Culture

. On Being “Chopped” On TV, watching the show “Chopped,” I see Three losing chefs go home each episode; And one who celebrates a victory For a dessert they called, “Shrimp a la Mode.” Imagine being a top-notch chef gourmet And hear your Crab Creole described as “bland.” Beneath Ted...

. The Golden Calf a rondeau The golden calf draws shouts of awe From wanton men who bray and caw. The fevered crowd ignites a fire Then cheers as flame on flame grows higher And fuels the lusts of groin and jaw. Some dress to kill, some words are raw;...

. Under Which Altar Eros, at last, has left the field. The flowers on the bushes yield __to coming winter. See Lyssa, Mania, Ares, Furor, older gods (and often purer), __who now reenter. Together with Hermes and Apollo, they serve the eldritch gods who follow. __They chant the names of...

. Meditation on the Myth of Sisyphus Like Sisyphus, whose fate it is to bear A boulder on his back, and up the mound, Only to watch it roll towards the ground, As if it mocks his strain to climb the stair; So I, long burdened by the weight of...

. . Freedom high school algebra class; May 12, 1993 . A breeze blows in; it wisps my hair, And flutters papers in the air; It carries, with the scent of rose, A dream---and takes one as it goes. . Upon its wings the gentle breeze Transports sweet memories with...

. Losing Battles It seems when we declare a war, we rarely win them anymore. So, though much money will be spent by our corrupted government, the thing on which war’s been declared is very likely to be spared. A recent war was Poverty. A worthy target certainly. With trillion...

. The Tale of Wanton Ange . The Number 53: Unholy Thoughts Wanton Ange makes her appearance That’s Ange there on the 53 at Plumstead; She’s thinking once again about the vicar. “’E’s even older than yer dad!” Siobhan said; That didn’t stop her heart from beating quicker. She’s wondering...

. But What of Us? They have it all,The richest men on earth.No calculator can compute their worth.Yet doomed to fall.And it’s no secret why.For rich men, just like you and me, will die. Their wealth immense.With vast, tax-free amountsSecured in stocks and offshore bank accounts.It makes no sense,For them to...

. Younger Selves I have you leaning up against my side, Our boys and girls around us on the couch. Below the window, watching from outside, Our younger selves, age twelve, crawl up and crouch. The boy and girl each took a time machine, The dial set to travel here...

. Earthquake in Morocco---8 September, 2023 My flight to Casablanca landed late, and through an ill-chanced vagary of Fate I found myself---soon Mauritania bound--- Inside a gangway, meters off the ground, Queuing, hot and sweaty, as our plane Stood ready to accept a weighty gain. At first my bones and...

. Not Forgetting 9.11 in 2023 New York, the City that I've only seen In flashes, glimpses, footage, faraway, New York I've read about, you filter in To every cranny of America. We are your suburbs, everywhere we go. If it happens at all, it happens here. What's done to...

. . Wings of Desire: Canto I of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . God’s glory, which moves all, sends beams to bless __each thing in space, reflected just as bright __as that thing’s worth is deemed, here more, there less. Now to that Heaven that...

. Perchance to Dream __The sky is wide, __The sea is deep, And when we’ve woken into sleep __A place to hide __Cannot be found, For probing eyes are all around. __The day is bright __And notes are sharp When chubby cherubs play the harp. __Much like the night, __The...

. Nine: A Song for a Granddaughter for a girl, M___, raised in my household, though not a blood relative 1 She is the girl who cheers my heart: “Come, Jeff. Let’s play!” she voices smart And innocent as we depart. We go outside beneath the azure skies--- She advocates...

. . A Curveball of Blackbirds “Thousands of blackbirds fell out of the sky….” —The New York Times    . Five thousand blackbirds from the sky. ____I don’t know why. Neither do they, the EPA, State U…. . Nearby and far, nobody has a clue. ____No way, no why. Not...

. Pilgrimage The strong will long to go on pilgrimage, Assembling to reclaim their heritage Of sanctity and stable permanence Embezzled by debased belligerence, For life is war, as Job so aptly said; We battle even when we are misled, But gaining ground in stout strategic march We take unrivaled...

. Hymn to the Night Every thinking creature adores the light __Where twinkling stones and stars and flowers stun Senseless matter into a sense of sight __And all behold the splendors of the sun. First masterpiece of the created world, __God fashioned you but not like Adam’s wife, ____Spun from...

. Fallen The Universe was perfect, Heaven and Earth, Upon Almighty God’s Creation’s birth! He made the spirit-beings, Angels, free; And later, Man with physicality. Most-favored Lucifer the Fair grew proud, Ungrateful for the gifts he’d been endowed, Called for an armed rebellion; one-third followed And rose against the Master,...

. Tough Love and Hugs “Where the heck do they learn this crap?” one father asked another. __When we were kids---we never talked like that. “Almost every kid I knew at least went out for sports… __No wonder half the kids today are fat!” Every boy that could would mow...

. The Pietà or Mickey Mouse? A book I’ve read depicts a boy Who’s searching for creative joy. His mind can’t focus on a vision, So he’s weighed down by indecision: To carve the rock behind his house— The Pietà or Mickey Mouse? To chip away each chunk of rock...

