Beauty

. Out of Purgatory There I went blind. I could no longer speak, but as I died, I murmured Mary’s name, And there I fell and left my empty flesh.   Now hear the truth. Tell it to living men: God’s angel...

. One Friend A friend who always wants to learn __Whatever’s going on, Whose warm assistance and concern __Can be relied upon, A friend who shows his gratitude __For what you bring to him, Who deals with...

. The Battle of Athelstaneford King Angus clapperclawed NorthumbriansIn combat close enough to hammer faces;His Pictish troops enacted brutal plansTo break the bones of foes with metal macesAnd throttle...

. Night Bird Singing Birdsong is a conspicuous avian vocalization often used for mate attraction. ---Basic Ornithology Long after midnight, a lonely bird sings; From tangles of tree branches, a sudden song...

. The Thief He stole my song, my music;He stole my poetry.He broke my holy vesselsAnd felled my sacred tree.He climbed my garden’s rampartAnd stole amongst the leavesAnd stole away the applesof my...

. Gloom at the Shore Down at the shore of Lake Ontario, Battleship gray under inclement sky, We vied for space with seagulls standing by. Call it a draw—a strange scenario. Colorless, too, an umbra to the...

. . Freedom high school algebra class; May 12, 1993 . A breeze blows in; it wisps my hair, And flutters papers in the air; It carries, with the scent of rose, A dream---and takes one as it goes. . Upon its...

. Reflection on the Approach of Another Birthday “He found them in a wilderness, a wasteland…” ---Deuteronomy 32:10 I find, I fear, I can’t outleap, As age begins its yearly creep To center stage, the...

. Not Forgetting 9.11 in 2023 New York, the City that I've only seen In flashes, glimpses, footage, faraway, New York I've read about, you filter in To every cranny of America. We are your suburbs, everywhere...

. . Wings of Desire: Canto I of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . God’s glory, which moves all, sends beams to bless __each thing in space, reflected just as bright __as...

. . Blackberry Memories We’d fill our buckets to the brim--- __my brother, sis, and I--- and rush the juicy berries home __for Grandma’s cobbler pie, our oatmeal, or for Mama’s jam--- __sweet scenes from...

. Perchance to Dream __The sky is wide, __The sea is deep, And when we’ve woken into sleep __A place to hide __Cannot be found, For probing eyes are all around. __The day is bright __And notes are...

. Nine: A Song for a Granddaughter for a girl, M___, raised in my household, though not a blood relative 1 She is the girl who cheers my heart: “Come, Jeff. Let’s play!” she voices smart And innocent as...

. Pilgrimage The strong will long to go on pilgrimage, Assembling to reclaim their heritage Of sanctity and stable permanence Embezzled by debased belligerence, For life is war, as Job so aptly said; We battle...

. Hymn to the Night Every thinking creature adores the light __Where twinkling stones and stars and flowers stun Senseless matter into a sense of sight __And all behold the splendors of the sun. First...

. On Professionally Hesitant Poets O, for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention! —Shakespeare, Henry V Old Vergil guided Dante to the place Where uncommitted, opportunist...

. On Going Through Max's Things in memory of Max Rizley, Jr., 1956-2001 As sand slips through my fingers at the beach, Withdrawing swiftly, like the sighing tide, So slipped your life away beyond my reach, Out...

. . Late Bloomers My last red rose-of-sharon __Is slowly curling closed, Each giant shell-shaped petal __Beginning to turn in, The five of them a pinwheel, __Crepe-paper veins exposed To August’s...

. At the Dog Store “Now this hound here’s a Disappointment Hound. His dam was Thwart; his pappy’s name was Slink. He’ll chew up expectations in a wink and snake along, his belly to the ground. Sir, you...

. Aphorisms for a Foggy Morning No literary monuments exist without the word. A lord who lacks entitlements is patently absurd. A song that has no sound to give has never yet been heard. Two wings for every...

