Culture

. Knock, Knock! ---free speech in the UK is dead Three more children stabbed---a country mourning The murdering of minors by the score. Opine online---ignore the hate-speech warning--- And fascist fuzz will...

. But Who Am I? “But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’” ---Exodus 3: 11 God, did I hear you right?  Did you tell...

. Sicilian Samurai circa 1700 He made a startling, militant request To journey to Japan—strange land long closed To foreign influence. The Pope’s behest Asked that authorities be unopposed— But how to...

. Chasing Time  "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some...

. Boycott the Bullies ---a pantoum for the real women boxers at the Paris Olympics Don’t let a slappy chap punch out your lights. Refuse the bruise of hairy rounds with guys. It’s time to block woke...

. The 2024 Olympics . I. Excusez-moi, s’il vous plait, But having seen your lewd display, I’ve chosen not to watch your Games; Despite too late, half-hearted claims Attempting to equivocate, As if to...

. In the Shade There Meekly Grows a Plant urushiol (yoo-roo-shee-awl) is the name of the compound in poison ivy that causes allergic reactions. In the shade there meekly grows a plant With roots that hold on...

. Three Small Tabs Upon the men’s room wall at church, A flyer’s there for men who search For healing after an abortion Served to them, their awful portion. I glanced and saw in that display That three...

. The Psychopath Addresses the Ladies Auxiliary of the Mental Ward "When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate."  —C.G. Jung "Physician, heal thyself."  —Luke...

. A Heroic Crown of Sonnets in Honor of the Ever Virgin . ---1st Mystery: The Prophecy of Isaiah . The Timeless Song The timeless song of her virginity, Intoned by holy angels, signifies The consecration to...

. The Maze Her little game of make believe has turned into a nightmare maze. Her tears have spilled upon her sleeve while empty eyes have lost their gaze. Her maze is very hard to beat; The mice go round and...

. A Ballade to Becoming .. I. Conceptio You may have fame, be well to do, And live beneath a constant sun; You may attain all you pursue And be a friend to everyone. But, without fail, a time will come When...

. The Vision of George Washington based on the story by Wesley Bradshaw, published in 1880 . I. Message Disclosed What you have heard of Washington is true. At Valley Forge, in those dark winter days, Our...

. Cyprus  July 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the invasion of part of Cyprus by Turkey Land of my birth you’re blessed with gifts divine Of loveliness and beauty hard to find, Where Aphrodite from...

. My Vacation Trip in Verse by James A. Tweedie One of the comments in response to the recent “On the Meeting of Poets” post read: “A diary in verse. It’s original and interesting. I’d like to see...

. Freedom of Speech vs. the NBA The CCP has raged and seethed, oh joy! Daryl Morey was not playing coy, He spoke the truth, a gun then to his head: “Fawn now! Or else your hoop dreams are all dead!” Even...

. Dementing Torture of Benign           Drugs against Malignancy His life came to its End.  Smell of the medicine Departs chillingly.                                    ---Dakotsu The...

. Fire Lurks I recognize, while watching ghastly nightEncircle statesmanship revoltingly,Bright bursts of a spangled pyrotechnic star.America! No star, a land’s lost light.Companions, look and say if you can...

. The Trail of Hate Amid the upbeat crowd a sudden blast Of noise arose like fireworks kissing skies. Fallacious musings struck then swiftly passed When crimson dripped before the saucer eyes Of those who saw...

. Storming the Bastille from eyewitness accounts July the twelfth, the City of Light was filled With brigands bought by dimes and dismal speech; How cheap to buy a riot in this heat— Yet hard to rouse...

. Gunfight at the Oatcake Corral There’s an old English town known as Fargo, In the dark, rugged hills of the west. Where they say, there was many a gunfight, But this one was one of the best. Old Homity...

. A Town The difficulty of describing how This town was then, may only be because So little happened there, compared to now, Though what occurred (the bustle and the buzz) Filled every room in each small...

. The Red Carpet There's nothing left to tease imagination When so-called starlets, vying for attention, Sashay the carpet practically nude; And you don't have to be a total prude To know when something...

. The Expert Class “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see” ---Benjamin Franklin The experts with professorships are filled with such great certainty. They warn us that the point that...

. Houses Made of Stone Masvingo, southern Africa’s the place; a backwater, land tired and over-farmed, where army ants cut underbrush and race trimmed morsels to their hills. The air becalmed and hot as...

. Promises Made, Promises Kept... Give Me a Break! We know, because they promise us their virtuous intent when allocating funds is always currency well spent That supersedes all arguments of basic common...

. The Lord of His Castle Setting: King Stephen’s siege of Newbury Castle, England during the English civil war known as “The Anarchy.” The year is 1152 A.D. Strategic though this castle is to me I would...

. A Hurricane by Any Other Name... The lights went out in Mexico today. A fury hit Cancun with no remorse. With death upon her breath, she makes her way To Lone Star shores. She's on a fiendish course. The...

. It Goes Without Saying "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and...

. . Battle Hymn of the Republic The Lord doth come; the grapes of wrath are crushed! Behold His fiery sword of Victory. He heartens those whose voices have been hushed To loudly shout our rage: “We shall be...

. American Dream Where Did You Go? American dream, where did you go? Visions grand that I loved so? Land of opportunity Heading toward disunity. Politics that once were regal Neuter the American eagle. Merit...

. Ba’al "And they built the high places of Ba'al to burn their children with fire as burnt offerings to Ba'al, which I did not command, neither did I speak nor did it enter My mind." — Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah)...

. Elder Abuse What’s left to us to say? There’ll be no more debates. We know the truth now. Biden is not there--- The president of the United States: A man lost in a blank and vacant stare. They hid this...

.  Soulmate Your spouse ideally is your best friend,Providing love and laughter end to end,Supporting and enhancing all day through,But still at times your soulmate must be you. . . Ultimate Question Some...

. The Pink of Gentle Hermione and White of John Paul II The lodger pauses, as he leaves, to gaze At blossoms in the border at the front— The blooms of roses, saintlike pink—appraise Them as a Monday man...

. Again Sir Charles Hallé plays Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata for Henri–Montan Berton and Luigi Cherubini, Paris, ca. 1835 The two composers sat at rapt attention,listening to Beethoven’s...

. Rending the Night Remembering My Army Service in Vietnam . Flying bullets rend the night, Sleeping birds in instant flight. See the darkness glowing bright. Sleeping soldiers wake in fright. Targets outlined...

. Spanish Moss A thicket hides the remnants of a grange, An antebellum place of ghosts and rue--- A gothic ruin---tropical and strange Which even egrets shun. The faintest clue Of why is whispered when the...

. Memento Belli _My father had mementoes of the war; _he kept them in a box above his clothes, _where also hung a uniform he wore _when he was someone in that time ago _till trauma came, caused by the weight...

. The Plagiarising Poet A young lad sat in class—geography— Bored and in a peaceful reverie. The school bell blared, the teach showed indignation, “The bell does not free you!” she yelled in...