Culture

. Fleet of Foot Pheidippides A Grecian runner named Pheidippides, From Athens, ran to Sparta with a plea. “We need your help to fight the Persians, please!” But Sparta sent him back with, “Nosirree!” Two-hundred eighty miles is what he ran, For four or maybe five days he was gone....

. Cascading Nation Now not so much a nation as a place for pushing through a bruit cacophony of cultures in discordant synergy, dismissing calm consensus, wit, and grace as if considered discourse would abase befuddled masses yearning to breed free and manifest a new world destiny while tumbling headlong...

. St. Joseph’s Admonition Forget yourself, and do what’s right, Remember how you gained your sight, So do not pause to quench your pain, Your will is strengthened by the strain, But weakened if you do not fight. Pick up your sword and slay with might, The demons who tempt...

. It’s Coming for You! It’s coming to devour you, you know. There’s no escape no matter where you go. It waits and watches, hides behind the door With fetid breath from pathogenic spores. Far worse than covid’s variants, it drains The life force from the body and the brain....

. The Ninth Day of the Emperor's Wrath a rondeau redoublé The stadium roared at the end of the fight. In triumph the victor uplifted his sword. The emperor signaled thumbs down with cold spite. Death’s blow entertained the degenerate horde. The Christian who died was placed onto a board...

. Good Conscience Under our cauls a sleepless giber lurks, A callous judge of all our selfish smirks Who slices through our veils of self delight To show us prancing for unholy cirques. Our ego tells us to ignore the frights Our conscience lays before us every night And every...

. Sonnet by José de Espronceda (1808-1842) | translated from Spanish by Adam Sedia Fresh, lush, pure, and perfumed luxuriantly, The blooming garden’s flair and ornament, Coxcomb perched on the stem's filament, The budding rose-bloom sets its fragrance free. But if the burning sun stirs angrily, Shines flaming in the dog-days’...

. https://youtu.be/dYyxThEY71o . An Excerpt from The Western Star for Epiphany, January 6, 2022 The road stretched out forever in the morning, giving Balthazar plenty of time and space for thought. The meanderings of his mind returned to that strange gift old Caspar meant to give in honor of the...

. Annuary Stichs Jamesian intricacies swarmed about the voter-counts; a massive fraud had taken place beyond the lovely mounts. Nobody had expected Apate and Dolos to ubiquitously fake vote-counts in the Red-White-and-Blue. And so, Americans across the land came to DC, resenting the demonic rats and their false media. Yes,...

. Forever Faun In mottled shade of forest stood a faunSo still he seemed to be no living thing;The sun beamed down, already he was gone—His presence was a fleeting sign of Spring.Once in the distant past, when earth was young,Men saw the faun and prayed to gods that beAnd...

. Unprofitable Servant Bergoglio clarifies his views on the Latin Mass A treasure was mine, but it’s too long ago For me to recover what now I despise. Fearful and sickened and sadly too slow I was to suppress it, and new catechize Against all allurements that cause it to...

. Meditations on Ecclesiastes . Inquiry “What profit has a man for all his labor…?” ---Ecclesiastes 1: 3 None knows what all his work accomplishes; What one begins, another finishes A different way. Or, fools may come in after He dies, waste life in lust and drunken laughter, Abandoning the...

. The Dark Knight I’ve always held the Queen in high esteem, Her ever-classy, never brassy aura Shines noble splendour on the regal scene And blesses folk who openly adore 'er. Today the corgi-hugging monarch’s task Of knighting U.K.-hater, traitor Blair, Left baffled subjects hankering to ask Her Majesty if...

. Last Christmas I’d rushed there through the afternoon In someone else’s borrowed car Where you, distressed I’d come too soon, Were giving samples in a jar. The last I ever spoke with you Was in that long, cold, darkened ward. Snow washed outside like waves, and you Were slipping...

. “Lud's Church" or “The Green Chapel” after Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I travel to this place each New Year’s Day, To where the fluting curlew builds his nest. Upon these stegosaurus hills I stray, The Wilderness of Wirral to the West. The Lollards worshipped here so long...

. For Auld Lang Syne Each New Year’s Day is like a colander Through which we strain and drain away the days Of auld lang syne, throw out the calendar, And set the count-down-midnight-sky ablaze. Take down the tree, and vacuum up all trace Of Christmas morning’s litter from the...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4HH4MeT9Mo . Read the complete poem here: https://classicalpoets.org/2013/12/12/two-psalms/#/ CREDITS Poetry: Evan Mantyk (b. 1982) Audio/Visual Work: Society of Classical Poets Voice-Over: Evan Mantyk Photos/Footage: (1) Stock footage (“Bangkok Train From Above at Sunset”) provided by Videvo, downloaded from www.videvo.net (Videvo Attribution License); (2) “In the Foothills” (1861) by Albert...

. 20/20 Vision You’re lurking in the shadows with a wink. I see your flute of crystal, hear you pop Your cork as spirits soar and keen arms link To strains of Auld Lang Syne as clock hands stop. In moonlight, while lips melt in midnight’s kiss, You sashay in as glasses ring and rise With toasts to bright tomorrows---future bliss In highs and sighs as...

. On the Birth of the Grand Millenium 1 January 2000 A panoply of adolescent eyes Looks out into the frosty air they breathe Into the puffs of mist their mouths devise At wild humanity whose shoutings seethe While birthing their collective child. Demise And genesis alike the masses hail;...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okGcYTF8pHk . CREDITS Poetry: Robert Burns (1759-1796) Audio/Visual Work: Society of Classical Poets Voice-Over: S.A. Todd Photos/Footage: (1) "Drei Mönche bei der Brotzeit“ by Eduard Grützner (1885) (public domain); (2) “Fireworks Finale” by Beachfront, used under Creative Commons 3.0 Unported (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) from videvo.net Music: “Auld Lang Syne” by Alexander...

