Culture

. . The Shroud of Death The shroud of death’s night-shadow fled Before the dawning light of day; Unveiling tombs wherein the dead In grave and solemn stillness lay. And earth-life voices stirred the air With gentle breeze and creak of limb. And morning reached a garden where The birds...

. Of St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Once I used to live a waking dream Devoid of starlight: lanterns on the hill Betwined the huddled palaces which gleam In reverence to the crown cathedral’s will. I saw her from my window in those days; From everywhere. From alley, square, and park;...

. Deconstructing Grűnewald’s Crucifixion It isn’t de rigueur these days to show A bloodied, tortured Jesus on the cross. Post-moderns would prefer we came to know Him as innocuous instead of gross. No sympathy allowed, but go ahead And drown him in a jar of urine, mock Him as irrelevant—just...

. The Faithful Who Have Chosen Not to Wait He rose and told us He would come again To supervise a world of righteous men And women who believed in what He’d said, That both the living and the wakened dead Should nevermore of chrism be bereft. But what of...

. Race and Color, 1992 I see white and you see black and other shades of skin in fact. Though we have different colored skin, we're very much alike within. Our blood is red and I must say: "We love and hurt no different way". All humans grow in mother's...

. The Pillar of Fire from Exodus 13: 19-29 A giant, flaming pillar bars our way; The sea yawns open for the Hebrew tribes Permitting them to flee; the horses neigh With fear---sights bound to mystify our scribes! Great Pharaoh, hear me! Don’t command this host Of chariots to slay...

. The Wound in Christ's Side Culprits inflicted countless injuries On Jesus’ body during fifteen hours; The spear-thrust (last of loathsome savageries) Ripped out from His dead Heart, for sins of ours, Water and blood in separate healing showers. Although the gaping puncture proves Him dead, The wondrous wound, life’s...

. Elagabalus Consults His Soothsayer You must, Soothsayer, probe into Rome’s mind And speak of any hidden threats you find. Your Emperor commands you: show your skill Lest I subject you to my godlike will! In confidence, I come to you afraid That perfidy may soon leave me betrayed! I...

. Oh…I See! While sitting in the park one day, my beagle lying near, a little girl came strolling up---I’d say ‘bout four years old--- And asked me ‘bout a big ol’ tank. She queried, “What is that?” Then calmly stood there, staring at me, waiting to be told. “That’s a tank,”...

. The End Unraveled string may be rewound, __A hidden thing be sighted; A missing object may be found, __A fallen object righted; A candle snuffed can be relit, __And if a glass has spilled, That doesn’t mean the end of it--- __It still may be refilled. A soiled cloth...

. The Mystery of Poetry The mystery of poetry __is found between the lines. The poet sends the signals while __the sentence shows the signs. Alliterative artifices __alert the adept minds. The power of each poem portrays __the images one finds. Enchantment of entendrés and __emotions words define, As carefully...

. A Screw ‘Em Sermon for Government-Anointed Experts “Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give solidarity to pure wind.” ---George Orwell Dish up linguistic picnics Just shy of one pork pie. Make fruitful news so nutty All rationale will fry In lands of clouds and cuckoos Where pigs...

. Marching with the Mourners In Memory of Richard and Rob inspired by the Halt Hospital Homicide Rally I attended in San Antonio on March 25, 2023, for those who lost their lives to evil Covid-19 protocols.   They gathered at the Alamo then strolled With banners bearing faces of the dead...

. La Muerte In those days, no king ruled in Ithaca. A pack moved in with communist ideals: An orgy funded by another’s store. Wine flowed like beer, with all the women free. All except one. Plus one too old to count. The old order withdrew in toothlessness, And kept...

. Signs of the Times . I. Hymn 6-6-6 a rondeau Hymn 6-6-6 on high display— The devil’s number where we pray Before the Lord—is that a thing? Is Jesus Christ no longer King? Must Satan now be met halfway? It’s never been more than today That “all like sheep...

f Jägermeister "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior __are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man __whose quiver is full of them." ---Psalm 127 My quiver’s full, as David said, With children sharp as arrowheads, I’ve taught to aim at Truth and seek, To pierce the...

. . Ballerina The balanced ballerina on her toe was poised with perfect posture—back and chest. The crowd, in silent awe, enjoyed the show, as she maintained a flawless arabesque. The dancer twirled to glide a sweet chassé with ease and elegance of mastery. This student of the classical ballet...

. Song of the Wailing Women Her spirit has gone forth. Return her to the earth, Released from work and words; In death she is the Lord’s. Did Adam bury Eve? Leave Abraham to grieve The wife no longer his. He buys a field that is The plot of holy...

. The Glass Delusion of King Charles VI of France ‘His malady grew worse every day until his mind was completely gone. Sometimes he thought he was made of glass and would not let himself be touched. He had iron rods put into his clothing and protected himself in all...

. Pastoral Calls—Part 3 of 3 . Midnight Encounter He was tall, well-built, and handsome and as far as I could tell, If it wasn’t for the crystal meth—intelligent as well. He was in and out of jail and living homeless on the beach. He was brazen, loud, and earthy...

