. The Babylonian Exile At first it cut much quicker to the bone: The loss of all, our world brought...

. Unholy Orders for defrocked priest Frank Pavone I heard disturbing news: Pope Francis fired a priest For preaching pro-life...

. The Sky with Birds Just Lately Born Sometimes there’s a sadness in my heart. A stone, a thought, a...

. Shams Shams-i Tabrizi was Rumi’s intimate friend and spiritual mentor. I stayed awake those short midsummer nights When naked...

. . A Broadside Drawn up before us, proud and sure, Costumed in their haute couture, And sporting all the...

. A Holy Picnic A small child had a vision in the light Of day, while sitting square upon the...

. The Winter Cold I so despise the winter cold; I admit it makes me utter all kinds of truly...

. Dark Sky Back home, the dark is overborne By a billion busy diodes Emitting artificial light, Thence seeping out...

. Calendar Poems by Margaret Coats January loves what goblets hold, And February complains of cold. March plows the fields...

. New Year’s Resolution a villanelle by David Whippman And what have you resolved for the new year? I guarantee...

. Same Old New Year   I bid adieu. You shuffle out. A new you shimmies in--- A you without the...

. Her Silent Prayer  for Isabel Vaughan-Spruce  Beneath the whisper of suburban trees One sombre, sunless, British afternoon, A hushed and humble lady stood at ease In thoughts that rose above the earth...

. Two Empty Chairs “We did the NFP bit for awhile ... and have felt revulsion over it ever since....

. “Where Ever-present Joy Knows Naught of Time” ---Dante, Paradiso, Canto X, D.L. Sayers translation a rondeau redouble Where ever-present...

. Crimes Against My Sanity At any-given-time o’clock While tidying my house, I find--- Oh look---is that another sock? It...

. Addiction A ripple imperceptible, like hints of amber in the tiring balsams, swells to waves of apprehension, then imprints...

. Villanelle for Timothy When chains of cold resentment in the end Entangle souls and circle ‘round to bind, There’s...

. On Attending a Holiday Ensemble with My Wife We’re gathered in a colleague’s home, Invited to this performance; Watching...

. The Fall of Babylon Come hear the footsteps march at warlike pace, Come see the merchants weep and craftsmen...

. Wisdom When young I dreamed of someday being wise, And pictured brilliant input holding sway. But via jolts of...

. How Troubling to Know Mrs. Pain How troubling to know Mrs. Pain. She has written some ludicrous stuff. Some...

. St. Joseph's Hymn of Praise Matthew 2: 10-15: “And when the Magi were departed, behold, the angel of the...

. . An Iffy Christmas   with a nod and a wink to Rudyard Kipling If you can’t rise above the...

.   Christmas Rules and Promises My first rule for this Christmas is__No carrot sticks for me.They might have been...

. Glory in the Night It was a night like any night, when in the evening chill Cold shepherds sat...

. The Animals on Christmas Eve Some boarded dogs stayed for a while Until their owners took them home; I...

. Nativity Scene The hour draws near to midnight, and a priest Completes his preparations for the feast, Assisting at...

. A Christmas medley by poet Jeff Eardley: . . Jeff Eardley lives in the heart of England near to...

. The Present---Tense The partial thaw of yesterday now slips Beneath a crust of light that is white snow. This...

. Vom Himmel Hoch by Martin Luther (1483-1546) translation by James A. Tweedie 1. From highest heaven I here befall...

. Sunday Morning While the World Burns Another something, somewhere, every day Perturbs the practised calm of her routine. Those...

. “Use the Word ‘Cancel’ or ‘End’ Instead of 'Abort'" —Stanford University's 'Harmful Language' List What might have been What...

. See the painting more closely here. Eden The newborn world is all aswirl with beasts Obedient who, as God...

. Continuation You and I are of two discrepant minds: We disagree on all that matters—plus, Our separate brains are...

. Mother’s TV It numbs regretBut, better yet,Helps her forget,Lest devils spawn. It quells each thoughtOf folly’s rotLost, sold, or...

. There She Goes When Everyone’s a Woman, No One’s a Woman upon reading the news story here. There she...

. ---To My Beloved Husband Our married love is no ethereal sound Which dies away when wedding bells cease tolling:...

. The Tartini Tones Combination tones generated by violins of good quality can be easily heard, affecting the perception of...

. Winter’s Perfection A Zen aesthetic guides winter’s perfection--- uncluttered, austere, natural, still, subtle, embracing flaws and daring introspection, a...

. The Portrait   I dreamed I was an artist, and had made A likeness of the one I loved...