Culture

  Impressions How often are impressions deemed profound, Accepted fully, carried all around, And stated with assertive satisfaction, From merely a few moments’ interaction?     The Hand of God I have felt the hand of God Securely on my shoulder, With comfort of His staff and rod More clearly...

  A Strange Sun The ships sailed up the river’s mouth, Against a steely, clear-eyed gale, Far from the vineyard of the south, The olive grove and terraced vale. So different from their native lands Appeared, unto each legionnaire, The green hills wrapped in silver bands. And somehow, so much...

  The Man from China The man from China struts around D.C. And silences the chatter about tariffs. He says, “You’ll like this deal, just wait and see, Call off your trade-war words and snooping sheriffs.” His pocket’s full of cash and oily deals; Just do not talk of how...

  The Ballad of the Ghost Mountain Boys ---to the “Ghost Mountain Boys” of World War II— especially the Iowa farm boy who was my grandfather.   Prologue There was a day that unawares awoke the world from sleep and sent it witless out to fight with devils in the...

  The Threat of Virtue Falun Gong, which has faced persecution since July 20, 1999, has three main principles: Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance. In China, practitioners are robbed of their organs, which are sold by the state. The State will not allow pursuit of truth Or tolerate a mind that...

  A Poet at the Tower Ah, what a perfect, golden, autumn day. The headsman’s brought the bearded ax, I see. The cocksure ravens strut like popinjays. The river shimmers like a bright malmsey. Make haste and strike; let’s have it done, prithee. The grass, the gentle breeze, the stark...

  Florence Foster Jenkins “A Jenkins recital was never exactly an aesthetic experience--- only to the degree that an early Christian among the lions provided aesthetic experience; it was chiefly immolatory, and Madame Jenkins was always eaten in the end." ---William Meredith Carnegie Hall, New York. October 25, 1944. High...

  The Gold Star Mother “Dear Mom, Dad, Billy and Baby Sis, It’s rough out here but I’m with some great guys. We look after each other, so mom, I’m well taken care of. Believe it or not, there’s no place I’d rather be. I finally found the place where...

  Three Brief Poems by Luxorius (circa A.D. 500s) translated from Latin by Joseph S. Salemi   11. A Phalaecean poem against a lecher, because he wept that when drunk he could not perform the act of coition. You swive too often, and too frequently— You don’t let up, unless...

  The Ballad of Zebulon Pike In Colorado’s mountain range _There stands a peak named Pike’s. Named for our hero Zebulon The revolution’s own true son His father fought for Washington, _Our freedom and our rights. Like our country, born at war _In George’s winter camp--- A Jersey boy who...

  We Are the Ones The first to circumnavigate the globe, To map the continents and island chains, To climb the highest mountain peaks, to probe What lies beneath the waves and underground, To reach the north and south magnetic poles. We walked upon the moon, and now we're bound...

  Ballad of the Sequoia _Six hundred years ago, My seed was planted in the ground, _A life so full of promise, And the green grass all around, _Since then, I’ve weathered storms; I’ve seen my brothers come and go, _But here I am still rooted, In this valley here...

  The 51st State "A republic, if you can keep it." — Benjamin Franklin, attributed answer after the Constitutional Convention, 1787 I sometimes wish—in England now— We were the 51st State Of America—and knew somehow We'd failed the test, become third rate. The Puritans who left these shores, First from...

  There’s Blood that Flows Within the Stripes There’s blood that flows within the stripes; _The stripes upon the flag, Those streaks of red on purest white, Were watched by Key throughout the night, _And none would let it sag. There’s blood that flows within the stripes, _The blood of...

  The Melody That Lingers On “Any requests?” the leader asked from the Old Time Country Band. “Just tell us what you’d like to hear, we’ll play it if we can.” “There is this song,” an old man said, “I’ve forgotten through the years, but the melody won’t go away,...

  An American Fabius I shan’t soon forget that impactful day When my son marched with face weathered cloudy and gray. His tears bitter rain as his chest moved in heaves, Crying, “Daddy, I do not know who to believe! My hero, George Washington, just died today! Puzzled, I urged...

  Vernal Clinic To regular observers, spring had never seemed So jarringly abnormal as it did this year. Its bright chromatic strains came winging in, some claimed, On airships made from canvas scrap and two-by-four. The whole three months came off as crudely improvised, A makeshift presentation staged without a...

  Black Shuck There are curious marks on the north door of Holy Trinity, in Blythburgh, England. Tradition has it that they were left by the scorching paws of Black Shuck, a fearsome dog which tried to force its way into the church one violently tempestuous night in 1577. Some...

  When the Last World War II Veteran Passes Away _Lower the flag, men! The last great one has passed. _Take care of Old Glory, Set her down at half-mast. _As boys they grew up In the Dustbowl’s great heat. _The Depression taught them How to make short ends meet....

  A Fallow Year at Worthy Farm No Glastonbury Festival occurs at Worthy Farm in twenty twenty-six. the land, where banished wildlife once more stirs can testify to Nature’s magic fix. No chemicals from leaky porta-loos will seep into the grassed and flowery leas; and cows---usurped by punters swigging booze...

