Mike Maggio

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Before the Memorial Day Weekend

Copyright 2026 Marian K. Shapiro

Bio:

Marian Kaplun Shapiro, now 86 years old, is a practicing psychologist in Lexington, Mass. (USA). She is the author of a professional book, and five books of poetry. A five-time Senior Poet Laureate of Massachusetts, she has been twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Upbringing, her latest collection of graphic poems, was published by Plain View in January, 2023.

30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review

BACKYARD ROSES

When the hour is sad in September
and when it isn’t
Jon or I, at the kitchen table
looking out at the backyard garden newly minus its chorus of black-eyes susans
observes, “There are two roses plus what looks like a bud.”
“Yes there are,” answers the other.
Later in the day Jon will go outside to take a photo
and by then, sometimes, the two roses will be bigger and the bud a tiny half-blown actual rose.
And all three seem redder than before
whether or not this later hour is less sad.

   from “A Lady of 80” (Alien Buddha Press, 2024)

Bio:

Marion Deutsche Cohen is the author of 32 collections of poetry or memoir; her newest poetry collection is “Stress Positions” (Alien Buddha Press), and her latest prose collection is “Not Erma Bombeck: Diary of a Feminist 70s Mother” (Alien Buddha Press). She is also the author of a book of #MeToo poems, two controversial memoirs about spousal chronic illness, a trilogy diary of late-pregnancy loss, and “Crossing the Equal Sign”, about the experience of mathematics. She teaches a course she developed, Mathematics in Literature, at Drexel University’s Honors College. Other interests are classical piano, singing, Scrabble, thrift-shopping, four grown children, two grown step-children, and six grands. Her website is  marioncohen.net .

30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review

Untitled

Menopausal earth
dropped her shawl one winter day:
flowers in the snow.

Copyright 2026 by Claudia Gary

Bio:

Claudia Gary’s new poetry collection, Time and Other Solvents, is a story of healing. She teaches Sonnet, Villanelle, Persona Poem, Meter, etc., at The Writer’s Center (writer.org) and privately. She’s also an advisor at New Verse Review,  as well as a health/science writer, visual artist, and composer. See pw.org/content/claudia_gary.

30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review

It’s hard to believe that 13 years have gone by and that 30 for 30, a project I started on a whim, is still going strong. Every year, there are poets who tell me that they look forward each year to this event. And every year, in addition to the returning poets, there are always new ones showing up: new voices in the panoply of poetic expression.

This year’s theme —  Suddenly, a flower in a snowfield — comes after what was, for many of us, a hard winter. Not only was the weather horrendous, at least here in the mid-Atlantic, but the national deluge of disturbing news — from tariffs to ICE to the now unfolding war on Iran — left us with an insatiable desire for hope. And that’s what this year’s theme attempts to address.

Poetry, like all art forms, is an expression of humanity’s response to the events that surround us. War, peace, love, hatred — these are all emotions that find their way into the songs and poems, the sculptures and paintings that make up the human oeuvre. But, above all, it is hope that keeps us going — hope for new life, hope for a better tomorrow, hope for our children and grandchildren n a world where uncertainty seems to rule the day.

I hope that this year’s presentation of poems from far and wide brings you joy and helps you face the disturbing issues that seem to come to use each day with a sense that “this too shall pass.” This year, our poets range from North Carolina to Connecticut, from Wisconsin to California and places in between. Our sponsor, Potomac Review, is located in Maryland, And our esteemed judge, Michael Palma, originally from the Bronx, resides in Vermont.

Beginning tomorrow, you can enjoy a new poem each day by connecting to www.mikemaggio.net. Comment as you see fit. And, in the words of the late Jesse Jackson: “Keep Hope Alive.”

30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review

I’m pleased to announce the thirteenth annual 30 for 30 Poetry Celebration, sponsored by Potomac Review, which will once again take place this year at www.mikemaggio.net.

This year’s theme is:

Suddenly, a flower in a snowfield

Your poem should be between 20 and 40 lines (no more, no less).

       To participate, please follow these instructions:

1. Send an email to mikemaggio@mikemaggio.net stating your intent to participate. Do not send any poems at this time but do state in your email where you are from.
2. The first 30 poets who respond to this call will be selected to submit their poem.
3. International poets are welcome and desired. Work, however, must be translated. Submit the original and the English translation.
4. Once the 30-poet limit has been reached, I will randomly assign each poet a day in April when their poem will be due and when it will be published.
5. Poets must submit their poem at least one day before it is to be posted. Earlier submissions are welcome and encouraged, especially this year as I will be out of town for part of the month.
6. All poems must be written by the submitting author. Poems should not contain any racist or sexist language.
7. Submit poems in a Word document or in RTF format (NOT in the text of the email or in PDF format).
8. Poets should include a short 1–2-line bio with their poem. A copyright statement should also be included (e.g., Copyright 2026 by [your name]).
9. All rights automatically revert to the author. Please note: if your poem appears on this web site, it is considered by most journals to have been previously published, and you will not be able to submit it anywhere else.
10. To promote community and discussion, readers and participants are encouraged to post comments on the web site about each of the poems.
11. At the end of the month, our judge will select the winning poem.
12. The winning poet will receive a free one-year subscription toPotomac Review.
13. All poems will be archived on mikemaggio.net. (I am working with George Mason University to archive the web site in their collection which now houses my papers, so your work will be preserved there for future researchers).

This year’s judge is Michael Palma. Michael Palma’s poetry volumes include the chapbooks The Egg Shape and Antibodies and the full-length collections A Fortune in Gold, Begin in Gladness, and the forthcoming Local Colors. He has also published Faithful in My Fashion: Essays on the Translation of Poetry. His more than twenty translations from Italian poets include award-winning volumes of Guido Gozzano and Diego Valeri published by Princeton University Press and a terza rima translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy published by Liveright in 2024.

If you have any questions, please email mikemaggio@mikemaggio.net. I look forward to your participation.

And a very special thanks to Katherine Smith , Albert Kapikian and Monica Mische, the editors at Potomac Review,for once again sponsoring 30 for 30.