Culture

. Moon Before Yule The ashen lantern leavening the skyBegins in languor to proclaim sublimeFestivity to winter’s weather eye. The dome of heaven echoes back the chimeOf peals ethereal arising heardIn silver undulations maritime. Adorning landscapes for the coming Word,An ice storm spangles flannel drifts of snow;Large oaken logs blaze...

. To My Daughter A woman’s life is hard, they say---and true, Though now not as our mothers understood: They battled nature’s facts and custom’s due; Your battle will be for true womanhood. Though all men’s ways now lie in reach for you--- Toil, battle, woes, cares, bruises, sweat, and...

. It Was Only a Winter’s Tale based on David Essex's classic 1982 Christmas song The nights are ever short and growing cold; the front door lies ajar from when you left one evening, though your reasons were untold, and in the time between I’ve been bereft. Your footprints have...

. Unsocial Addictions Why do some people lie, brag, or act mean?It must pump them up, like a jolt of caffeine.But soon they come down, right to where they have been,And can’t get back up, till they do it again. . . Sex Education One morning in our classroom for...

. There Is a Way? Is there a way for beauty to be painted with a word? Is there a way to write in ways so music can be heard? Is there a way to make a point that others can’t ignore? Is there a way to say it that...

. Abraham and the Binding of Isaac after Genesis 22 I cannot sleep although the moon is high. I’m numb. Before me looms the sacred hill. My son snores softly. I look to the sky Submissive to God’s wish but anxious still About the dawn. How can I do this...

. Lee in the Furnace "He who thinks of Lee Must think of Washington. . ." ---Herman Melville So Oleh, Chief, my other grandfather, Mine on the distaff, on the losing side. The furnace burnishes your graven face. You smell destruction, like a gathered tide. As all your features soften,...

. Voyage to Scotland Constantius II, son of Constantine and emperor from 337 to 361, hoped to glorify Constantinople by collecting relics of all twelve Apostles. He took Saint Andrew’s remains by force from the saint’s principal shrine in Patras, Greece. This violent robbery greatly distressed the people of Patras....

. Killing Common Sense The savagery of leftist rage __is getting more intense. There’s no rest from the war they wage __upon our common sense. The brave who voice their doubts out loud __are always shouted down. They’re cornered by the blue-haired crowd, __then driven out of town. Young brains...

. What Sort of Freedom? What sort of freedom is it that proclaims Its export to the savage and demands Oceans of youthful blood to back its claims And wrests the first fruits from hard-toiling hands; That foists debt’s yoke on children, hollowing All human action with harsh usury; That...

. 2 Peter 3 “Consider that our Lord’s patience is directed toward salvation.” ---2 Peter 3:15 For once in church (before, I think, the Sacrament) In silence deep and cast adrift in prayer, I folded in upon the immanent For just a moment (maybe more) and there Was made of...

. To Whom It May Concern a common spelling error: “Isreal.” "Woe to those who say of the evil that it is good and of the good that it is evil; who present darkness as light and light as darkness, who present bitter as sweet and sweet as bitter." ---Isaiah...

. . The Eve of Thanksgiving ‘Tis the eve of Thanksgiving, and all through the class, The students are wishing the time would soon pass. Though it’s nodes, modes, and frequencies they’re told to find, Bright visions of turkeys sashay through each mind. Though the pencils are poised over notebooks...

. World View Beyond the line where sea and sky collideLie distant lands beyond myopic sightWhere men and women live and love besideThe self-same sea beneath the same sun’s light. Where East meets West depends on where one stands.I travel west to reach the OrientWhile those in distant cross-Pacific landsLook east...

. . Reversing Babel . I. Babel “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.” ---Genesis 11:1 . An ill wind blows through Babel, where all speech Is one, so that it’s possible to plan--- Then build---our city’s tower, which will reach To realms where God can be...

. Perpetual Emotion “And everybody hates the Jews.” ---Tom Lehrer, National Brotherhood Week Not many people like the Jews; __By many they are hated. The people whom God chose to choose __At best are tolerated. Whenever something seems unfair __It’s Jews who are "outrageous." "Like viruses they’re everywhere. __Thank God,...

. “United” Nations? The U.N. won’t condemn Hamas’s slaughter,Supporting those who want Jews underwater.Iran’s a U.N. human rights group head,Though it would like Americans all dead. Two U.N. questions thus remain unclear---Why we’re still in it, and why it’s still here? . . True Apartheid Leftists say Israel uses “apartheid,”Though...

. Prayerwise for Gloria (1934-2013) Tough, keen, opinionated, shrewd:Collected junk, shared what she foundWith those who shared her roof and food,With those who shared her daily round. She prayed her daily round of beads.She loved the ancient Latin Rite,The Athanasian among creeds,Allied with Michael in the fight. Her children chose...

. Babylon (or Shelly's "Ozymandias" Paraphrased) . Oh Babylon, sweet Babylon, how long your skeleton has rotted in the sun— your name intoxicates like honeyed wine & makes me smell your incense in my mind & see your ziggurats & pleasure domes & zoos exotic creatures once called home, &...

. . Love Songs for Malcolm . I. Quickly you approach, King Malcolm, Firm and steady is your tread, Predetermined on defeating Faint reluctance in the greeting Made by one you mean to wed. . English words surprise me, Malcolm, Asking questions delicate; Comfort for us you’ve promoted, Courtly words...

