Class

Social class has been one of my main interests in life. It became an interest as soon as I realized it was a big deal in the USA, where it is said not to exist. Wrong! 

Recent Poetry, March 2026

Louis Armstrong  (1901-1971)

Few knew that
Your first language was Yiddish.
And few remember that stupid
Costume you were once made to wear.

The Trouble with Organized Religion

A few years back, I read a book called The Life You Save May Be Your Own by Paul Elie. It was a parallel biography of Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Flannery O’Connor, and Walker Percy. Four influential mid-twentieth-century Catholics.

Commentary on Psalm 50/51

The reason for the numbering confusion is that the numbering and breakdown of the Psalms is a bit different in the Septuagint version, the Greek translation of the Bible that took place in Alexandria, Egypt,  in the third century and that also set the canon of the New Testament.

Recent Poetry, February 2026

Sin’s Origin

Sit still and quiet every day,

Your problems will not go away.

But you’ll learn where they arise:

It’s thinking.  Not a big surprise.

Love

Simone Weil considered it a direction, not a place. I think she was on to something. She equated it with attention, and felt it was the best gift we could give to anyone who was suffering.

Recent Poetry, January 2026

Origen (circa 185-circa 253)

When Egypt was a very Christian place,

Before Islam had showed its pretty face,

Of Alexandria, you were the wondrous sage,

And they all loved you in that early age.

The first book called The Philokalia,

Anthologized you. No et alia.

The Cappadocians, all did much like you,

You were a great foundation for them too.