Culture

. The Arch of Titus The Arch of Titus was constructed in 81 AD by the Emperor Domitian to commemorate the victory of Titus and Vespasian, over the Jewish rebellion in Judea. The arch depicts the triumphal procession celebrated in 71 AD after the Roman victory culminating in the fall...

. Hermes, The Artisan Hermes, son and messenger of Jove, Surveyed the coast, where often he would rove, And found a tortoise beached upon a cove. He took it home and made a turtle soup— The shell, he thought, was like a giant scoop; And then, inspired, he cried a...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaAv09XqwAY . Young Strongbow anonymous American ballad (Words in parentheses are alternate lyrics suggested by other extant versions of the song.) To Dartmouth’s scientific hall __In olden times there came A sprightly Red Boy from the woods, __And Strongbow was his name. Much had he heard of Dartmouth’s skill,...

. Yet Another Exhibition Opening "Art is the pleasure of a spirit that enters nature and discovers that it too has a soul." ---Auguste Rodin Although this bourgeois slum is flush with cash, No decent man could ever make the rent; So Thursday nights the galleries present The latest styles...

. Ex Nihilo Is a Joke “. . .it starts with an empty universe” ---Stephen Fry, Cosmos, vii An empty universe is paradox. In such a boundless space there’d be no time. Among all other blanks there’d be no clocks. Eternity could not produce a chime. This space would be...

. Justification He smashed the windows, grabbed the wares, With rage against society That made him free of any cares Or thoughts of impropriety. He stole until his pockets filled The chance of apprehension slim. But near his home was robbed and killed By someone angry just like him. ....

. Seeing the Light by Susan Jarvis Bryant . I. Peace Be with You… a pantoum   “Peace is possible, truth at all costs.” ---Martin Luther  The churchyard cat is terrified The belfry bats are numb with fear The oaken door creaks open wide The luckless flock is drawing near The...

. Memento, Homo… "There is no architecture in New Orleans, except in the cemeteries." —Mark Twain If we should go to New Orleans We’ll see our share of raucous scenes At Mardi Gras soirees and balls With kings and queens in grandiose halls. We’ll see the floats sail down Saint...

. The Poem that Built a Nation: Finland and the Kalevala by Adam Sedia Nowhere perhaps is the power of poetry more apparent than in its ability to unite a culture---literally to build a nation. Homer’s epics forged a bond of cultural unity between the various city-states of the Greek...

. Trudeau’s Canada Jab them all, Big and small. Small are buffer And must suffer. No opinions, Little minions. Cover traces Of their faces, With a mask, Do not ask. Issue orders Across borders. What the Hell, Some rebel. They call you clown, Just double-down. Drop the hammer, Use the...

. Beneath the Tide The tidal basin ebbs and flows each dayAs if it were a sentient, breathing thing—A pas de deux, a moon-dance interplay—As time and space, in silence, sway and swing. As like a fraying tapestry unweavesThe sea withdraws to show its stone-strewn floor;With empty clamshells lying thick...

. Salieri on Mozart More wine, Signore... Should I say mein Herr? I know! French cognac. Spirits help me share Dark thoughts. Now listen. I take one full year To pen these operas Kaiser Josef lauds; Then you compose a piece in half a season--- Vienna, Prague, all history applauds...

. Many poets have been sending in poetry on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Post your poetry directly below. . . . .

. Poem Introduction Lewis Carroll (who lived 1832-1898 and was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was a master at humorous wordplay and making the illogical logical. His accomplishments as an English writer of children’s fantasy fiction are highlighted by his works, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. “Because He...

. Unsettled written upon reading of the CDC refusing to publish data on booster effectiveness I’m niggled and nettled. The science is settled __Yet fails to make sense or equate. My mind is left addled when medicine peddled __And pushed is not up for debate. I crave clear conclusions not...

. A Working Man and Wife “…aware of the humanity on the other side of the door.” ---Criselda Vasquez They stand before some distant trees, on pavement, amber, gray,a three-door cargo van, a drab-red Astro Chevrolet,together, working man and wife, he with his upheld hoe,she with red bucket and her cleaners,...

. Shining Armor The knights roll in. They have a rift to heal--- A rift that stokes the embers of despair. With grit they steer their trusty steeds of steel. They come in peace to seal a vital deal With he who rules the realm---a doctrinaire. The knights roll in....

. Everlasting I must admit, when I arrived in Hell I was surprised.  Not, as you might surmise, Because I never reckoned it was real— And surely not because I thought I’d led A sinless life—but owing to the fact I did not know that I had died.  You see,...

. Gift for the Living The life that he led is a memory now, Subjugated by settled existence, With old hunting grounds bearing the imprint of plough And a musket ball hail for resistance— Certain death the result of resistance. He remembers the spark of the campfire bright As the...

. God’s M.O. One hundred thousand people at the game, And half might pray to God: “Let my team win!” While for the other team folks pray the same. If I was God it might make my head spin, But that’s one thing I need not fret about. And I’m...

