Food for thought from William Blake
William Blake was a unique poet and artist. I don’t think he fits into any category except “mystical visionary” and probably “some sort of genius.” Many people are aware of his poem
Continue reading →Category Archives: Poetry
On the Titanic submersible rescue operation and extreme adventure excursions
I’ll start out by saying that I think the five people in the submersible are dead, and that even days ago I thought they probably had been dead from the moment the vehicle stopped communicating with the mother ship about … Continue reading →
Hopkins’ kingfishers and dragonflies
[NOTE: I decided not to be as politics-intensive as usual today.] I consider the poems of Jesuit priest Gerard Manley Hopkins to be among the greatest, and I’m going to highlight a single line from his poem entitled—well, the poem … Continue reading →
Looking back with the Moody Blues
The Moody Blues were big in the late 60s. But for reasons I never could quite articulate, their music creeped me out at the time. It didn’t make sense that I disliked their songs, because they had many elements I … Continue reading →
Whatever happened to patriotism?
In yesterday’s thread on a poll indicating a steep decline in patriotism in the US, commenter “charles” wrote: That is one thing that makes polls like this so disheartening; if more and more people believe that love of one’s country … Continue reading →
Valentine’s Day: some thoughts and a poem
Today is Valentine’s Day and I’m feeling somewhat raw, for obvious reasons. And yet I’ve never been really big on Valentine’s Day celebrations. After all, for the last thirty years or so I haven’t been able to eat chocolate without … Continue reading →
Calmly we walk
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a post originally published five years ago. Gerard had made the first comment on the original post, as you can see if you follow that link. “Many great dears are taken away…”] —John Updike: … Continue reading →
Onward
Although today I had hoped to publish Part II of my series on the Kari Lake election fraud trial, I’m planning it for tomorrow instead. I got a later-than-usual start today because I was dealing with some health issues involving … Continue reading →
Twas the blogger’s night before Christmas
[NOTE: This small poetic effort of mine has become somewhat of a holiday tradition at the blog. So here it comes again—just like the holiday itself.] ‘TWAS THE BLOGGER’S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through … Continue reading →
Jorge Luis Borges and politics
I’ve always liked the work of Jorge Luis Borges. His writing isn’t to everyone’s taste, but it is to mine. I was reminded of Borges the other evening when I did a search for “science fiction stories about immortals” and … Continue reading →
Is it possible that Bob Dylan has never heard of Tom Lehrer?
I once read that people either love Bob Dylan or hate him (kind of like pecan pie, only different). If that really is a Bob Dylan rule, then I’m an exception to it because I kind of like him, or … Continue reading →
Open thread 10/31/22
Phil Ochs was a singer/songwriter, and a leftist of the old sort. Later in his career, he was plagued by mental illness and had a tragic end. But what a beautiful and distinctive voice he had, instantly recognizable. Some of … Continue reading →