Culture

. A Thanksgiving Offering We offer thanks to You who made this Earth The sun and stars, for health and love and mirth. For granting us the sacred gift of life Along with faith to overcome all strife; For dignity and grace beyond all measure; And freedom---something righteous people treasure....

. Just Say It Two bombs exploded in Jerusalem Today. A boy of just 15 is dead--- A Jewish student on his way to school. And 18 more were wounded, all of them Israeli Jews at bus stops now streaked red. The media would play us for a fool. It’s...

. Heirs to Alexander These snuff-brown mounds piled up ten thousand feet Gaze on toward Hindu Kush peaks twice their height; Green threads of valleys mark the rough retreat Wherein Kalasha keep their recondite Festivities with sacrificial meat. Good wine and brandy old Caucasian folk Knew how to make when...

. Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner after Ben Jonson's "Inviting a Friend to Supper" Tonight, dear friends, you’re welcome to observe Another birthday dinner---and deserve To know it’s mainly an excuse for us To invite friends, no gifts required, no fuss Expected, though I will confess, I still...

. Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus And Peter, looking steadfastly against Simon, said: “I adjure you, ye angels of Satan, who are carrying him into the air, to deceive the hearts of the unbelievers, by the God that created all things, and by Jesus Christ, whom on the...

. Clowns Teach Writing Classes Students’ attitudes were dismal; composition skills, abysmal! Desperate to make things better, teachers asked expert go-getters, “Will you please get their attention? What we need’s an intervention, something new-wave, fresh, progressive— something youth will find impressive!” “We will help you,” they asserted. “HEROES!” weary teachers...

. Science or “The Science”? “‘The Science' and science are opposites.” ---Richard Lindzen So you believe “The Science”? That is odd.Science cannot be about compliance.Scientists are skeptics. They’re not yes men.Belief’s more often used to just oppress men. Reserve belief for the Almighty God.Skepticism doesn’t mean defiance.Science doesn’t punish a transgression.“The Science” always...

. No News Is Good News The world contrives, in many different ways, To overload the minutes of our days __With items that anesthetize __The sensibilities that filter Our sound ideas from the out-of-kilter. __And please try this one on for size: I sat down in my chair to watch...

. Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty upon reading this Atlantic article Today I hear a murmur of surrender--- A shifty whisper from the cutting edge Of vicious tongues (sword-sharp with virtue’s splendor) That cursed the cautious with a poisoned pledge To ruin all who shunned the peddled...

. The Return of Trump No matter how you try to stop Don Trump __He always will come back. __He’ll lie in wait then jump __In tiger-like attack. You put him in a box that’s wrapped in chains __And throw him in the sea, __And yet despite your pains __You...

. The Last Man on the Moon for Gene Cernan My gaze was set toward the Western sky, To see if I could see him flashing by, I’d never felt so glad to be alive, With my model of the mighty Saturn five. With “Countdown, engines on you’re good to...

. Lullaby of New Mexico, Part Two Part One can be read here. Duerme Papi---Dad, it’s time to rest. I smooth your blanket here at Desert Sage And look with worry at your wrinkled face. My calloused hand adjusts your thin-white hair. You fall asleep to one of your CDs---...

. No Extra Lives While all his friends were learning skills To gain them wives or pay their bills, John fought with monsters on a screen, Got knighted by a game world’s queen, Amassing troves of digi-treasure That bought eight bits of gaming pleasure. But as the habit lasted longer,...

. Our Superman Porfirio Landa (1925–2022), one of the United States Army’s longest surviving World War II veterans The modest glory of this veteran Began when he was born a Mexican, Baptized before the State declared grim war On Catholic faith Cristeros battled for. Church doors were locked next time...

. Mother Nature Is Bipolar Mother Nature is bipolar. She needs to take a pill. One minute she's a blowhard. The next one she is still. I've seen her hail in April. I've seen her snow in May. I've seen her sun in treetops, Before blowing them away. When she...

. Lest We Forget     Today’s the day I cast my hard-won vote   (My voice and choice, my prized ancestral gift)   Bought with guts and grit to stop the bloat  Of greedy grifters known to scheme and shift  Their stance to fit the wants of those they ply  With charm that cloaks their freedom-stealing lie.     Today’s the day I nod to hosts of ghosts  Who paid for liberty...

. Hell Rising They’ve come with a purpose: to numb or perturb us __By infecting the already-sick, And with them they bring a more tangible thing: __A nice carrot along with a stick. They live in The Palace of Envy and Malice __And demand that we pay our “fair share”;...

. Who's Behind the Door The quiet words, the trembling lips, __we’ve heard it all before. Keen questions dwell within our minds, __like who’s behind the door. We saw the lights, heard voiceless words, __asked, “Is there any more?” The speaking’s frail and actions flail, __but who’s behind the door?...

. Think (Ideo)logically Say---friend or foe? What else could people be? … Stop thinking, since it’s useless, and it’s hard. We’ll do your thinking for you---play our card! These glasses will now show you what to see: This world’s in black and white. We’ve gauged its worth. Here’s all our...

. CDC: Save the Planet from Poison CO2!! “We used to think CO2 was a harmless trace gas… How wrong we were!” ---Dr. Dillard “Sparky” Barker, SMFS, The CDC’s Second Most Famous Scientist Your noxious exhalations contain tons of CO2 So Dillard “Sparky” Barker has the newest mask for you....

