Companionship in words may suffice when crowds around us say nothing we want to hear — Free Rick James wrote a beautiful poem, “Fortitude Derived From Solitude” as a hendecasyllabic terza rima. Some Greek and Latin poets favored “hendecasyllabic” meter, which involves 11-syllable lines, but our friends at the Poetry Foundation suggest it is uncommon in English, save for Algernon Charles Swinburne. Swinburne was a late…

Robert Herrick needs updating for the 21st century — Medium author Henanksha offered a lovely meditation on time in her story, “Every second counts!” A single second holds so many contrasting meanings and possibilities. For me, the topic and title evoked Robert Herrick’s, “To the Virgins, To Make Much of Time” — Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time…

“Turning the reassuring line for children into a meme for adults should make everyone uncomfortable.” Ian Bogost, The Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 29, 2018) I. The Helpers “Finally, at one point, I was able to pull the gun away from him, shove him aside, create some distance.” Tsay said. “Get the hell out of…

Several stories on MLK Jr 2023 honor (or dishonor?) the memory of MLK Jr. Reading through them, one finds a snapshot of what people are saying, thinking, writing about one of the greatest American heroes of the 20th century. …

“We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.” — Martin Luther King, Jr. Haiku #1: Our inner voices Can be stilled, numbed by endless Randomness, or killed. Haiku #2: A society At peace with itself survives Unexpected storms. Haiku #3: “Make a career of humanity” - all that matters, True equality. Today, America commemorates Martin Luther King, Jr. The world of 2023 is…

Did “Broadbrim’s” Moralism once compete with “Twas the night before Christmas?” Who wins in a fight between “Jolly St. Nick” and Schnapps Imps? — Project Gutenberg released an interesting Christmas poem this year on December 26, 2022: It was Christmas Eve, of all nights in the year, And old Schneider Von Groot, who was full of good cheer, Was seeking his home, like a jolly old elf, And was singing a drinking song all to himself, Of the…

Last summer, I fantasized about what Amanda Gorman might say if any of her words might somehow reach Brittney Griner. Griner, an American woman wrongfully held in Russia by a corrupt regime, and also a star basketball player, might opt to read Gorman’s words herself now that she has been…

Nothing we write really matters…except our poetry — We are the stuff of Sappho’s passion, Lost for ages to rage-ruled fashion. We find words. We make them ours. We wear them, share them, flare their powers (for a few hours). We breathe every poison and its antidote While chasing our own asymptote. Like the drip, drip, drip of…

Get your free copy of “Secret Garden,” “Anne of Green Gables,” “Pride & Prejudice,” “Frankenstein,” and “Wuthering Heights” from Project Gutenberg Today! — Paperback books feel soothing in one’s hand, but every newly printed book is the corpse of dead trees. Luckily, thousands of the greatest works of literature are available FOR FREE!!! Little Women? Free! Pride and Prejudice? Emma? Sense and Sensibility? Free!