Culture

. Key West Rum, reeling, raunchiness, and revelry, Palms, poincianas, palaces of old--- All lie behind; the Morro Castle’s hold Guards old Havana past the sparkling sea A half-day’s sail south from this furthest Key; A torrid gap that spans a war still cold, An ocean’s breadth between two worlds---I’m...

. Formulas for Failure I’ve seen too much of devastating failure, In almost every avenue of life. One might guess lack of skill the main derailer, But that’s not even close to what’s most rife. A bigger reason’s lack of confidence, You must have strong belief that you’ll succeed. A...

. The Emperor's New Chromosomes The Emperor would be remade; He felt if he could be a maid He’d be more loved and find relief. His maleness brought him nought but grief. Two doctors showed up sharp as nails. “Good Emperor, we’ve heard your wails. Our answer to your royal...

. Back to Sleep In very early years, now far behind, When I returned to earth at midnight deep From nightmare scares within my frightened mind, My mother rocked and sang me back to sleep. I hid in bed from monster and from man As blackened shadows seemed to slowly...

. The Jeweler’s Deposition at the Coroner’s Inquest I certainly will tell you what I can. I knew the family—watched her growing up. Take it for what it’s worth: I was her friend. She started with the ears, at age fourteen: My staple pierced each lobe, and put in place...

. On Lies and Liars A Double (Petrarchan) Sonnet . “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he...

. King Dom’s Dream Kingdom “In death’s dream kingdom…” —T. S. Eliot, “The Hollow Me" Ukrainian Victoria Amelina has died from injuries along with others; it was dinnertime. It happened in the city Kramatorsk, more death, more grime, another dozen dead at th’ restaurant where they had dined. She had...

. Poorer by the Day a villanelle They pay in promises they will betray; A scam as cold and ancient as the sea. While those who work grow poorer by the day, Their masters mint fool’s gold to give away To marks too selfish, starved or blind to see They’ve...

. Sonnet I Our arms are leaves stretched out; our thoughts can bloom The grandest only when we crowd out those Who have been planted in a place of doom— Perhaps for something only Heaven knows. While growing up and finding our own way In life, each cannot help but...

. Via Appia Beneath the pines of Rome, the wrinkled sibyl will croak your future for eleven cents, and with her finger in the dust will scribble predictions of uncertain consequence. But go near, fix your eyes on her immense eyes, clear blue like the Roman sky but colder: you’ll...

. Good Friday, Revisiting Glamis "Not in the legions Of horrid Hell can come a devil more damn'd In evils, to top Macbeth" ---Shakespeare The Dunblane massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School in Dunblane, near Stirling, Scotland, on 13 March 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and...

. It's Dangerously Close to Too Late Virtually stormed by countless disciples, __trolled by their merchants of Hate, We, who obligingly counter their tactics, __impassioned to join the debate, Must, with our poetry, furnish our young __with the strongest of weapons required To cope with the onslaught of absolute evil...

. Balderdash? What are these hidden, unseen things? Do angels, demons, float on wings? Such ghostly shapes the full moon brings! __Our modern minds dismiss. Who twists and turns a shooter’s mind? Who ties the rope a rapist binds? Who wields the axe so many grind? __Is it a thing...

. A Birthday Prayer Dear God, a new year has begun, My thirty-fourth of blessèd life. You’ve given children, lovely wife, And lately, happy, newborn son. We have, by your munificence, Enough intelligence and health, Sufficient store of worldly wealth, A humble, city residence. You’ve sent me teachers, priests, and...

. Panchavati, An Introduction by Maithili Sharan Gupt (1886-1964) translated by Paddy Raghunathan The full moon’s mesmerizing rays Appear to skim the lake and sand, As moonlight, fresh, diffuses over Surfaces of sky and land. The earth transmits a joyous pulse From melodies of green grass blades. On cue, the...

. Suiseki Rainfall has stopped; it’s the best time for hunting a stone. Drizzle still dampens debris; Trees put forth roots unobtrusively; mosses have grown; Animals leaving their burrows run free— Sodden land quivers, unearthing examples unknown. Seeking encounters fortuitous, off we proceed, Hillsides with streams our most suitable goal,...

. Insomnia Kyrielle The stars above have gone to bed, their quilt of clouds a calming sweep as moonlight strokes their tossing heads: O lord have mercy, let me sleep! Here in this dark I lie awake. The cliff of slumber is so steep I cannot find a path to...

. The Nation’s Heart The Nation’s heart has passed away, A loving grandmother to all. And now it’s for her son we pray Whom Charles the Third we’ll learn to call. But will he fill that vital space Elizabeth has left behind? For peerless was her poise and grace, This...

. Peace For Our Time "I believe it is peace for our time... Go home and get a nice quiet sleep." ---Neville Chamberlain “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.” ---Winston Churchill. A triumph, yes, a veritable smash! From Munich I convey peace...

. The Misologist “There is no greater evil one can suffer  than to hate reasonable discourse.” ---Socrates He reads the notion on the page. __It isn’t to his taste. It blazes fire that stokes his rage. __It lays his creed to waste--- Too bright for those who prize the dark It lights...