. Poetry 101 Lecture Today we shall discuss why poems have a poor repute (Though if one dislikes poetry, apology is moot). Let’s take four types of poems with their strong points and their faults: Well-crafted love poems are a jewel; but most of them, near schmaltz. Eschew the superficiality...

. Note: The above photos are of the poet's grandparents, Herbert W. & Evelyn Slater Tweedie in 1914 Wedding Picture; Glacier Point, Yosemite; Top of Pyramid Peak, Desolation Wilderness . 1914 Sierra Honeymoon A picture’s worth a thousand words, they say; A rock at Glacier Point, Yosemite. Folks aren’t allowed...

. A Half Century Ago Oh there once was a time in our nation so fair, When the pledge to our flag was in schools everywhere, When young children could safely walk daily to school, And not be attacked by some crazy half-ghoul. There were boys, there were girls, and...

. Halloween---The New Normal The maskless masses mingle on the street Pooh-poohing overreaching, grouchy rules. The granny-slaying, unvaxxed ogres meet As curtain-twitching witches eye these ghouls From hazmat-suited safety as they fume At murderous monsters milling neath the moon. The spawn of fierce smut-busters fool around. They snigger as they...

. It’s Halloween It’s Halloween, and musty tombs expel Damnation’s brides and grooms; ghoulish creatures rule the night, a ghastly resurrected blight as Satan’s grinning visage looms. Hell’s emptied out its catacombs! While witches boil up poison shrooms, the zombies drool, the vampires bite. It’s Halloween. In ancient woodland wolfsbane...

. Night Visitor Between the ticking of the clock I thought I heard a haunting knock. I pondered what I thought I heard, "Perhaps the tapping of a bird?" The hearth was warm and so was I, Until a cold draft struck my thigh. The shadows seemed to dance about,...

. Are You Prepared for All Hallows’ Eve? All Hallow’s Eve will soon be here--- A time when our two worlds come near. They roam our world for just one night--- And you may fear until it’s light. . . K.M. Hayes is a freelance writer from Gainesville, FL. 

. Shroud-Eater The undead Shroud-Eater, or mâcheur de suaire, is not as well known as the vampire, but is just as horrifying. He prowls cemeteries chewing on his shroud and his own flesh, attacks persons, and brings plague or misfortune to anything in the vicinity. He can be killed only...

. The Modern Prometheus Grrrr! Linden trees with falling leaves infest These ancient mountains. Crimson-faced they scream Like mobs in Transylvanian villages Which brandish knives and torches. Hate-obsessed, They yell “the Monster! Nature’s veil is torn!” Compassion dead, they make me what I seem: A raging brute who kills and...

. A Seasonal Concoction He loved to have a cup of coffee in dawn’s dimmest light. It helped clear cobwebs from those heavy eyelids of the night. His narrow pumpkin head could start to gaze with orange eyes. His skeleton could once again experience surprise. The ghost-white sheets of sleepy...

. The Three Democrats of the 2020 Election after Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1 Scene: Thunder illuminates a 2020 calendar page in an undisclosed conference room where a pot bubbles on an electric stovetop. Enter the Three Democrats. FIRST DEMOCRAT Thrice each democrat will vote. SECOND DEMOCRAT Thrice at...

. Everyday Angels  inspired by Guadalupe Amejorado (1955-2021)  They don’t appear in swathes of white   __On scintillating wing.  Their heads aren’t crowned with rings of light.  __They never claim to bring  Salvation to an ailing Earth,  Yet I can feel their weight and worth  __As silently they sing.    They don’t descend from pearly plane  __Where shining seraphs fly.  Instead, they...

. The Polls The polls are looking up right now, __But my faith’s not complete, Because no poll can measure how __The Democrats might cheat. . . The Boulder Field The glacial remnant boulder field, __A geological delight. Except a few stones that revealed __Graffiti some jerk had to write....

. While Reading Burns' 'Stanzas: On the Same Occasion' "Fain would I say" Burns wrote, has me inspired. Perhaps this inspiration’s meant to be a call to listen to a hope desired from Jesus.  Those once blind who see shall sing His way.  This soul inside of me will listen, keeping ever...

Playing with Matches "We don’t seek conflict with Russia but we are ready." ---Antony Blinken, March 4, 2022 We don’t seek conflict with Russia but we are ready, make no mistake. The finger that pushes the button will not tremble, the hand will not shake. When pillars of fire crown...

. Meditation Say to yourself at break of day: today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, proud, treacherous, envious, malicious. All this is because they do not know good and evil. But I know what the good is, and what evil is; and I know the offender, for...

. His Pen a villanelle written upon watching the movie Eternal Spring His pen flies back and forth, a righteous flurry That recreates the scenes of saintlike deeds, Giving shape to all that once was blurry. In youth, the ancient heroes’ wartime glory Inspired his hand—with legendary speeds His pen...

. A Conversation Between the Poor and the Poorer, followed by an Envoi From the book five of the Man'yōshū, this poem is believed to be based on what the author witnessed while working as a provincial governor, as it is unlikely that Okura, a nobleman, experienced such extreme poverty...

. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester: A Restorative from the Restoration by Joseph S. Salemi John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, stands out because of his double-barreled reputation: he was a savage satirist, and a serious rakehell. His short life of thirty-three years (1647-1680) was packed with excitement and energy,...

. Alone Together Narcissus, in the days of old, Fell in love with his reflection. He knew none greater to behold And starved while staring at “perfection.” Now we’re enamored with our phones Reflecting worlds of our own minds. We sit and stare, as still as stones, Bound by the...