From my earlierst years, I've always had a great appreciation for the exalted language used in the King James Version of the Bible.  When I should have been listening to the sermon, I often chose to read over and over again those passages whose beauty moved me more than the impassioned rhetoric of the pulpit.

Below is one such passage.  Given the ( Read more... )

I attended the funeral of a beloved patron today.  It was a very moving ceremony, punctuated by the reading of a card that she had left for her husband of 51 years telling him how their marriage was the best thing that had ever happened during her whole life.

I wanted to post this poem below in honor of their love and marriage.  It has always been a ( Read more... )

Over the weekend, I paid a visit to the Newberry Cornfield Maze with some of my pals.  We went tromping through the corny labyrinth in the pitch dark mocking those who were afraid and laughing at those who tried to frighten us.

Wandering about beneath the moon and stars with my friends put me in mind today of a favorite old poem of mine.  I ( Read more... )

When you see this, quote from Shakespeare in your journal.

Macbeth

Act IV. Scene I.

A Cavern. In the middle, a boiling Cauldron.   
Thunder. Enter the three Witches.   First Witch.  Thrice the brinded cat hath mew’d.   Sec. Witch.  Thrice and once the hedge-pig whin’d.   4  Third Witch.  Harper cries: ’Tis time, ’tis time.   First Witch.  Round about ( Read more... )

I'm in kind of a feisty mood lately.  So, when I went to bartleby.com, I decided to use the search term "fight" and I found this charming little poem....
Fight by Carl Sandburg  RED drips from my chin where I have been eating.Not all the blood, nowhere near all, is wiped off my mouth. Clots of red mess my hairAnd the tiger, the buffalo, know how. I ( Read more... )

Today, I've been thinking about how lucky I am in my friendships both old and new.  So, in my recent search through bartleby.com, it should come as no surprise that I would use the word "friends" as my search term.

One of the first poems that popped up seemed a bit morbid at first glance.  However, having read it through to the end, I found that it ( Read more... )

While searching bartleby.com for this week's Poetry Corner entry, I entered the word "steam" in the little search box to see what kind of results I would get.  Well, no big surprise, my search brought up a poem by Mr. Walt "I Sing the Body Electric" Whitman (1819-1892) from his collection of poems, Leaves of Grass.  It is a love song to the city of ( Read more... )

From the guy who put the "goth" into gothic, I give you...

Darkness George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824)  I HAD a dream, which was not all a dream,The bright sun was extinguish’d, and the starsDid wander darkling in the eternal space,Rayless, and pathless; and the icy earthSwung blind and blackening in the moonless air        5Morn came and went- ( Read more... )

I've done a bit of searching through Bartleby.com under the subjects of "New Year's Eve" and I can't really find anything more appropriate to post today than the original poem upon which the traditional New Year's Eve song is based.

Robert Burns. 1759-1796  Auld Lang Syne  SHOULD auld acquaintance be forgot,  And never brought to min'?Should auld ( Read more... )

Almost every day for the past couple of weeks, I've received cards and e-mails from my friends sending me their holiday greetings.  As I said in a previous post, I feel so very blessed in my friendships.  My thanks and warm wishes to all of you who have remembered me and taken the time to write.

For this reason, I cannot think of any more fitting a  ( Read more... )