Culture

. The Plight of a Troubled Young Soul Parts I and II are paraphrases of actual notes. . I. Not Today I know I’m ill; I am not well. In truth, I want to end it all. I want to toll my own death knell. I wish I could escape...

. Zelda She and Scott were the face of the Jazz Age, Drunk and riotous in post-war Paris, He scribbling out page on potboiling page To fund the wastage of two beaux esprits. When the stock market crashed, in twenty-nine, He ploughed on, as the now notorious Gatsby scribe; she...

. To Find a Waterfall The wild forest is a spiritual place. Disbelief does not last there. Halfway through My span of life, my sunrise-to-set race, I found my trail among the trees anew. Goal for the Spring: to find a waterfall, To trace my pathway out to that grand view....

. The Kakistocracy Does the news give you malneirophrenia, __but you've not been to sleep? Do you galumph all day around the house, __your mind in sorrows deep? Do politicians bring on crapulence, __but you've not had a drink? Is it those ultracrepidarians __who make you doublethink? All the solipsist...

. Because She Walked In Beauty They sentenced her to over seventy lashes, Because she walked in beauty, hair revealed, Which beauty they demanded be concealed. Courageously, she faced the mullahs’ fascists, Who glared at her with dusky eyes askant. Then led away and shackled to a bed, They beat...

. Summer of ‘73  It’s sunset and the sidewalk still feels hot. My legs and feet are bare, they do not mind Mosquitos nearly eating me alive. The neighbor kids are starting to come out. We play a game of hide and seek; I hide Up in a tree and...

. Father after "So Far, So Near," by Christopher Pearse Cranch (1813-1892). Father, maker of all spirit, infinite, You can ensphere it. Still, You enter all that's living: raising, guiding, and forgiving. Of all worlds, You are the spawner. You alone deserve our honor. All things good You don't deny...

. . . Maura H. Harrison is a writer, photographer, and fiber artist from Fredericksburg, VA. She is currently an MFA candidate in Creative Writing at the University of St. Thomas, Houston.  Her works have appeared in Dappled Things, Ekstasis Magazine, Amethyst Review, Solum Journal, Heart of Flesh Literary Magazine, Trampoline,...

. I’ll Keep My Truck I’ll keep my truck.  I won’t revise my thinking as gas prices rise. My son-in-law berates and blames my truck.  It drinks too much, he claims. He loves to spout and moralize. He says the long-term answer lies in hybrid cars of smaller size. The...

. The Pitcher Plant The insect dances on a pitcher plant drinking deep the fabled honey nectar. The rim affords a place to lean and slant— heedless treads the doomed fructose collector. Advancing where the juice is still more sweet, excess brings him to his tragic blunder: ignoring slippage neath...

. To My Brother after John Keats When I have fears that I may lose my sight before I've savored books I long to read, before famed writers oust my glooms with light and my starved mind their genius stories feed; When I circuit the nature park, a sightseer, surveying...

. A Mighty Fortress for Diane My eyes ache from the tears still left unshed As I remember all she meant to me. I still can’t quite accept that she is dead And find scant solace in the eulogy. A vibrant life bled out to ashen sod. Faith wavers. Maybe...

. The Five Ages Beneath rose bower and sweet cherry shade Long since have Saturn’s golden people slept And for their sins the silver race were swept Hence and in lightning-blasted clefts were laid; Next were the bronze folk in the balance weighed And wanting found and crumbled into dust;...

. Bunker Hill: The Death of Joseph Warren from Legends of Liberty, Volume 2 Dramatis Personae Joseph Warren – Physician, spymaster, and major general of the colonial militia William Howe – Commander of the British Forces at Bunker Hill Israel Putnam – Patriot veteran, popularly known as “Old Put” Col....

. Saint Sebastianus Sebastianus, soldier, pinioned, bleeding, Stands at his lonely and forgotten post Unperceived—no, even unsuspected— By the diseased and ulcerated world. Stomachs swollen with dyspeptic lust, Crisscrossing arrows of sharp competition, The noise and energy of the inane— All pass by him without a nod or glance. But...

. The Unchecked Pawn Quickly Black castled king-side and planned his attack. White then countered with confidence, primed for a sack, with the sneakiest strategy he could contrive: nonchalantly he pushed his f-pawn to rank 5. I’ll just nab it, thought Black, but wait ... what’s going on? Devil take...

. Homebound They get too old to come to Mass, too sick, Too shaky on their legs or just too scared To leave the house. The bleak arithmetic Of life has caught them sorely unprepared And suddenly the simple life they shared In prayer within the safety of their pew...

. Without a Dad Without a Dad, you are not sure, And never know you could endure The many doubts that blur your sight, Or fears that stalk you every night; If he’s not present, there’s no cure. And then there is the world’s allure That offers all that is...

. Venus Sighed Venus sighed and turned aside, tired of seeing people try to feebly mimic Beauty’s pride, too easily pleasing hungry eyes that eat what they are given. Steeped in heaps of plastic flowers, plastic breasts and plastic towers, the Goddess sought a fleshy bower on which her blessings...

. Enlightened Minds Most live life unsure and frightened, bearing burdens they want lightened. Waking, working, living, dying. Wondering why they keep on trying. Until thoughts that sound so heightened come from minds that seem enlightened, and provide an explanation for our desperate situation. What they teach sounds so appealing,...

