a place to hide. The scientist and naturalist in him would go absolutely wild at this. The shaman in me, switched places, briefly, and this is the blur of those two worlds.

a favorite knife, at least

what would Thoreau have given

for a sturdy second story

where he could be level with

the tree tops when storms pushed

leaves awry with winds

and pelting rains.

How unique this slice into violence, into

revival, this ledge upon

the rain cycle, balcony for the unseen

comes close to feed from your hand.

Would he have surrendered so many trips to the pond,

skipped a meal or two to come running to

this high hide, this tree fort of

safety, insulation and comforted nest

to make his notes freely, without fear,

with front seat fascination to the strikes

and peals and jolts and jumps.

to be once or twice in a life

nose to nose

with the rainbow.

~~~~~

Elementor #1910

October 5, 2025 No Comments

Cone of Uncertainty is that bundle of strands in the spaghetti models that show where an unpredictable storm will surprise us the least. It’s a Vegas odds maker that pays off to those who cover their bets by boarding up or evacuating.

We have a fascination with prediction. The scientific name now for fortune telling. If we read the cards right, they only tell us probabilities. Knowing our odds, always changes the outcomes. Chaos seems baked into what we do with what we know. Learning drives change. Change drives away predictability. We are often burned by what we wish for. In this moment, I reckon with the wild outcomes of a storm, that seem more manageable than war. Yet we know better than to summon storms.

The Cone of Certainty, means that someone will be struck, misery will rain, and many of us will regret the loss of what we had.

Cone of Certainty

as you can imagine
the cone of uncertainty
is all over the place.

Not just with this storm,
but with the whole season.
How many, how big?
How often?

And will they be earthquake free?
Come with after floods of dam bursts?
Will there be cholera, looting?

Will relief come? Will survivors
fight each other to the next round
and the one after that, getting food,
water, gas, ammo?

Will the efforts be spread too thin,
come too late, be too little.
Will the heat kill us off first?

Or will all this be footnote tiny
in comparison to the cone of uncertainty
that handles history after nations war?

Somewhere, rockets still launch.

Who has time to watch the skies
as we dig ourselves out to what we hopefully
will return to: the ever building Before
we take so much for granted.

Nine Pieces of Fog

September 29, 2025 No Comments

Nine Pieces of a Fog paraded past me one morning. I was sitting canopy-high as it filled my street below, pouring between houses, building up from the ground as if telling the sky: no further. I let my mind empty as if in sympathy with the fog. Or was it with the weak morning light?

Carl Sandburg famously wrote: the fog comes in on little cat feet. Yet I knew a fog that rose up on the paws of a mountain lion as I was climbing in the Chisos. We were half-way up the trail when we noticed the fog gathering below us. We raced hard as we could, the cloud climbing faster, gaining on us. Before we reached the top, we had lost. Our hundred-mile view into Mexico was cut to ten feet, if that.

I plumbed its resolve and fastness by belting out ‘Mariah’. Heard my words travel so far and drop, felt them pushed back to me. I can’t sing well, but it was a stage I would not deny. The listening silence proved we were alone up there.

We had to come back the next day and do the Lost Mine Trail again. That’s when we realized we were on the cliff’s edge in the fog and never knew it.

Fog is the universal signal to settle in, quiet down, and think slower, deeper.

Nine Pieces of a Fog

the fog mills out

from a cloud

like an epic

birthing haikus

fog

like a storm’s

afterbirth

fog grates past me

like an iceberg

of whispers

fog as a curtain

of vapor, swishing

on its own

fog as untouchable

yet pushing me

to its celebration

fog as velvet glove

worn by rain

to caress greenness

fog: what is heard

when words are read

not spoken

fog

sent by storms

as apologies

fog

just the sky

taking a rest

~~~~~

Publication Notice

June 19, 2025 No Comments

Subject: ✨ Publication News: Digital Smoke Accepted by Cool Beans Lit

I’m pleased to announce that my poem “Digital Smoke” has been accepted for publication in the Summer 2025 issue of Cool Beans Lit.

This piece was submitted as part of a trio. With Digital Smoke now under contract, I’ve issued a partial withdrawal notice—leaving its companions, “Birth of Personification” and “Kafka Kit,” still available for publication elsewhere.

