Culture

  With Sorrow Do I Leave It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times. ---Bari Weiss, opinion writer, 13 July 2020 With sorrow do I leave The New York...

  Enrobed in blue—enthroned and crowned—her Son, __With proffered blessing, safely in her hands— __The Queen of Heaven reigns on high as one __Who holds in love all those whom she...

  I Make My Way by Joe Tessitore These times, indeed, have tried my soul. With lightening speed, I’ve lost control Of all that mattered in the past--- It drifts, now scattered, in a...

  An old friend called on me today, past indiscretions to relive. Long decades passed since we had spoke; he hoped ill feelings I'd forgive. We had once been the best of friends but problems...

  Coming Home “Thank you for letting me come home,” she said To me the night she died, and I, tongue-tied, I could not answer her. I should have tried, I know, for tacitly her thoughts I...

  Lockdown Leisure with apologies to W.H. Davies In lockdown life, should I but dare To take more time to stand and stare?--- More time to stand six feet away And gaze upon our world...

Your Smart Device a rondeau Your smart device was strange and new; It learned your voice and habits too; It played the songs you liked to hear; It answered your requests with cheer, And spat out facts...

by Adam Sedia John Dryden In 1688, John Dryden, England’s first official poet laureate, was deprived of that title for remaining Catholic and replaced with the laughably inferior Thomas Shadwell. Dryden...

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The Crowd by Christian J. Weaver The corpses of my former selves Are yawning in the waves. They bob and float like slimy logs; Their fish-expressions gaze With mute surprise at all the rest: It's...

The King Lying lips win praise and fame, And money, pow’r and wealth; They grant great glory for your name But cost the price of self. For once a man betrays his plans To be upright and true, That...

  Editor’s Note: This poem was originally found in The Pebbles and Shells: A Book of Verses ,1909, edited by Donald Fraser. Another version was published in The Good Humor Book, by Robert Rango,...

  Good François Villon, petty thief, Carouser, cutpurse, scholar, sot; Young chronicler of gallows-grief, Escapee from the hempen knot; Depicter of the dregs and lees Of drunken students,...

  Armageddon a tennos on the current socio-political situation by C.B. Anderson Some of my former friends are now definitively leftist; The most intelligent among them are the very deftest At...

  The Strength Within A tribute to Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr. Mike Stroud who, in 1993, became the first men to cross the continent of Antarctica unsupported. The crossing took 93 days. They stood...

  La Ville Lumière—City of Lights, of Dreams, __Of Love: La Ville d’Amour. Whose night is day— __Whose stars are mirrored in the sky which streams __Them back again—La Seine: the Milky...

  Caiaphas To the Bishop of Lafayette in Indiana in defense of Father Rothrock High Priest of Israel’s nameless God __You were, and though came to possess That charge upon the gentiles’...

A Case of Ghosts (Full Fathom Five parodied) In cradling case my fiddle lies, Waiting for the owner’s hand. Strings all slack, its music dies. Yet a not-quite-silent band There conspires to haunt my...

  Summer in Texas She sashays in on scorching licks of flame that singe the sticky fringes of the day. Her blaze, no brazen breeze can ease or tame; she sizzles as she splashes rays our way. Her...

Fallen Leaves You can't stop leaves from falling in the autumn of their lives, And you can't stop bees returning to the safety of their hives, And you cannot stop deception as it flows from your T.V., Or...

The American Revolution: An Epic Poem Chapter I by Andrew Benson Brown   Chapter II: Thomas Jefferson in Hell On July Fourth of Eighteen Twenty-Six, Old Thomas Jefferson was sent to Hell In his...

  All Gone Listening to William Billings' "Chester" I cannot help but weep to sing these words, and by them, lodge my soul with those who sang them many years ago. From their hearts rang both faith...

The winning haiku can be found here Write a haiku on any topic and post it in the comments section below. The haiku must adhere to the traditional parameters of a haiku to qualify (and may be deleted if...

  “Come one, come all, it´s time to ride The carousel of fools! It’s free, it’s fun, just step inside, Get on---there are no rules!” So spoke the barker at the tent To crowds that...

  Summer Concerts The katydids and stridulant cicadas Regale us with their aestival sonatas. At night, surrounded by the song of crickets, We listen just as though we'd paid for tickets. first...

Viral Hair Care After four months untrimmed, my coiffure was ovoid, Well in tune with Aquarian couture. I was starting to look just like Christopher Lloyd In the old movie, “Back to the Future.” With...

  1. Poetry or prose? No one knows. 2. Shan’t waffle, 'tis awful. 3. Shan’t coddle, 'tis twaddle. 4. I can't say it faster: it's an utter disaster. 5. By smidgen or...

  See the St Louis The St Louis sailed from Hamburg in May, 1939. The 938 passengers were refused entry by Cuba’s president, Federico Bru, and by the USA and had to return to Europe, where most ended...

  Back to Normal An Appeal to Pastors I hear it in my conversations and in webinars and on the web: "How long before we’re back to normal? We can’t stand much more of this. It seems so very...

  Honest to God? after Ecclesiastes 5 Watch carefully your step when you draw near to God. Fools play at worship, coming to Him to be seen and heard, more than to hear. They tip their hats to God,...

  Secret Sorrows in memory of Mr. Sushant Singh Rajput, an Indian actor and youth icon who passed away on 14th of June, 2020 Some secret sorrows come and throng ____the streets of mirth; They dance...

  The seasons came and passed again Since last I heard your voice; Many are the ways I'd change If death but gave a choice. I'd pick you flowers in the spring To show you that I care And when...

  I’ll Have My Say… by Susan Jarvis Bryant Don’t spit your ire upon my name. Don’t tell me that my view’s insane--- to sink down on one knee in shame. I won’t claim blame. I won’t...

  Averted, staring past my busy day, I watched my feeding station for the birds, Was startled by a darkness come my way, Presenting me a greeting without words. It landed ten feet from my window...

  In triumph the Archangel stands atop __The medieval fortress church and isle __That bear his name—the legendary spot __Where Satan fell to Michael’s strength and guile. “Impossible,” was...

  Samson’s Revenge a translation of Judges 15:16 With but an ass’s jawbone Asses I have made of them, The myriads, the masses. I have slaughtered heaps of men: Killed them, I alone, And with a...

It Matters Not On Sunday, June 21st, three men were stabbed to death while sitting in Forbury Park in Reading, England. by Susan Jarvis Bryant On Sunday in a leafy English park, A knife slashed in the...

  Olympus Olympus, thou majestic crag, whose bright And jagged spire, aloft the dazzling air Only the winds and snows and eagles dare To brush with crystal tip or feather light Arise from thy dull...

Poet's Note: The Apology of Socrates is Plato’s account of Socrates’ defense of himself in a court of law. The present work is a poetic interpretation of Plato’s account. I would like to thank my friend...

  The Boncompagni Dragon The Boncompagni Dragon, by Bartolomeo Passerotti (1529-92). Pen with brown ink, over black chalk. Tobey Collection of Renaissance Drawings, Metropolitan Museum of Art A...