. The following is an excerpt of Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes, encompassing most of Chapters 1 through 8, including Don Quixote getting his start, acquiring his squire Sancho Panza, and going on the infamous adventure against the windmills. It is based on the 1880 translation by John Ormsby, has been updated...

. Dialogue on a First Grade Science Textbook Many spiritual traditions throughout history have perceived all things, animate and inanimate, as living. "Usually religions teach people to believe spiritually so as to achieve material transformation, whereas science tells people to perceive materially so as to elicit people’s spiritual trust and...

. To the Reader of Verse Ah, lover, critic, arbiter of verse, divulge your passions, fill a lusting soul with praises. Let the balladeer coerce the skeptic. Let the troubadour cajole Antaéus: wrestle not with me, unclench your fists. Behold the Muse Calliope, her flights and fancies. Bear the hellish...

. In celebration of World Poetry Day, write a limerick on the theme of World Poetry Day, poetry in general, or poets. Post it in the comments section below. Learn how to write a limerick here. An example is provided by this poetry challenge initiator, Paul A. Freeman: . World...

. How to Write Contemporary Poetry a pantoum in free verse composition keep letters lower case. dump classical tradition then cite the marketplace. keep letters lower case make use of ampersands then cite the marketplace if no one understands. make use of ampersands so texts can look progressive. if no...

. Ex-Freedom of Speech In fact, most liberals don't support free speech today, And often see a need for censorship instead. They claim “misinformation” causes broad decay, So free speech ends if they dislike what’s being said. . . Listeners Good listeners seem hard to find these days. More people,...

. Ponzi Your promises mean nothing if they lack fidelity.  It grieves a man to hear such welcome words, then have them taken back without the least regret before a year has passed.  I thought our future was secure, but that just shows me what a fool I’ve been— I...

. The War on Children “I quoted some Scripture, I said that there are only two genders. And apparently, because there are transgender students in the class, this was considered bullying.” ---Josh Alexander Children today have no idea what the word “friend” might mean. That meaning’s long since vanished—gone, just...

. The Leprechaun Come mid-March, the leprechaun Glides up and o’er the rainbow, Playful as a unicorn That’s prancing in a meadow. With greedy eyes glimmering, And shim’ry as a peacock, He slides to earth, shimmying, And lands among the shamrock. “Where, O where’s me pot-o-gold?” Those greedy eyes, now...

. "The Lark in the Morning" is a traditional Irish song performed on classical guitar by poet and professional musician Jeff Eardley: . . Jeff Eardley lives in the heart of England near to the Peak District National Park and is a local musician playing guitar, mandolin and piano steeped in...

. Freedom Convoy Song To bravely speak is to turn on the lights, __To silence darkens all of our debate; Yea, We the People know free speech unites __What foreign censorship did separate. The former, it is our G-d given right __That every patriotic soul respects, Whereas the latter was...

. St. Jerome’s Cicero Obsession based on St. Jerome’s letter to his disciple St. Eustochium in Rome, A.D. 384 When I was young and foolish long ago, I traveled to Jerusalem alone To fast and pray away from everyone. My book collection I could not forgo; With greatest toil I...

. Θαλῆς 2.0 In days of yore, Thales, the famous sage, Went out on a stargazing walk and fell Straight down an overlooked and vexing well. A passing woman mocked him: “At your age You ought to know your eyes belong down here!” The tale was once a lesson to...

. Britomart and Marinell In Edmund Spenser's epic poem, The Faerie Queene, Britomart is a female knight who represents the virtue of chastity.  Marinell is a knight whose mother has prophesied that he will only be conquered by a woman—romantically, he presumes. When Britomart takes on Sir Marinell, The waves are...

. The Scottish Gourmand A culture-rich country which lay to the east where we were invited to conference and feast from Cuba to China, and some of the rest they bade them here gather and money invest for though that land needed infusions of cash its laws were quite muddled...

Pastoral Calls—Part 2 of 3 . Face-to-Face A weeping woman called me on the phone And said, “My daughter’s in the county jail. They will not let me see her on my own She’s charged with murder with no hope for bail. “But you’re a pastor and they said that...

. The Very Best Business by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (1791-1863) translated from Romanesco by Joseph S. Salemi First I was a gardener (a disaster), Then a bookseller. I made even less. So did I change my business plan? Oh yes— I turned and became an upper-crust whoremaster. In this, I...

. El Melon There is a maze or map on melon skin Even the blind could read and seek to solve. A little girl watches the housewives, deft, Touching the head shapes swiftly, one by one, Until they somehow know which to select. Sometimes they set it wobbling in the...

. Why Strike? With prices high and living standards low, Our times are like what our grandparents knew. They fought world war; we slave for war abroad And soon will labor through retirement too. We export energy but can’t afford To heat our homes; we’re tired of interference And more...

. Farinelli A thousand thanks, Martini, for your visit. Bologna is a town of balladeers. You’ll love it! Now I wonder, how long is it Since we both quit Madrid? Ah! Twenty years Since I last sang before the King of Spain! And forty since vast crowds hailed me on...