Cool Beans Lit is known for its bold editorial sensibility and broad appetite for contemporary poetry. I’m honored they’ve chosen to showcase this work, and I invite you to explore their publication and sign up for updates at coolbeanslit.com.

Thank you, as always, for your interest in my writing and for supporting the ongoing life of poetry.

You can find more at TheKessinger.com, and follow TheKessinger on Substack and Patreon.

~Mark Kessinger

Flying Things

May 25, 2025 No Comments

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‘Mid’ poem Accepted by Midsummer Dream House

May 5, 2025 No Comments

✨ Publication News

I’m pleased to announce that my poem “Mid” has been accepted for publication by Midsummer Dream House and will appear soon in an upcoming issue.

This poem was submitted as part of a group of three and will be featured by a journal known for its thoughtful engagement with contemporary poetry. You can explore their work at midsummerdreamhouse.com.

I’m grateful to the editors of Midsummer Dream House for granting the world debut of this poem. In time, “Mid” will be included among the growing body of poems in my collected works—after the magazine’s lead has been properly honored.

Thank you to all for your interest in my writing and support of poetry.

Visit me at theKessinger.com
and find TheKessinger on Substack and Patreon.

~Mark

April Poetry Month Ekphrastic Challenge – San Antonio Museum of Art

I’m pleased to share that my poem “Gonna Hear It Shine” was selected as a winning entry in the San Antonio Museum of Art’s April Poetry Month Ekphrastic Challenge.

The piece responds to the painting “Man Playing Trumpet” by Leslie Singleton—a portrait alive with rhythm, memory, and motion. I’m grateful to the museum and judges for the recognition, and to the artist for the inspiration.

a favorite knife, at least

October 12, 2025 No Comments

a favorite knife, at least

what would Thoreau have given

for a sturdy second story

where he could be level with

the tree tops when storms pushed

leaves awry with winds

and pelting rains.

How unique this slice into violence, into

revival, this ledge upon

the rain cycle, balcony for the unseen

comes close to feed from your hand.

Would he have surrendered so many trips to the pond,

skipped a meal or two to come running to

this high hide, this tree fort of

safety, insulation and comforted nest

to make his notes freely, without fear,

with front seat fascination to the strikes

and peals and jolts and jumps.

to be once or twice in a life

nose to nose

with the rainbow.

~~~~~

Elementor #1910

October 5, 2025 No Comments

The Cone of Certainty, means that someone will be struck, misery will rain, and many of us will regret the loss of what we had.

Nine Pieces of Fog

September 29, 2025 No Comments

We had to come back the next day and do the Lost Mine Trail again. That’s when we realized we were on the cliff’s edge in the fog and never knew it.

Fog is the universal signal to settle in, quiet down, and think slower, deeper.

Nine Pieces of a Fog

the fog mills out

from a cloud

like an epic

birthing haikus

fog

like a storm’s

afterbirth

fog grates past me

like an iceberg

of whispers

fog as a curtain

of vapor, swishing

on its own

fog as untouchable

yet pushing me

to its celebration

fog as velvet glove

worn by rain

to caress greenness

fog: what is heard

when words are read

not spoken

fog

sent by storms

as apologies

fog

just the sky

taking a rest

~~~~~

Publication Notice

June 19, 2025 No Comments

Subject: ✨ Publication News: Digital Smoke Accepted by Cool Beans Lit

I’m pleased to announce that my poem “Digital Smoke” has been accepted for publication in the Summer 2025 issue of Cool Beans Lit.

Thank you, as always, for your interest in my writing and for supporting the ongoing life of poetry.

You can find more at TheKessinger.com, and follow TheKessinger on Substack and Patreon.

~Mark Kessinger

Flying Things

May 25, 2025 No Comments

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‘Mid’ poem Accepted by Midsummer Dream House

May 5, 2025 No Comments

✨ Publication News

I’m pleased to announce that my poem “Mid” has been accepted for publication by Midsummer Dream House and will appear soon in an upcoming issue.

Thank you to all for your interest in my writing and support of poetry.

Visit me at theKessinger.com
and find TheKessinger on Substack and Patreon.

~Mark

April Poetry Month Ekphrastic Challenge – San Antonio Museum of Art

I’m pleased to share that my poem “Gonna Hear It Shine” was selected as a winning entry in the San Antonio Museum of Art’s April Poetry Month Ekphrastic Challenge.

