Election Issue The full-moon bear drives dogs crazy tonight. He wrecks birdfeeders at the neighboring Houses without hounds. Talk...

  Saturday’s Child "Saturday’s child works hard for a living.” —nursery rhyme A Kanban chart festoons a wall with color-coded...

  San Juan Capistrano Jewel of the California Missions, Founded November 1, 1776   A year before, there’d been a...

  The Siege of Manor Castle The siege had been proceeding for _a year, a month, a day; the drawbridge...

  Woodstock We proudly wave our freaky hair. (I step on garbage everywhere.) The bands were loud. We cheered a...

  Herodias on John the Baptist Yes, I remember him—the unwashed Jew, The kind we hoped to leave behind with...

  If You’ve Ever Drowned Have you ever wished to take a breath As water closes in to fill your...

  Picture This “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” they say; And “they” are wise who dare make such a...

  Heavenly Father For just a second let me give You all Of my attention; just a moment when I...

  Tactical Molting A candidate will often say: _“Judge me for who I am.” But peek beneath the surface and...

  Dialogue Discernment One critical but rarely mentioned facet, Of skills required for fine communication, Is sensing when somebody makes...

  Let the Music Play Beginner's line dance; step 3 times and kick. They can't keep up yet, but they're...

  Living Psalm ---February, 1997 A tempest rages on within my soul, And tears flow freely down my troubled face,...

  Summer’s End “Summer gently fades away,” _Sadly sings the crow, “Verdant Greens and golden scenes, _Have lost their youthful...

  What No Tyrant May Command   I — An Oracular Sign In the palace of King Minos there was...

  Life Lessons from Aunt Ingeborg ---inspired by anecdotes related by Joseph Salemi Mein kleiner nephew, sit. No, I insist!...

  Foam We come into this world awash in tears, Mourning our incipient separation— Too soon we age and leave...

  Again Autumnal Today, the garden plants need plucking So as to preclude the cold — And surely yesterday was...

  Life Is Conflictual Life is conflictual. The good and bad unplanned. We absorb opposites To fully understand. To feel...

The Siege on Castle Hill   from the peasants While the fabled fearsome Knight Duke guards the walls of Castle...

  Every New Pantheon I gazed upon some cauliflower clouds Where many morphing faces looked around, And barring the descent...

  Biblical? Emblematic? Seems much of the population Have this fascination With that handheld device; Which is all well and...

  The Valley _Why are there valleys? They’re really not my thing. _Mainly it’s because Of all the pain they...

  The Blobfish---‘Mr Blobby’ Pink-skinned and floppy-nosed and from the deep, with downturned mouth and frown he seems depressed –...

  Nature's Family ---after Francis of Assisi To glance at Brother Sun’s resplendent gaze, To feel he signifies omnipotence, To...

  The River & The Sea She’s silver down a mountain side Moonlight or sunlight, she’s the bride. A River,...

The Nightingale in a Dream by Gavrila Derzhavin (1743 – 1816) translated from Russian by Kevin Rainbow As I slept...

  After-Action Report “Bolivians do wet-work well,” Lieutenant-Colonel Shenton said. “They shot that campsite all to hell, And every single...

  The Walking Wounded The bulk of them are on their phones, of course, Their eyes amused at times, at...

  Their Words, My Fault Folks rage at me and vent, For having in my head, Instead of what they...

  Lazarus I ---for Jason Peter Smith (1963 - 2025) I closed my eyes and you were gone. I wasn’t...

  Poetry Challenge: Dictionary Delights Look through a good dictionary and pick 5 to 10 words based purely on the...

  In Defense of Rhyme by Euphrates Moss In May of 2022 the Sydney Morning Herald published a critic's verdict...

  Gun Control ---after Longfellow’s “The Arrow and the Song” I shot a bullet Into the air. It fell to...

  Power of a Pen Really not much of a treasure, You can find them anywhere. They are cheap and...

. The Best Haiku of 2026 The Winner and Runners-Up of the Society of Classical Poets 2026 Haiku Competition Judged...

  One Night in Bangkok   6:00 p.m. One night in Bangkok---and this searching man From Georgia must explore its...

  Invocation Lift up these leaden eyes that slumber still, Cocooned within undreaming restless dark. Celestial Sun, burn through the...

  Enjoy the Peace, Prepare for War “Why can’t we all just get along?” _I see most every day. And...

  Faust Part Two, Act One: 'A Pleasant Landscape' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) translated from German by Josh...