. Putin That’s, I’m sure, a vampire: Gnaws on bones, bloody-lipped. —A. S. Pushkin. “Vurdalak,” Songs of Western Slavs (Это, верно, кости гложет Красногубый вурдалак. —А. С.  Пушкин. “Вурдалак”, Песни западных славян) What’s in the mirror that you see? No bloody fangs, which would be fitting: you feed on corpses of your victims. You make them...

. Independence Day? a rondeau Some dared. Some died. With pluck and pride And guts and grit the brave defied Despotic rule. They stripped the foe Of dominance below a glow Of stars that spangled eventide. With God and gumption on their side, They brawled and bled for kin that cried Beneath...

. Fourth of July Limerick Top left, there’s an oblong that’s blue; add in fifty stars, white in hue. To offset the stars are parallel bars, six white, seven red, straight and true. . . Paul A. Freeman is the author of Rumours of Ophir, a crime novel which was taught...

. America Is Not the Same America is not the same. __I do not recognize it. We all know who should bear the blame, __But still we analyze it. The teachers’ unions and the press _  All share part of the shame. Our legal system is a mess __That functions...

. First Steps in a New World for Toribio Moras, age 14, Vera Cruz, Mexico, 1908 The young Castilian boy set sail, alone, and sought to build a life across the sea. Adrift, so far away, you had no throne, and homeless, you spent nights beneath a tree. Your loyal...

. La Campana Ring, grandfather! And ring for liberty. The bell spoke once and, speaking, croaked and cracked. Our gazes bathed its iron in gold hazes As Hebrews treasured tablets their sin split. Its silent iron: I will ring again. We have a problem---witnessed by the crack. The groan of...

. Miracle of the Book Distance was short, but porters would be needed, And sacks were packed with small necessities. I wrapped the Gospel book and then proceeded Along the rowan-bordered road with ease. Only when day and its activities Were done did I seek out the book and find...

. Incensed For days, drawn draperies of fire, pinned close by dry pines, needled us with smells of smoke so thick it stung our eyes and burned our nose and made us run to see if flames arose from lightning flashes on the street-lined oak. Undoused by rain, unsoaked by...

. Le Bal Des Ardents for Joe Salemi On 28th January 1393 in Paris, Queen Isabeau of Bavaria, wife of the mad King Charles VI of France, held a ball which became the scene of a terrible tragedy when four members of the nobility, masquerading as “wild men,” were burned...

. Psalm 23: King David’s Version When I was just a hungry sheep __and I was lonely, lost and scared, You somehow found me, fed me, led me, __showed me just how much You cared. When in the valley with its shadows __that each prophesy my death, Tho’ I hear...

. Pillar of Salt “By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah... Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities... But Lot’s wife looked back, and...

. South Vietnam Warfare . Northern Jungle The rat-tat-tat of machine gun Split through the mist of morning sun. The sympathetic Montagnard Were blown apart from near to far. The boom of friendly howitzer Made opposition disappear. The screams of death fell silently As hell consumed with entropy. How free...

. Darkface at Dusk "Death is swallowed up in victory" ---1 Cor. 15:4 At twilight, as I walked in solitude Along a country lane, unpaved and worn, Past gloomy fields, of springtime’s verdure shorn, My thoughts enshrouded in a solemn mood, I saw across the road, behind some trees, Through...

. Even the 49ers Don’t Play There Anymore Is San Francisco slip-sliding away? Old Navy, Nordstrom, Saks, the Gap, have all Closed stores—with Hilton in default—as they Abandon a once-thriving downtown mall. . With sidewalks strewn with needles, poop and tents, And smash and grab shoplifting city wide, Old businesses...

. Job’s Rant Job 3: 3-10 . May darkness and death’s shadow claim the day When I was sent to bear the curse of earth. May clouds blot out the night that gave me birth And drown it in the densest blackness.  May Malediction blot each brazen ray Of sun...

. In Extremis ---from the Western wilds Here at the most attenuated ends Of America’s arterial transport map, Where pavement stops, dissolves to native dust, I find I’m mostly mindful of defense: Where hedgerow thorns have failed to fill a gap, Or chain link steel has rotted into rust— As...

. This Is the Choice  The gates of hell Closed from within. No one sends us--- We lock ourselves in. . The gates of Heaven Are open and true, Welcoming souls who Choose to walk through. . This is the choice--- One all of us make. God will walk with...

. The Deluge From Heaven came the rain; On Earth the waters swelled To wash away each stain The eyes of God beheld. Each structure man had made Of metal, wood, and stone Cut down by Water's blade, Save for the Ark alone. Till sense of time had ceased, We...

. Pharaoh’s Dream Redux “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow: And, behold, seven other kine came up after...

. The Gallows The trial was quick, the verdict read: “Guilty as charged,” the foreman said. The judge declared the man would hang, the leader of a robber gang who stabbed the sheriff with a knife, and made a widow of his wife. Appeals denied, his luck now spent, to...