Beauty

. Midwinter “O blesséd day we now enjoy, from heaven it is granted.  He brings us bliss, He shows Himself...

. . To a Budding Ode   with apologies to John Keats   . I’m in the mood to crack your odic...

. December Oak Leaves Puis çà, puis là, comme le vent varie, A son plaisir sans cesser nous charrie, (The...

. . Webb Beyond the vast and empty sky, Where darkness dwells forever wide, The eye arrives to question, "Why?"...

. Miles Fidelis (The Faithful Soldier)  for Joseph Salemi, whose essay introduced me to the soldier of this poem. The...

. Are you looking for a good poem to read at your Christmas party or gathering? Is it a more...

. Against All Earthly Fire “Our earthly fire … no matter how fierce or widespread it may be is always...

. Cattleman Sinewed arms and knotted hands, head inclined, intense you peer Toward the heavens, clear-sky eyes Viewing the parade...

. The Color Plaid At Christmastime, when I was just a lad Of eight or nine, my aunt would bring...

. A Travelogue of Wonders My friends, I’m here to speak of wondrous sights. The first, at Alexandria’s port, was...

. The Best Thing… What’s the best thing A man can do For his children--- Just what is true? It's...

. Soft the Morning Starlight Shines Soft the morning starlight shines __Above in black-hued skies, Whose dark aspect, foreboding mien...

. 1.How odd a fallen snow’s fresh reassurance,Begotten in a winter’s biting cold,But taking edges off a world waxed old,And...

. Moon Before Yule The ashen lantern leavening the skyBegins in languor to proclaim sublimeFestivity to winter’s weather eye. The...

. Fugal Harmonies Softly chanted serpentinous neumes, melodic levitation, heavenbound, monotonal meditative sound; a capella in medieval rooms. Then Bach,...

. 10 Best Poems for Funerals by Susan Jarvis Bryant The right poem at a funeral service can make that...

. To My Daughter A woman’s life is hard, they say---and true, Though now not as our mothers understood: They...

. Thanksgiving I’m thankful most for what I can’t describe, Though otherwise I’m clever as can be At secular and...

. Greta Thunberg Meets the Emerald Queen Part II of "The Emerald Queen: A Legend from the Future" One day...

. Yet Another Year The birthday bells reverberate __Through haunted towns That lead you to an ancient gate __Beside which...

. There Is a Way? Is there a way for beauty to be painted with a word? Is there a...

. Convictions of My Thoughts and Deeds Convictions of my thoughts and deeds are vapors, not substantial things. There are...

. The Risen Though now the hearth is left to smolder __And light will soon be gone; Fire shall rise...

. Sonnet for Mom (October 21, 1933 - March 28, 2014) I could not see how much she cared for...

. Abraham and the Binding of Isaac after Genesis 22 I cannot sleep although the moon is high. I’m numb....

. Lee in the Furnace "He who thinks of Lee Must think of Washington. . ." ---Herman Melville So Oleh,...

. Insouciance When circumstances wear you down Consider this important fact: It’s easier to smile than frown. When autumn leaves...

. Tampering with Permanence  a Seattle pantoum __Here where I live, a cloud looks like a mountain; mountains float. Like...

. Voyage to Scotland Constantius II, son of Constantine and emperor from 337 to 361, hoped to glorify Constantinople by...

. There Are Not Enough Hours in the Day There are not enough hours in the dayto take all of...

. Revolution Puckish Schoenberg, bored with Bach now assaults the tonic scale, pounding (his a frontal shock), on Mozart's coffin,...

. 2 Peter 3 “Consider that our Lord’s patience is directed toward salvation.” ---2 Peter 3:15 For once in church...

. Wayward Their frosty hearts and polished oaken door Slammed shut the night she found her stolen voice. She sang a moonbeam song---a shocking choice In mystic keys that spurned the...

. Spirit of Thanksgiving Past O, noble Spirit of Thanksgiving Past, You are a very strange yet gracious host! Of...

. World View Beyond the line where sea and sky collideLie distant lands beyond myopic sightWhere men and women live...

. . Reversing Babel . I. Babel “Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.” ---Genesis 11:1 ....

. “United” Nations? The U.N. won’t condemn Hamas’s slaughter,Supporting those who want Jews underwater.Iran’s a U.N. human rights group head,Though...

. Prayerwise for Gloria (1934-2013) Tough, keen, opinionated, shrewd:Collected junk, shared what she foundWith those who shared her roof and...

. Fungible Assets A pint’s a pound the world around. Now, lay your oars athwart the gunwales And let your...

. What Do You Do When You No Longer Drink What do you do when you no longer drink, no...