Culture

  To write of love, or speak of other things Like life or death, or such philosophy As might stir...

…anulbaṇáṃ vayata jóguvām ápaḥ. Weave ye the singers’ work without a knot. —Rigveda 10.53.6 Those pale cream swaths of handmade...

  Ethics Lesson 101 by Caud Sewer Bile Kenosha, Portland, Oakland. Minneapolis, New York: Don’t blame their Democratic mayors; they...

In the first World War, taking and holding the high ground was everything. The battle of Messines Ridge, in Belgium,...

  Stealth Warfare in the voice of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Admire. Our virus circulates. __Our muddy money’s hand...

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival and corresponding to the Harvest Moon in the West, falls this...

  Postponement I disappoint some folks of whom I’m fond, But I, in turn, am irritated by The nebulous assurance...

Our Worthy Sons dedicated to Samuel Our worthy sons should never be ashamed Of who they are and who they’re...

  Odyssey of Theodicy It is a strange fact, clearly biblical— In this case God’s will is most puzzling: At...

  The winds of time will cease to blow, The shining moon will cease to glow, As history comes to...

On Troublemakers: Two Translations* from the Latin Poet Phaedrus, Freedman of Augustus (first century A.D.) Translator’s Prologue These little tales...

  A Lesson Learned from Trump “We are all equal in the presence of death.” ---Publilius Syrus (100 BC) Today...

Supreme Farewell As every king and peasant must, A justice stands before the Just. We bid farewell to Sister Ruth,...

  “In the Midst of Life We are in Death.” --Book of Common Prayer, The Burial of the Dead In...

. . At the Supper Table of a Progressive They understood riots and death and what's more, "Adore them all...

  Feeding Time Chickens feed on chicken feed. Birds on birdseed, yes-indeed! Cattle feed on cattle feed, Twitters feed on...

  There’s no age bar on titivating hair, Apart from putting rouge on wrinkled cheek. A Speaker has the right...

  The Church is Locked on Easter Day a rondeau The Church is locked on Easter Day Despite the stone...

  Lucrative On the Laundering of Drug Money As commodities go, you are harmless enough Whether tendered in coin or...

Weave a circle round him thrice, __And close your eyes with holy dread, __For he on honey-dew hath fed, And...

  When Logos lived within the heart of man, Then beauty bloomed and flowered forth at will--- And every house...

  July 4, 2020 A monument falls Rioters have no remorse What happened this fourth?     Summer 2020 Sunny...

  London’s Docklands, Pre-Gentrification from a sonnet by Wordsworth Earth has not anything to show more foul Unless it be...

  Losing It He staggered round his living room in stunning disbelief As for the very umpteenth time, he’d gone...

  They tried and failed. They’re trying still To steal our freedom; break our will--- The terrorists who torment days...

  Misdirection Some dictionaries and encyclopedias still define “fascism” as a far-right system of rule. They need to look again....

For Nantes Cathedral Ravaged by Arson in July 2020, a Tribute  This holy place, where the enthusiasm of builders was...

. Poet's Note: The Venerable Bede tells us that in the 7th century Caedmon, “having lived in a secular habit...

  No Longer There I wonder if a change has come about. No longer do I feel that she is...

In Response to an Article on the Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners in China I read the other day about...

  Before the plague I never knew my hands. The need to purify the human touch has turned my vision...

  I am a cardboard cutout. I sit here in the stands. I do not think. I do not blink....

  'I Shall A Mighty Hunter Be!' “I shall a mighty hunter be, The King of Kills, by God’s decree!...

  We Siblings Three Attempt to add the hours we have shared: One hundred thousand, maybe thousands more? Our paths...

  I made her a bed with cushions and throws but she refused and slept in my bones. My skin,...

  The Angels’ Share Oh many a peer of England brews Livelier liquor than the Muse, And malt does more...

rhymes written after reading Simon Barnes’ blog post "Barn Owl in the Snow" Across the marsh, white passing over white,...

adapted from Babrius, first century A.D., and Jean de La Fontaine, 1621-1695 __At least twelve thousand years (though likely more)...

  Editing with the OED for Rita Bornstein __Like a mental abattoir, the OED, With brumous exactitude, looms over me...

  Abracadabra The written word is magical And not just something clerical. You scratch some marks into the sand; I...