R.M. ENGELHARDT

Poet Writer Author Albany NY

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R.M. Engelhardt is an American poet, writer and author who over the last three decades has published over 20 books of poetry including “Nod” “Alchemy” DarkLands, RAW & “The Last Cigarette: The Collected Poems of R.M. Engelhardt. The founder of the Upstate NY organization ALBANY POETS & the Annual Poetry Celebration THE ALBANY WORD FEST he has through his ideas & visions helped to contribute a large amount of advocacy and creativity to the Spoken Word~Poetry Capital District scene and is the former host of the long running readings The School of Night & Vox. He is currently the host of SPEAK THE WORD ALBANY!. An Open Mic for Poetry And The Spoken Word at Ophelias. Over the last thirty years his work has also been published in many journals such as The Rye Whiskey Review, Red Fez, Rusty Truck, Sure! The Charles Bukowski Newsletter, Thunder Sandwich, Black Noise, The Hobo Camp Review, Full of Crow, on the Outlaw Poetry Network & in many many others. Look for his books “WHERE THE PEOPLE’S VISION PERISHES 2020” “DARK LANDS (2019 on LuLu, Amazon & At Barnes and Noble) The Resurrection Waltz, 2012 ( Infinity Press) & “COFFEE ASS BLUES & OTHER POEMS” ( 2018 Alien Buddha Press 2018) ” DarkLands” 2019 & “Where There Is No Vision” 2020, “WE RISE LIKE SMOKE” (2021) & Of Spirit, Ash & Bone (2022) and RAW- Poems ( 2023) all available on Amazon.com He is also the Editor of the small independent poetry press Dead Man’s Press Ink since 1998. Look for his books The Bones of Our Existence A Journal 2046 & his new books THE DYING TIME POEMS BY R.M. Engelhardt 2026 & NO KINGS 2025 available at Barnes & Noble and currently on Amazon. www.gentlemanoutsider.com *All Poems, Writings & Information Contained On This Blog Are The Property & Owned By The Author R.M. Engelhardt. © 2026 www.rmengelhardt.com

Category: Poems

  • ASH

    ASH The words onceDevestatedThe mind Some Uplifted theSoul The deadCan no longerHear them The livingNo longerListen Unless theyAre wrapped upIn a packageOf glamourOr deceit Can you stillHear them? The poetsAsk Can you stillFeel them? The poetsCry But the massesAre now allDeaf & blind ConditionedBy the promiseOf somethingMore But lift the veilAnd close theCurtain andYou’ll find…

  • ALL GRAVES ARE COLD

    ALL GRAVES ARE COLD

    ThisIsn’t a poem This isn’t even a workOf fiction This is stark reality bleeding out non-stop screaming And this isn’t a phone recorded message on social media For It’s the one thing we all know, all thinkbut never dare say. Mostly out of fear. it’s all the shit rolling downhill until the monsters open fire…

  • IN THE DAYS OF AMERICAN OBLIVION

    IN THE DAYS OFAMERICAN OBLIVION I try to avoidThe news I tryNot to believeWhat’s happening But cannot In a placeWe call theLand of the free But we askWhere are the brave? A placeWhere peopleAre being arrestedFor merely protesting Or for fighting back Where Nazi likeGroups in red hatsAre even allowedOn our streets supportedBy a false…

  • THE POET LAUREATE OF ALBANY

    THE POET LAUREATE OF ALBANY Someone once mistookMe for some kind of celebrity A celebrityWithout money Only words But thirty yearsPasses by with eachPassing obituary The death of familyThe death of friends The death of momentsOf highs & lowsDrunken sonnets & love& Unemployment woes And if anythingPoetry is made of just that Broken loveBroken soulsBroken…

  • Thirty Years. The Dead Poets List ~ R.M. Engelhardt 9.26.93

    Thirty Years. The Dead Poets List ~ R.M. Engelhardt 9.26.93

    Thirty Years Ago Today: 09/26/93 THE DEAD POETS LIST In my lifetime I’ve probably written over ahundred trillion words. But I’d die for just one more cigarette. When the curtain falls, when the moment ceases To be. Sinatra said it best. “That’s Life “ Go out with a bang Not that stupid whimper And leave…

  • Find your art. Find your words. Find yourself. ~R.M. Engelhardt

    Find your art. Find your words. Find yourself. ~R.M. Engelhardt

    Like A Poem PerfumeInstilled Unto ThatOne Perfect DreamOf Youth SpringEternity, A SongOf Beauty Beneath &Hidden Between Days ~ R.M. Engelhardt ©2021

  • POET : May 18th 1980

    Ian Curtis

  • Summer’s Gone

  • A WINTER TALE : ONE CIGARETTE

    ONE CIGARETTE   “It’s cold out here I’m freezin’ ta death!”   An old man Says teeth chattering In his skull   I walk past All the bars the Hipsters the vagrants Past the bright lights Of clubs & stores That offer no refuge From the below zero Glare of street lamps And cars  …

  • Coffee Ass Blues & Other Poems: The New Book ~ R.M. Engelhardt 2018

    Now Available: My new book of poems “Coffee Ass Blues & Other Poems” is now available on Amazon through Alien Buddha Press with illustrations by friend & fellow poet Red Focks. Get your copy today …