In the U.S. we call them nighthawks but in much of the world they’re known as nightjars. African poet, Kim Ottavi, who now lives in France, writes about the nightjars of home. Here is the poem of the week from Third Wednesday Magazine.

In the U.S. we call them nighthawks but in much of the world they’re known as nightjars. African poet, Kim Ottavi, who now lives in France, writes about the nightjars of home. Here is the poem of the week from Third Wednesday Magazine.

Our poem of the week was a winning poem in Third Wednesday’s most recent “One Sentence Poetry Contest”. This is the second win for Virginia poet, Mark Madigan.
The newest iteration of this popular contest is open for entries until April 15, 2019.


Most people, judging by the number of times I see them misused, don’t know that utilize and use have different meanings. They are not interchangeable. You use an object for a purpose common to that object, while you might utilize an object for a purpose not common to that object. For instance you use a pen to write, but you might utilize a pen to perform an emergency tracheotomy. You would use a dime to pay for a gumball but you might utilize a dime to tighten or loosen a screw.
Soldiers use a shovel: Soldiers utilize a shovel:

We like poems that paint a vivid picture and this one from Raymond Byrnes does exactly that. His poem is a photograph of a stormy Lake Superior. It’s an apt description of how quickly conditions can change on the big lake using images that are familiar to those who know the hard working inland sea.

Entering our twelfth year of publication…
Poems by:
…and many others
Our Poem of the Week by Linda Blaskey comes from the newest issue of Third Wednesday. It was an entry in our One Sentence Poetry Contest and earned an honorable mention. A new edition of the popular contest will open for entries on February 15th.

From Third Wednesday Magazine and InsideOut Literary Arts
A PDF copy of this issue is available free at the Third Wednesday website.

In our poem of the week, Gina Valdés offers this vivid description of her experiences on the roads of California with some good Samaritans who stop in their “smooth-running carcacha” to get her “not-so-smooth-running carcacha” going again. This poem is from the just released Winter Issue of Third Wednesday. That’s not Gina’s car in the photo but it looks like the car I see in her poem.

But I have promises to keep,Coming soon to coffee mugs and t-shirts everywhere – the copyright on Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening expired at midnight on January 1st, 2019. The poem was written over twenty inspired minutes in the summer of 1922 after Frost had been up all night working on a different poem that wasn’t going well.