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BY E E Cummings may my heart always be open to littlebirds who are the secrets of livingwhatever they sing is better than to knowand if men should not hear them men are old may my mind stroll about hungryand fearless and thirsty and supplefor even if it’s sunday may i be wrongfor whenever men

The Oppressionists

BY JAYNE CORTEZ Artwhat do the artsuppressorscare about artthey jump on bandwagonswallow in press clips& stink up the planetwith theirpornographic oppressionArtwhat do they care about artthey go from beingcontemporary baby kissers toold time corrupt politiciansto self-appointed censorship clerkswho won’t support artbut will support warpovertylung cancerracismcolonialismand toxic sludgethat’s their moralitythat’s their religious convictionthat’s their protection of

Happy New Year for 2022

Another amazing year has slipped by. Life for us has stabilized with new surroundings and new challenges. Jean’s Alzheimer’s has continued to progress. The three of us shared Thanksgiving dinner with residents at the Meridian. She no longer recognizes us by name, but she knows we are her family and that helps her every day.

THIS MORNING I PRAY FOR MY ENEMIES

BY JOY HARJO And whom do I call my enemy? An enemy must be worthy of engagement. I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking. It’s the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind. The heart is the smaller cousin of the sun. It sees and knows everything. It hears

Ode I. 11

BY HORACE TRANSLATED BY BURTON RAFFEL Leucon, no one’s allowed to know his fate,Not you, not me: don’t ask, don’t hunt for answersIn tea leaves or palms. Be patient with whatever comes.This could be our last winter, it could be manyMore, pounding the Tuscan Sea on these rocks:Do what you must, be wise, cut your

Stella’s Birthday March 13, 1727

BY JONATHAN SWIFT This day, whate’er the Fates decree,Shall still be kept with joy by me:This day then let us not be told,That you are sick, and I grown old;Nor think on our approaching ills,And talk of spectacles and pills.To-morrow will be time enoughTo hear such mortifying stuff.Yet, since from reason may be broughtA better

Never Mind

BY DENVER BUTSON      that guests no longer come unannounced      or that the photo album contains picturesof much younger people than we remember being      never mind that swallows etch Sanskrit              on the wrinkled sky                  it’s November     and the present is emptying its wine                into our glasses      never mind that we’re not touching now because our shadows are holding hands         in

A Divine Image

BY WILLIAM BLAKE Cruelty has a Human HeartAnd Jealousy a Human FaceTerror the Human Form DivineAnd Secrecy, the Human Dress The Human Dress, is forged IronThe Human Form, a fiery Forge.The Human Face, a Furnace seal’dThe Human Heart, its hungry Gorge. On November 28, 1757 William Blake was born

For Anna Catherine on Thanksgiving

by Samuel Hazo The first girl in generations, you came when the century clicked from nines to zeroes to plus one.Capped on a pallet, you flexed your toes and let us count your fingernails. We studied you as our particular event, our small surprise, our bonus.Months earlier, I prayed that you’d be born intact and healthy,

How to revive the Feckless Party

The Democratic Party was founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to promote agrarianism, political equality, and expansionism.  Jefferson inspired the Revolution, while Madison tamed it with the Constitution.  Andrew Jackson embraced populism and high tariffs. After the Civil War the party consistently won only Southern States until the victory of Woodrow Wilson. He promoted