Culture

. Pushback The New Puritans run amok, remaking our society. Through countless forms of media, they assert their authority. Through threat and bluster they control those poor souls who’ll bend the knee, but lighting up my Dunhill pipe, I claw back some autonomy. . . David Greenwood is a lecturer...

. Whistling Woman "A whistling woman and a crowing hen will scare The Devil out of his den." ---English proverb ____I have whistled and I whistle still, ____gone my own way to my own sweet will. ____I’ve walked like a target when I knew the score, ____had a bellyful and...

. The Gospel of Wives Wives everywhere possess the firm belief Of all their many roles, the one that’s chief Is sparing husbands from the sheer mayhem That would befall their lives, if not for them. . . Beneath the Bad Manners Her brother, on belief that she is loaded,...

. History’s Rondel Human history’s plot repeats In variations, with refrain Each time we purpose to regain Eden, fooled by the deceits That conquered Eve. Then Flood defeats And drowns our pride---but, yet again, It rises; history’s plot repeats Its variations, with refrain. Each Babel built on our conceits Collapses...

. Paradox of Tolerance "f tolerance is taken to the point where it tolerates the destruction of those same principles that made tolerance possible in the first place, it becomes intolerable." ---Gaetano Mosca (1858-1941), Italian political scientist  People touting their toleranceoften are thosewho are most prone to hollerwhile aiming their...

. Let Me Hold the Door I hold the door for you, and then you scoff. “He only wants to push old gender roles,” You think. Because you know you're strong enough, To get a door or dig some garden holes. But let me tell you in sincerity That I...

. Hairless Apes On the 100th Anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial . In nineteen hundred twenty-five, as Darwinists began to thrive, they wisely chose to hang their hopes upon a teacher named John Scopes who’d contravened the Butler Act by teaching children, it was fact that humans, not so...

. On the Epstein Files Debacle ---a villanelle Where are those awful Epstein files? It doesn’t matter left or right! Who are those sordid pedophiles? We need a cleanup on this aisle, From desk to void, they’ve taken flight, Where are those awful Epstein files? They think they’re fooling us...

. Not All Angels Play the Harp Not all angels play the harp, _Or sing in heaven’s choir. Some of them are warriors _Who fly on wings of fire. Daniel saw before his eyes _A mighty angel standing. Gabriel the messenger _Gave Daniel understanding: “Looking up, he saw there stood...

. Living Dead The riffled rush of water mingles withThe wind among the Ponderosa pinesAs damp chill of late summer mountain rainSoaks through my shirt and clings and binds it toMy skin as if I were a mummy wrappedIn strips of liquid linen, parodyOf Karloff’s walking dead, where echoes ofThe...

. Martha “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” ---Martha, Luke 10 In Jericho, the house was washed in white, Where roses climbed around each windowpane. The scent of baking drifted through the night, And laughter...

. The Hokey-Cokey---Chaucer Style With music was a dingy tavern blessed, In Southwark, where we stopped to take our rest. The Miller, Robin, on his bagpipes played A tune---the Hokey-Cokey---and he made Us pilgrims form a circle, where we put Each arm in first, then out, and then each foot....

. Of a Feather Professor Swann was new among the fonts of knowledge chugging up the tenure track; he'd earned his place among the college fac- ulty with bold views and a fierce response to critics. Apropos to ambience the ivied walls lent, students dared attack his points with blatant...

. Lasting Karma What’s the key to living life that matters? How do we spend this precious time on earth? Listen to the lessons of our fathers ---they illustrate the path from birth to death. So fleeting is the beauty of our bodies which amble down a trail from dust...

. Myths _I mined the Grecian myths _and wrung from them this gem: The gods amuse themselves with us and we amuse ourselves with them. . . Chuang Tzu We steal all our lives, was Chuang Tzu’s belief, to gather up booty for some greater thief. . . O Lethe...

. Family Affair It was an educational affair, So many distant relatives were there, And it was nice to learn who they all were, Too bad without a death, this won’t occur. . . Argument Avoided There’s no need for an argument, _We do not have to fight. I’ve learned...

. The Pervading Presence The summer gleams in meadow, stream, and hill Beneath the warming sun of mid-July; No sudden sound disturbs the landscape still, Which, sleeping, lies beneath the azure sky. Here crickets chirping set an easy pace For clouds to climb and burbling brooks to flow. Here hearts,...

. Simply Chilling . I. A Boring Villanelle My humdrum life has been a constant bore--- An unembellished scene of somber tone. Monotony is coursing through its core. My listless weekends whisper, never roar. They lack in luster to the sober bone. My humdrum life has been a constant bore....

. After If ---with affection and all respect for dear Rudyard If you can keep your heart when all about you Are stretching reason to its reasoned end; Ignore all form and pretense, without scoffing, And jesting always, care that none offend; If you refuse to wait, but praise each...

. On Never Giving Up On reaching the point where it's tough to find answers to _“What-are-we-doing-this-for?” And the number of people that “couldn't-care-less” _Surpasses the “couldn't-care-more,” Always look back to the point where you started, _Examine the worth of your cause, Stir your resolve by reminding your Courage _That...

