Beauty

. The Night after Christmas You better not cry. “Deplorable” might be how best to putit, just to underscore the gravityof chores that border on depravity,begriming Santa’s uniform with soot. A...

 . To miss the mark, to lose my way,to choose the dark, on Christmas Day. No star I see, no Virgin Birth.No joy for me, no peace on earth. But for a wretch like me He came,to fetch me from my sin and...

. Wake up and raise the blinds, to see the light, The colors; hark, the carols, feel the cheers Emerging, from within this Holy Night. Hear choirs of hope, in spirit, ‘mid your plight, While you can’t...

  Christmas trees and Christmas carols, Christmas lights and reindeer, too.Christmas cards and Christmas presents, wrapped with paper, bows and glue.Christmas bells and Christmas cookies, Christmas ornaments...

X The play of the breeze brings the music of childhood, The tinkle of laughter as light and as clear As were our voices when singing in Wildwood The day before Christmas—the best time of year. The songs...

In This Post Christian Era “For he nil falsen no wight, dar I seye, That wol his herte al hoolly on him leye.” ---Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Love Unfeigned” In this post-Christian era I believe; In this...

_ I How will I know you or will you know me?When every bird has hurtled to the ground,When every whale and every fish has drowned,And every beast, engaged in killing spreeHas eaten every one that cannot...

. . The Rape of Lady Liberty In Memoriam: November 3, 2020 by Patrick Henry Redivivus They did the awful deed within the dark--- Brute men with beastly hearts, as black as coal, And blinded minds, like...

I set up my beloved theodolite And slowly, gently, aimed it at the moon, Then focused sharply on the lovely site, Which put its fragile eye piece well in tune. As always, it was truly great and...

. Still   “Many eyes go through the meadow,  but few see the flowers in it” ---Ralph Waldo Emerson  I aim and shoot with fierce alacrity   As artistry unfurls before...

The House of Life to Stephen Come in, my friend, and warm yourself; come in out of the cold! The night is dark, and icy winds blow harshly on the wold. Inside you´ll find a roaring fire to warm you as you...

. The coziest wrap of a cuddle To wear under snow-swollen skies; The grin of a kith-and-kin huddle To glisten in sparkling eyes; A tipple of mistletoe kisses To quench my intemperate thirst; A feast of...

. Stages of Arrested Development __The lads who once had wet their beds __Adventured off in brand-new Keds, Exploring every corner of creation. __Age twelve or so, they raced on sleds __Down icy streets and...

What is One to do with a Useless Man?: Philoctetes: A Myth Retold is a poetic play by Fr. Bruce Wren.   Act 5 Scene 2 Philoctetes alone (singing the first quartet softly, then soliloquy) If solitude comes...

. Strange Election inspired by President Trump's speech on election fraud (below) by Evan Mantyk Strange numbers were appearing in the dead of night From ballot boxes As if foxes Crept there out of...

The Painting of the Virgin God, seeing in America a child Embracing Faith with jubilation meet, Took up His paints, and on a flowered sheet By His own hand a portrait deftly styled, For He intended...

  Oh, the joy of summer's fall, Tripping on her tassels tall, Laughing with such deep release The ombre maples blush. How she twirls through apple trees-- Such a brief, chromatic breeze That...

. That Day of Infamy ∼ December 7th, 1941 Zeros burst through bluest skies __Like stealthy birds of prey, Set to swoop and pulverize __Pearl Harbor’s soul that day; That day of scarlet rising suns __On...

for my two-year-old grandson, Exander “There’s no tale in the world I can’t believe.” I said.“If you have learned belief, you have learned something.” ---Rudyard Kipling, “Bimi” X We meant to...

. One night a lean and wizened soul scuffed down the old mill road, while moonlight cast upon the knoll a mounted figure showed. The Horseman sat perfectly still, face shrouded in the mist. His hooded form...

. To Some Other Poets Let hoary heads divine and then divide,Dot i’s and dance on pins and sneer with pride,And ogle with an obverse obfuscationTo fuel the furious fires of their frustration.  An academic...

. Appeal to the Muse O Saint Cecilia, more than just a muse— The very author by this pen and ink— I plead thy help, and never wish to lose Assistance at the quill, or in the rink. For Art is cutthroat;...

  And when the time, oh Father, comes To cross this life’s tempestuous seas, Grant that my faith should not succumb, Hold in the end still true to thee. Let not the waves of doubt...

  Gather round everyone, come near! My story is for all to hear. A song for you I now shall sing, A song about Murry the King. Murry was the King of the West And ruled till he was laid to...

  The road of love looks smooth at first and seems as if it has no end. The wise know that the way is cursed, and heartache lies around the bend. The route has hills, and we can't see what lies...

X No tengo más que darte —Inscription on a Spanish sailor's gold ring, in the shape of a hand holding out a heart, found off the western coast of Ireland. Their splintered hulls well-raked with cannon...

_ Our Bishops, on Nov. 4, 2020 Our bishops hail the president-elect.Do they suppose the election is decided?Or are they anxious that we all move onAnd welcome policies that won’t excludeThe illegal alien...

  They mix together here waiting for the trim black and gold gondolas heading into side canals that drain and brim with refuse and will bear souls that wait to ride. The tourist's straying...

  Famine de l'âme The soul, deprived of one essential thing, Cannot rely on dusty stores of hope; Seeking to mitigate starvation's sting, Finds worthless every erstwhile way to cope: Profound...

  Where are the leaves that branches bore? They’re falling fast on forest floor, A cornucopia outspread, Of orange, yellow, brown, and red: Reminders of a settled score. Ah this, my gloomy...

  Don’t place your limits on this grief of mine or try to cheer me out of feeling sorrow. I need to wear it for a longer time and won’t be ready to let go tomorrow. The ragged tears that burn...

  The Shisendō is a hideaway villa in the eastern hills of Kyoto, Japan, created by poet and calligrapher Jōzan Ishikawa (1583–1672) as a place where he could read and write classical Chinese poetry...

  Cricket The game of Cricket, I’ll relate, Goes back to fifteen fifty-eight, Upon a field in Guildford way, In Surrey, many miles away. The game was played by many more, Up to the English...

Mozart on His Kegelstatt Trio Quite recently I wrote a little trio While wasting time at skittles with some friends. We needed something for the clarinet, Something not dolorous, but not con brio— A...

All Divinity Is Love or Wonder* New Harbor October 2020 All Divinity is love or wonder. The moon pulls up the sea, while rocks plunge deeply underneath; ragged, cracked asunder, synclined metamorphic...

  On Romantic Longing* Was it when autumn filled the air With musty smells and chimney smoke, This feeling in me first awoke, Which hitherto, had not been there? Or was it on a summer's eve I...

_ Pope Urban II Sonnet-Speech, Clermont, 1095 Oh Noblemen, I’m charged by God to warn that Christendom is threatened by the Turk. Torched churches and our pilgrim dead we mourn, whilst in Jerusalem’s...

Thank you to everyone who participated! This was a great effort for a meaningful purpose: the recent burning down of the Chateau Boswell winery in Napa Valley. Congratulations to the winners. Bravo!  ---Evan...

  Introductory Note These paraphrased translations represent three short poems composed by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a person so well-known that I will pass on offering a biography and only note that he...

A Wheelchair They kept their car-doors shut and windows closed, Nor left their house but stayed inside, disposed To hide if D were waiting wheelchair-bound Outside. Attendant crew, no siren sound, The...