Culture

. What Did Paul Revere? Listen, my children, and shed a tear, Because everything that he held dear Did vanish in the blink of an eye And banished, those who dared to defy The Bill of Lies of the Reign of...

. Prerequisites for a Trendy Poetry Reading Casual clothes, streetwise but debonair: Knit sweater, denims (slightly dishabille); A tentative, apologetic air, As if you told what you would most...

. Discrimination by Who? YMCA basketball for 7-year olds It’s not the least bit personal, But kids who have no skills at all, Will often seem to find themselves Without much chance to touch the ball. Still...

. on “Pope Francis’ Plans will ‘destroy’ contemplative life: Franciscan friar” Here’s a question: What’s it to the pope how cloistered nuns hear Mass? Is there no hope, for those who love the...

. A Pantoum of Wager God said to Satan: Have you seen my servant Job, a man who fears God and shuns evil. Satan replied: You’ve bought him with blessings. Take them away and he’ll spit in your eye. God...

. The Shepherd Who Remained in the Fields I had to stay behind to watch the flocks,a sentry against lions, bears, wolves, thieves,and other dangers slouching through the rocksand hills.  No matter how much...

. August 31, 2021 Humpty Dumpty looked at the wallHumpty Dumpty said “This must fall.”Mexican cartels, yes rapists and thugs,Cross now with ease and sold Humpty his drugs. Humpty Dumpty left a long...

. SAT Tips Leave nothing blank, your chances are __As good as one in four; So when the end is not too far __Fill in! to raise your score. Jot notes down on the booklet page __or circle a key word. This helps...

. from Legends of Liberty Volume 1 . The Battle of Concord By that rude bridge men formed up double file,The company from Acton in the van.Their bayonets cast beams—reverse sundialsDissecting the empire’s...

. . The Cost of Infrastructure Our property association has Three rich folks down the street. Their houses are Much bigger than the rest, with more pizzazz, More rooms, more gadgets, and more space by...

. for DKE We know each guy, and each knows us, No big deal and no big fuss, Tabernacling through this life, Share the joy and bear the strife. So what, amid this toxic day, If one might jaunt into the...

. It’s Fall, Y’all!   Autumn is here and I’m swathed in a sweater, A snug fluffy scarf and warm mittens. My Ugg-cuddled feet have never felt better; These boots are as cute as soft kittens. Autumn is...

. City of Holy Faith The time to weep is over. Turn away From somber matters of this sordid age And turn your pilgrim gaze to Santa Fe--- Garbed in aspen gold and desert sage. The sky’s an ever-burnished...

. Sonnet of September Two thousand one eleven September, terrorists hijacked four planes in the sky. The crew, the passengers, did surrender, to those Bin Laden had sent to die. Two thousand one eleven...

. I don't know why I think things will get better. I'm always holding on to flimsy hope. I've held it since I was a young go-getter before the downward slope. Is wishful thinking printed on our genes? Before...

. Leave Our Kids Alone!  “Fauci: Officials Will Decide on COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendation for Children Aged 5 to 11 Soon” ---Epoch Times Headline 9/20/2021 The mask is off.   Come see the twisted...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhNIScHrUOM&t=4s . Biden Blues When I was just a kid,I’d shout and I’d refuse.My mama taught me, be polite,Taught me the words to use:No thank you, Joe; no thank you,...

. California Wildfires to the tune of “California Dreamin’” All her landscape bronzed, Her breezes ashen gray, What can Cali dream on, Despoiled and rechauffée? Never safe, too sultry In her disarray ....

. Cancel Madame Butterfly today! Such racist music cannot soothe the soul. Let’s never show another hate-filled play. The King and I must also cause dismay Since white composers can’t know ethnic...

. The Lyme Brain’s Refrain, or At the Cupboard What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I, what am I, what am I doing? I’m doing something—something I’m doing— But what am I, what am I, what am I...

This challenge comes from New York poet Joe Tessitore. He asks you to use the following couplet in a poem. Post your version in the comments section below: . How very much do I despise The tyranny of fear...

. "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."  ---H.L....

. Regrets and Repercussions Inconsequential are the things we do Sometimes, or things we don’t, we don’t know why. So will we wonder far too late and sigh To think that if we knew we could undo The past...

. “Of all the tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.” ---C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock: Essays on Theology  It’s said that life’s a bitch and...

. Where meagre rains are tinted red From dust the Western winds have borne, The publican to stranger said: “We’re fortunate that here is shorn A class of wool unique in hue— The pre-dyed fleece of...

. Twenty years . . . So long ago as that? When fantasy became reality And falling human bodies turned to splat. Death in living color on TV. Maxwell’s silver hammer coming down On our collective metaphoric...

. Heroes Where are they now---the bold who brave The choke of smoke to ways that pave The path to breath beneath wide skies? Where are the ears that hear the cries Of souls they fight death’s bite to...

. A Summary of Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and Notes This play, no doubt to Sophocles’ surprise, When first performed took only Second Prize. Summary King Oedipus of Thebes, both good and wise— Or...

. Future Shock Our newfound World is happy, calm and clean The human factor, countered by machine. Where every thought is carefully processed and value to the Groupthink goals assessed. All individuality,...

. I This crucifixion hides the anguish. Racked With pain, belied by bloodless hands and feet; Intolerable torments, they compete As muscles in that arching back contract. His hanging head forestalls all eye...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw5AJQgDeQQ&feature=emb_imp_woyt . What can it mean---this swan of black? What cryptic codes must eggheads crack? What will this ebon-feathered thing Of beauty...

. Most schoolgirls, street-people, attorneys, and Bachelors of Art are aware that Thomas Jefferson composed what is likely the most widely-known, oft-repeated sentence in American history: . We hold these...

. Know How to Mow __You want to raise your rates, you say? __Your crying poor is killing me, __for what it’s worth.  Just yesterday, __when you were blithely billing me __for services you rendered on __a...

. With Coffins at the Dover Air Force Base: 29 August 2021 On Sunday, Biden traveled to the Dover Air Force Base to pay respect for thirteen service members who were slain. But grieving parents of the dead...

. Allgibberish (I Saw a Man Who Wasn't There) after “Antigonish” (“I Met a Man Who Wasn't There”) by William Hughes Mearns Yesterday in great despair, I saw a man who wasn't there. He's on the news...

. The starlit sky is filled with smoke ______and men succumb To dread, while folded hands invoke ______to overcome This awful plight; yet prayers heard ______through fervid faith Are breath for Satan....

. The Peach Garden Oath This oath of fellowship is an iconic moment in the first chapter of the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, by Luo Guanzhong (14th century), in which the main heroes of the...

. Observations of a Former Victim You may think me insensitive or witless, But more and more it seems the case these days, That victimhood is run up on a flagpole, Including in some overreaching ways. Of...

. “Make a decision,” is what me ma said, As she wearily plucked at each feather, ‘Er old gnarled fingers rough and red And clumsily workin’ together. “Yer’ll not get another chance like this, Two...

. "American pragmatism insists that words are for use, not enjoyment; American puritanism insists that expression is a duty, not a pleasure." —Richard A. Lanham Everyone knows that poems work on different...