"Dear Gaybashers" by Jill McDonough : The Poetry Foundation

Read the poem Dear Gaybashers by Jill McDonough : The Poetry Foundation: "The night we got bashed we told Rusty how / they drove up, yelled QUEER, threw a hot dog, sped off. / Rusty: Now, is that gaybashing? Or [ . . . ]"

Jill McDonough : The Poetry Foundation

"The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation" : The King James Bible

Read the Psalm of David Psalm 27: "The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation" in The Holy Bible: King James Version.

"Miracles" by Walt Whitman : Poets.org

A Poem a Day: Read the poem "Miracles" by Walt Whitman, 1819-1892, at Poets.org.

Walt Whitman : Poets.org

"The Day is Done" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : The Poetry Foundation

Read this classic poem, and listen to a recording of someone reading it: The Day is Done by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : The Poetry Foundation: "The day is done, and the darkness / Falls from the wings of Night, / As a feather is wafted downward / From an eagle in his flight. [ . . . ]"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : The Poetry Foundation

Quotation: F. Scott Fitzgerald on thinking for yourself

Either you think,

or else others have to think for you

and take power from you,

pervert and discipline your natural tastes,

civilize and sterilize you.

-- F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940),

American author,

quoted in the Associated Press

Jesus Christ, the Light of the World

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
A Poem of Jesus Christ

(From the Bible: John 8:12, King James Version)

I am the light of the world:
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
But shall have the light of life.

"Red Slippers" by Amy Lowell : Poets.org

Read the classic prose poem "Red Slippers" by American poet and critic Amy Lowell (1874-1925).

Amy Lowell

A classic limerick by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

The Reverend Henry Ward Beecher
Called a hen a most elegant creature.
   The hen, pleased with that,
   Laid an egg in his hat --
And thus did the hen reward Beecher.

      -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894)

Source: Lots of Limericks: Light, Lusty and Lasting (1961), edited, with an introduction and commentary, by Louis Untermeyer

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Quotations for Saint Patrick's Day : The Quote Garden

Today is Saint Patrick's Day. Read Quotations for Saint Patrick's Day at The Quote Garden.

"Baseball: A Found Poem" by Monty Gilmer. . .

I dedicate this found poem of mine about baseball to the memory of my father Hugh M. Gilmer, who was born on this day in 1914. (He died in 2006.) His favorite sport was baseball, which he enjoyed playing when he was a boy.


BASEBALL: A FOUND POEM
by Monty Gilmer

(A sports quotation from Jacques Barzun)

Baseball is a kind
Of collective chess
With arms and legs in full
Play under sunlight.

Chrysanthemum: An Anthology

Poetry and Quotations

"The Village Atheist" by Edgar Lee Masters : Bartleby.com

Read the poem "The Village Atheist" by Edgar Lee Masters, a poem from his collection of epitaphs Spoon River Anthology (1915).

Edgar Lee Masters : The Poetry Foundation

"The Final Say: The Tax Man Cometh" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY: THE TAX MAN COMETH

by Monty Gilmer

According to Time magazine, "Albert Einstein once admitted that figuring out his U. S. income tax was beyond him -- he had to go to a tax consultant. 'This is too difficult for a mathematician,' said Einstein. 'It takes a philosopher.'"

Read a short poem about the hardship of accounting, the short poem "Money" by Robert Frost, on page 4 of the April 1936 issue of Poetry Magazine.

Robert Frost : The Poetry Foundation

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Read the latest issue of Poetry Magazine -- the oldest monthly devoted to verse in the English-speaking world -- or browse over 100 years of the magazine in the archive featuring poems and prose by T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound among others.

Can you solve a riddle in rhyme by Lewis Carroll?

A conundrum is a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun. Here is a conundrum that is one of Lewis Carroll's small riddles in rhyme. Can you solve it?

Dreaming of apples on a wall,
   And dreaming often, dear,
I dreamed that, if I counted all,
   How many would appear?

Lewis Carroll : The Poetry Foundation

Answer: Ten would appear, as he is dreaming "[of ten], dear."

Biography: Linda Pastan : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Read a biography of American poet Linda Pastan at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Linda Pastan

"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" by an Author Unknown

JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE
A traditional folk song by an Author Unknown

I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain:
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Refrain

When my feeble life is o'er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o'er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Refrain

__________

To read an article about the song "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," click here.

