Monthly Archives April 18, 2025

. Crucified  She pondered horrors of the modern age. He thumbed through piles of dusty history tomes. She craved the timeless wisdom of a sage. He chewed on clues and mused like Sherlock Holmes. He...

. Unless . . . As un-sun darkness swallows up the day, And quake shake rends an empty Holy Place, God’s grief-strewn Via Dolorosa way Leads to a cross and Jesus’ death-stained face. For here at Calvary...

. Good Friday Rain I wake and hear the rain cascade. Its cleansing drops roll down my pane; They soak the garden, bathe the glade, Refresh the grass, and swell the grain. Stretched out in bed, from stress...

. . Lament for Clairac by Théophile de Viau (1590-1626) translated from French by A.Z. Foreman Sun-hallowed walls where I once loved Phillis, Sweet places where my soul knew charm and wonder, Today,...

. Poetry Legacy Superb is her poetic contribution, Unique in its design and execution. She hopes the work is widely loved and lasting— With love beginning prior to her passing. . . Restricted Lane He sees...

. Australian poet Clive Boddy sent in the article "How Poetry Changes You and Your Brain" published in Greater Good Magazine, which includes the following: A 2022 study found creative expression therapy using...

. Magnolia The south wind’s newfound breath, The spring sun’s waxing ray, Draw from your outward death An opulent array. Before one fleck of green Has clothed your naked frame, The life that coursed...

. "But Fruits Are Not Concealed in Them" ---Friedrich Schiller, "Breath and Depth" We hear the ancient rule: The fools think they are wise; The wise know they are fools… But who knows their own lies? The...

. The Hermit Curses Sharp sunrises cut white streaks on the plain, whet edges on black soil, where all at once the spirit clefts from matter, and my gains recoil when I recall your face. Not front or profiled,...

. Curb Appeal . I. You really couldn't find a better plotOn which to build a house. The yard is rimmedIn masonry. The hedge is neatly trimmed;Without a doubt, a perfect corner lot.  There's something...

. Druthers I’ve never warmed to the absurd idea That I should lean toward being what I ain’t. I’m more inclined to move to North Korea Than hanker to become a martyred saint. I want to live an...

. Ovechkin Beats Gretzky He’s the greatest at one task, it’s putting biscuits into baskets. He scores goals from awkward angles after making dekes, and dangles. He’s a hockey fan amazer, wearing blades...

. Cantarella Wine Rome. 1501. Lucrezia Borgia hosts Bishop Giovanni Cavalieri of the Republic of Siena. He is visiting Rome as the leader of a faction of priests intent on pressing the Church to address...

. Strange Blindness: A Play in Two Acts . Prologue Joseph and Jesus knew that perfect timing---and not plain, unforeshadowed proclamation---would show the deepest truth about life’s drama.Its plot twists...

. A Ballad of Life ---after Winslow Homer's "Through the Fields" They spoke of life unfolding, A future far from home. No more of country living--- No fields, no farms, no loam. And so, they left for...

. Hannah Duston She looms there, immortalized, in bronze gone blue, a puritan woman with crude hatchet cocked. Her stare is as cold as the New England dew, the blood of her captors still slick on her...

. The Wife of Bath and Winston Smith Go on a Date ---after Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and George Orwell's 1984 The Wife of Bath was fashionably late,while propagandist, Winston Smith---her date---sat...

. Spring Bloomers ---a triolet A lick of spring has kissed the air Whispering of skimpy knickers--- It’s time to toss thick underwear. A lick of spring has kissed the air. I’ll hurl my hat, let down my...

. https://youtu.be/bC_JL8Ap8ow . . Andrew Benson Brown‘s epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, chronicles the major events of the American Revolution. He writes history articles for American Essence...

. The Tale of the Moon’s Reign ---an elegy Above the skies where reigns the moon _So bright in hours of gloom Lived those whose hearts no longer feel _Nor suffer and yearn to heal. We mortals hailed this...

. Dirty Dishes The dust is often out of handAnd should I write my name uponThe coffee table and night standIt will be seen when morning dawns. But dishes, oh the dishes mustBe kept up or the sink will beFoul...

. Porphyro and Madeline: The Epilogue By Byron "Let us away, my love, with happy speed; There are no ears to hear, or eyes to see..." —John Keats, “The Eve of St. Agnes” _A long, hard gallop brought them...

. The Four Seasons . Spring I Amidst the cloudless sky and crimson dawn Comes bursting forth the bluebird’s orange breast, Whose shadow dances o’er the dewy lawn On having found last February’s...

. My Meltdown Over the Meltdown I’ve worked since the summer when I was thirteen. Selling pink lemonade gave me plenty of green. I want to retire, but it won’t be today. I call my investments “my...

. Apologia "Bring…the books…" ---2 Timothy 4.13 John Calvin, writing on this verse, extolled the benefits that come from reading old and trusted writers. He agreed with Paul that there is wisdom to be...

. Sit in Silence ---a pantoum It's pure stupidity to sit in silence. It's only idiotic to be idle. Unconscientious deeds should be derided. Decisive daily action's very vital. It's only idiotic to be...

. Divine Complaint Chant royal by Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406), translated and adapted by Margaret Coats In all the world there is one creature lone Who serves me not, nor fears me, nor obeys. Fire, water,...

. Challenge: Take a well-known figure from history or literature and insert him or her into a modern-day situation. Choose any form. Choose any mood. I hope you enjoy my example below. I hope you have as much...

. A Ceiling Fan's Life (Is Like a Man's) On wintry days, it rarely spins Except when mopped floors need to dry. Its mission, once December's in, Is just to idly hang on high And watch us squabble, cackle,...

. The Wedding Dress The dress, first cleaned and vacuum-packed, _Was safely stored back then, Remaining perfectly intact _And never seen again. . . The Prestigious Publication’s Poetry The words seem...

. Spring’s Unfolding View ---after Dylan Thomas’ “The force that through the green fuse drives flower” The force that through the green fuse drives the flower drives me new,that blasts the roots of...

. Spring Snow Tyrant Winter reaches Beyond its frozen tomb, Dares cast its icy mantle On bud and crocus-bloom. Long it reigned unchallenged In dark and cold and ice; Thwarted now, it hurls back Last volleys...

. Canyon I’m traveling on a road down which I’m cast, a road that I am fitted for, no doubt, since I can see in arid skies white buffaloes, and humpbacks breaching from basaltic dirt. And too I can...

. Happy Like Winnie the Pooh If I could be happy like Winnie the Pooh, Just thinking of good things in all that I do. I’d just want some honey—a big honey pot— I’d pay all my money, give all that...

. Spot the Fool! ---for April Fools’ Day, 2025 . I.  Today’s the day to fox and fool. Today’s the day to flick some fuel On laughter with a cuckoo joke, A wicked lark, a wacko poke So sick Old Nick will...