Culture

. Bunker Hill: The Death of Joseph Warren from Legends of Liberty, Volume 2 Dramatis Personae Joseph Warren – Physician, spymaster, and major general of the colonial militia William Howe – Commander of...

. Saint Sebastianus Sebastianus, soldier, pinioned, bleeding, Stands at his lonely and forgotten post Unperceived—no, even unsuspected— By the diseased and ulcerated world. Stomachs swollen with dyspeptic...

. The Unchecked Pawn Quickly Black castled king-side and planned his attack. White then countered with confidence, primed for a sack, with the sneakiest strategy he could contrive: nonchalantly he pushed his...

. Homebound They get too old to come to Mass, too sick, Too shaky on their legs or just too scared To leave the house. The bleak arithmetic Of life has caught them sorely unprepared And suddenly the simple...

. Without a Dad Without a Dad, you are not sure, And never know you could endure The many doubts that blur your sight, Or fears that stalk you every night; If he’s not present, there’s no cure. And then...

. Venus Sighed Venus sighed and turned aside, tired of seeing people try to feebly mimic Beauty’s pride, too easily pleasing hungry eyes that eat what they are given. Steeped in heaps of plastic...

. Enlightened Minds Most live life unsure and frightened, bearing burdens they want lightened. Waking, working, living, dying. Wondering why they keep on trying. Until thoughts that sound so heightened come...

. The Barista’s Hands Surprisingly, she knew my name and used the chance to give a fleeting glimpse and catch me off my guard. I cocked my head, perused her angled pose, and stretched enough to match her...

. Kintsugi  There is an ancient practice in Japan--- Chipped and broken vessels, dear to hearts, Are mended with a striking golden blend. These cracked ceramics, kissed with artistry, Have former glory...

. The Resistance There’s something in the way you hear __My meanings when I speak; It draws me dangerously near, __Makes my defenses weak. There’s understanding in your eyes __That shakes me with each...

. Ghosts: At the gate of Auschwitz Наш поезд уходит в Освенцим— Сегодня и ежедневно (Our train is departing for Auschwitz, today as it does every day) —А ....

. Jewish Detractors of Israel Israel’s Jewish detractors, do you experience remorse? How does it feel to be traitors? Low’s the price of your voice. Jewish self-hatred runs rampant when Israel’s under...

. The Hunchback The belfry beckons. Once again it’s time. This is my cross, the task I’m forced to bear. “To the Cathedral! Hear the noon bells chime!” I summon all of Paris here for...

. In The Beginning We’re stuck in the middle, unsure of the ending but guessing the outcome by how things are trending should make it apparent it’s foolish to frolic and cause us to worry and be...

. Nero Redivivus Others suppose that he was not killed, but withdrawn instead so that he might be supposed killed and that he is still alive and in concealment in the vigour of age he had reached at the time...

. On Turning the Page of a New Year---2023-2024 The hour-glass is almost void of sand,a rounding of the sun described in grainsthat drain away. Now little time remainsas New Year stalks the browns and greens...

. Woke Christmas We dream of Christmas like we used to know, With Santa Claus and sleigh rides in the snow, Big families all together, super-sized, But leftist thinking has metastasized And each says,...

. After the Stroke Aphasia: an impairment of a previously held ability to produce or understand spoken, written, or signed language, due to disease or injury of the brain. With pencil at the...

. Anniversary Pastoral for Benedict XVI Trustworthy Shepherd of all shepherds, hear Today’s renewed appeal in concord made For Benedict, departed now one year. That he to restful comfort be conveyed, His...

. Mythological Limericks on Defloration . Venus and Adonis Adonis was cute as a berry And Venus was sexy and merry— __The boy said “No dice” __But without thinking twice She jumped him and popped the...

. They Have Our Genes They have our genes; they’re human beings, Our fifteen frozen embryos. Regardless of your disagreeings, They have our genes; they’re human beings. They must be born, by God’s...

. Christmas Medley performed by Jeff Eardley . . Absent Friends The Christmas lights are twinkling on the houses all around. All we need’s a frosting and some snow upon the ground. But as this old year...

. The Evening The Times Newspaper Turned Into Jane Eyre My life had become like a broadsheet,__The Telegraph, maybe The Times:The financial section---prose sober and neat;__Inflation---the yen falls and...

. I Know Them Well Don't preach to me of heaven and of hell expecting me to tremble and to cower. They're here on Earth, and yes, I know them well. I do not need to hear your church bell knell from high atop...

. Christmas Hallelujah sung to the melody of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen When I hear a song of destiny, Of peace and love and harmony, From deep within I feel an Hallelujah. When I can feel a tingling...

. The Ancient Christmas Tree A Dream Memory . The ridge out the window was blanketed white With snow that had fallen that long winter’s night. A lad of eleven, I woke to the noise Of far-away shouts from...

. The Ultimate Christmas Gift “Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store.” ---Dr. Seuss This gift winks in the sparkle of the star That tops the twinkling tree with spangled joy __In...

. Author/Composer’s Note: The noël, Il est Né le Divin Enfant (“He is Born, the Divine Christ Child”) is one of the most beloved and beautiful French carols to have crossed into the English-speaking...

. . “Even now, in sordid particulars, the eternal design may appear.” ---T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral . Among the moan of kine and smell of sheep, The plaintive whine of fowls half-asleep, A woman...

. Sleigh Rides Do Not a Christmas Make While folks down under get to ride their bicycles __And dine alfresco at a Christmas picnic, We blokes up over are avoiding icicles __And making every effort not to...

. The Wisemen and the Shepherds after Eileen Duggan The camels’ footfalls over and around Baked dunes, through pebbled streams, on forest floors; The sages straddling humps without a sound Who’ve long...

. Christmas by Force The jostling beast increases the distress Of Mary whose first labor has progressed. Joseph of the donkey’s reins keeps hold; The night is clear and calm, the desert cold. In town each...

. Christmas I don’t recall the tree or what we ate With sentiment Dickensian and sweet. The tree was in a Midwest way ornate; The food: potatoes certainly; some meat. The past for me gives off more light...

. Midwinter “O blesséd day we now enjoy, from heaven it is granted.  He brings us bliss, He shows Himself for all our joy and worship!  O may our Lord each one today defend us from all evil!” ---from W....

. A Christmas Carol Complete text here: https://classicalpoets.org/2021/12/24/a-christmas-carol-after-charles-dickens-by-talbot-hook/ . . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and reviews published in a few...

. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin in reference to the recent storm in Maine In Maine the Governor had to delay A hearing where the government had planned To air, promote, consider and to weigh A law where...

. Curse of the Desert Ill-tempered droughts strip lands of foliage sheath. Its barren womb still yields a wilted crust that liberates, from layers underneath, a swell of ruffled soil and choking...

. Whence Come You, Shepherdess? . Translator's Note: “D’où Viens-tu, Bergère” was one of a number of old songs and carols from the French region of Périgord collected by Emmanuel Casse and Eugène...

. December Oak Leaves Puis çà, puis là, comme le vent varie, A son plaisir sans cesser nous charrie, (The wind, gleefully, pushing us, changing its mind, Forwards and backwards, all of the...

. Miles Fidelis (The Faithful Soldier)  for Joseph Salemi, whose essay introduced me to the soldier of this poem. The city shakes! Vesuvius spouts fire As Vulcan grins through Jupiter’s hot breath. Brute...