. The Barista’s Hands Surprisingly, she knew my name and used the chance to give a fleeting glimpse and catch me off my guard. I cocked my head, perused her angled pose, and stretched enough to match her risk. "You have one up on me, I think: I never caught...

. Kintsugi  There is an ancient practice in Japan--- Chipped and broken vessels, dear to hearts, Are mended with a striking golden blend. These cracked ceramics, kissed with artistry, Have former glory honorably restored. Each gleaming seam adds meaning to their worth. This emphasis of imperfection shows The wonder of destruction and rebirth--- The value of life’s scuffs and...

. The Resistance There’s something in the way you hear __My meanings when I speak; It draws me dangerously near, __Makes my defenses weak. There’s understanding in your eyes __That shakes me with each glance; It strips my soul of all disguise __And leaves me with no chance. Your gaze...

. Ghosts: At the gate of Auschwitz Наш поезд уходит в Освенцим— Сегодня и ежедневно (Our train is departing for Auschwitz, today as it does every day) —А . Галич, "Поезд. Памяти С. М. Михоэлса" (A. Galich, “The Train. In memoriam Solomon Mikhoels) In Auschwitz, it’s cold. It is winter....

. Jewish Detractors of Israel Israel’s Jewish detractors, do you experience remorse? How does it feel to be traitors? Low’s the price of your voice. Jewish self-hatred runs rampant when Israel’s under attack, Israel emerges triumphant, breaking her enemies’ back. Jewish detractors, can Israel manage without your brain cells? Yes....

. The Hunchback The belfry beckons. Once again it’s time. This is my cross, the task I’m forced to bear. “To the Cathedral! Hear the noon bells chime!” I summon all of Paris here for prayer. Monseigneur says this justifies the scraps Of moldy bread which keep my wounded heart...

. In The Beginning We’re stuck in the middle, unsure of the ending but guessing the outcome by how things are trending should make it apparent it’s foolish to frolic and cause us to worry and be melancholic. When all the signs indicate evil is winning, it’s good to remember...

. Nero Redivivus Others suppose that he was not killed, but withdrawn instead so that he might be supposed killed and that he is still alive and in concealment in the vigour of age he had reached at the time of his supposed death, until ‘he will be revealed at...

. On Turning the Page of a New Year---2023-2024 The hour-glass is almost void of sand,a rounding of the sun described in grainsthat drain away. Now little time remainsas New Year stalks the browns and greens of land.Don’t ask me with what warring tribe I stand,the sting of every squirming...

. Woke Christmas We dream of Christmas like we used to know, With Santa Claus and sleigh rides in the snow, Big families all together, super-sized, But leftist thinking has metastasized And each says, “Season’s Greetings,” like a parrot, And Frosty’s a snow-“woman” with a carrot. School bullies are excused...

. After the Stroke Aphasia: an impairment of a previously held ability to produce or understand spoken, written, or signed language, due to disease or injury of the brain. With pencil at the ready, Thesaurus for the word, Mind full of concepts heady, Profound but slightly blurred, By light of...

. Anniversary Pastoral for Benedict XVI Trustworthy Shepherd of all shepherds, hear Today’s renewed appeal in concord made For Benedict, departed now one year. That he to restful comfort be conveyed, His mourners beg from pasture, grove, and glade. Ye pastors of dejected flocks, arise And lead your sheep in...

. Mythological Limericks on Defloration . Venus and Adonis Adonis was cute as a berry And Venus was sexy and merry— __The boy said “No dice” __But without thinking twice She jumped him and popped the kid’s cherry. . Hades and Persephone Hades was hot for a missus And longed...

. They Have Our Genes They have our genes; they’re human beings, Our fifteen frozen embryos. Regardless of your disagreeings, They have our genes; they’re human beings. They must be born, by God’s decreeings, Be hugged, and play where water flows. They have our genes; they’re human beings, Our fifteen...

. Christmas Medley performed by Jeff Eardley . . Absent Friends The Christmas lights are twinkling on the houses all around. All we need’s a frosting and some snow upon the ground. But as this old year rattles on, and crashes to its end, It’s time to raise a glass...

. The Evening The Times Newspaper Turned Into Jane Eyre My life had become like a broadsheet,__The Telegraph, maybe The Times:The financial section---prose sober and neat;__Inflation---the yen falls and climbs. While reading this daily, and ever more jaded,__By boring discussions of wages, My newspaper tore, the ink quickly faded: __You...

. I Know Them Well Don't preach to me of heaven and of hell expecting me to tremble and to cower. They're here on Earth, and yes, I know them well. I do not need to hear your church bell knell from high atop some dominating tower. Don't preach to...

. Christmas Hallelujah sung to the melody of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen When I hear a song of destiny, Of peace and love and harmony, From deep within I feel an Hallelujah. When I can feel a tingling spine, A heavenly vision with earth align, Then from my soul I'm...

. The Ancient Christmas Tree A Dream Memory . The ridge out the window was blanketed white With snow that had fallen that long winter’s night. A lad of eleven, I woke to the noise Of far-away shouts from the neighborhood boys Who were rolling up snowballs and forts for...

. The Ultimate Christmas Gift “Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store.” ---Dr. Seuss This gift winks in the sparkle of the star That tops the twinkling tree with spangled joy __In honor of His boy--- The one who drew three Magi from afar, And shepherds from...