. A Deeper Scaly Screed "'Rich Men North of Richmond' is a passionate screed against the state of the country sung by Oliver Anthony, who identifies as a farmer living off the grid with his three dogs in Farmville, Virginia." ---Joseph Hudak, “Right-Wing Influencers Just Found Their Favorite New Country...

. Modern Times . I. The Cutting-Edge Misogynist He slams the bland and damned old-fashioned type--- Those tiresome dinosaurs born with a womb--- The sexless species of the XX stripe--- The sort he states must bow and give more room To fakes who ache to take the world by storm--- Those...

. Henry IV, Part I In Henry IV Part 1 the king’s possessed By fears that Harry Hotspur wants him dead. While Henry’s son Prince Harry is obsessed With drinking with his friends at the Boar’s Head. The Hotspur Percys form a coalition That stirs the country into civil war....

. Overheard in a Mexico City Cantina A downpour started. The cantina beckoned. I sat and heard two men debating change; How Mexico’s divisions should be reckoned. These words are what I heard in that exchange: “You radicals are dull. You bear this chip Of weighty social anger on your...

. . Poetics the Ginger Cat —Ποιητική: ‘poi-EIGH-tee-keigh’ By a caged fire I read. Around me walls of ancient lore, of poetry and war….           Prometheus bound, flames behind glass doors:  . I pause, plying the sage, musing upon a well worn Mediterranean page. Poetics now plays...

. Something Higher the brown scapular of Elijah Departures and arrivals. Passengers. The life of one old man describes an arc: A sudden collapse from sitting. Messengers, Come lift my weight, grown lighter than a lark, The height we rise to not the length I fell But something higher. Seated...

. A Discussion on Long Poems by Julian Woodruff  In her second comment to the thread trailing my recent poem “The Heavy Launch of the Siegfried Idyll” (July 29), Margaret Coats suggested I “begin a conversation on LONG POEMS,” since, while responding to Joseph Salemi’s marvelous “Jeweler’s Deposition” (July 23),...

. Scenes of passion in literature, on the stage, and on the silver screen, have captivated audiences for years. How about spicing up some poetry with a soupçon of sauciness and savagery (tastefully done, of course). Choose a scene of fevered passion from a favorite novel, play, or film, bring...

. Deep in the Heat of Texas a rhupunt One hundred one, a scorching sun that I should shun. I shed no tear. Sun blazing down, the grass is brown, I do not frown I’m in good cheer. The soil on fire as we perspire in all attire. I am...

. The Fall of the House of Yellow On July 28, 2023, after months of failed negotiations between Yellow Freight Lines and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) over Yellow’s proposal to consolidate their hodge-podge network under the banner “One Yellow,” Yellow shut down and filed for bankruptcy. The Teamsters...

. My Boy His mess of hair plays with the wind; Eyes beaming now, he shines alive, A thrill to watch amongst his friends, The guys who throw, and hit a drive, And catch the fun, with glove and dirt, And run ‘round bases on the field, to home, from...

. The Jet Not Owned When climate czar John Kerry was chastised, For flying in his carbon-spewing plane, He angrily replied he’d never owned A private jet---he called that charge insane. It’s true---the high polluting plane he’d use, For years on almost every trip he’d take, Was owned by his...

. The Outing . I Miss Deidre Ealing of Tiny Tots School, A woman who'd never be anyone's fool, Observing her charges like little buds sprouting, Decided the next day they'd go on an outing. Departure was posted that morning for nine; No clouds could be seen and the outlook...

. Facing a Famine of Fatherhood in memory of Father Peter Carota They say a country road or city street, The pavement, stones, and dirt pressed by his feet, Recall a holy man who passed thereby, But what of paths where bytes of data fly, The fibers, wires, or airwaves...

. Some Questions? “We’ll know our disinformation is complete when everything the U.S. public believes is false.” —William J. Casey, former CIA director Does anybody still believe, in ode or threnody, Lee Harvey Oswald murdered John Fitzgerald Kennedy? Was there so much corruption in that so-called Camelot, and false analysis...

. The Certainty of Kelly Green My friend and I went to a coffee shop; She read her intricately crafted verse That proved that she alone was at the top Of all today’s poetic universe. She read her passionate, poetic pleas That children’s innocence may be preserved From porn cartoons...

. Mercedes Benz Makes a Corporate Decision Good morning, fellow members of the board. I’ve summoned you because your vote’s required To update social policies. We’ve fired Conservative dissenters and we’ve hired Smart men who find our leaders in accord. The polling numbers show cooperation Is clearly the most efficacious...

. Batten the Sovereign Soul I think we used to be stronger, home-made With simple stuff.  We’d read a headline, see An ad and know that we were being played. We’d roll our eyes and let the bias be. Perhaps we’d laugh like holy fools and try The part, the party’s...

. The Blame Game a kyrielle They rile. They gall. They know it all. These irksome jerks in folly’s thrall Are perilously cretinous. __It’s always Them. It’s never Us.   They grouse and groan. They mope and moan. With spines of sponge and souls of stone These gutless gripers cuss and fuss. __It’s always Them. It’s never Us.  They’re dull of head. Their wits have fled. Their loony lips are spewing dread--- The...

. On Water & Evil “Evil, like water, seeks the lowest point.” ---Earnest McDaniel The thunder clapped again, applauding light Displays, and weighted condensation fell From Heaven’s darkened brow—a picture of That story told about the Serpent’s flight From bliss eternal to Earth, then Hell. He flew! He fled! And...