. To Some Religious Brothers Beg! pray! or preach!  Or make one gravel-throated noise, Make murmur or a whimper or a single moan! Burble or belch or grunt!  The silence of your voice Unsettles souls and states, and your mute-mouth makes known Our pregnant insufficiency, our copious dearth. Our squally...

. What Do You Do When You No Longer Drink What do you do when you no longer drink, no tossing out the empties in a bag as one by one you hear that cautious clink then wipe end tables with a beer-soaked rag? Face reality? No, not right away....

. It Seems Like Only Yesterday Votes and virtue did not yield Control of our own border, And context did not supersede A breach of law and order. Most people thought the playing of Our anthem was the grandest, The media told what they saw, And weren’t just propagandists. Then...

. Sounds Like Paradise Kids are in the backyard playing; __The dog is playing too. I think that sounds like Paradise--- __Doesn’t it to you? Wife is in the kitchen humming, __Making pumpkin pies. Husband working on a project— __Sounds like Paradise. Christmas gifts under the fir tree; __Each with...

. Beware the Lion "Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" ---1 Peter 5:8 Beware the lion! Stealthily he creeps By dark of night, or camouflaged by day In leafy veils. He stalks his fated prey With icy stare, then without warning, leaps,...

. Superior Pontiff for Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, deposed November 11, 2023 Our Father in heaven gives the Bread On which the need of souls is fed. With doctrine and devotion rife, I am he, the Bread of Life Now sin no more, but follow me, Not blinded...

. Glow Brave little candle, shining bright! You send out rays of hope all night. Within your heart you hold a flame, A yellow flame, with loving aim, A flame that banishes the dark, Dispels despair and lights a spark Of faith and hope in every heart. Ignites a love...

. London, 11-11-2023 As wreaths of poppies roar in rebel red Commemorating all our noiseless dead, The streets of London buzz with blatant hate Inflamed by fiends who have a lust to sate--- That ferrous gush splashed in the name of peace. Greed knows the jaws of war will never cease To shred the flesh of...

. The Soldier He started as a little boy from any small hometown. He loved to throw and hit a ball but never gained renown. His parents taught him right from wrong and how to do his best, So he grew up a normal way, not unlike all the rest....

. War Paths in honor of veterans I have known through the retelling of their stories. . “Any Man’s Death Diminishes Me” Preface “Be killed or killed! Be cursed or cursed!” __A lose-lose battle cry. For even if I kill him first __a part of me will die. And though...

. Returning Soldiers With hedgerows, fields and trees the soldiers of a forward trench have rested with unease, reduced beyond a carcase stench. Beneath a one-time, war-torn land they’ve lain---forgotten bones. A century plus has spanned since Frankish earth expunged their groans, flung up, with shrapnel fed, that nowadays rears...

. Until You Try "You’ll never know Until you try…" Make this mindset Your battle cry! Your first few steps, A paper route. Try out for sports. Doors all about! Reach out your hand, And make a friend, And when you fail, Make true amends. A summer job, A new...

. . “The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow skull.” ---Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray . The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow skull, A glowing goblin with a garish grin And pathos in its hollow-socket eyes, Like some abandoned, decomposing doll...

. Alfie’s Answer “What’s it all about, Alfie?” ---Hal David Not selfish pleasure, as I thought, but love For isolated pleasures quickly sour. Love feeds a hunger nothing else avails The power of love all others overpowers And love is needed in the giving too, For giving love gives more...

. The Miasma Enshrouding Disneyland I came here as a fairytale-struck child; The tickets cost less than a week of pay And we would spend a carefree, joy-filled day. The park was clean; the rides were fun though mild: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean. The Haunted Mansion where blithe...

. Icarus Sings I’ve tempted fate, And sought the sun, I’m Icarus, I’ve come undone. My wings have failed, For what it’s worth, My long descent, Shall end on earth. I tempted fate, I, fate did shun, I’m Icarus, The fallen one. I tempted fate, I sought the light, But...

. All Saints' Day by Gabrielle de Coignard (c.1550–1586), translated by Margaret Coats O Saints, you have your heritage in hand Because you battled Satan’s sanctimony! Though burned or tortured, you gave testimony; A thousand torments tore your valiant band. Arrived in port, you see the whirlwinds fanned Around our...

. The Legend of Ole Stingy Jack Do you recall Ole Stingy Jack?Whose tricks cost him a great set back?They say he tricked the Devil twice,But when he died he paid the price. At first denied the pearly gateAnd left to wander shadows late.The Devil did show some remorse,And gave an...

. Word Witch She’ll tease and tempt with mystic words, __This foxy sorceress. Her syntax soars like sun-bound birds--- __This wizard poetess Casts slick linguistic spells that sing __Of Cupid’s carnal kiss. Her saucy muse is sure to bring A red, red rose and diamond ring, __But cannot conjure bliss. She’ll thrill and spill the sweetest sea __Of honey...

. . Plato’s Pumpkins  A patchwork quilt of pumpkins sown with gourds, odd fellows green and yellow ‘twixt-and-‘tween October’s orbs of orange the overlords of cowboy, tramp, and witch come Halloween. . The pumpkins, large and small, a fertile ground: goose eggs and horns and hooters, fat and lean —the...