Culture

. Blackwater River State Park A warm summer day. The kayak floats quietly. The cicadas sing. . . Nightfall at...

. The world is ruled by two men­---Jack and Zuck, More than their strange appearance their deeds suck. Jack’s goatee...

. Changeable and fickle is the woman. Some things she says, and surely thinks are so, defy a logic with...

. First they came for the Jews, you see, And I did not speak out’ Because I wasn’t a Jew...

. B.C./D.C. Where history and myth converge Two famous founders do emerge, Of nations that excelled at war. (Coincidence?  Or...

. How To Be Like Byron Bright butterfly, why do you fade Into that duller, browner shade That strays into...

. Daily we vent and cement our position In righteous and virtuous words. Unity fails if each crucial decision Is...

. Ode to Spring Oh glory be to things that grow! That burgeon, blossom, bud and blow In Springtime’s light...

. . Father And John: How It Once Was Before self-righteous rules, brash and insistent,There was a natural rhythm, quite...

. The Verbum Dei Retreat Centre on the Isle of Wight aims to be a place of encounter with God...

. Well, you beat the odds against you, though I think you rather knew That with media assistance, and a...

. I fear my motivation’s dead; there’s no one home inside my head. I’ve looked for it from dusk to...

. Tyrants would distribute largesse, a bushel of wheat, a gallon of wine, and a sesterce: and then everybody would...

.   January 25 is the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759–1796). On or near this day, Scots worldwide...

. A coat of luminescent snow Descended on my patch of grass, And for a moment all its glow Inflamed...

 . Long View Cottage The view is long and dark atop the mountain where I roam. Birds sing a little...

. On Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son" Three centuries have passed since it was wrought--- A work of art...

. The Death of Adam Excerpted from Musings on Piero della Francesca’s “History of the True Cross,” in the Church...

. Even then Cassandra, who, by the god’s decree, is never to be believed by Trojans, reveals our future fate...

. Stream Above the bend, the water deep and clear, the current strong; seen from the Buckman Bridge, ten minutes...

. Daddy came home from “the war to end all war” And seemed, at first, one of the lucky ones....

Seven inches, simple dark design My modern mind disdains the notion That the measure of devotion Is the size or...

X Every Little Thing I. His Version She treasured every little thing that you             ...

“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the...

. Rosarium a sestina A rose arises red from its green sheath Adorned with swords that prick and pierce: the...

. My word will not survive a fire: the dust, the ash of paper singed by matches struck by fingers...

. My inconsistent pharmacist, Administer that certain cure That can relax my hardened fist In doses sweet with taste impure....

_ Orchestra Tuning Up Is this the way the universe once sounded?A mass confusion of discordant trumpets,Flutes, horns, and violins...

(All poems by Bruce Dale Wise) The Victory of Donald J. Trump in the 2020 U.S. Election by Erisbawdle Cue...

. Stress can envelop, encircle, entangle. Strictures can pressure from every angle. Tripping and slipping to ways that are errant...

. Portrait of God drawn from Scripture by François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), translated by Adam Sedia Know you the jealous...

. Rapt “I must go down to the sea again,  to the lonely sea and the sky…” ---John Masefield  Today...

. Benvenuto Cellini’s Salt-Cellar A woman sitting back, just mildly curious To hear a man’s contrived, seductive patter, Waiting to...

. Behold the father of this infant land, Conductor of our daunting foe’s defeat, Now warmly laureled for his noble...

. Humility Lo, I have seen the Muses plain. What need Have I to go on living?—’Twas in Rome: I...

. Wokeness by Russel Winick “Amen and Awoman” the Congressman said, The Leftists all thought it was great. What more...

. With Goals in Tow I’ve fewer days ahead of me than those I have been blessed to see. Though...

. Flodden Historical Note: The Battle of Flodden took place between English and Scottish armies on September 9, 1513. The...

. The Death of Today’s Sequoia Flecte ramos, arbor alta, tensa laxa viscera: Et rigor lentescat ille, quem dedit nativitas,...

. The Inca Kings Who stole the kings? Even Pachacutec's mummy now is gone from Lima's hospital display of Inca...