First Known When Lost

Earlier this week I saw the first crocuses of the year:  white and purple (three white inner petals; three pale purple outer petals) set wit...

A certain segment of the American population has worked itself into quite a tizzy over our new political state of affairs.  How can I tell? ...

On the subject of beauty, this is as good a place as any to begin: "A thing is beautiful to the extent that it does not let itself be...

Given the mystery of our own souls, we ought to be respectful of the souls of the strangers who share our time on earth.  Hence, a poet take...

I have spent a fair portion of the new year in the 17th century.  My sojourn began when I returned to one of my favorite anthologies:  Norma...

One sunny afternoon this past summer, as I walked beneath a big-leaf maple, I was struck by the thought that we live in a World in which eve...

I often walk past a small meadow of wild grasses that ends in a forest of evergreens and deciduous trees.  At this time of year, it is a taw...

The sight of a solitary bird crossing the sky is a common occurrence in Chinese poetry.  These lone birds are seldom the main subject of the...

This week, I returned to the following poem:             From My Window An old man leaning on a gate Over a London mews -- to contempla...