Pub note

May 5, 2025 No Comments

Publication Notice

Subject: New poems appearing in Rundelania! Plus: Free Sampler.

Dear friends,

Free Sampler at thekessinger.com

The Fall 2025 issue of Rundelania! features 3 of my poems.

“If the Tongue Dangled”

A speculative inquiry into the mechanics of language, wondering how our words would change if the tongue functioned like a dangling, gravity-driven weapon, rather than an expressive tool of the mind that “gloves its control.”

“Hi, Dad”

A poignant Thanksgiving poem that contrasts warm family tradition with the raw, heroic memory of a father’s near-death survival during wartime. It portrays his miraculous walk to a field hospital after being “left for dead” as an act of fate that built the very “family tree” they gather beneath.

“Word Puppets”

A poetic mission statement for creative reinvention, treating language as a physical medium—piling rocks, folding worlds, and passing hands over everything—in search of a missing, untranslated word that lies just outside the reach of conventional vocabulary.

You can read the full pieces in the new issue, available soon, at rundelania.com.

For those interested in more of my recent work, publications in past months include:

• “IT” and “Signal Falls, Nebraska” (in Mantis, Stanford University),

• “Mid” (in Midsummer Dream House),

• “Digital Smoke” (in Cool Beans Lit).

• “My brush with bleeding hearts” (in Activemuse)

• “Proving Grounds’ (in confetti)

Readers can also explore my work at thekessinger.com, where a free sampler, Five Poems, Five Worlds, is available. The set includes:

• “Out of the blue” from The Book of Joe (CSU Poetry Center)

• “Children” from The Exploded View (CSU Poetry Center)

• “Marys and Joes” from Misery’s Lick – 1900 Storm

• “Life with an Expert Lover” from Once in Love

• “A Rising” from The Smolder Between Solstices

With gratitude to the editors at Rundelania for their interest in my work and to all of those who support poetry.

Warmly,

Mark Kessinger

List of Titles

April 20, 2025 No Comments

Here is a list of Twice Curated titles currently slated for posting. These works have been selected by editors and have appeared in various magazines and journals. A very few have been selected from The Book of Joe and The Exploded View. Other selections have come from unpublished projects such as The Smolder Between Solstices, Cone of Certainty, and Misery’s Lick. Titles not listed in posting order. Subject to new selections as curated by publication.

Signal Falls, Nebraska – Mantis, Stanford Literary Journal

It – Mantis, Stanford Literary Journal

Puzzle Box – WILDsound Writing Festival

Vital Stats -Word’s Faire

Not Joes -Word’s Faire

The Purloined Hearts of the Southern Command -Word’s Faire

Two Julys, so far -The Lakeshore Review

crystal origami – Red Ogre review

Nine Pieces of Fog -New Note Poetry

Ken Holds Barbie -Inlandia: A Literary Journey online journal

Forecast -Inlandia: A Literary Journey online journal

A Favorite Knife -Inlandia: A Literary Journey online journal

Signal Core -Inlandia: A Literary Journey online journal

Consider the Up -Inlandia: A Literary Journey online journal

Backhauling Dharma -New Note Poetry

The Last Scout -Straylight Literary Magazine

The Wax and Wane of the Lovers’ Golden Age – Welter Journal, University of Baltimore