. A Triolet I promise not to be the coward Who says "I’m sorry" to Big Tech While Joe Rogan’s overpowered. I promise not to be the coward Who can’t be brave, who can’t go forward; Our tweets are silenced but I’ll peck. I promise not to be the coward...

. Reflections on a Visit to Salem I wander down a haunted, cobbled street And watch the sun rise red above the sea. The maple leaves have turned to red as well. October’s come and Salem is replete With beauty which belies a history Of those who hunted Heaven and...

. The H.R. Manager's Toilet Break At ten-fifteen he sits upon His porcelain panopticon And stares into his tiny screen. He clears his bowels and fills his spleen With bile he milks from boundless rage Inscribed upon an endless page By others just as mad as he And others, worse,...

.   https://youtu.be/3XWcnISYGSE . Rondel for Saint Valentine's Day by Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1340–1400) | modernized in the original lyric form by Margaret Coats Now welcome, springtime, with your gentle sunThat wintry weather milder soon will make,And tiresome nights' long shroud of blackness shake. Saint Valentine, great triumph you have won,And...

. Aspects of Love . I. Unrequited a rondeau redoublé Tonight, my eyes are open and aware. The kiss I trusted was a lustful lie. I’m letting go of love that isn’t there. My heart holds dreams no mind can justify.  I built a cozy castle in the sky--- A home of truth and...

. As a Matter of Course for Ethan Gutmann, pioneer in investigating organ harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party Of course, you are a wanted man __on Party databases— So too are you a wanted man __by those who’d wipe the traces Of Party obfuscating haze, __its choking smoke and...

. At What Cost? In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, And a wicked man living long in his wickedness. ________________________---Ecclesiastes 7:15 Morality, they say, was made for fools Who think that they can win by playing fair....

. The Crucifixion of the Serpent And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. —Numbers 21: 9 And as Moses lifted up the...

. Aromatherapy This tale concerns an English Lass, Who signed up for an evening class, “There’s money to be made” said she, “I’ll try Aromatherapy.” So, every Winter, Wednesday nights, She headed for the city lights. Where on the back seat of her car, Were many bottles, tubes and jars....

. Write a poem that casts a fresh eye over a classic movie---any form, any length, any mood. This challenge comes from the lovely Susan Jarvis Bryant. Her example is below. Post your movie-inspired poem in the comments below. . Wafting in the Wind  “Quite frankly, my dear, I just...

. The Agony and The Ecstasy I beg among the lonely hours__oblivious to time and spaceand pace beneath the Sistine towers__where pigments paint my puzzled face.Why call me to divine commission,as if I am the King's magician,to turn blank skies to holy vision;__oblivious to time and space? I flee to...

. And so, Minnie Mouse will impress in pantsuit and flat heels, no less. __But what of the vision, __of Mickey's transition in heels and a polka-dot dress? . . Paul A. Freeman is the author of Rumours of Ophir, a crime novel which was taught in Zimbabwean high schools and...

. Ode to Joy My final symphony---my best by far!--- Which crowns a challenged life of brilliant works. Vienna’s finest came! Some from afar: Nobility, musicians, Prussians, Turks. A triumph! Yet it made my proud heart bleed: The orchestra refused to let me lead. They argued I could not conduct...

. The terms eenee, meenee, mainee, and mo can be found in Rudyard Kipling’s “A Counting-Out Song“ from Land and Sea Tales for Scouts and Guides, published in 1935. I knew the last five lines of the first stanza word-for-word being a child of the ’50s and wondered if there...

. Ottawa Ho! In the days of yore, it is written, All the dreamers would dream of the sea. __But the sailor’s way __Has become passé— It’s the trucker’s life for me! How I long for the open highway! How I yearn to be boundless and free! __Rising up with...

. Those Who Go Down to the Sea in Ships a poetic paraphrase of Psalm 107:23-30 The men who go down to the sea in their ships, Who sail on the water and pursue their trade, The sound of the sea echoes back from their lips; Their eyes see the...

. Abortion “My body, my choice” All her life that seemed best, And especially where There was rape or incest. But as early as twelve weeks A fetus feels pain, And in just eight weeks’ time Facial features are plain. Thus “my body, my choice” Can no longer seem right,...

. Plum Blossom Blessings The pine, bamboo, and plum are winter’s friends, Yet plum trees bloom to overcome the chill And herald spring. Resilient health extends Throughout my struggling mind and body ill; Spiced fragrance with that ruby beauty blends. Flame-draped in cozy apricot orange twill, A wealth of blossoms...

. The Blood of Revolution  The blood of revolution fills my veins; Of those who fought to sever tyrant’s chains, Of those whose voice of freedom wasn’t kept Silent as enslavèd justice wept. Of mothers who begat the strong and brave, Who begat my country with the blood they gave,...

. Tel Shikmona Mosaics here surprise: you wouldn’t know, tramping on thistles, dry late-summer stubble and tripping over rubble, stumbling, slow, that this rough trail leads to the long-ago till suddenly—a broken arch, a floor patterned in blue red black, flowers and birds outlined in tesserae; below them, words in...