Culture

. On Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son" Three centuries have passed since it was wrought--- A work of art transcendent yet humane. The tender play of feelings Rembrandt caught: A wastrel son disgraced, prostrate with pain; Humiliated by the sin he sought But somehow freed from Pride’s eternal stain,...

. The Death of Adam Excerpted from Musings on Piero della Francesca’s “History of the True Cross,” in the Church of San Francesco, Arezzo, Italy There’s always both: the sacred and profane. The right tends to the former, left the latter. The weak side’s earthbound, ugly, heavy matter, where even...

. Even then Cassandra, who, by the god’s decree, is never to be believed by Trojans, reveals our future fate with her lips.  —Virgil, The Aeneid (Kline translation) Surcease, Cassandra, stop that whining. We’ve heard what you have said. Enough. Come pour yourself a glass of wine and make, as they...

. Stream Above the bend, the water deep and clear, the current strong; seen from the Buckman Bridge, ten minutes walk for me, my cabin near, through pines down from a timeworn granite ridge —a lofty mountain once, it’s said, in time gone by. I come to see and hear...

. Daddy came home from “the war to end all war” And seemed, at first, one of the lucky ones. He looked exactly as he had before, His flesh untouched by bullets, gas, or bombs. But not his memories…soon enough, we found The things he’d seen and done were always...

Seven inches, simple dark design My modern mind disdains the notion That the measure of devotion Is the size or splendor of the shrine. Spilling supplications, meat and wine My ancestors with deep emotion Worshiped as a magic potion Stones that smoothed their steps to the divine. Sparse to me...

X Every Little Thing I. His Version She treasured every little thing that you                gave her: the sparrow necklace (hazel blueto match her eyes) the bracelet slipped insidethe box of chocolate treats---the wine train ride.And it's not been just things, but moments too: the...

“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” ---Martin Luther King, Jr. “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the...

. Rosarium a sestina A rose arises red from its green sheath Adorned with swords that prick and pierce: the thorn, Whose vigil kept ensures its life's not brief. Unmatched in charm though fresh from garden born The rose enrobes in em'rald linen leaf Eclipsed only by ruby jew'lry worn. The...

. My word will not survive a fire: the dust, the ash of paper singed by matches struck by fingers bent on silence. And it must rot here in summer heat in humid muck where mold will gnaw away at every page. My poetry will age like bread left out...

. My inconsistent pharmacist, Administer that certain cure That can relax my hardened fist In doses sweet with taste impure. O give me something for the pain, My head thumps fast, my heart beats slow, Or take a glance into my brain, For only then you’ll really know Just how...

_ Orchestra Tuning Up Is this the way the universe once sounded?A mass confusion of discordant trumpets,Flutes, horns, and violins like baffled cometsWithout a geometric course, confounded? Can this be how the universe was founded?An orchestra of galaxies in commotion,Celestial bodies bent upon collision,Spinning around infinity, surrounded By instrumental and...

(All poems by Bruce Dale Wise) The Victory of Donald J. Trump in the 2020 U.S. Election by Erisbawdle Cue You can’t make something be so, if the numbers are all wrong. You can’t hide Waldo in a place where he does not belong. You can’t explain by obfuscating and...

. Stress can envelop, encircle, entangle. Strictures can pressure from every angle. Tripping and slipping to ways that are errant happen to all who endeavor to parent. What should you do when in need of a breather? Run or surrender? The answer is neither. Here are some morsels you might...

. Portrait of God drawn from Scripture by François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), translated by Adam Sedia Know you the jealous God, who dare engage In sin, whose impious deeds ignite his rage? His flaming chariot courses far through space; Death and the Demon flee before his face; Trembling, the Threefold...

. Rapt “I must go down to the sea again,  to the lonely sea and the sky…” ---John Masefield  Today I felt the roil of sky and sea Merge to form a swathe of seamless blue, Where surge of wave and breeze found harmony; A smooth and lucent fusion filled my view. A melding of the ocean and the air Blended till their boundaries coalesced. Their brackish union wrapped me in a prayer And whispered of an earth...

. Benvenuto Cellini’s Salt-Cellar A woman sitting back, just mildly curious To hear a man’s contrived, seductive patter, Waiting to see what fabrications spurious He’s dreamt up now. It doesn’t really matter— She has no interest in him beyond this: The day is long, his chitchat passes time; In half...

. Behold the father of this infant land, Conductor of our daunting foe’s defeat, Now warmly laureled for his noble stand Through which our liberty was made complete. Yet Washington the praise did humbly hear, For he had seen the suff’ring and the strain— No pay, scant food, harsh cold,...

. Humility Lo, I have seen the Muses plain. What need Have I to go on living?—’Twas in Rome: I touched the flesh (it was a holy deed) That Michelangelo shaped out of stone. O what a great and glorious legacy The Ancients left us!—beautiful and rare. But look at...

. Wokeness by Russel Winick “Amen and Awoman” the Congressman said, The Leftists all thought it was great. What more woke insanity now lies ahead? That young females “womanstruate”? .  . Nightfall by C.B. Anderson No longer will our children learn in school A history that's free from outright lies...

