Culture

. We Love You Charlie Charlie, Charlie, Charlie We’re so sad to see you die. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry Couldn’t even say goodbye. Heaven, heaven, heaven Is where you are I’m sure. Evil, evil, evil Is what...

. Utilization Another person’s misdeeds or their flaws,Are rarely pleasant sights when they are shown,But I try making such ordeals the causeOf seeing and disposing of my own.. . Superiority Although...

. Monsoon in the Jornada _Months of unwavering stillness, _Parched powder seared by the sun, Pitiless taunts from New Mexico sky, _Tenuous cloud-wisps undone _By defiantly static surroundings _As summer’s...

. The Pentagon Panama Plan A place in turmoil—Panama_In nineteen eighty-eight—Was where the strongman Noriega_Was busy tempting fate. The Pentagon felt like a dreamworld_Where fantasies were made.Years...

. Free Won’t ---Hypothesis in a 2007 study in the Journal of Neuroscience Perhaps it’s false, about “free” will—_A myth we hold as true.What happens when we’re ruled by lust?_“Free” will is...

. Michael Michael, heaven’s handsomest, most decorated strategist and highest-ranking officer, having vanquished Lucifer was faced with long-term unemployment. Seeking worthwhile redeployment, this veteran...

. In the Name of Whose God “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and...

. La Vie en Rose  I came across that daft old ditty “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”And wondered why its lyrics didn’t rhyme “tulips” with “true lips.”I’ve learned, you see, that botany brings...

. The Vile Monkey and the Patient Buffalo ---adapted from a Jataka tale of India A powerful old buffalo Once ranged the Indian countryside. Over the rolling hills, in cool Dark caves and tangled woods, he...

. Blood, Sea ---after Italo Calvino Beyond the blight of urban sprawl, About six hundred yards from shore, A pod of fishing vessels trawl The coastal waters. Sea gulls soar And dip above the crack and spall Of...

. On Charlie Kirk and His Assassins Make people think. Engage them in debate. Allow them to articulate with reason The things they think. Defuse their unearned hate And gently guide them back from wrath and...

. Why She Broke Up with Him Not long before their college graduation, His bright and beautiful four-year girlfriend, With no more than a sudden conversation, Brought their long-happy romance to an end. The...

. Thy Servant Elizabeth _“Well-done, unswerving servant,” _All the church bells rang _On all the roads of England, _While all the angels sang _Above the long procession _That formed her funeral; _The car...

. Black Holes Some say the universe is full of holes That suck in all that is. At warp-speed, gone. One wonders where was space-time goes. Like souls, perhaps, through portals to some wide-eyed dawn. Or...

. Prefab Tabernacle They placed their prefab tabernacle there Between the supermarket and the gym And come each Sunday, clad in activewear, From force of habit, happenstance, or whim. But there’s no place...

. Ned's Bad Day The gear that he intended was reverse,But to his detriment, he put the carIn drive. At least he didn't get too far;And all in all, it could've been much worse. The only other "victim" was a...

. Meddling A pair of cardinals build a Maytime nest outside my home, deep in a boxwood tree. My window bids me peek, watch them progress: their secret ways we can so rarely see. Three one-inch eggs, so...

. Hypnos Wraiths of twilight-conjured mist: At last, a prospect of release. Come child, keep our nightly tryst. To you, the wakeful weariest, _I bring unconscious peace. Steal softly past your unlaid...

. Surviving the Cultural Revolution Why should this tourist want to take my picture? I’m just a woman who is very old--- He photographs me as I sweep the streets And gather trash to justify my rice. What...

. At Brown University, 14 August 2025 It is a fitting name, at least, For every building that I see Is carved from this old color, like Some wise and sprawling, kindly tree. It’s island academia, Amidst a...

. Band of Brothers A picture of two soldiers in their prime. A scribbled note in cursive on the back. “My Dearest Son, if ever comes a time When I am gone, whatever you may lack Or need, just phone this...

. Coming Attractions (1994) Black is white, white is black, two and two is three. Put your common sense away, all you need is me. I’m the soothing voice, the calming face on your TV. Let me settle all your...

. Listen Britannia! Listen Britannia! All ye who would never be slaves. Hear the word of the Lord, He who rescues and saves, _For they who won't hark will dwell in the dark, __And will slump under rule of the...

. A Rant . I. Pay for a surrogate to birth you a kid. Feed it on formula falsely construed. Drop it in daycare for hours on end; shunt it to public-school where it’s imbued with half-truths of History and...

. When Prices Surge What happens to the prices when demand outstrips finite supply? Well, you’ll be darned to know that unlike all those years ago (when playing fields were level) for a show, to watch a band...

. Gull Pacing the parapet hungrily eyeing papers and plastic cups in the dust, her kin overhead, wheeling, crying, watching their chance to steal a crust. Floating down from the gable roof, landing nearby...

. Shackled I crave a morning hit when I rise up, A trifle touch to take the edge away To spur me on to get my coffee cup. Don’t talk while I eat breakfast. Go away. I want a bitty bit of my sweet drug. I do...

. Farewell Colbert Late-night TV, when it started, didn’t have a path yet charted, but had teams of wise advisors who knew they’d need advertisers. Advertisers wanted viewers, who demanded...

. News of a Coup The news of a coup hits the headlines. No ears prick to listen or hear. The proof plucked from yesterday’s grapevines Has dried with the last dusty tear Of natives once proud of their...

. To the Ancient Mariner “O Wedding-Guest! This soul hath beenAlone on a wide wide sea;So lonely ‘twas, that God himselfScarce seeméd there to be.” ---Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient...

. Uxorious? He tried to guard composure as he pressed the new denarius to his chapped lips and unbecoming tears for noblemen slipped privately to stain his cheeks and bed. “Faustina, death entombs a...

. Modes of Divination The future’s course, in all of its essentials, Is augured from a steaming heap of entrails. The tea leaves, buoyed by meniscus, Will show you where the greatest risk is. For aging...

. Attention Deficit Disorder I once had a friend like Midas.All he touched would turn to gold;but after he would touch itthe thing would soon get old. He’d focus for a while.He’d train and run and race.His...

. Mnemonic Device for Military Pro-Signs A-Z Pro-signs are an alphabetical coding system used by the military for radio transmissions or for the naming of various units, to insure complete clarity of...

. Mary ---a sequel to “Martha," prompted by James A. Tweedie The night grew still, the lamps gave off a hush,And Martha’s footsteps faded down the hall.The coals were low, the herbs gave one last flush...

. Sidewalk Sincerity “Hi---how are you?” he said to me, A friendly thing to say, I answered just as cordially, But he had walked away. . . Evolution I love to have close relatives and numerous good...

. Falun Dafa Parade The heartbeat of a marching band lies in the beating drums, The power of a sleeping beast that shakes the ground with thrums. An energy that fills the air and lifts you from your core, The...

. Autism Sonnet The lights are much too light and sounds too loud; And thoughts are only thought in black and white; Try to tolerate a middling crowd And talk so small, so pointless, so polite. To hyper-focus...

. Spotlights and Shadows . I. To a Limelight Leech O swankpot of the swish-and-swagger ilk Basking in your braggadocio glow, __You stoop so long and low To lap up flattery as slick as silk That spills from...

. Artificial “Intelligence” Versus Real Intelligence Chat GPT “confuses” metaphors and similes. It also “struggles” to correctly classify milled themes. It does not “understand” the difference...