Literature

The Witty and Wise Short Poems of Russel Winick

BY Evan Mantyk TIMEFebruary 28, 2025 PRINT

Repetition

If someone frequently creates annoying situations,
And you respond to them continuously all the same,
Each time resulting just in carbon copy aggravations,
Can it be truly said the other person is to blame?

Image

Epoch Times Photo
Old man with a beard. Batumi, Georgia. (Mari Lezhava/CC0)

The image that I carefully create,
And nurture to sustain upon exam,
I hope someday to fully replicate,
So it can be exactly what I am.

Maxim No. 1

The challenge I must master to the letter,
Is that sometimes the less I say, the better.

Didn’t Look There

Epoch Times Photo
A child standing and looking for something in water. Unknown photographer. (Public Domain)

I looked everywhere,
But it was no place,
Except for right there—
In front of my face.

Generosity

The divergence between generous or just cheap
May seem like a significant cost,
But consider the value of what you don’t keep
When through stinginess goodwill is lost.

Criticisms

Which criticisms
Do the most
To bother you?

Those false and spiteful
Or the ones
Which might be true?

Beneficial Lesson

A caring and sensitive
Human being learns—
Don’t trivialize
Someone else’s concerns.

Acceptance

Relationships are courses in which
You should not enroll,
If changing other people is your
Pre-existing goal.

Epoch Times Photo
Love and acceptance are all acts springing forth from a generosity of the spirit. (Anastasia Vityukova/Unsplash)

Russel Winick recently started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.

 The above poems were originally published in the Society of Classical Poets.

What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to features@epochtimes.nyc

Evan Mantyk teaches history and literature in New York. He is also president and editor of the Society of Classical Poets.
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