by phillipw | May 13, 2020 | AN, CA, NI, VI
Safe Spaces—“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” “When the Athenians sent leaders of their philosophy schools to Rome on an embassy in 155 BC, one of them, the sceptic Carneades, pleaded on one day for justice in politics, on the next day for injustice. Cato...
by phillipw | May 13, 2020 | CA, SE
Turbulent March and Hot July In Rome the god of war and youth was Mars. This nodded to the young men who would die From March and onwards, or who grasped hard scars And heroism. That god might imply Far more since he could not resist the charms His sister, Venus,...
by phillipw | May 8, 2020 | CA, PR
Food Vincit Omnia Today as Prospero came bounding in When he was called for breakfast, his black tail Was whanged out wide. He clearly thought a sin Had been committed, that some other male Had dared to enter our cat’s little patch Of territory, or...
by phillipw | May 6, 2020 | AD, AU, BO, CA, JO, JU, MA, NA
Modern Improvements I find it faintly droll that Caesar had No clue about Napoleon and Hitler, that Augustus never knew how ultra bad That Mao and Josef Stalin were. How flat Those Caesars would have felt if only they Had known how pipsqueak they would seem compared...
by phillipw | May 6, 2020 | AU, BE, CA, DE, DO, ED, FA, RO, WI
A Seal Upon my Heart Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem My lingering rose, the lightish purple one, Has failed to open. It is still a bud In late November. Though the autumn sun Indulges it, the rose will...
by phillipw | May 6, 2020 | AS, CA, CH, ME, NE, PO, SA, ST
“Like Some Clean Beast” Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem “In the evenings at Streonshalh . . . farm labourers gathered to play the harp and to sing. Caedmon . . . was in the habit of withdrawing to his...