Hello from Here – Progenitor Arts and Literary Journal

Above the Landing – Apricity Magazine

Black Stetson – Austin International Poetry Festival

Stumbling Onto Texas City -Blacktop Passages

pancakes, weeping syrup -Night Picnic Press

Borrowed Illumination -Night Picnic Press

The Muse of Mardi Gras -Night Picnic Press

Barren Darkness -The Wax Paper Press

Anatomy of a Desert – Route 7

Desert in a Bottle – Route 7

Survival Tricks of the Dead – Route 7

On the Bleached Tongues of Anvils -Rue Scribe/Underwood Press

Dad’s Surprising Age – TL Publishing Group LLC

Saving Ourselves – In Layman’s Terms

Pray for Santa Fe – Tower Journal

Canine Transcendentalism – Mutabilis

The Referendum of Survivors -Dragon Poet Review

Cone of Certainty – Dragon Poet Review

Gone Winds Echo -Genre: Urban Arts

3D Pain -Genre: Urban Arts

Casandra Ball -Genre: Urban Arts

A Pattern Sets In -Glass Mountain / Shards

Scent of a Monster -Glass Mountain / Shards

Remember to Re-regard -Glass Mountain / Shards

Unbridled Instincts -The Olive Press

Joe In Repair – The Pedestal Magazine

More Than Endless -The Human Touch Journal

Writer of the Day 1-8-14 -Poetry at Round Top

Possessing Houdini – Buffalo Bones

Flying Things – Blue Heron Press

The Longest Possible Light – Voices of Cleveland

Absolute Recall – The Poets’ Edge Magazine

Her – California Quarterly

Fractal Fotos – The Onset Review

Domino Head Stones – The Onset Review

Dead -From Both Sides Now anthology

Kids -From Both Sides Now anthology

Memory Rehab -Houston Poetry Fest

On the Program – Houston Poetry Fest anthology

Miller Theater – New Stone Circle

Knives – Inheritance of Light anthology

Pinned down – Inheritance of Light anthology

Opium – Inheritance of Light anthology

Tell-Tale american Presence – Inheritance of Light anthology

An Attempted Diamond from the Bowel of a Tree -Voices from Big Thicket

Self-Portrait in a Landscape – Voices from Big Thicket

The Blank -Voices from Big Thicket

The Angels Halogen and Quartz -Whiskey Island Magazine

All Souls Day – Whiskey Island Magazine

The Giant Spiders from Mars – Whiskey Island Magazine

So Far – Whiskey Island Magazine

Bath Tub Mary -Whiskey Island Magazine

Snap Echo – Image 3

Orbit – Image 3

Angel Lust – Image 3

Through Wind – Image 3

Leap Year, February 27 – Image 2

Across the Night – Image 2

Crib Death – Image 2

From the Stage -Whiskey Island Magazine

Song of Eroticism – Whiskey Island Magazine

Nocturne in Decline – Whiskey Island Magazine

Stump – Whiskey Island Magazine

Broken Warp – Whiskey Island Magazine

Virgin Stench – Whiskey Island Magazine

BIO

April 20, 2025 No Comments

Mark Kessinger was born in Huntington WV, attended college at Cleveland State University, lived in Oklahoma City, and has resided in Houston TX since 1984. He is a two-year recipient of a creative writing full scholarship from CSU, a founding member and past president of the Houston Council of Writers, and former editor of Voices from Big Thicket. His poetry has appeared in many publications and four anthologies. He had read his works at several festivals by invitation. He is the author of two collections of poetry.

Mark Kessinger is a civic minded, broadly experienced poet and instructor with a proven talent in the literary landscape. He has deep ties to Houston and the communication skills capable of meeting the rich cultural diversity of a large metropolis such as Houston.

His skills and experience in readings, workshops, teaching, and publishing can be matched with a background in public speaking, counseling, outreach and mediation to reach out and help at risk youth gain self-worth, confidence and better outcomes thru writing skills.

Published poet with university training in communication.
Experienced instructor in creative writing at adult education levels.
Diverse employment experience in community outreach, counseling.
Extensive mediation and advocacy experience.
Public speaking skills on multiple topics to wide range of audiences.
Studied under twice Pulitzer nominated poet Bruce Weigl.
Studied under Poets Alberta Turner and Leonard Trawick.
Attended Cleveland State University on full creative writing scholarship.
Won open local competition for volume of poetry entitled: Exploded View.
Won international open competition for volume of poetry entitled: The Book of Joe.
Taught adult writing classes at Lonestar Kingwood.
Edited Voices from big Thicket at Lonestar Kingwood.
Served as founding member and past president of Houston Council of Writers.
Guest presenter at Fort Concho Writer’s Conference.
Guest presenter at mediation training for Houston Police Department.
Organized writing workshop with local poets Gary Rosin and Dr. John Gorman.
Selected as juried poet by Houston Poetry Fest.
Published poet in open selection through many literary magazines.
Selected for one National and three regional anthologies.

Oh, and lately, he has spent a lot of time riding trains.