. The Magic Casket 'Twas in the local funeral home __The miracle occurred, As ticking clock hands kissed at noon __And restless spirits stirred… A gasp, a creak, a quake, a crash, __A spectral puff...

. Lessons from the Sky I breathe the bracing air, I feel the dew Wet through my shoes and socks. The morning’s fair, The sky’s a waiting canvas backed with blue, The sun still sleeps, my eyes cut through...

. Sonnet for Houston The highway shuffles traffic as the sun begins to bake the tarmac; its black emits waves of heat that waver as it gets a thousand fractions hotter. Heat is one of many factors I find under...

. The Merry Wanderer When God wills man to know His favor, He sends him where the wide world gleams And makes him wonder at the splendor Of mountains, forests, fields and streams. The lazybones at home lies...

. . Tucson Sunday Morning Chorus: Tucson Sunday morning, See the sage brush come alive. Gold upon the Rincons, Catalina mountain sides. Saguaro in the desert Lift their silent arms in prayer. The mission...

. Overheard in a Mexico City Cantina A downpour started. The cantina beckoned. I sat and heard two men debating change; How Mexico’s divisions should be reckoned. These words are what I heard in that...

. . Poetics the Ginger Cat —Ποιητική: ‘poi-EIGH-tee-keigh’ By a caged fire I read. Around me walls of ancient lore, of poetry and war….           Prometheus bound, flames behind glass...

. The Old Place Once there was a family here Where now is all plantation pines. There’s a cabin—I see the lines— It was their home for many years. This farm was poor but to them dear, A world whole in...

. At Thirteen At thirteen, I received a birthday card from Buffalo, my aunt sent my Dad’s poem he’d written at thirteen.  Our plain back yard picnic table became a podium as I savored every word… “Oh...

. Something Higher the brown scapular of Elijah Departures and arrivals. Passengers. The life of one old man describes an arc: A sudden collapse from sitting. Messengers, Come lift my weight, grown lighter...

. . Virgil Departs, Beatrice Arrives: Canto XXX of Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . Now when the primal Heaven’s Septentrion—____seven lights of the Holy...

. My Favourite Photo of Mum I’ve just found my favourite photo of Mum, standing in the snow of a new century in the back garden; her sweater’s bottle-blue, her smile an ad for British dentistry. Sleeves...

. Deep in the Heat of Texas a rhupunt One hundred one, a scorching sun that I should shun. I shed no tear. Sun blazing down, the grass is brown, I do not frown I’m in good cheer. The soil on fire as we...

. First Footsteps on a One-way Journey to America Leave home behind, another lies ahead, Beyond these hills, these clover-covered dales; Empty the mind aboard those sea-bound sails, To fill with saline tears...

. My Boy His mess of hair plays with the wind; Eyes beaming now, he shines alive, A thrill to watch amongst his friends, The guys who throw, and hit a drive, And catch the fun, with glove and dirt, And run...

. Lahaina I’ve felt your restless tides and watched your palms Sway in the breeze that sweeps in from Lanai; I’ve joined your mission church in singing psalms, And gazed across the strait at...

. Mighty Oak Spread thy boughs, oh mighty oak, __Let fall thy wine-red leaves, Which, when the rains around thee soak, __Shall pile up high as sheaves. Some leaves are scorched in summer sun, __Or lost in...

. Beach Fragments A million tiny fragments strewn across the sand Along the foaming margin of the boundless sea--- The spiraled, fluted castles built so splendidly Now smashed and shattered, mere detritus on...

. The Outing . I Miss Deidre Ealing of Tiny Tots School, A woman who'd never be anyone's fool, Observing her charges like little buds sprouting, Decided the next day they'd go on an outing. Departure was...

. Facing a Famine of Fatherhood in memory of Father Peter Carota They say a country road or city street, The pavement, stones, and dirt pressed by his feet, Recall a holy man who passed thereby, But what of...