. There Are No Words ---on the July 4th Texas flash floods There are no words to quell a swell of grief That swallows hope and snatches at the breath Of those who gasp in startled disbelief At onscreen scenes of rising tides and death Surging in a roiling swirl...

. The Juggler ---with special kudos to George Clooney, Whoopi Goldberg, Taylor Swift, Susan Sarandon, Tom Hanks, Mark Hamill, Robert DeNiro and a cast of far too many  If the Juggler has said it, it must needs be true For the Juggler sees deeper than I do. Or you. How...

. Optimism ---to the Class of 2025 The world is cold and hard and dark enough; We need not cloud it with our own despair. And it is furnished, too, with joyous stuff, And you may find a blessing anywhere You turn your eyes, if they are opened wide— The...

. Never Time to Spare ---a villanelle My daughter, I am watching you with love for I’ve been there, When dishes overflow the sink and books are everywhere, When everyday seems just the same with never time to spare. I see you take a breath and smile and separate a...

. Bodie The whistled whispers of a desert wind Drift through the dusty streets and haunted halls Where faded lives of those who loved and sinned Now flicker-flit like shadows on the walls. Unhinged, once swinging doors lie on the floor Of the saloon where ghosts of miners, dry And...

. Independence Day, 2025 It’s so much more than red and white and blue And stars that spangle banners flying high. It’s something strong and stark and deep and true. It burns with answers to the question why Souls ache to slip a granite-fisted grip. It’s something fierce that flickers...

. IRL —after G.K. Chesterton’s "A Ballad of Theatricals" (reprinted below) Though all the emails I receive—surprisingly politely read—Although the students can deceive,Although the work is fast indeed,Although, the angel in the chatShe comes by wifi not by wings,Though all the programming seems pat,Believe me, there are real things. Yes,...

. On the Existence of Two Genders Note: This poem is written in response to the trans-driven push to promulgate the idea that gender is either non-binary or does not exist at all---a nonsensical notion which is nevertheless gaining ideologically-driven traction as official policy in numerous “progressive” medical, legal and...

. Therapy ---After "Help! I Can’t Stop Speaking in Iambic!" by Cynthia Erlandson Help! I can’t stop writing psychobabble!No matter what I pen, it comes out gabble. I scribble nonsense verses all the time,self-actualize through crafting metered rhyme. Long past the age of addled, callow youth,I'm still endeavoring to find...

. Every Square Inch Her every square inch, her breath, and her voice, In all this and more my soul can rejoice. The beat from her heart, the wink from her eye, The times she is bold, and then she is shy. The cute upturned nose, and the curve of...

. Rolling the Dice “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist.” ---Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design At the start of creation, before the beginning, we’re told there was nothing, except two dice spinning somewhere beyond time, but when they...

. A Whale is a Whale ---after Ogden Nash While laughing aloud at Ogden's smart rhymes, I was struck by a way to interpret his lines. Though Nash's reputation was not as a Buddhist, An ode to signlessness might be the truest. We see how the author takes pains to...

. Hope ---in homage to Langston Hughes Hold steadfastly to hopeFor if hope should subsideLife’s a slippery slopeWhere dreams only collide. . . Equal Wisdom I dreamed of the ability_To say things that were wise,When young it was the growth I hoped for_Most in years ahead.But slowly I discovered that_An...

. Dad and I Our sessions last an hour or two at most, for we get through them just as fast as can be managed, trying not to stir the ghost of hurts supposed to help me be a man. When Dad was young, he knew exactly what the world...

. Rodrigo’s Lament The legendary knight El Cid duels with his fiancé’s father. His rasping knavish voice profanes my good name. It grates my ears, now content I am no more To let insult to me like this slide. I shore Up courage to act---none question El Cid’s fame. Sword...

. New York, New York “Give up Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island too…” (with apologies to Rodgers & Hart) How many songs about New York are in my repertoire?I don’t think I can sing them now. The city’s history.Give my alarm to Broadway. Coney Island, au revoir.You’ve picked a...

. Doctor Subtilis ---Blessed John Duns Scotus (1265--1308) A proud and canny Scot from Duns am I, an infant when Franciscans reached our coast. These friars gave me tools to weigh the why of doctrines puzzling theologians most. Northhampton brothers shaped my childish mind. My tutors sent me then to...

. Another Species Each time you felt some shame you could confess The sins you had committed, but instead You whispered a revision, something less In someone’s ear in yet another bed. That is to say, you were quite off your head, And took it out on everyone you knew....

. Six Bitter were the crimson seeds, Beautiful they were to me, Sparkling like ruby beads, In his palm of ivory. Dark they were to look upon, Rivers rushing down to mix: Phlegethon and Acheron, Lethe, Cocytus, and Styx. Bitter did they roar and weep, Yet harmonious to me, Singing...

. The Prayer Blanket ---as related to me by my friend Tim Cassar, who recently survived a brain cancer operation by Brian Yapko The paramedics came. They took my friend To where there was no earthly pain or fear. Of course, he worried this might be the end--- But Tim...