4 days ago

Gloucester at the Cliffs of Dover

The Fiend appeared in the rain at the top of the cliff, no need for him to fall again.

Shakespeare

1 min read

The Cliffs of Dover, UK — Photo by Tatiana via Pexels

Gloucester at the Cliffs of Dover

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Aug 2

Oracle

Queen of smoke, heaven’s daughter, you were never more than Apollo’s laughter anyway, a puff of gray, a miasmatic haze of burnt tobacco…

Poetry

1 min read

A woman in a white dress with smoke around her head — Photo by cottonbro via Pexels

Oracle

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Jul 26

The Walk

We’ve been carless for about a month. I’ve been walking, biking, bumming rides. I walked to the in-town grocery store yesterday. There are no sidewalks, hardly any shoulders, but I made it. There’s a big hill. I passed a dead skunk, got a few rocks in my right shoe. …

Poetry

1 min read

Jul 21

Is It Ethical to Keep Pets?

Your answer depends on how important you think your own comfort is. The primary product of pets these days is comfort. From another point of view, the primary labor they perform is service. And I’m not going to argue that that has no value, or that pets don’t benefit from…

Pets

5 min read

Jul 19

Ice and Fire

The day Natalie left for Charleston, Max sketched the scene on the sidewalk in chalk. He frowns as he waves goodbye, his arms arching over…

Poetry

1 min read

Simon Jaques Rochard, “Lady Smith and Her Children.” Public domain courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ice and Fire

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Jul 12

Your Song

for Tracy Pellett, 24th President of Glenville State College

Poetry

1 min read

Your Song

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Jul 5

Kristiania

Hedda wakes with a start, her head on Løvborg’s shoulder. The same rhythmic clack that lulled her to sleep pulls her out, her head bouncing slightly against the man’s sharp acromion. She looks up to see him gazing at the landscape beyond the train car window. She smiles a genuine smile…

Poetry

1 min read

POETRY

Kristiania

Hedda wakes with a start,
her head on Løvborg’s shoulder.
The same rhythmic clack
that lulled her to sleep
pulls her out,
her head bouncing slightly
against the man’s sharp acromion.

She looks up to see him
gazing at the landscape
beyond the train car window.
She smiles a genuine smile…

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Jun 28

Sleeping with the Donkey

We bought it before Charlotte was born, A goofy stuffed gray toy dubbed “Donkey Man.” We gave it to her before she could stand, And she loved it very moderately. A million more followed: Doggie Doggie, Daddy Fox, Baby Fox, Dee the Deer, and Yes, these all are really really real names Of…

Toys

1 min read

Jun 21

Coming Down off Afton Mountain

We drove up Afton Mountain, Cloaked in fog, To say goodbye Before she left for Fife, The splendor of the Shenandoah Somewhere to our left. It was never right; I was always running after her. I thought about learning to walk on water, But I was tired. The Inn was…

Poetry

1 min read

POETRY

Coming Down off Afton Mountain

Photo by Brian Schumin under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license via Wikimedia Commons

We drove up Afton Mountain,
Cloaked in fog,
To say goodbye
Before she left for Fife,
The splendor of the Shenandoah
Somewhere to our left.

It was never right;
I was always running after her.
I thought about learning to walk on water,
But I was tired.

The Inn was…

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Jun 14

Fleas

At 6 I knew that “fuck” was the word to use whenever you were angry or frustrated or wanted to get under someone’s skin. This was back before I knew words like rancor and spite and abuse. At 6 I knew that “divorce” was a threat. They fought morning, afternoon, evening. They…

Poetry

1 min read