. With Goals in Tow I’ve fewer days ahead of me than those I have been blessed to see. Though time moves on so rapidly, my hopes sustain. God still has plans for me, I know. He’s guiding me as to and fro I move through life with goals in...

. Flodden Historical Note: The Battle of Flodden took place between English and Scottish armies on September 9, 1513. The battle proved a tragic disaster for the Scots who lost an estimated 12,000-17,000 men including the Scottish King James IV, the leading clergy, most of the royal court and the...

. The Death of Today’s Sequoia Flecte ramos, arbor alta, tensa laxa viscera: Et rigor lentescat ille, quem dedit nativitas, Ut superni membra regis miti tendas stipite. —Venantius Fortunatus (c. 530-609 A.D.), lines from his hymn Pange Lingua Gloriosi translated at the end of this poem. The ring-counting post mortem...

. The Inca Kings Who stole the kings? Even Pachacutec's mummy now is gone from Lima's hospital display of Inca royalty—the T-Rex of them all, ferocity turned brittle bones and shrunken body in a sack, worthless to invaders seeking gold. The wisdom of the panther run amok, hapless Incas lost...

. An Ode to Letters We cannot be sure what the future will hold, But I doubt this prediction will fail. That no one will ever unearth in an attic An old treasure trove of email. . . Outvoted In my marriage I have noted That when all is said...

. From Parthenope’s coast each to his post, Beseeching eyes upraised with steady gaze. That night would nature’s cruelty erase A city from the broiling earth and roast The dying with the lying dead. Utmost The pain, the choking pyroclastic haze Whose toxic clouds cloak rivers all ablaze, Each supplicating...

. with reference to Macbeth V,5 . So bleak and dreary, like a stormy day, The world a whirl of whorls of endless rain And wind, with crash and flash from out the fray As cannonades exchange defiance and disdain. Our foe an alternate reality That spews forth pyroclastic ash...

. after Matthew 2:1-12 From distant regions of the east they came, Wise Magi, searching for a royal son, Into Jerusalem with single aim: Determined, they, until their search was done. “Where is this little one, now born the King, The ruler of your citizens, the Jews? His rising star...

. Fools sneered at his rightful place; __“He isn’t our leader” they said. They labeled his traits a disgrace. __En masse, they demanded him dead. They screamed that his term was treason __And fought with a madman’s might--- ____Will they blind my fair mind till resigned to false reason? __They...

. I asked the Lord, “Please tell me, where's the outrage From those who claim to love the cause of right? Why aren't more people going on the rampage To battle dark deception with the light? A nation has been stolen, and the thieves Mock all who would expose their...

  This ode concerns a wealthy gent, To London Town, one day he went. He’d paid to see an Opera, But got more than he bargained for. For as he reached the City wall, He stopped to take a cell phone call, Whilst crawling gently to the curb, So residents,...

. Biden Kneels Before the Red Beast by Damian Robin from a scenario of Evan Mantyk On silver-smoke-screen in mid air __the Red Beast’s horde has beckoned. Its full face groomed, a beauty rare, __but breaking up each second. And through each giant flick’ring smile, __a hint of mad, like...

Selected by Beverly Stock ---From Liver Pills to stuff that kills, and makes it smooth to die, The last is not their mission, though, and yet within their power, But if you’re sick--go to them quick, or you may rue the hour, You kept on monkeying with fate, and deemed...

. . Hunting My father strides ahead of me.His khaki cap is all I see,beside the barrel of his gun.We’re hunting upland quail that runfrom us in loose community. The way is one that he knows best:zigzag downhill through scrub foresttoward a catch-pool where birds might drink.Young, quick to fire,...

  Dear Edgar, __We’re sorry our response has taken so much time, but it grieves and pains to tell you that you’ve missed our paradigm. __While past works were droll and erudite ---nay, frighteningly “sublime!”--- we just couldn’t help but notice, Ed, Alas! This thing shows rhyme!     Tonia...

. . The Rub   I’ve had a taste of wonder and I cannot give it back. I’ve seen each deep state blunder and the swamp’s heart dipped in black. I’ve witnessed this great country as it’s getting back on track. And now, to put it bluntly, we are under...

  . Old doors to opportunitiesare gone, so, not one opens.Enticements that were there, just tease,no keys, just slot-less tokens. Lost gains are gone, missed chances gone,mistakes abound like raindrops . . .And storms you walked into are gone.Don’t fret regrets, then pain stops. For who needs doors to handle joy?To...

. . Ode on ​Bertel Thorvaldsen’s Ganymede and the Eagle Bending down in offering, a Boy extends a shallow bowl; Craning neck of eagle dips, the Child foresees his coming role. Swept from earth to heaven’s cheers, What held your heart with world below? Now countless days will turn to...

  . O hail you lied-to, baffled Yanks,__false-fed with sick afront’ry,If only rigging votes were pranks__not killing your good country. I know you're in the midst of it,__the bin bags full of ballotsThat bulge their plastic 'til they split__and tumble over pallets Stacked with further postal votes__that Deviants would buryWith...

“Pride Goeth . . . .” “How dare you, sir! Your libel will not stand!” The words flew out across the now-hushed room. “Retract your vile lies or face your doom! “Repent or you shall die by my own hand!” A single calf-skin glove was raised on high. “My honor...