"Woodchucks" by Maxine Kumin : Poets.org

Read this "terribly autobiographical poem" by Maxine Kumin, and listen to a recording of her introducing and reading it: "Woodchucks"

Maxine Kumin : Poets.org

"Nothing" by Ken Mikolowski : The Poetry Foundation

Read this humorous poem of only six short lines and thirteen words: Nothing by Ken Mikolowski : The Poetry Foundation

Ken Mikolowski : The Poetry Foundation

The First Detective: Daniel, Susanna and the Elders

Read this short story, The History of Susanna, from the deuterocanonical Apocrypha in the Catholic Edition of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible; it is a short story about Daniel, the first detective: Susanna (Daniel 13)

The History of Susanna from the King James Version of the Apocrypha was reprinted in the August 1960 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. To listen to a recording of David Shamp reading the King James Version of The History of Susanna, click here.


SUSANNA AND THE ELDERS
A cinquain by Adelaide Crapsey (1878-1914)

"Why do
You thus devise
Evil against her?"  "For that
She is beautiful, delicate;
Therefore."

Adelaide Crapsey : The Poetry Foundation

"Binsey Poplars" by Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1844-1889 : Poets.org

Read this classic poem by English poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, 1844-1889: "Binsey Poplars"

Gerard Manley Hopkins

"The River" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882 : Poets.org

Read this classic poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "The River"

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882

Jesus' Teaching on Almsgiving: A Poem of Jesus Christ : The King James Bible

I dedicate this poem, Jesus' teaching on almsgiving, to my mother Evelyn M. Gilmer, who once told me, "Because of God's great love for us in Jesus Christ, we want to serve Him whenever and wherever we can. If [we want] what we do [for others] to be seen of men, we negate the value of the acts. God does not give out brownie points."


JESUS' TEACHING ON ALMSGIVING
A Poem of Jesus Christ
from the Bible: Matthew 6:1-4 (King James Version)

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men,
To be seen of them:
Otherwise ye have no reward
Of your Father which is in heaven.

Therefore when thou doest thine alms,
Do not sound a trumpet before thee,
As the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
That they may have glory of men.
Verily I say unto you, "They have their reward."
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know
What thy right hand doeth:
That thine alms may be in secret:
And thy Father which seeth in secret
Himself shall reward thee openly.

"Daffodils" by Alicia Ostriker / Poem of the Day : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem by Alicia Ostriker and listen to a recording of her reading it: Daffodils / Poem of the Day : The Poetry Foundation

Alicia Ostriker

Important Words on Giving of Oneself

Read "The Parable of the Good Samaritan" (Luke 10:25-37).

     The only gift is a portion of thyself.

                       --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Not what we give, but what we share --

For the gift without the giver is bare;

Who gives himself with his alms feeds three --

Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.

                                     --James Russell Lowell

Behold, I do not give lectures or a little charity,

When I give I give myself.

                                             --Walt Whitman

     You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

                  --Kahlil Gibran

     Prayer: O God, help us always to give of ourselves when we give to others. Keep us mindful that we are to be Your servants while we are here. Amen.

                                                                                      --Evelyn M. Gilmer (born 1923)

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"If you're fond of road-blocks, this one can't be beat:" by Richard Wilbur : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem, which is good for children: “If you’re fond of road-blocks, this one can’t be beat:” by Richard Wilbur : The Poetry Foundation

Richard Wilbur

"Because he swings so neatly through the trees," by Richard Wilbur : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poem, which is good for children: “Because he swings so neatly through the trees,” by Richard Wilbur : The Poetry Foundation

American poet and translator Richard Wilbur was born on this day in 1921.

4 Bible Verses for When You Feel Anxious About Your Parents Aging | Blog | News | American Bible Society

Read 4 Bible Verses for When You Feel Anxious About Your Parents Aging | Blog | News | American Bible Society: “Where are my keys?” my Mom asked.This was my cue. You see, I was always a bit of a rascal growing up—very well behaved at school but quite the prankster at home. As I got older, I abandoned my more complex antics and kept things sweet and simple: I hid my mom’s keys.From a young age,