The Curated Poetry of Mark Kessinger

April 20, 2025 No Comments

The Curated Poetry of Mark Kessinger

~~~~~

INTRODUCTION

HELLO, and welcome to The Curated Poetry of Mark Kessinger.

This is where I share a collection of my published poems. I call them curated because they were chosen by others, editors, publishers, anthologists, judges, etc. this offers you confidence that the works presented here are of a certain quality. They are poems that you might be able to find elsewhere on the net if you spend the time to track them down. I certainly encourage support of all the resources that helped encourage me.

These are also curated by myself. I go beyond selecting them for the works that they are, but also for the story that they tell, or the insight that they offer to poetry and writing in general. In this way, they are Twice Curated.

As I present these poems in postings, I add to each the information I might offer up at a reading. This can be background, technique, referents, or any introduction to the piece which may be helpful in enhancing the enjoyment of it. Sort of putting you in the front row of a live reading.

I am a poet living thru and writing about many of the same events of your lifetime. This is not purple prose, hearts and flowers, arcane sonnets or the esoteric ramblings of the obscure. It is not ivy league elitism. It is real articulation of life that will touch on all things, musings of the heart, soul, body and mind.

The poems themselves are wide ranging in subject, voice, and tone. They come from thought experiments, and are of a contemporary style, most casual in tone, meaning very accessible. A few may be challenging. Some may not be your cup of tea, but most will be flavorful adventures. If you are not yet a fan of poetry, try this. If you are a student of poetry, this is good stuff, (with X-ray glasses included!) If you are an advanced reader, or poet yourself, this is quality workshop, and, I hope, a pace car.

For your entertainment, enlightenment and encouragement, I offer these postings freely, with more to come. Each posting will contain one previously published poem and a fresh introduction available only here.

Below are a few quotes to wet your imaginative whistle.

~~~~~

“Poetry is the shorthand of civilization.” -MSK

~~~~~

Poetry is the DNA of human thought.” -msk

~~~~~

If there is a short cut to wisdom, it is Poetry. -msk

~~~~~

Poetry is a thought experiment set to music. -msk

~~~~~

WARNING:

Beyond this point

emotions will be touched

minds set ablaze…

First Members Only Batch

April 8, 2025 No Comments

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A Brief Personal Welcome

October 26, 2024 No Comments

Take me to the posts!

A Brief Personal Welcome

(A Primer for Reading, Listening, and Entering the Work)

Welcome to Horizon Pilot.
You’ve been recruited to seek the creative—to take flight, to scout ahead. This isn’t just a blog. It’s an invitation.
What you’ll find here is not designed for skimming.
These aren’t social snippets or clever fragments.
They’re thought experiments in full poetic dress—crafted with care, tested in performance, and meant to do more than entertain. This is the work of a teaching poet: made to travel with you—as wingman, as navigator.

Poetry, to me, is the epitome of creative thinking.
It’s the only art form that can go anywhere, do anything, and still be folded into a jacket pocket or memorized in fragments— and be heard a thousand years from now. It can be timeless, or time-sensitive. Sacred, or savage. It isn’t always what you want—but it might be what’s been missing. This blog is where those poems land, are unleashed, and—at times—redefined.

Take what speaks to you—and only that. You are not expected to like every piece. This isn’t a test.
It’s a museum of ideas, a test track, a proving ground. Read the poems, then—when you’re ready—try performing one aloud. You might discover your own voice.

Each post here is twice curated. First, the poem. Then, the poet’s story of it. Pieces arrive with a short note, from me, to you. Then, an image, from me, to the poem. Those images represent a third wave of interpretation— a way into the poem you might not expect. Sometimes it’s an echo. Sometimes a portal.

This first offering includes a batch of ten poems.
Future entries will arrive once a week, as individual drops.
There are over ninety qualified poems currently in orbit—
each selected for quality, resonance, and the ability to stand alone.

Being here is a hybrid experience: An intimate consideration. A backstage workshop. A front-row seat at a private reading. You’re welcome into all those spaces.

This is a personal message from the poet. If I can offer a good poem, by introducing it on my terms, illustrating it,
asking the reader to carefully consider it and then read it out loud to own it— then everyone wins, by letting poetry win us.

Thank you—for your interest in the work, your time-tested patronage of the arts, and your support of the continuing experiment of poetry.

Read well. Return often. And if the words begin to echo in your life— then we’ve succeeded. —Mark Kessinger

Twice Curated Poems

✨ Publication News

✨ Publication News

A Brief Personal Welcome

The Twice Curated Poems