8 posts published by ben Alexander during September 2025| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo what my eyes see resists itself — a world uneasy with form; faithful sight betrays me so arranging everything to order; perhaps life’s truest angle is the one unseen, unassumed Reena’s Xploration Challenge 401 For this week’s RXC, we are encouraged to write poems inspired by one of two images that Reena offers… Continue reading With form, or: Life’s truest angle→| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A hay(na)ku series Wisdomroots deepenin common earthTruthtrunk bearsbrunt of stormsMemoryrings containechoes of agesPotentialbranches bloomwith unopened futuresOpennessleaves spreadcatching all refractions W3 poetry prompt This week’s W3 is hosted by the wonderful Michelle Navajas. She encourages us to write a love-themed series of five hay(na)ku. My hay(na)ku series is about different kinds of love, each standing on… Continue reading The fullness, or: Being→| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo they believe he knows all things so, he foresaw grief—and made it; they believe he rules all things so, causes every child's death; they believe he fills all things so, dwells where all cruelty reigns d’Verse: Perspective and Pronouns At d’Verse, we are encouraged to write poems from a perspective different than our… Continue reading Either A, or: B→| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A two-person ‘Rengay’ By Ivor and David is- i’ve no appetite to be the new King’s taster bad seeds don’t regrow db- little princeling muffles heave spits foie gras into goblet is- royalty’s snobbish ways are wasted and inconsequential to hungry grazers days db- pastures lie barren herders curse… Continue reading Beasts’ feast; Famine’s rations, or: A rengay→| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A haiku summer noon — the fly dodges me —triumphant Tanka Tuesday For Tanka Tuesday, we are encouraged to write haiku in the style of Bashō (1644 – 1694), drawing inspiration from his journey poems and substituting his words with our own life experiences.| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A two-person ‘Rengay’ By John and David jm- all the lovely books give me black looks as I pass on by db- pages weave their charms through me I’ll be back in just a spell jm- wish I could jump back in like I did back then but streaming netflixed me db- entranced by pixels… Continue reading Remote control, or: A rengay→| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo EPIGRAPH: The Song My Paddle Sings –E. Pauline Johnson (1861 – 1913) currents roar with voices joined rushing fast toward open seas; yet we bend our backs to water paddles steady against the flood; upstream, we know this rhythm — we will not be swept away d’Verse poetics: Dipping our poetic paddles At… Continue reading Our paddles, or: We know this rhythm→| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
8 posts published by ben Alexander during June 2025| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A two-person ‘Rengay’ By Christine and David cb- shriek from above me hidden in branches’ shadows crow seeks shining prize db- eyes wide, a girl squeals with joy hugging her carni…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
W3 ~ Wea’ve Written Weekly Friends, not so long ago, when we were marking 5,000 subscribers at The Skeptic’s Kaddish, I mentioned that I would be launching a new poetry prompt. I had in…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
8 posts published by ben Alexander during May 2025| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
8 posts published by ben Alexander during May 2024| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo power casts its shadow cool shelter for those in its favor; yet in that same dark chill cruelty itself takes form and moves; me? I’m most gentle, most human when I keep my shadow short dR…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
8 posts published by ben Alexander during August 2025| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
“At the time of the episode,” Dr. Levin said at the conference, “Subject C didn’t recall it was her birthday. When prompted, she said, ‘I feel like an invalid.’” It was, he noted, a revealing momen…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo we called her Banana Luli— she devoured them with gusto; now it’s mostly just Pink Ladies— just enough to dodge the guilt; I wish she got more vitamins… though I rarely eat bananas Tanka Tue…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A poem in ‘Memento’ form Rituals? Papa was forthright—he didn’t give a shit.Not him.So, I don’t mark Papa’s yahrzeit,but keep a candle lit—heart dim.Thing is, I miss h…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo I toss out whoppers like sparks absurdities launched mid-meltdown— she once searched my face for answers unsure where truth might end or start; now she connects the dots: one twitch of my ey…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Part 17 The wreckage finally thinned. I held my breath until the last shard slipped past—then let it out in a ragged rush. But the console was blinking amber. CARGO INTEGRITY. My heart lurched. I s…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo a frozen sea waits just ahead— its chill pulses at the edges; at my threshold, stillness gathers— sharp and glinting with intent; the fingers of grief reach inward testing silence for weakne…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
8 posts published by ben Alexander during April 2024| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A Sijo “no reason not to sit,” he’d say “it keeps the seat clean and dry;” Papa lived by quiet rules: disturb no one, don’t leave a mess; now on escalators I say “Stand to the right”—an…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
8 posts published by ben Alexander during July 2025| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
A haibun The middle doors stayed shut. Sweaty, we walked to the front; and he lectured us. Then my ten-year-old retorted that the driver sounded ridiculous. wheels begin to turn— sunlight trickles …| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱
Intro Dear friends, Welcome to our W3 Poetry Prompt, which goes live on Wednesdays at The Skeptic’s Kaddish. You may click here for a fuller explanation of W3; but here’s the ‘tld…| The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