  Outstanding in Afghanistan The man rose up at break of day, His feet like thunder on the ground, He marched through heat along the way, But never heard the danger's sound. He ran through bases, full patrol, He watched for targets, cold and gone, He steadied breath and steadied...

  Americans Cross the Rubicon   1. Preamble Be proud, be grateful that we’re here! We came In pain from stifling lands which we outgrew, And crossed the wildest seas that we might live. It’s madness to assume a stance of shame. We took vast risks and offered all we...

  Two Fateful American Coin Flips   Asa Lovejoy, Francis Pettigrew & The Portland Penny We settled on the banks of the Willamette, “The Clearing’s” what we called our settlement. “A better name could prove to be an asset,” Said Asa, and I shared his sentiment. “It’s 1845 and folks...

  Clarence Thomas, American Hero “The mob I now faced carried no ropes or guns. It s weapons were smooth-tongued lies spoken into microphones and printed on the front pages of America’s newspapers. It no longer sought to break the bodies of its victims. Instead it devasted their reputations and...

  What America Was Meant to Be We often hear what they said back then, no crown should rule over women or men, no single hand should hold that key, to bend the lives of you or me. No whim of power, no passing decree, should decide who lives in...

  America: 250 Years Should we commit to celebrate our birth? We’ve run so many laps around the sun, Yet in our nuanced realm upon this earth We may not cherish all that we have done. Our country, on the balance, stood for good. It claimed the peaks of freedom,...

  The Roommate It’s early morning (morning prayer): I hear Her in her room as now and then she sighs Or groans or mutters out a word or two (Quite indecipherable but flush with fear). At first disturbing, now it’s no surprise, A morning sound (as outside pigeons coo…). I...

  Then and Now The gallery faces return: I name their names, These powers invading dreams, who being dead Are more alive, because of what they mean, Than all the living, ignorant of need. King Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere And a whole mythos for a Holy Grail; Achilles’ wrath, thoughts...

  Breath of Night A sullen breath pervades the night the rhythmic stillness I can hear where peaceful dreams grow wings in flight; the thrum of drumming in my ear the rhythmic stillness I can hear, it thumps within my hollow chest; the thrum of drumming in my ear the...

  Canceled I reckon the outcome is just So cancel away if you must. It speaks to the fear That all Marxists adhere: "In our victimization we trust!"     Your Foundation Your foundation is timeless and true. Generations seek comfort in you. The Goodness you house, God's word you...

  The Dancer The dancer turns elegantly: her pivot light and feathery, her eyes as brilliant as a wren’s, her lithe form swanlike as she spins in ceremonial artistry. The dance is life, felicity, and also deep despondency. Away from falls, time and again, __the dancer turns. The nimble dancer...

  Chastity ‘My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away.’ ---The Song of Songs, The Bible   1. Arise, O Sleeper, wake, when did you last Perceive the brushing breeze against your skin, A burning heat, the winter's icy blast, Another’s...

  The Dryads The day we found the hoof-prints in the soil And felt the breath of dark, indolic heat, We dropped our implements of rustic toil And took the path marked by the cloven feet. The fields were newly garlanded in green, Swathed in the uncorrupted redolence Of Springtime,...

  Stories of Saint Anthony   Preaching to the Fish “Proud men have turned away, for they refuse To listen to you, Master Anthony.” “I’ll turn instead to shoreline avenues, And at the seaside preach to Rimini.” There gathered gobies, dentex, eel, sardines, Anchovies, mullet, mackerel, tuna, plaice, Piada and...

Trip to Italy A Poetry Travel Journal by James A. Tweedie The trip begins on April 8 with a two-week trans-Atlantic cruise from Miami, Florida to Civitavecchia, Italy, with stops in the British Virgin Islands (Tortula), the Canary Islands (Tenerife), Barcelona, Spain, and Cannes, France.   Virgin Islands, Photo by...

  Mothiavelli I’m thirsty for the fever of her kiss--- The neon sear---the lethal lick she brings. I burn to surf the heat of her abyss. I’ll skirt her scorch to shield my flimsy wings. I’ve heard the zap and breathed the sooty singe Of smitten kin who skimmed the...

  Blur The seconds tick, the minutes race, __The hours fly, __The days flash by, The weeks go at a breakneck pace--- __I wonder why __I even try; The months, the years, the decades pass, __All I’ve pursued __Becomes worm food; I strive to do it all---alas--- __I’m left to...

  Undeclared College Major Discussing broader options that young women have today, One of my female classmates had a startling thing to say, About how in our time some college women’s foremost plan--- Encouraged by their mothers---was to find themselves a man.     Kitchen Comfort He asked her if...

  The Number 217: A Glimpse of Armageddon "And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes" ---Chaucer, Canterbury Tales  It happened on the number 217 While on his way one day to Turnpike Lane That Palmer had a glimpse of Armageddon And never rode a London bus again. While sitting on...

  Today Awake, and do not fade away into your gloom—and stay within your room. Instead, without delay, compel yourself to a wide grin, and slowly some joy will sink in, as you’ll allow yourself to think of how much worse it could have been— the tumble downward from the...