Culture

. Porphyro and Madeline: The Epilogue By Byron "Let us away, my love, with happy speed; There are no ears to hear, or eyes to see..." —John Keats, “The Eve of St. Agnes” _A long, hard gallop brought them...

. Sit in Silence ---a pantoum It's pure stupidity to sit in silence. It's only idiotic to be idle. Unconscientious deeds should be derided. Decisive daily action's very vital. It's only idiotic to be...

. Challenge: Take a well-known figure from history or literature and insert him or her into a modern-day situation. Choose any form. Choose any mood. I hope you enjoy my example below. I hope you have as much...

. A Ceiling Fan's Life (Is Like a Man's) On wintry days, it rarely spins Except when mopped floors need to dry. Its mission, once December's in, Is just to idly hang on high And watch us squabble, cackle,...

. The Wedding Dress The dress, first cleaned and vacuum-packed, _Was safely stored back then, Remaining perfectly intact _And never seen again. . . The Prestigious Publication’s Poetry The words seem...

. Spot the Fool! ---for April Fools’ Day, 2025 . I.  Today’s the day to fox and fool. Today’s the day to flick some fuel On laughter with a cuckoo joke, A wicked lark, a wacko poke So sick Old Nick will...

. Worth the Wait? At last! The long-awaited, much belated Recreated digital creations Of ten thousands JFK-related CIA et alia citations. Allegations of assassinations, Congos, Argentinas, (Panamas?) Delete...

. Ink A lot of people nowadays adorn The spotless skin they had when they were born. While many think it’s smart to gild a lily, Dissenters deem this practice downright silly. As beauty’s in the vision...

. The Polish Martyrs Forever faithful to his flock, Good Father Rapacz would not flee. Steadfast he heard the soldiers knock. Devout, the priest was made to bleed. “For God I’ll suffer every loss, For I...

. Burning the Pieta Thoughts After Viewing Public Cremations at the Pashupatinath Temple Complex in Kathmandu, Nepal ---for Alok With tears wash fallen feet which once had stood To face a fated life with...

. Dim & Blinding Lights The lights that shine from streets and cities block out all the stars at night. The dim lights of our partial science block out everything that's wise. These lights don't triumph by...

. Blood Moon Eclipse (14 March 2025) The Moon’s blood red this morning as it floats within Earth’s shadow, bathing it in light refracted round our atmosphere, which coats the lunar dust in rust—a...

. What the Wind May Do The wind’s come out to exercise today. It tests itself: how long can it exhale? With steady breath it makes the trees obey: they bend while waiting for the rush to fail. It tires of...

. Learning Curves In classrooms smeared with monkey poop__Where questions meet deceit,She heard she came from soupy gloop---__A slab of soulless meat.Her teachers preached from thrones of bones---__They...

. Boomerang In the chronicles of hist’ry There we see a vast array Of malicious, scheming tricksters Who themselves became the prey, Thus, confirming what the Psalmist In his wisdom once had said Of the...

. The Unknown God ---Paul’s Address at the Areopagus (Acts 17:22-31) My dear Athenians, this I surveilled While passing by: you’re quite religious men! I scanned what you are worshiping, and then I stopped...

. How Many Homes? ---January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires Twelve thousand lost, from stricken memories more Schools, churches, meeting places, shops and homes Of residents and others moved away, Bereaved of...

. Another Old Myth The Ancient One warned Noah's doom was near. Since men possessed with greed kept spilling blood, That cataclysmic rain would soon appear. So Noah built an ark before the flood. No matter now...

. Vernal Equinox Germans call this season “frühling.” Spaniards name it “primavera.” Welshmen say the term is “gwanwyn.” Shetland trawlers go with “voar,” so Let’s resolve this with a...

. My Backyard  . The Campfire Elisha loves to build a fire; His dog is near, she loves to watch For birds that she will try to catch. They each pursue their own desire--- One by her leaps, one with a...

. I Failed I failed so dramatically most early days I failed horribly in most critical ways I failed to use schooling at each different age I failed in the waste of my talents each stage I failed with some...

. Reflections on a Visit to Saint Augustine With each step up the old Castillo wall I pray The hurricane will detour east past Grand Bahama. If windborne flooding comes, it can’t be held at bay--- St....

. St. Patrick’s Day, 2025 While swathed in swirls of green, some raise a glass Of dark elixir topped with sheeny cream. Some twirl through Derry streets and Kerry grass In dreams ablaze with leprechauns that...

. Simple Simon Responds to Sayings of Captain Obvious English literature tends to be wordy. Many tricks are exceedingly dirty. On a bright sunny day the whole sky appears bluish. All the teachers that pray in...

. A Summer Evening The sky begins to cloak its face, Removing every streak of red. Above, two weary flyers trace The way back to their bough-held bed. A boy, awash with joy, returns Soil-vested from a...

. Mussolini's Minions ---Segesta, 2012 Entranced, we wander round the temple site.The hot Sicilian sun beats down. I’m frayed,now seek the parking lot's uncertain shade.My brother John’s nearby, though not...

. Cherry Tree One summer day not long ago a man planted a tree, With tender love and patience he invested energy. He poured his hope and faith into the little budding leaves, For by this time next year he...

. The Core of War a pantoum The trickster charms and arms both sides--- He funds the ally and the foe. His hype unites and it divides. He’s oh so anti… also pro. He funds the ally and the foe. His crimson...

. Of Elizabeth Bishop Ms. Bishop is one able–eyed observer;her vision is acute, that’s plain to see.Staring at her, I doubt I could unnerve her,though from the page she sometimes unnerves me.The variations...

. An Ode to a Hymn “Like aught that for its grace may be Dear, and yet dearer for its mystery” ---Percy Shelley in “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” Cathedral with its prayer sings homily _About an ancient...

. Nishijin Weaving In the tranquil heartThere is no scattering ofBlossoms once gathered. ―Satomura Jōha, master of linked verse The shining fabrics of nobilityDemand the planning of a pattern first.The...

. Craft ---a conversation between Beauty and Productivity "You don't have time for this, you know." "Says who?" "That daily checklist down there in your tool bar, that's who says!" "Calm down. You need to...

. A Token of Espousal Sister Elisabetta Dardinelli Speaks Concerning the Token of Espousalof Saint Catherine de’ Ricci (1522-1590) Dixit mihi Dominus meus: Ne timeas, filia: Non rapiet tequisquam de manu...

. Ashes Before the Lenten ashes fade and thin, I might remind myself of those regrets More earnest than a taste for sweets Or bad TV and that my conscience meets With frightening ease at times far greater...

. The Greatest Time of Fatherhood I know that I’m supposed to say The finest time is now—today. And with all their accomplishments, That would indeed make lots of sense. And yet the greatest time of...

. We Already May Be in Purgatory The Peterson Postulate "What if this life is just a test so we can become better people?" ---The White Lotus HBO TV series What if God has sent us all to Purgatory? It’s our...

. Zelensky Gets a Hard Lesson Zelensky comes strutting, in hope of a payout— Trump and young J.D. are trusting that he’ll Accept their diplomacy’s well-crafted layout Of how the Ukraine needs a...

. The Vice Worse than the addiction of a smoker, And harder to get over than cocaine, More drawing than to gamblers their poker Is a vice that never ends the game. It’s worse than the attraction of a...

. If I Could but Touch His Hem ---Mark 5:25-34 Forgive me, Lord, you know it’s true That I have prayed twelve years to you, To stop the bleeding and the shame To live a normal life again. And now there is...

. Trumped by Reason Our elitists loved extolling all their virtues while controlling each dimension of all nations through new laws and regulations. The more burdensome the better, and they held us to each...