Culture

. The Misologist “There is no greater evil one can suffer  than to hate reasonable discourse.” ---Socrates He reads the notion on the page. __It isn’t to his taste. It blazes fire that stokes his...

. Putin That’s, I’m sure, a vampire: Gnaws on bones, bloody-lipped. —A. S. Pushkin. “Vurdalak,” Songs of Western Slavs (Это, верно, кости гложет Красногубый...

. Independence Day? a rondeau Some dared. Some died. With pluck and pride And guts and grit the brave defied Despotic rule. They stripped the foe Of dominance below a glow Of stars...

. Fourth of July Limerick Top left, there’s an oblong that’s blue; add in fifty stars, white in hue. To offset the stars are parallel bars, six white, seven red, straight and true. . . Paul A....

. America Is Not the Same America is not the same. __I do not recognize it. We all know who should bear the blame, __But still we analyze it. The teachers’ unions and the press _  All share part of the...

. First Steps in a New World for Toribio Moras, age 14, Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1908 The young Castilian boy set sail, alone, and sought to build a life across the sea. Adrift, so far away, you had no throne, and...

. La Campana Ring, grandfather! And ring for liberty. The bell spoke once and, speaking, croaked and cracked. Our gazes bathed its iron in gold hazes As Hebrews treasured tablets their sin split. Its silent...

. Miracle of the Book Distance was short, but porters would be needed, And sacks were packed with small necessities. I wrapped the Gospel book and then proceeded Along the rowan-bordered road with ease. Only...

. Incensed For days, drawn draperies of fire, pinned close by dry pines, needled us with smells of smoke so thick it stung our eyes and burned our nose and made us run to see if flames arose from lightning...

. Le Bal Des Ardents for Joe Salemi On 28th January 1393 in Paris, Queen Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of the mad King Charles VI of France, held a ball which became the scene of a terrible tragedy when four...

. Psalm 23: King David’s Version When I was just a hungry sheep __and I was lonely, lost and scared, You somehow found me, fed me, led me, __showed me just how much You cared. When in the valley with its...

. Pillar of Salt “By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah... Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire...

. South Vietnam Warfare . Northern Jungle The rat-tat-tat of machine gun Split through the mist of morning sun. The sympathetic Montagnard Were blown apart from near to far. The boom of friendly howitzer Made...

. Darkface at Dusk "Death is swallowed up in victory" ---1 Cor. 15:4 At twilight, as I walked in solitude Along a country lane, unpaved and worn, Past gloomy fields, of springtime’s verdure shorn, My...

. Even the 49ers Don’t Play There Anymore Is San Francisco slip-sliding away? Old Navy, Nordstrom, Saks, the Gap, have all Closed stores—with Hilton in default—as they Abandon a once-thriving downtown...

. Job’s Rant Job 3: 3-10 . May darkness and death’s shadow claim the day When I was sent to bear the curse of earth. May clouds blot out the night that gave me birth And drown it in the densest...

. In Extremis ---from the Western wilds Here at the most attenuated ends Of America’s arterial transport map, Where pavement stops, dissolves to native dust, I find I’m mostly mindful of defense: Where...

. This Is the Choice  The gates of hell Closed from within. No one sends us--- We lock ourselves in. . The gates of Heaven Are open and true, Welcoming souls who Choose to walk through. . This is the...

. The Deluge From Heaven came the rain; On Earth the waters swelled To wash away each stain The eyes of God beheld. Each structure man had made Of metal, wood, and stone Cut down by Water's blade, Save for...

. Pharaoh’s Dream Redux “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and...

. The Gallows The trial was quick, the verdict read: “Guilty as charged,” the foreman said. The judge declared the man would hang, the leader of a robber gang who stabbed the sheriff with a knife, and made...

. The Straight-Fishing, Straight-Talking Jiang Ziya Far off in time and place but still on this small globe, By a river with his beard and stick and robe, A sage thought on a kingdom’s end that war might...

. Distant Thoughts from Nearby I need to turn my dog-ears up __and harken to the quietude ____ignored for many years, __and contemplate my solitude, ____expressing through my tears Incautious songs that made...

. The Test The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' —Jesus (Matthew 22:39, NASB1995) Is every trial just a self-created test? Perhaps we do not grow until we have been...

. The Number 207: The Road to Nowhere Oh once along the Road to Nowhere That used to be the Uxbridge Road You’d board and pay the tuppenny bus fare And go where milk and honey flowed. For this was then a...

. Fracture Mechanics Dams, bridges, tunnels, buildings and the like Are often structurally sound for years If not centuries, whereupon men’s fears Creep up on them abruptly in a spike In degradation...

. The Moselle Tranquil meandering alluvion, From Vosges pink sandstone hills it percolates In rillets past rich vines in echelon To cradle villages of varied traits. Saint Castor limns a linear regime, Both...

. Fifth Glyph This glyph, in British talk, occurs most oft--- most common, too, writ down within our books. Twixt ‘a’ and ‘z’ it’s fifth, not sat aloft but low and unassuming in its...

. Commodore Perry Opens Japan On July 8, 1853, on the orders of President Millard Fillmore, Commodore Matthew Perry led four American ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay, seeking to pierce Japan’s isolation...

. Lord, Give Me Serenity Lord, give me serenity To deal with lunatics, Especially the ones Who are found in politics. Help me to stay calm, And keep me honor bound, But take them to perdition Wherever they...

. All That’s Left Is Yours based on I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris The bride walked the aisle to her husband-to-be, __Who gently took hold of her hand. They started their vows, all to hear and to...

. Beyond the Visible Veil Gravity cannot hold those forms who float __And drift—hiding in air— Though some guard human souls; the others gloat __And sow their bait on snares. These spirit shapes wage...

. Xanadu Revisited after "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Coleridge __In Washington aristocrats __ordain corruption happily: __here the Potomac River flows __past million dollar homes in rows, ____no common man you’ll...

. How Strange We Cannot See a Reflection on Indian Boarding Schools and the Continuing Subjugation of Native Peoples God gave the land: the water, earth, and sky. And though we take it all away and try To...

. The Revised Guide to Selling Adult Beverages  Dismiss the woke approach to advertising--- It’s mad and bad and far from enterprising. Avoid loud, lipsticked lads in soapsud scenes In full and frothy...

. Gnome A long-time fixture at our home Is Schnozz, our little garden gnome. This non-complaining happy chap Appears to have a handicap, And looks to me, I must confess, A poor neglected, grubby mess. His...

. Life and Death This life has so much left in store, We think, a day gone by isn't lost; It's made of hours that bear no cost, A hundred gone, a thousand more While each tomorrow brings its weight, A list...

. An Aging Senator Returns to the Capitol Confused and more than half-way gone to Hell, They wheel her in like some decrepit couch They found beside the road. What ebon spell Or awful drug could fortify that...

. Creation From deep within eternity, the soundOf song burst out! As Perfect Fullness stirred,A melody in wisdom wrought, profound,Complex in form and powerful in wordReverberated…...

. Contract Murder No one is ever quite sure how it’s planned— What’s clear is that a grievance is expressed By injured parties, who directly make Complaints to the Commission, which in turn Investigates,...