. The Dodo of Mauritius This island nation scarcely can be proud Of avifauna lacking common sense, Surviving only in the perfect tense, Their right to life, existence disavowed. With beaks immense, these pigeons well endowed, Why did they never peck in self-defence? Their dovelike mildness giving no offence, They...

. Poppy A vase of poppies on the table there, Twelve years have past, all white is now her hair. A shadow running up the path she sees, Her son has come! Her end to miseries. Twelve years have past all white is now her hair. She missed him much,...

. Sonnet 1 (In Theory, Real) Are dreams confined to stars or stars to dreams? Both full of mysteries and seldom clear, Restrained, yet free to dance in vivid streams Of consciousness, of life and fire and fear, For isn’t that how all these are perceived? Compelling to the science...

. To Saint John the Evangelist by Eustache Deschamps (c. 1346–1406) | translated from French by Margaret Coats Young, perfect, just, in all you had to do, Fresh virile flower of virginity, O man of marvels, to describe Him who Is Son of God in very Deity! You fed at...

. Anyone But You The phone may ring; The call will bring __Anyone but you. The mail will come; It will be from __Anyone but you. A text may buzz; I’m sure it was __Anyone but you. Oh, this is dire; I don’t desire __Anyone but you. . . Crunch...

. A Sentimental Villanelle This year I’m wrapped in Christmases of old--- The tinseled tree and glee of hearts on high. My mood is laced with myrrh and graced with gold. The air is spiced with mulling wine as cold Fleurettes of snow illume the twilight sky. This year I’m...

. Introduction Each year I compose or arrange music in celebration of Christmas. This year I have created three arrangements of familiar Christmas music, each introduced by a poem. The organ piece is based on a Reformation hymn tune famously set by Bach in his cantata of the same name....

. https://youtu.be/fx3NidSVFKk . A Wretch Like Me by Joe Tessitore To miss the mark, to lose my way,To choose the dark, on Christmas Day.No star I see, no Virgin Birth,No joy for me, no peace on earth. But for a wretch like me He came,To fetch me from my sin...

. . Dramatis Personae: Ebenezer Scrooge: An infamous miser Bob Cratchit: Scrooge’s assistant Mrs. Cratchit: Bob’s wife Tiny Tim: Disabled child of the Cratchits Jacob Marley: Scrooge’s old partner Mr. Fezziwig: Scrooge’s former employer Old Joe: A well-known London fence Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future: Three spirits sent to...

. It's a Wonderful Life The forecast promised luscious, gleaming snow; Instead the sky pours bitter, freezing rain. The lights are strung but half of them won’t glow.Our tree sags like the one in Charlie Brown.We watch the news. It’s sad and full of strain.I force a festive smile but...

. The North Pole's on Lockdown ‘Tis the night before Christmas; it pains me to say--- The North Pole’s on lockdown before the big day. The elves have been furloughed and fester in bed. The toy factory’s folded and Rudolph is dead… Poor Prancer and Dasher and Dancer are lame. An arrow struck Blitzen...

. The Tunnel to Australia It’s raining every day in Merrie England. It’s falling from the sky most every day. But I’ve just heard about a place that’s burning, In a country that’s so very far away. I’m sure that they could use some extra water. This stuff that’s lying...

. The People That Walked in Darkness The Christmas lights are out tonight, __Early and fierce and brave. The lawns of all suburbia, __A parti-colored nave. Their swollen ranks caused me to think __How changed the world should be If they could crowd the ballot-box __And vote rather than we!...

. Hedge Theory The hedge plants are trimmed by a gardener with shears As they have been, like clockwork, for twenty-five years. Yet they push out new shoots in continuing hope Of extending their reach through the fence on the slope; Protruding through uprights, with glossy new tips, Their ruby...

. This Present Madness “To sleep! Perchance to dream; aye, there’s the rub…..” ---Shakespeare, Hamlet I The daily nightmare hovers; and each night We pray to stay unconscious---not to dream (Perchance to prophesy the planet’s scream At despots’ brutal thefts and threats.) The plight Of humans hangs half-hid behind a...

. Twelve Chaucerian Limericks for Paul Freeman Some pilgrims went riding to Kent, And here’s how the journey was spent: As they traipsed through the dale They each told a tale Of sacred or worldly intent. Some of the stories were clean, And others absurd or obscene. Whether gentle or...

. Critical Race Theory It’s quite amusing when some first Defend it with persistence, Then---feigning that they’ve not reversed--- Deny its whole existence. . . Federal Government Logic The National Park Service says That animals should not be fed, Since it ends self-sufficiency When handouts can be sought instead. Meanwhile...

. Habeas Corpus Of those whose job it is to get results It might be asked: to what infernal purpose? Extortion, threats, felonious assaults, And foul deceptions only scratch the surface Of crimes they’re always willing to commit In order to accomplish what they’re after. Complaints of being roasted on...

. The Harp  by Gustavo Bécquer | from Spanish by Cheryl Corey Obscured by corner shadows, gathering dust, perhaps forgotten over time—there stands the silent harp. So many hidden notes entombed on muted strings, which like a bird asleep upon a steadfast bough, await the snow-white hand who makes their...

. Three Sisters Clotho When mother sat me down, I feared the worst. Her words, however, offered praise instead. “Your gentle hands are motherly,” she said. “That’s why I’ve chosen you to be the first of three, the Fates, henceforth to spin the thread of life." I sit before the...