Category: Poetry
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Tennyson Strikes a Chord
The bolded passage below is a beautiful poetic summation of my philosophical position. IF thou would’st hear the Nameless, and wilt dive Into the Temple-cave of thine own self, There, brooding by the central altar, thou May’st haply learn the Nameless hath a voice, By which thou wilt abide, if thou be wise, 5As if…
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W. H. Auden, “September 1, 1939”
Full text.
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John Updike, Seven Stanzas at Easter
Seven Stanzas at Easter Make no mistake: if He rose at allit was as His body;if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse, the moleculesreknit, the amino acids rekindle,the Church will fall. It was not as the flowers,each soft Spring recurrent;it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddledeyes of the eleven apostles;it was…
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New Morning
Old memories dressed in the rags of too many rehearsalsBlock the light of a dawn that would be newAnd not merely another.
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Two or Three Haiku
This life's a flingWhy do we care?Why do we cling?The play is the thing! Sense and matterMind and meatTogether in ManMystery complete! Not authentic haiku?Screw you!Syllabification seventeen.
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Richard Crashaw (1612-1649)
But Men Loved Darkness rather than Light By Richard Crashaw The world’s light shines, shine as it will, The world will love its darkness still. I doubt though when the world’s in hell, It will not love its darkness half so well. Source: Poetry Foundation
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Poem of the Day
THE WRATH OF THE AWAKENED SAXONby Rudyard KiplingIt was not part of their blood,It came to them very late,With long arrears to make good,When the Saxon began to hate. They were not easily moved,They were icy — willing to waitTill every count should be proved,Ere the Saxon began to hate. Their voices were even and…
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Ashes to Ashes; Dust to Dust . . .
"Remember, man, thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." Memento, homo, quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris. This warning, from the Catholic liturgy for Ash Wednesday, is based on Genesis 3, 19: In sudore vultus tui vesceris pane, donec revertaris in terram de qua sumptus es: quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris.How real can we…
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A Little Unsolicited Advice for the Mature Members of the Distaff Contingent
Warning: 'Sexist' content up ahead! Snowflakes to your safe spaces! ……………………… Your sag and bag Won't hurt your charm But no man wantsA hag or nag Upon his arm.
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The Canticle of Jack Kerouac
BY LAWRENCE FERLINGHETTI 1. Far from the sea far from the sea of Breton fishermen the white clouds scudding over Lowell and the white birches the bare white birches along the blear night roads flashing by in darkness (where once he rode in Pop’s old Plymouth) And the birch-white…
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When Did Sex Begin?
In 1963. Or at least so we hear from Philip Larkin in his Annus Mirabilis. It was indeed a remarkable year. I was but a boy in grade school, but old enough so that I now remember all those wonderful songs and not so wonderful events such as the Profumo scandal in Britain. What ever happened to sex…
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Cesare Pavese, “Passion for Solitude”
Passion for Solitude BY CESARE PAVESE TRANSLATED BY GEOFFREY BROCK I’m eating a little supper by the bright window. The room’s already dark, the sky’s starting to turn. Outside my door, the quiet roads lead, after a short walk, to open fields. I’m eating, watching the sky—who knows how many women are eating now. My body…
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The Nation Apologizes for a Poem
Disgusting.
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A Thoreauvian Prayer
Great God, I ask thee for no meaner pelf Than that I may not disappoint myself, That in my action I may soar as high, As I can now discern with this clear eye. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), Collected Poems
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‘Diversity’ is Not a Dirty Word
Contrary to what some alt-righties of my acquaintance seem to think, 'diversity' is not a dirty word. To quote from my old entry, Diversity and Divisiveness: Liberals emphasize the value of diversity, and with some justification. Many types of diversity are good. One thinks of culinary diversity, musical diversity, artistic diversity generally. Biodiversity is good,…