Culture

. Just Say It Two bombs exploded in Jerusalem Today. A boy of just 15 is dead--- A Jewish student on his way to school. And 18 more were wounded, all of them Israeli Jews at bus stops now streaked red. The...

. Heirs to Alexander These snuff-brown mounds piled up ten thousand feet Gaze on toward Hindu Kush peaks twice their height; Green threads of valleys mark the rough retreat Wherein Kalasha keep their...

. Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner after Ben Jonson's "Inviting a Friend to Supper" Tonight, dear friends, you’re welcome to observe Another birthday dinner---and deserve To know it’s mainly an...

. Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus And Peter, looking steadfastly against Simon, said: “I adjure you, ye angels of Satan, who are carrying him into the air, to deceive the hearts of the unbelievers,...

. Clowns Teach Writing Classes Students’ attitudes were dismal; composition skills, abysmal! Desperate to make things better, teachers asked expert go-getters, “Will you please get their attention? What we...

. Science or “The Science”? “‘The Science' and science are opposites.” ---Richard Lindzen So you believe “The Science”? That is odd.Science cannot be about compliance.Scientists are skeptics....

. No News Is Good News The world contrives, in many different ways, To overload the minutes of our days __With items that anesthetize __The sensibilities that filter Our sound ideas from the...

. Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty upon reading this Atlantic article Today I hear a murmur of surrender--- A shifty whisper from the cutting edge Of vicious tongues (sword-sharp with...

. The Return of Trump No matter how you try to stop Don Trump __He always will come back. __He’ll lie in wait then jump __In tiger-like attack. You put him in a box that’s wrapped in chains __And throw...

. The Last Man on the Moon for Gene Cernan My gaze was set toward the Western sky, To see if I could see him flashing by, I’d never felt so glad to be alive, With my model of the mighty Saturn five. With...

. Lullaby of New Mexico, Part Two Part One can be read here. Duerme Papi---Dad, it’s time to rest. I smooth your blanket here at Desert Sage And look with worry at your wrinkled face. My calloused hand...

. No Extra Lives While all his friends were learning skills To gain them wives or pay their bills, John fought with monsters on a screen, Got knighted by a game world’s queen, Amassing troves of...

. Our Superman Porfirio Landa (1925–2022), one of the United States Army’s longest surviving World War II veterans The modest glory of this veteran Began when he was born a Mexican, Baptized before the...

. Mother Nature Is Bipolar Mother Nature is bipolar. She needs to take a pill. One minute she's a blowhard. The next one she is still. I've seen her hail in April. I've seen her snow in May. I've seen her sun...

. Lest We Forget     Today’s the day I cast my hard-won vote   (My voice and choice, my prized ancestral gift)   Bought with guts and grit to stop the bloat  Of greedy grifters known to...

. Hell Rising They’ve come with a purpose: to numb or perturb us __By infecting the already-sick, And with them they bring a more tangible thing: __A nice carrot along with a stick. They live in The Palace...

. Who's Behind the Door The quiet words, the trembling lips, __we’ve heard it all before. Keen questions dwell within our minds, __like who’s behind the door. We saw the lights, heard voiceless...

. Think (Ideo)logically Say---friend or foe? What else could people be? … Stop thinking, since it’s useless, and it’s hard. We’ll do your thinking for you---play our card! These glasses will now show...

. CDC: Save the Planet from Poison CO2!! “We used to think CO2 was a harmless trace gas… How wrong we were!” ---Dr. Dillard “Sparky” Barker, SMFS, The CDC’s Second Most Famous Scientist Your...

. Poetry 101 Lecture Today we shall discuss why poems have a poor repute (Though if one dislikes poetry, apology is moot). Let’s take four types of poems with their strong points and their...

. Note: The above photos are of the poet's grandparents, Herbert W. & Evelyn Slater Tweedie in 1914 Wedding Picture; Glacier Point, Yosemite; Top of Pyramid Peak, Desolation Wilderness . 1914 Sierra...

. A Half Century Ago Oh there once was a time in our nation so fair, When the pledge to our flag was in schools everywhere, When young children could safely walk daily to school, And not be attacked by some...

. Halloween---The New Normal The maskless masses mingle on the street Pooh-poohing overreaching, grouchy rules. The granny-slaying, unvaxxed ogres meet As curtain-twitching witches eye these ghouls From...

. It’s Halloween It’s Halloween, and musty tombs expel Damnation’s brides and grooms; ghoulish creatures rule the night, a ghastly resurrected blight as Satan’s grinning visage looms. Hell’s emptied...

. Night Visitor Between the ticking of the clock I thought I heard a haunting knock. I pondered what I thought I heard, "Perhaps the tapping of a bird?" The hearth was warm and so was I, Until a cold draft...

. Are You Prepared for All Hallows’ Eve? All Hallow’s Eve will soon be here--- A time when our two worlds come near. They roam our world for just one night--- And you may fear until it’s...

. Shroud-Eater The undead Shroud-Eater, or mâcheur de suaire, is not as well known as the vampire, but is just as horrifying. He prowls cemeteries chewing on his shroud and his own flesh, attacks persons,...

. The Modern Prometheus Grrrr! Linden trees with falling leaves infest These ancient mountains. Crimson-faced they scream Like mobs in Transylvanian villages Which brandish knives and torches....

. A Seasonal Concoction He loved to have a cup of coffee in dawn’s dimmest light. It helped clear cobwebs from those heavy eyelids of the night. His narrow pumpkin head could start to gaze with orange...

. The Three Democrats of the 2020 Election after Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1 Scene: Thunder illuminates a 2020 calendar page in an undisclosed conference room where a pot bubbles on an electric...

. Everyday Angels  inspired by Guadalupe Amejorado (1955-2021)  They don’t appear in swathes of white   __On scintillating wing.  Their heads aren’t crowned with rings of light.  __They never...

. The Polls The polls are looking up right now, __But my faith’s not complete, Because no poll can measure how __The Democrats might cheat. . . The Boulder Field The glacial remnant boulder field, __A...

. While Reading Burns' 'Stanzas: On the Same Occasion' "Fain would I say" Burns wrote, has me inspired. Perhaps this inspiration’s meant to be a call to listen to a hope desired from Jesus.  Those once...

Playing with Matches "We don’t seek conflict with Russia but we are ready." ---Antony Blinken, March 4, 2022 We don’t seek conflict with Russia but we are ready, make no mistake. The finger that pushes the...

. Meditation Say to yourself at break of day: today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, proud, treacherous, envious, malicious. All this is because they do not know good and evil. But I know...

. His Pen a villanelle written upon watching the movie Eternal Spring His pen flies back and forth, a righteous flurry That recreates the scenes of saintlike deeds, Giving shape to all that once was...

. A Conversation Between the Poor and the Poorer, followed by an Envoi From the book five of the Man'yōshū, this poem is believed to be based on what the author witnessed while working as a provincial...

. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester: A Restorative from the Restoration by Joseph S. Salemi John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, stands out because of his double-barreled reputation: he was a savage satirist, and...

. Alone Together Narcissus, in the days of old, Fell in love with his reflection. He knew none greater to behold And starved while staring at “perfection.” Now we’re enamored with our phones Reflecting...

. The Red Sea From quite far off we smelled its salt And now stand stunned upon its shore. We stare into the writhing vault Where Moses sees a corridor. It seems there were not graves enough In Egypt so that...