Culture

. Earthquake in Morocco---8 September, 2023 My flight to Casablanca landed late, and through an ill-chanced vagary of Fate I...

. Not Forgetting 9.11 in 2023 New York, the City that I've only seen In flashes, glimpses, footage, faraway, New...

. . Wings of Desire: Canto I of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . God’s glory,...

. Perchance to Dream __The sky is wide, __The sea is deep, And when we’ve woken into sleep __A place...

. Nine: A Song for a Granddaughter for a girl, M___, raised in my household, though not a blood relative...

. . A Curveball of Blackbirds “Thousands of blackbirds fell out of the sky….” —The New York Times    ....

. Pilgrimage The strong will long to go on pilgrimage, Assembling to reclaim their heritage Of sanctity and stable permanence...

. Hymn to the Night Every thinking creature adores the light __Where twinkling stones and stars and flowers stun Senseless...

. Fallen The Universe was perfect, Heaven and Earth, Upon Almighty God’s Creation’s birth! He made the spirit-beings, Angels, free;...

. Tough Love and Hugs “Where the heck do they learn this crap?” one father asked another. __When we were...

. The Pietà or Mickey Mouse? A book I’ve read depicts a boy Who’s searching for creative joy. His mind...

. A Deeper Scaly Screed "'Rich Men North of Richmond' is a passionate screed against the state of the country...

. Modern Times . I. The Cutting-Edge Misogynist He slams the bland and damned old-fashioned type--- Those tiresome dinosaurs born with...

. Henry IV, Part I In Henry IV Part 1 the king’s possessed By fears that Harry Hotspur wants him...

. Overheard in a Mexico City Cantina A downpour started. The cantina beckoned. I sat and heard two men debating...

. . Poetics the Ginger Cat —Ποιητική: ‘poi-EIGH-tee-keigh’ By a caged fire I read. Around me walls of ancient lore,...

. Something Higher the brown scapular of Elijah Departures and arrivals. Passengers. The life of one old man describes an...

. A Discussion on Long Poems by Julian Woodruff  In her second comment to the thread trailing my recent poem...

. Scenes of passion in literature, on the stage, and on the silver screen, have captivated audiences for years. How...

. Deep in the Heat of Texas a rhupunt One hundred one, a scorching sun that I should shun. I...

. The Fall of the House of Yellow On July 28, 2023, after months of failed negotiations between Yellow Freight...

. My Boy His mess of hair plays with the wind; Eyes beaming now, he shines alive, A thrill to...

. The Jet Not Owned When climate czar John Kerry was chastised, For flying in his carbon-spewing plane, He angrily...

. The Outing . I Miss Deidre Ealing of Tiny Tots School, A woman who'd never be anyone's fool, Observing...

. Facing a Famine of Fatherhood in memory of Father Peter Carota They say a country road or city street,...

. Some Questions? “We’ll know our disinformation is complete when everything the U.S. public believes is false.” —William J. Casey,...

. The Certainty of Kelly Green My friend and I went to a coffee shop; She read her intricately crafted...

. Mercedes Benz Makes a Corporate Decision Good morning, fellow members of the board. I’ve summoned you because your vote’s...

. Batten the Sovereign Soul I think we used to be stronger, home-made With simple stuff.  We’d read a headline, see...

. 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....

. On Water & Evil “Evil, like water, seeks the lowest point.” ---Earnest McDaniel The thunder clapped again, applauding light...

. The Forgotten Earl He thought about the sonnets that he wrote; The time he spent composing metered lines Of...

. The End’s Hard Edge The End Is Near, it always was, Its point is clearer now because Collapsed disturbance...

. One Law Away Everyone can agree that we all disagree. __We don’t see what we see quite the same....

. The Heavy Launch of the Siegfried Idyll The landing offered just the space required for Wagner and the band...

. . Learn Now, Learn Now, Young Master ‘Learn now, learn now, young master; You soon will take your test....

. Key West Rum, reeling, raunchiness, and revelry, Palms, poincianas, palaces of old--- All lie behind; the Morro Castle’s hold...

. Formulas for Failure I’ve seen too much of devastating failure, In almost every avenue of life. One might guess...

. The Emperor's New Chromosomes The Emperor would be remade; He felt if he could be a maid He’d be...

. Back to Sleep In very early years, now far behind, When I returned to earth at midnight deep From...